Answers

Member Stories
#1
  1. How did you find this forum?

Through Wikipedia.

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

I am 23. 6 feet, and 175 pounds.

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

I exercise in spurts. Running or push-ups. I have back problems.

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

Not the best diet. General foods, keep it cheap, not too unhealty.

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

I was starting to thin at the front, doctor reccomended it.

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

40 days exactly

  1. How old were you when you started Finasteride?

23

  1. How old were you when you quit?

23

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

cold turkey, I was scared as hell

  1. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic – and what dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day, 1.25 mg/day, etc.)?

1.25 mg (proscar cut up)

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

started a week in, got worse over time

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

Put an X beside all that apply:

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

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] 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

(I think I might just be depressed because I am losing my hair and have troubles with my penis, to be honest)

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] 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
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

Don’t know if I have to pee, have to guess unless I REALLY have to.

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

zinc, prayer.

  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)?

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

I had many symptoms that I DID recover from, and I am only 3 weeks into my recovery so we shall see how it goes.

Also I would just like to add that I hate finastride.

Partial Recovery So Far
#2

Hey all,

So I have somewhat recovered from the side effects of Finastride, and I am here to tell you some positive news, hopefully I have time to write a good amount before I head off t work. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Okay so I am 23 years old, and in February I decided that I definitely was starting to lose my hair, it was thinning at the front. I visited my doctor and he suggested finastride and gave me a proscar subscription.

Two weeks in I was finding that I never had morning wood anymore and my sex drive had lowered. I looked online a little and found the company said that side effects like this should go away. So I kept an eye on them.

40 days into taking it I had numerous other confirmed side effects…

Difficulty maintaining erection
Difficulty getting erection
Watery Semen
No pleasure in orgasms
Anxiety
No spontaneous or nighttime erections
Very low sex drive

I went off the drug, cursing my idiocy in not doing so sooner, and hoping that I would recover.

It is now 3 weeks later.

the recovery so far…

Within a week I had pleasurable orgasms again
Within a week I had seemingly normal semen again
Within a week my anxiety level returned to approx. normal

Within ten days my sex drive was back to approx. normal.

also within a week I noticed that I seemed more intelligent again, like I had been dumber on the drug.

Within 2 weeks I had many night time erections, and morning wood ranging from halfies, to full blown erections (though they do not last as long)

Within 2 weeks I had more success at both getting and maintaining an erection (however this is still a long way from ideal)

Problems I still have.

  1. I have noticed that I have trouble always knowing whether I have to pee, it is very frustrating and I just kind of pee when I remember I haven’t in a while now.

  2. I don’t mind so much that it takes a little more to get an erection, I can work around that. The trouble is the mainting of it. I had a beautiful tanned girl in my bed last night, we were just fooling around, and although I repeatedly got ‘half erect’ it took a lot to get a full on erection. I was not having sex with her (the situation was unique) but was mostly grinding on her ass, and feeling her up etc. I needed constant hard grinding on her ass to maintain any semblance of a ‘sex able’ erection.

Solution?

Well I hope that I keep improving in every way. However I am going to visit a girlfriend who is abroad in two weeks, if things aren’t looking up I am going to try out a cock ring. If that does not work I am considering having viagra as a ‘backup’.

There ya go boys. Feedback would be appreciated.

#3

So far it looks like your having a normal recovery after stopping fin. Merck would be proud. This is what they say is suppose to happen.

#4

Well… we will see…

There has only been minimal improvement in the erection department. I feel that I probably have blood flow problems. It is nice to have orgasms and such, but the erection issue coupled with the urination issue are severe problems that I am still suffering from.

I am taking around 30-40mg of zinc a day.

I am a bit freaked now too because I have to perform consistently in 11 days.

I just thought I would share the good news aspect. I had some terrible things that DID INDEED go away in time. But I ain’t 100%, not even close.

#5

Berlinier,

Yes, that is the way it should happen, none of us was supposed to keep suffering from sides for a long time… Congratulations on your fast recovery, I would suggest you not to take Viagra or any other chemical from now on, learn from our mistakes. Your recovery is well within “normal” time frame so I think you can expect to be 100% in a couple of weeks. If you know other guys who take this poison tell them of our experience and help to spread the word on this crap.

#6

Zinc seemed to help me the most too.
I take 30 - 90mg with a 2mg copper.

#7

Actually that is a good point about the viagra. The last thing I need is more strange substances in my system.

I might start taking more zinc. Does anyone know the negative consequences of having too much zinc?

I wish I could have more patience, but as luck would have it (and things always seem to happen this way) I really like this girl I am going to see and the last thing I want is an awkward explanation of why I have a floppy dick most of the time. But to be honest I will just be happy if I make a full recovery, whether it be in a week or 2 months.

