Cold turkey log.

Member Stories
#1

I just quit. I wasn’t aware of the side affects and begin experiencing sexual problems. I wasn’t nearly as horny and my dick wouldn’t get nearly as hard. Spontaneous and nocturnal erections became nonexistent. I did some research and found this forum and saw that many of my other symptoms are likely due to propecia. I am normally a happy person and my mood has been depressed. I physically have no energy and am emotionally flat. I quit cold turkey two days ago and will log every day. I hope that this may be of use to those who wish to quit in the future. I pray that I, as well of all of you, make a quick and full recovery.

  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

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 18, 6’4, 210

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Lift weights, college baseball, run, swim, sprints

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Healthy and lean. Lots of fruits and vegetables

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 4.5 months

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 18, 11/22/10

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 18, 4/10/10

  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.)? 1.25 mg/day

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 3 months

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? ED, decreased energy, muscular atrophy, depression, low testosterone levels

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
[x] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[x] 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)
[x] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[x] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] 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? So far just a mix of natural testosterone boosters such as tribulus, maral, pine pollen, fenugreek, moomiyo, and suma

  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)? My testoterone levels were 569 on 4/1/10, 9 days before stopping

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

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

To follow

#2

Sunday: last dose of propecia. I figured that my sexual problems were a result of a prohormone for muscle building that I mistakenly took when I was 16 and resulted in gynecomastia. I had trouble getting it up while I took letrozole from July 09 to July 10. In July I found a new solution for gyno: cortisone shots in the nipples and stopped taking letro. So my hormone levels began to return to normal shortly later and I was getting hard again in October. Long story short, I began experiencing the side effects of propecia.

Another frustrating weekend of sloppy sex with my girlfriend, I either couldn’t get hard or came fast when I did I decided I had to do something.

Monday (DAY 1) - Did some reading. I researched every possible reason on why I couldn’t get it up and came across this site. All of the sympotms sounded similar. I had a panic attack. Lately I have been severely depressed with suicidal thoughts. I have zero energy despite playing college baseball and leading a very healthy lifestyle including working out and eating healthy. I had bloodwork done last week and got the results today. My testosterone was 569. Well below normal range for my age. I did much research on this site and decided to quit cold turkey.

Tuesday (DAY 2) - No pill last night. I woke up anxious, angry, and depressed, and hit my snooze for another hour. Woke up at 9:45 to go workout. I did my sprinting workout and fatigued much more quickly than usual. My testosterone levels affect my workouts so much. I’ve lost considerable strength and muscle mass since starting propecia. Ugh! After my sprint workout I lifted weights. I didn’t squat because my back is sore as shit today so instead did shoulders. Not as much weight as I could at full strength but a good workout. At the end I am completely exhausted and my brain is foggy. I am kind of spacy. I eat dinner and head out to practice. I am still in a daze. I am emotionally flat. It’s like I am hardly there. I don’t really care much anymore. Baseball pisses me off so much right now. Zero energy. Losing strength. Super moody and get depressed really easily. It is hard to focus.

Good news: Got a random half boner while playing videogames. Decided to masturbate and got harder than I’ve been in a while!!! Then, about 4 hours later, I got hard while having phone sex with my girlfriend!!! Decided not to rub it off though.

Hopefully this is a good sign. Also: a book I have been reading lately and highly recommend is SOS for Emotions. It has helped me mentally.

#3

Hey cold turkey, welcome to the forums. First of, you can keep logging here of how you are doing. Most important thing is to calm down and not to panic since you are, no doubt, pretty anxious and depressed due to emotional and hormonal rollercoaster right now! So for now, take a step back and just observe. Keep going normally on your life.

If it’s propecia then stay calm and keep observing your condition for days (like a week or maybe more) to see if and how your condition changes.

If things get worse then come and write about it here, let us know.

#4

Indeed it has felt like a roller coaster of emotions. I will keep posting just as it may be useful in the future for those hoping to quit.

Wednesday (Day 3) - my libido is high but I can’t get hard. Not feeling as depressed though. My reading has been helping me. I’ve been exercising during the day and then reading in the night after I’m crashed and my energy runs out. Experienced random pains in my groin area, penis, and testicles today. Not too serious but kind of annoying. Not sure if it is related to my back injury or to quitting.

#5

Day 4 (Thursday) - Worst day by far. Mood has been groggy all day. Emotionally flat. I’m about to break up with my girlfriend. I really could care less right now. Depression is frightening. I was so horny all day but couldn’t get hard. Out of curiousity I touched myself and got a half boner and rubbed it off two separate times within 20 minutes. WTF Idk why I can’t get fully hard. My dick and balls feel super small and they are sore. Maybe this is a sign things are going back to normal? I hope so. Ugh I’m ready for this day to be over.

