Another one bites the dust...

Member Stories
#1

Hi everyone, I feel quite unlucky to be here today. I’ve jogged through this site quite a few times in the past few months and have finally decided to post. I’ll make it short and sweet…you guys have heard it all before anyways…I’m just hoping someone can point me in the right direction…

I took 14 Propecia pills total, splitting them up, so 28 days straight at .5mg. I noticed a loss of morning erections/weaker erections after the third week, and by the fourth week I was having difficulty getting an erection when watching porn. I visited this forum after doing some research, and decided it just wasn’t worth it. I figured, there was no way these sides would persist, and if I got off the drug, I’d be fine. So I went off.

It took me about 2 weeks to “feel back to normal” and at the time I was in a long distance relationship. I visited my gal after those 2 weeks and had 7 days of great sex and morning erections. I thought, “it must be over with.” But then, I crashed. I found it hard to maintain an erection again, several days after leaving her. (We broke up on this trip and I wouldn’t have sexual contact again until just 3 weeks ago, 6 months of being off the drug).

I have very little libido, though I still find girls attractive and want to chase them. I have very soft erections that often dissipate during masturbation. I find that when I ejaculate, the ejaculate volume is still high, but I get limp immediately after. I may be suffering from “brain fog” or I may be just depressed and fixated on this current problem of mine. As I mentioned, I had sex with a girl a few weeks ago and all went okay…though i came a bit prematurely, and I lost half my erection while going down on her. None of these things are typical for me…I’m 25 and have always been the horniest kid alive.

I miss waking up in the morning and having a rock hard erection that won’t allow me to sit down on the toilet and take a shit. I miss the confidence I used to have knowing I could please any girl that came my way. I miss being able to pleasure myself the way I’d like to, whenever I’d like to. I miss it all. Who can help me? Where should I start? It’s been 6 months now, almost, and yes, I can get it up, but it’s nothing like it used to be…I have been taking ginseng, ginko, vitamin d and l-arginine, but they do very little to help.

Any of your comments/recommendations would be helpful. Thank you.

#2

OK…25 views and no replies…I did see, however, that I didn’t follow protocol…so here I go… I need help guys, please. I’m an American, who just moved to Korea to teach English… It’s been a very troubling couple of weeks dealing with these side effects and moving at the same time…

  1. How did you find this forum?

I found this forum through Google.

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?

I’m 25, 6 feet even, 175 lbs.

  1. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?

I was exercising with heavy weights while on Propecia, but lost the motivation after it.

  1. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?

I eat relatively clean…It’s harder here in Korea to eat well, than it was in America.

  1. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?

Hairloss

  1. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?

I took it for one month (14 pills) at .5mg. I took it from mid-June to mid-July

  1. How old were you when you started Finasteride?

24

  1. How old were you when you quit?

24

  1. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?

Cold turkey…

  1. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?

Propecia

  1. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?

.5 e/d

  1. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?

3 weeks in I noticed the weak erections and loss of Morning Wood…It only got worse…quit at the end of the 4 weeks…

  1. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

ED, loss of libido, loss of morning erections/random erections, brain fog, depression

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[X ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

Not that much. Zinc, arginine, vitamin d, ginseng

  1. If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

No tests, unfortunately.

  1. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
#3

couldbworse,

welcome to the forum. I don’t think people are ignoring you, but we just don’t have all the answers to this problem. Many of us including myself are far worse off than you are now.

There are some that believe the begining time off like you are going throuh is the best time to begin a HPTA restart protocol, such as clomid or arimidex. The body tends to respond best to these in the begining.

I would recommend getting a blood test done asap for as many hormones & proteins as possible. See the main page and you can easily navigate to the list of recommended items for a blood test. I’m not sure what the health care system is like in Korea, so that may present an additional challenge for you.

Try to eat as healthy as possible, get some exercise cardio & weights and plenty of rest. There is still a chance you could recover, as you quit recently.

#4

couldbrowse,

This is my first post here - I have read a few posts on the forum, but your experience and side effects matches seems to match the closest of the stories I’ve read.

