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Where are you from (country)?
United States
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How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)
Hairlosstalk.com -
What is your current age, height, weight?
28 years old, 5’10, 180 pounds -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Yes, both cardio and weights -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
meat eater -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
9 years -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
Started around September 2004. I was a 19 year-old. -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
I quit at the age of 27 in October of 2012
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
I quit cold turkey -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
I spent 18 months on Propecia and the rest of the time on Generic cut up into 1 mg pieces
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
For the most part 1 mg/day
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
Almost immediately -
What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
ED is the largest one. I don’t have strong erections, I have low desire for sex, my flaccid penis never “expands”. 2 weeks after quitting I developed Shingles. 4 months ago I was diagnosed with prostitis that has not yet resolved itself. Last week I was diagnosed with low-T with a score of 252
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
[ ?] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ X] Slurring of Speech
[X ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X ] Testicular Pain
[X ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ X] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X ] Prostate pain
[ X] 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)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Have not undertaken any treatment, but I am eating healthier and working out more than ever since quitting. -
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)?
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
Well on the drug I would experience lower sex drive and now nocturnal erection, but I was able to manage it. For example, if I knew I had a sexual encounter coming up I could stop taking the pill and after 4 or 5 days, my sex drive would return. 2 weeks after quitting I “crashed” and developed shingles. My sex drive has not returned since in the last 16 months. -
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
[b]When I was 19 I noticed my hair was falling out. This wasn’t totally unexpected because all of the men in my family are bald. At the time I was a massively horny 19 year-old and realized being bald would mean less action from women, therefore, Propecia seemed like a no brainer. Almost immediately I experienced side effects. I began reading hairlosstalk.com. I felt like I was in a catch-22. Take the pill, maintain my looks, get girls, but not satisfy them or quit the pill go bald, struggle with women, but be horny. I decided I would keep taking the pill and deal with the ED since it would go away when I finally met a nice girl and was ready to settle down.
After 9 years, I was over the hairloss, or moreso, I was tired of the ED. I quit taking Propecia. Unfortunately, I developed Shingles 2 weeks after quitting. While morning erections returned, my sex drive did not come back. I haven’t had a “no reason boner” in 18 months. A beautiful women could drop trow in front of me and I wouldn’t feel a thing inside.
In June of 2013, I was in an active sexual relationship (the sex wasn’t great, but I was trying!). I began to have painful urination and back pain. I assumed I had an STD. I went and got tested and was diagnosed with chlamydia. I was devastated and stopped talking with the girl. The nurse told me not to worry, take this antibiotic and you will be fine. 2 months later I was still having painful urination. I went back to the Dr. and was tested again. Again, it showed up as chlamydia. Again they treated me with an antibiotic. This went on until October. I was treated 4 times for chlamydia by 5 antibiotics. Finally, I went to a urologist. He agreed there was no way I had/still had chlamydia and gave me a prostate exam. He diagnosed me with prostitis. Due to the amount of antibiotics I had taken recently he told me to come back after the holidays for treatment. Upon our second visit, I told him about my lack of sex drive and thoughts that this was connected to propecia. HE flat out told me that this was crazy talk and he would personally apologize if I had Low-T. A week later I got my apology at our follow-up visit where he informed me my T-level was 252.
This has been an awful discovery, but it’s a little relieving to have it out in the open. I intend to read as much as possible about my options and possibly see Dr. Jacobs in NY.
BadBeat2[/b]