#6

Its been over a year now. I am writing this to you as a guide, to update you with my progress so that you may learn something to apply to your own situation. Let me recap my last year.

First of all, I have suffered. It will happen and continue to happen for all of us. It will take us awhile. Do not lose hope. I have come borderline. This is our great struggle to sharpen us for some odd reason we have been chosen. That being said its all fucked up.

For a few months, I did nothing. I just dealt with it. I got some cialis and could have sex with my girlfriend. That was after coming off propecia and lasted for about four months. NOTE: Cialis worked for me then. My semen was watery, it took me an hour to cum, but I could have sex. I remember once fucking six times in a 24 hour period. However, Cialis does not work for me anymore.

In August I began experimenting with clomid. At first it was effective for the first two weeks, but then I developed side effects. Initially, my balls got (way) bigger but over time my sex drive diminished (I believe my LH got too low) and I got a floater in my left eye and developed extreme brain fog and became over-emotional. Clomid is a tool, but in my experience can hurt as well.

I was frustrated with my muscle shrinking, and I took epistane, which I understood would be easy on the LH. My muscles grew while on it, and I felt aggression and horniness, but once I came off, with first nolva and then clomid, it was devastating. It was extreme elation followed by extreme depression. This was about the time that cialis stopped working for me.

I then tried progesterone cream, theanine, and tyrosine in November until January. These helped my adrenals recover at first. I had more energy and aggression. Initially, I believe my testosterone levels raise and erectile function improved initially, but over time I believe that my prolactin levels got too high and it began to have a counter-effect, leaving me angry, and with shrunken once again balls.

Then, I took some time off and began feeling better, but things weren’t quite right. In February, I began taking sustain alpha and toco8. Once again, the results were great initially. All was going well. More nocturnal erections (almost every night) and feeling better all around.

I then made a crucial mistake. I took an adderrall. This dried me out completely and my prostate began to hurt. Stimulants are known to have sexual side effects. My penis shrunk seemingly within the day. That was the highest I had been in awhile. Sustain Alpha didn’t have the same effect after this fact.

I then added diesel test hardcore and made progress. Initially it gave me a huge libido boost with only 1-2 pills a day. Then the effects wore off. I dropped the sustain alpha and toco 8 and began feeling better.

The diesel test was working well. I noticed that adding yohimbe every 3rd day can help with erections but raises blood pressure. DHEA raises dopamine temporarily but then I believe too much converts to estrogen and prolactin.

Currently I am taking 6-8 diesel test a day, and I can tell my testosterone is going up. I am more aggressive, have more energy, and my muscles are growing better than they have in a long time despite being only 205 lbs now as opposed to 230 lbs 1.5 yearss ago. I am lean now tho but seemingly bigger. My strength is slowly rising. My libido is there but at the same time it isn’t. I can get fully hard when I masturbate but it takes awhile. However, I rarely get nocturnals and even more rarely get spontaneous. Unless I masturbate with lotion I can’t get hard enough to penetrate.

I believe my estrogen and prolactin levels are high. I still store fat in my love handles despite having a 6 pack and haven’t woken up with a strong nocturnal for a while. I think the diesel test hardcore is raising my testosterone levels, but at the same time my estrogen levels are naturally rising too, and I have had issues with prolactin since I took a pro-hormone in high school. I also have a feeling that my dopamine levels are low and once they recover, things will flow along much easier as far as balancing my hormones.

My course of action now is to add triazole (to control estrogen) and NOW DOPA Mucuna (to raise dopamine and lower prolactin). I am planning to finish the bottle of diesel test.

I have also taken zinc, which I find helpful and creatine monohydrate (which can supposedly help with DHT levels).

I may or may not post back here. If you don’t have anything positive to add, please don’t post. I don’t need any negativity that is (justifiably) too common on this forum.

The underlying moral of this is that everything usually works at first, but after awhile can be counterproductive. Don’t let your body become dependent on medication. Give it a necessary break once and awhile.

The fact that I could get hard on cialis before all this medication and not now lends me to believe that I could have saved a lot of time and energy by not overdoing some of the necessary pitfalls. So hopefully my post can flatten your learning curve.

If you have just come off propecia, I would suggest first of all not to panic. Focus on your dopamine levels first. Cortisol and stress corrupt the body.

  1. Exercise. As much as you don’t want to exercise due to having no energy, do it anyways, as much as your body can handle. Start at 2x a week and work up. Currently I average two workouts a day. Do SPRINTS (as they burn fat and work your whole body) in addition to lifting weights and cardio.

  2. Eat Right. Get used to eating fresh raw fruits and vegetables (especially carrots, broccoli, celery) before your body turns into a bloody pool of estrogen. Limit your dairy intake and avoid processed food. Do not eat late at night or your tire will be even flatter. You do not need an abundance of calories as your goal should be to detox your body.

