Denial is over

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

Internet search

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

27, 5’9", 155

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

Yes, weight lifting and cardio.

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

Omnivore - healthier eating habits than the average person.

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

Hair loss.

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

18 months

  1. How old were you when you started Finasteride?

24

  1. How old were you when you quit?

26

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

Cold Turkey.

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

Propecia.

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

1mg/day

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

Within a week of starting, however the problems lessened and then got progressively worse until I woke up one day and realized my libido was non-existent.

  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
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] 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

Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] 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
[x] 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.

  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)?

I have never taken a hormonal blood test.

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

No.

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

I found this forum nearly a year ago and immediately stopped taking Fin. A complete loss of sex drive and inability to have an erection caused me great concern. I did not read too carefully and quit cold turkey. Within a couple of weeks, I felt my body had returned to normal and that my sexual problems were resolved. Unfortunately, they came back soon after. I struggle with bouts of depression, inability to maintain an erection, loss of sensitivity, and a low libido.

I am hopeful a cure can be found based on new research, however I am very skeptical of the pharmaceutical industry for what they have caused in my life.

#2

Welcome. If budget is an issue, try to get a doctors test order for a 24 hour urinary steroid profile (e.g. Rhein Labs), it can be pretty informative and is only about $200 for the entire analysis, vs 10’s to 100’s for each individual serum hormone that is tested.

#3

Welcome, bew. It seems depression is the worst the first few months after quitting. Hang in there, at least that side does improve somewhat.

I took Fin for almost as long as you our sides seem to be very similar. I tried to ween off by halfing the dose but it made no difference for me.

#4

I went to my doctor this week (GP in Kentucky). I gave him the background of me taking Propecia, stopping a year ago, and the ongoing side effects. I suspected he would be skeptical of my issues as many here have indicated. However, he was not skeptical at all! He said that he was surprised more men around my age were not having issues with drugs which are designed to work based on changing hormone levels. He immediately ordered blood work to be done and I will have the results sometime this week. I’ll post them here.

#5

Well I got my lab results back. The doctor’s office didn’t even call me. I called them and they were ready. The lady on the phone just said “they’re normal.” So I was like what does that mean? I want a copy.

I was surprised to find out he had only tested Total Testosterone and Free Testosterone.

For Total T, they list the normal range as 250-1100 ng/dl. I was at 580.

For Free T, they list the normal range as 35.0-155.0 pg/ml. I was at 96.3.

I have no idea really what those mean but feel that they are probably low because I am only 27. Thoughts? I am considering going to one of the doctors listed around the site out of state. Any recommendations based on my T levels?

#6

Its tough to say since you don’t have any pre Fin labs. But, personally I would think you’d be safe to assume you were probably higher before Fin. However, that doesnt necessarily mean getting your Free T or Total T higher will mean symptoms will go away unfortunately. Seems to be the case with many of us anyway.

If you had other labs done you could post them in the blood work section too w/ranges. Did you have any other labs done like SHBG, e2 , Total T, Free T, 3 adiol G, or vit d ? Alot of us find we have low in range vit d and 3 adiol G.

#7

I would suggest getting % free T, estradiol, and SHBG.

You total is lower than mine; your free T is slightly higher but I can tell you that does not mean everything else is not out of whack.

#8

Bew,

I think scaredtodeath’s advice is accurate. I have had my free Testosterone tested and this number comes back looking in range like yours, but when I test % free Testosterone it’s off the map, Negative. It’s not even in the range.

I still have never receieved a clear explanation from a single doctor as to what this means or the importance of it. Get your blood work done at Quest if possible. There a lot questionable labs out there.

#9

I would encourage your doc to have your FSH tested. Even those with normal testosterone that have PFS, tend to have consistently low FSH values.

As to free testosterone, the direct serum analysis of this is subject to debate, as are its normal ranges. You are better served, as others have pointed out, in getting total T reading along with SHBG and possibly with albumin (increases accuracy) and then calculating your actual free testosterone. Some labs actually do it this way but do not report SHGB separately. Others try to measure free testosterone directly, I believe by radioimmunographic assay.

kazman

#10

Kazman,

I don’t buy into this whole albumin calculation theory. Free Testerone is directly linked to a man having good quality erections. I have time to dig up links right now, but google it and you will find the data. If you compare our hormones to that of normal healthy guys, their free testosterone % is not off the map negative.

I’m guessing you heard this whole albumin thing from your doctor.

#11

Well, I do agree that morning wood is an important barometer for adequate free testosterone, although it is not as scientific as one might like (I log mine daily along with medications and supplements taken the prior day). My comments were directed to the best, most reliable means of determining free testosterone, something I’ve researched extensively.

Regarding your comment on albumin, first and foremost, it is SHBG that is key to the calculation, not albumin as indicated in the original reply. Let’s see, the first thorough text one should read regarding the measurement of free testosterone is this one:
“Androgen Deficiency in The Adult Male: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment” by Malcolm Carruthers.

Another helpful review is here by Bhasin (a professor who has devoted much of his career to helping refine measurements of free and total testosterone and other androgens):
nature.com/nrendo/journal/v2/n10/full/ncpendmet0299.html