Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)?
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?)
What is your current age, height, weight?
40 yrs old, 5’10”, 175 lbs
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride & Isotretinoin)
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
.25 mg/every other day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hairbkiss prevention (what a fool I was)
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
About 1 month
Date when you started the drug?
Feb 2022
Date when you quit the drug?
March 2022
Age when you quit?
39
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
About 2 weeks
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Low libido, ED, depression, lack of energy, lack of drive
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
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
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[x] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
I tried HCG at 250 iu mon, wed, fri. With Clomid 12.5 mg every day. After about 10 days I had great improvements in libido, erection quality, overall happiness and sense of well-being. I continued taking this regimen but after about the two month mark I crashed and erection quality is currently worse than before HCG & Clomid. I’m hoping that I will return to baseline as I have now been off of HCG for about 1 week.
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
I have before & after testosterone tests but my T level was unchanged before vs after
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I started taking this poison because I am a heavy podcast listener. Almost every podcast that I was listening to was advertising finasteride (Roman, Hims, Keeps, etc) and marketing it as a hair loss preventative. I wasn’t even losing my hair!! The ads said that there is no reason to go bald as you grow older, all you need to do is take this pill. It was appealing to me because my dad is bald and my ex girlfriend would always tell me her opinion about how unattractive she thought that bald guys were.
I thought I would outsmart the possible side effects by only taking .25 mg every other day. I only took it for about one month and noticed lower libido. I stopped taking it but libido never improved so I decided I might as well keep taking it and resumed taking it. I had a pretty bad crash after about 2 more weeks of taking it and I stopped taking it for good. Easily the worst decision of my life to ever take this poison.