  3. Sleep. Your adrenals are already fatigued. Rest up! Stress raises cortisol levels which is the opposite of what you want.

  4. Maintain dopamine and contain cortisol and prolactin. This will naturally promote hormone balance. Look into NOW DOPA MUCUNA and Vitamin B6. Raising dopamine will also help with adrenal fatigue.

  5. Raise testosterone and control estrogen. I recommend a bottle of sustain alpha+toco 8 for a month and then diesel test hardcore+triazole. Remember, 5 days on 2 days off to let your body take a break or 2 days on 1 day off.

Things to keep in mind: familiarize yourself with the importance of DHT, 5-ar, LH, Testosterone, Estradiol, Prolactin, Dopamine, and Cortisol. These things all affect each other on a complex level. Do not stress over them, seek simply to grasp and understand.

With this I leave you.

Go in peace.

#7

THIS HAS BEEN WORKING FOR ME LATELY:

When I say working I mean that I can get it aroused and be hard as a rock when I wake up in the morning 5 nights a week, been able to have sex multiple times a day, and can get hard by visual stimulus alone. I think the secret is as simple as creatine monohydrate, because without it my DHT is too low. Studies shown creatine loading to increase DHT by 56% and I can tell because I feel way stronger erections when I take creatine monohydrate. I take it with sugar.

Also am continuing to take triazole and DTHC to improve total and free T, T:E, T:Cortisol

And am taking NOW L-Dopa (with mucuna pruriens) and Vitamin B6 and my prolactin has gone done and dopamine gone up. My mood is way better and am sleeping better and thinking more clearly. Also, my mostly-prolactin related gyno has significantly diminished due to both lower E2 but also prolactin. My refractory periods (result of prolactin) are much shorter so I can get hard within an hour or so again.

So in a nutshell:

Creatine monohydrate 25 g daily
Triazole 3 caps daily (1 AM 2 PM)
DTHC caps per day vary (sometimes I take 3, sometimes 6, sometimes 10, more workouts/energy needed = more taken, start slow and build up to find the sweet spot. Take in 2-4 divided doses no later than 6 PM or you won’t sleep.)

Now L-Dopa w/ Mucuna 4 daily (2 AM, 2 PM)
Vitamin B6 100 mg 4 daily (2 AM, 2 PM)

I go 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off for a total of 5 a week. I give my body a vitamin-free day to feel good under its own power and then give it a spike with the vitamins and my progress has been steadily progressing. Also, giving your body a day off no creatine allows you to stay in “loading” phase esentially full time, thus significantly raising DHT. I can’t stress the importance of giving your body a vitamin-free day here and there enough when it comes to continuous recovery.

#8

How’s your vision nowadays?

#9

I have always worn prescription glasses/contacts before propecia, but when using clomid I developed a floater in my left eye that slowly seems to be improving

#10

This worked great for the first few weeks. Noticeable lowering of estrogen they is visible due to where I store my fat. Strong erections and high libido. Effects began to wear out.

This week I have been taking now super enzymes with each meal, now probiotic before breakfast and before bed, and diesel test 6x a day. Am feeling better than I have in a long while.

I sense a RELATIONSHIP between copper toxicity and propecia.

#11

Have been feeling slowly but surely much better after a week of digestive enzymes and probiotics. I do believe I need to fight fungus infection. I spoke with a naturopathologist who recommended uva ursi aka bearberry. Will add to my regimen in the next week or so. Am also awaiting erase to fight estrogen some more and might take daa along with it to help boost my lh. The doc said he preferred the herb uva ursi to nystatin. He said nystatin is only effective in about half of the cases, mostly in infants who have not built up a natural resistance to nystatin. Take this for what its worth.

#12

Creatine was probably a really, really bad idea. It probably gives you big gains initially though. Search creatine monohydrate (or just creatine) with forum’s search function at upper-right corner, it’s been detailed in this forum by a good amount.

Also, have you tested your prolactin again after starting those two supplements? I’d be good to see how they have affected it.

#13

I am being patient with it. Definitely feel some improvement, but have been so busy with school/work/ training and not sleeping enough. However my semen volume is greatly increased. It is super thick now and milky not clear. I have had energy for 4 workouts a day running on 4 hours of sleep. I did that for a few weeks straight and took the last couple days a lil bit easier and had felt the difference. Also my dopamine is going up because I have way more energy, am usually in a better mood, and am way more compulsive. My balls are getting bigger again also. My physique is leaner than ever! I know my food is digesting better and also my estrogen is going down because of my fat loss patterns. Hopefully in another week or two I will be able to have sex again. I am starting to get random hard ons just from looking at girls. That is a great feeling!