The funny (in a síck way) part about this sort of ED is that it really prevents safe sex… the last thing I want to be trying to do is put a condom on, I am just trying to stay VERY into the experience so I can stay hard…

Propecia- Against safe sex.

#8

Zinc can be bad if you take it for a while without taking some copper with it.
2mg Copper pills are very cheap.

Also some Zinc pills come with Copper.

#9

i have read that anything more than 50mg of Zinc/day is not good for you… anything from 50-100mg can approach toxic levels… and at such high dosages yes, you would need to take some copper as well.

25-40mg/zinc would be a safer bet in my mind, but do your research!

#10

Hey y’all, I have an update for you.

Well things are okay. I can have sex, I can masturbate. Orgasms feel good, I have a sex drive.

The problem is I still haven’t made a FULL recovery.

For the first time ever, I got soft inside a girl. Basically, I can’t have sex more than once a day.

Also… I used to be able to get hard just by having a girl touch my dick, now she needs to be doing really hot things, etc.

It’s not a huge deal, and definitely falls more into the “annoyance” category, but still, it is something I could do without.

I just feel like a 43 year old man instead of a 23 year old.

Anyone else experiencing these kinds of not as bad but still annoying residual side effects? Any advice?

#11

Yeah, a little bit, but its getting better as time goes on. I was still like you at 2 months (you’ve been off for only two months correct?), but now at three months I guess I would have to say things are quite a bit better. So I hope it continues.
Actually lately I’ve had some days where I feel normal again, but then it comes back.
Dude, tell me this, do you feel any sort of congestion in there? urinary symptoms, or subtle subtle burning down between the legs or in lower abdomen at all? Basicly it would be called congestion in the prostate? Prostatitis like symptoms. inflammation of any sort.
Because this is what I feel at times, and this is when dick isn’t normal. Otherwise over time things have been improving and sometimes mr. long feels like he’s normal again.

Anyhow, my best advice for you woud also be to WALK a LOT!! i.e. a few hours a day, and also drink lots and lots of water.
I am also taking fish oils.
Anyway, I got these tips off a prostatitis forum, as well as from a fin user who recovered through walking 3 hours a day to and from work.
Later mahn. Good luck! Tell me whats up, if you have any prostatitis like symptoms if you don’t mind.

Bean-town

#12

I have had that burning sensation. I often occurs when I am dehydrated and/or have been having a lazy day. It is subtle though, and could be my imagination, but I dont think so.

I am happy to see that I seem to be moving in the right direction though. I just had a few days where I was 95% normal, my girl and I were having lots of sex, it was great. But I woke up today not feeling “it”.

I think we are working this out over time.

#13

If you can keep the inflammation/burning and discomfort down for the time being, like paying attention to diet and such, drinking a lot of water like you say, I think you will have a better chance of healing more quickly.
I feel the same way because when inflammation and burning is down, more blood flow and circulation reaches the area.
Good luck man. I think I’m following in your footsteps. I think this is jusy some prostatitis which can go away, and in out cases is going away.

And btw, prostatitis is a BIG mystery to most in the medical community.
I was just at a clinic yesterday and found out that my Doctor, Dr. Eyre, is one of the best urologists in the country, and he is on the leading edge of research on “what exactly prostatitis is and what causes it.”
It is complicated.
But most importantly what you should know is that it usually just persists for a few months, but then if you can take care of yourself, it goes away after time.
Peace man!

#14

Berliner, any improvements? I wonder if the regular sex is helping you? Its like pumping out and cleaning your prostate.

#15

Yeah the thing for me right now is that my sex drive is really low.

The ‘travelling with the girl’ sex was okay… but I could only really orgasm once a day. Now that I am back ‘soloing’ my sex drive is low.

This is weird, because I really thought I had gotten past this.

I am trying to only masturbate/have sex once or twice a week now to keep my sex drive at a normal level. Maybe this is crazy, I don’t know.

Not sure if it is prostatis, however walking, water and omega 13 sounds like good stuff anyway, so I have been trying to do it.

It’s all fairly discouraging really, and is annoying to have to deal with coupled with losing my hair. I am 3 months now since I stopped taking those damn pills.

So, while I have made a partial recovery, I have fallen back in the sex drive area. We will see…

#16

—UPDATE—

Well things are pretty good now. It’s weird though, because at times I seem to be running pretty much at full speed, good strong erection, etc. But other times it’s no different than 2 months after I got off Propecia.

So at this point it is an inconsistent recovery, if you will. Not sure exactly what that means, but there you go. It is frustrating at times, but I just have to be happy that I seem to be going in the right direction.

It is nice to see that more and more men seem to be improving. I also have warned a few people right before they took the drug, and got them not to take it.

Good luck guys.