(I’ve only been off propecia for about 20 days, though.)

Do you find that your condition changes from day to day, or have things remained unchanged for long stretches of time?

I guess I’d chime in with boston2009 - there are people here who suffering a lot more. I guess we have to be grateful for what we have and remain hopeful that we can improve.

#5

Boston- I appreciate your reply. I believe health care here is above average and the majority of doctors learned their craft in the states… What kind of doctor should I be seeking after I get my blood work done? If my test and dht levels come back within range- what would my next step be?

Merrychristmas- Sorry to hear we’re in the same boat… My condition definitely changes from the day to day. To be honest, I believe things have gotten worse over time…I do go through weeks where I wake up with morning erections (though they aren’t even close to what they were before) but even when I have “good weeks” my erections just aren’t the same as they used to be. During the good weeks, I’ll get randoms and get extremely excited, but it will be followed by other weeks I just feel miserable…I concentrate on getting an erection while watching porn and just…nothing. I hope we can both get back to normal. Now that I’m going into my 6th month I’m starting to lose a lot of hope. I feel like my body should have adapted by now, and I have the feeling like my body thinks this is “normal” at this point. Damn this poison. What does it to our bodies!? How long did you take the pills for?

Any additional recommendations, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note: I don’t lose hair anymore. I haven’t had a shed besides the ridiculous shed I had coming off the medication. I was used to shedding a lot one week out of every month for the past few years…this, has changed quite dramatically since I was Propeciafied. Can anyone else vouch for that?

#6

As boston2009 said, there are alot of people far worse. You’re lucky no physical changes yet. Alot of us here have severe penile and overall muscle atrophy. I’d search out an endo there in Korea and get your bloodwork done. Maybe there is something in asian medicine that can improve us because western medicine seems to be out of ideas at the moment.

Also, generally it seems mental side effects seem to imrpove before physical/sexual ones do.

#7

Hey couldbworse,

I would seek to see both a Uroligist & an Endocrinoligist. They both have knowledge in different areas that could be of help. Also, it’s better to get a second opinion anyway. I’m not sure if they have the same titles out there. Endocrinoligist are supposed to have a sound understanding of our endocrine system. The Uroligist may have more insight into any issues with your testicles, sex organs and possible issues in this are.

I have seen many endo doctors in the US and the majority are horrible. So if it’s possible try to find both doctors that have the best reputation out there. Don’t just pick one blindly.

I think user name is appropriate, as you could be much worse off. It seems you didn’t suffer the loss of muscle, energy, extreme brain fog, etc.

As far as the hair loss stopping, this seems to be what happens to most if not all of us that suffer. Somehow something is skewed in our bodies.

So get your blood panel done and please post it on here so that we can continue to learn about what this drug did to us. If you are able, I would recommend you participate in Dr Irwig’s study. It’s on the main page. It’s very easy and it benifits all of us.

good luck

#8

Hi again,

That’s sad to hear. It seems like we took roughly the same amount. I took propecia for ten days and quit because I was feeling like my face was swelling. Two days later I woke up feeling like I’d been castrated. A few more days went by and then the psychological effects set in. It took me about a week before I could even think about doing real work again.

What terrifies me is that it doesn’t seem like the number of pills makes a difference.

I’m also feeling distrustful of medical solutions to the condition. Modern medicine created this horror, how is medicine supposed to fix it? And even if it was fixable, it seems like the number of PFS sufferers is too small to justify the cost of developing a treatment. Still - we have no other option but to remain hopeful.

#9

Well, Happy New Years, guys… I’ll start this post like that and say: Let’s hope at least a few of us can find a resolution to our problems this year…
I spent my New Years Eve having a few drinks, which, before fin would get me a little “horny.” This year however, a few drinks, and a horny girl led me into bed with her… I stayed hard for about a minute before I went completely limp and had to stop sleeping with her. I said “I must be too drunk.”
The second time we tried sleeping together was last night… Couldn’t get a hard on for the life of me… She asked “Is it me?” And I felt so terrible I broke down and told her about Propecia. She thought it was weird, at the very least. I ate her out, and called it a night. Fuck my life.
Well, that was my New Years… Had to vent…Anyone else share some similar experiences lately?

