Believe it or not: 1 day on Fin has injured me


  1. Where are you from (country)? USA

  2. 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?) Google-Propecia

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 30/6’3"/175

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? None

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

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

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

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Fin? 30 5/26/16

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 30 5/26/16

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey

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

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

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 1 hour for some symptoms

  14. 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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X ] 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
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

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
[ X] 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)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None

  2. 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)? Everything remained the same except for Testosterone. I have thyroid disease so I get regular thyroid horomone tests but haven’t checked my T since 2009

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? Dry mouth, Dry eyes

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

Here’s the thing guys, if I were any of you or an outside spectator I’d be skeptical of what happened to me. I don’t have a history of mental problems or hypochondria. I took one 1mg Propecia pill at 1pm 5/26. Within 30 minutes I had a dry mouth and pill aftertaste. Within 3 hours I was urinating frequently and having mild testicular pain followed by a flare-up in my peripheral neuropathy (that was weird). That stopped after I stopped the drug. . I decided that it wasn’t for me and I wasn’t taking anymore chance. Unfortunately, while the frequent urination subsided the dry mouth and testicle pain hasn’t. About 1 week later I began to get chest pain and soreness in my left pec/breast. I noticed swelling over the next 2 weeks it’s to the point where it’s not symmetrical with my right pec/breast but also not horribly boobish yet either- this shocked me. I’m a lean guy and never even had itchy nipples during puberty let alone gynecomastia. I freaked out and called my Endocrinologist. She told me to just give it time. I insisted on a Testosterone test and DHT, Esterdiol and she refused only granting me my testosterone. She said it was probably side effects from the medicine and to stop it. Today, she called me and said my Testosterone was very low. I don’t have the figures yet. Full disclosure: I do have Graves’ Disease which is hyperthyroidism and I’m currently severely hypothyroid. She is blaming the low T on that. I strongly disagree.

All I know is I’ve never had any symptom of low T and within hours/days of taking that first pill it was blatantly obvious my T was low and my Estrogen was high. I’m now being told just to wait it out and control my thyroid. My chest is still painful daily and swelling more but she refused me any anti-estrogen and said it will go back down on its own.

I’m in disbelief this could happen after 1 pill. I’m I’m denial but it’s obvious. Having thyroid disease I really shouldn’t have been taking Propecia for hair loss anyway. I’m the most shocked over swelling in my chest from 1 pill. I almost can’t believe it myself. No doctor seems to think it’s that troubling. I do notice brain fog and low libito but im not touching on them much as I’ve been hypothyroid for several months and they have similar side effects so I’m trying to stay objective.

Hey guys, I’m a newb here. I just posted my story in member stories but in short I took Propecia 1 day (5/26/16) and within hours experienced testicle pain, dry mouth, and frequent urination. I decided it was too heavy duty already and stopped. Shockingly within a week I noticed soreness in my left pec/breast. I found myself rubbing it a couple days straight then realized that it was swelling and had to be related to the Propecia. I nearly couldn’t believe it and still don’t but it’s real. I’m a lean guy and never had any gynecomastia problems. It’s not huge but definately puffier than the right side and for 2 weeks it still hurts now with my right starting to hurt a little too.

Anyway, it’s been 3 weeks and I still have daily testicle pain (mild) and chest swelling/pain and I knew something was very wrong. Since I do have thyroid disease (Graves’) I have an endocrinologist. I explained everything that happened and demanded a full sex hormone panel. To my surprise she would only grant me Testosterone and that came back abnormally low range. She is putting the blame on my thyroid but it isn’t at least not the final blow. It’s so obvious what has happened. For me there is a direct cause and effect/action-reaction. I’ve had a bad thyroid since 1999. Never had these issues. My mind is blown. I don’t blame anyone for being skeptical- particularly about the chest swelling with 1 dose. It’s unbelievable. I can only say I have no history of it even in the least. Never even an itchy nipple during puberty. Now this. She doesn’t seem to be concerned about any of it and said just wait for it to rebound and control my thyroid in the meantime which to be fair has been out of range badly for months. She refused any idea of Test replacement of estrogen blockers.

I’m terrified to say the least. I just want my chest to stop swelling for one. I can speculate that I had a fragile system to begin with as I do have thyroid disease which has been severely hypo for nearly 6 months- TSH 61 (.40-4.50) but it’s not the first time at all. Maybe that 1mg of Propecia just tipped me off the cliff. I find it hard to believe 1 pill of anything could be destructive. For those wondering, I got the script from my GP. My Endo would have never written it.

If you really sure you have a high estrogen issue, then an natural estrogen blocker might help. Don’t pop any more pharmaceuticals to mess up the balance even more.

I would recommend a natural SERM, these are safe and effective, Rebirth is a good product: anabolichealth.com/best-estrogen-blocker/

Also make sure you test your levels before taking anything, if your doctor won’t let you then use a private lab. Balancing estrogen is not hard, but you need to keep track of what you are doing and make sure you don’t make it worse.