#10

Are you still going to seek treatment in Korea? Are you still going to get your bloodwork done? I’d be very interested to hear what an endocrinologist or andrologist there thinks about PFS. Seems no one in the US has had any new ideas for years.

#11

Yes, I’ll be seeking treatment asap. I had to wait for my “alien registration card” before I could see the doctor. Will keep you all informed. I know they prescribe Propecia here because a friend of mine just got on it. I assume they’ll put me on Clomid treatment or what not?

#12

Well it’s been 6 years I guess… it’s embarrassing to read things I wrote at a very immature age. It’s also a bummer I no longer live in Korea and I’m not 25 anymore haha. I’ve thought about visiting this page more than a few times in the past couple of years…

I’m happy to share that I’m 90% cured. I won’t say 100 because there are certain things that never got back right. One of those things is erections every morning but that may be due to getting older. I’d say I have erections in the morning 75% of the time. Also, I still feel a loss for words occasionally which I still attribute to some brain fog.

ANYWAYS… I hope some of you have found a path to success. I really do. I went through 5 years of pain after this drug. I’ve been cured for a little over a year now.

As my username mentioned I wasn’t the worst off of what I’d read but things did get worse. I stayed in Korea for 2 years and eventually dated a girl who could only sleep with me about half the time we wanted to. I frequently lost erections during sex or could never achieve one. I worried about it constantly. I developed horrible brain fog and I got fat. I went from 160 to 210 lbs in about a year. I stopped having dreams completely and felt like I was never getting a good amount of sleep. While in Korea, I tried natural healing like acupuncture, ginseng and liquid diets, etc.

I moved back to the states and was in a very bad depression mostly revolving around my post fin situation. I decided to make a change for my body and got inspired to mountaineer. I started to enjoy hiking in LA and I set a goal to trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp by buying a plane ticket to Kathmandu. I did 2 rounds of p90x and got down to 170 lbs and felt the best I had in a long time. I ate mostly fruits and vegetables and supplemented with lean proteins and stopped drinking milk and eating red meat. I noticed something then… I felt better, healthier, and happier. I started getting erections in the morning again. I got into a relationship with the woman who I am now married to.

I did the Everest trek and came back to the states again and my health and diet loosened up. I started noticing how much different my brain and body reacted to diet and exercise and how my fin recovery started happening when I was in good shape. I battled still for about a year while I tried to continue exercising and motivating myself to be healthier. My then girlfriend (wife now) was let in on my fin secret after several bouts of going limp, etc. I told her how I wasn’t having dreams anymore and everything involved with it. She helped me get on the right course by taking up healthy hobbies with me. We started rock climbing and I got super into it.

TO make a long story short… Things went up and down for a while until I was fully committed to being a health freak. I got down to about 8% body fat at 155 lbs and that’s when everything changed. I was climbing or working out almost every day and I started dreaming again… I started waking up with erections, I stopped worrying about losing my erection… and I equate it to this… fat cell storage. I don’t know. I never saw a doctor. I felt like no one could help me so I didn’t even try (which might have been stupid). To me, whatever fin did to me was stored somewhere? Did it store in fatty cavities? I’m obviously not a doctor but I just started noticing my healthy lifestyle led to a recovery. I can say this: when my diet and exercise habits loosen up I still feel good. Almost like I shredded all that away and rebooted.

I can confidently say I have not lost an erection with my wife in over a year now. I can masturbate whenever I want to, and I mostly wake up hard every morning. I do better socially and I started having intense dreams and good sleep again. I’m sorry if I’m not that detailed but I did want to submit this recovery story for anyone still feeling hopeless… It’s something I hardly think about anymore but when I do I shake my head and wonder how many years that took off of my life in just stress.

I probably will not log on much here but I will try in case anyone has any questions… all I can say is… get motivated, get healthy, eat right, think right, positive mental attitude and forget about the bad stuff… I think these are all things that helped me very much.

Good luck all.

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