I am 25 years old. I started taking propecia at 22 and stopped about 8 months ago. It takes me longer to have an erection and my erection strength is weaker. It’s almost pointless putting on a condom. Has anyone else experienced similar problems. I know this can’t be normal at the age of 25. 45 maybe, but not 25. I don’t smoke and am rather healthy. I have also stopped drinking alcohol. The brocolli treatment helped but I’m far from normal.
yea a lot of us here can relate to your problem. I am 33 have been off propecia for 2 years and have not recovered normal erections. I actually suffer from extreme ED STILL! it sucks. my testosterone levels plummeted since quitting propecia so i suggest you get a complete workup of blood testosterone, LH, FSH, Estrogen, DHEA, TSH, Cortisol and see how they fit in with the normal range of things. AS for me while on P my testosterone levels were near 800ng and now they are fixed around 350ng. They decreased by half in only 4 years. It takes P about 6 to 12 months to work out of the system so if you have seen some sort of recovery then you are doing well. Good Luck
Ant
Yes Josh,
Same things here… at 27 I’m just never horny anymore and thus find it very difficult to get hard with girls… self pleasuring still seems to work but its not the same as with a girl, I used to pop up at the drop of a hat, now it stays limp or only gets floppy-hard… eventuallyy I get some hardness and am able to perform… I also notice I go limp after i put on the condom, it really sucks and is embarassing. Doesn’t matter how hot the girl is, I hate having to explain why this happens to them when just over a year ago I was able to fuck like crazy and couldnt wait to get laid as much as possible.
I keep thinking things are improving but its obvious they are not. I do believe this is all testosterone related as like Ant, when I came off the drug my T was 388… 6 months later it was 519… I need to get another test, I have a feeling it may have back dropped back down again.
I have a theory on why our T levels got cut in half, I will post about it with a graph to illustrate at a later date, but suffice to say I think when we quit and DHT rebounded/skyrocketed, the body sensed there was way too much DHT and shutdown production of T to compensate (since T converts to DHT).
Once T production got shutdown, DHT also dropped, but high Estrogens remain (due to use of Propecia), which continue to keep T down and the T/E ratio out of whack. Of course, LH/FSH are also implicated in this, since the body lowers LH to stop producing as much T, and as a result less FSH to produce sperm. Low T also means low NO (nitric oxide) which is a key component in producing erections, and low dopamines (necessary for mental stimulation).
All this on top of the other bad health effects of having low T/DHT/LH/FSH - penis shrinkage/loss of genital tissue quality/nocturnals/morning wood/spontaneous erections, shrunken nuts, impaired mental clarity/memory, loss of drive/ambition, low semen volume, potential heart disease risks and a bunch of other stuff. Sorry to be a scaremonger but having low T is not a good thing.
I think the solution lies in correcting the T/E ratio first and foremost by getting E under control (ie, brocolli treatment, IC3 or DIM supplements, or drugs like Tamoxifen, Nolvadex, Arimidex etc). Once that’s in check, then get T/DHT back up via LH stimulation. FSH, NO and dopamines will follow as a result. It all stems from T.
How to stimulate T? Herbal supplements such as Trib, Tongkat Ali, Maca etc… try working out with HEAVY weights (probably minimal T boost)… or use drugs such as Clomid or hCG. If all else fails, there is the option of going on TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy)… but it’s for life, it shuts down your own T production, your nuts will shrink (since they no longer are being used to produce T) and you will most likely become sterile unless you use small doses of hCG to maintain fertility.
Those are my thoughts and the choices I see us as having at this stage. Getting our hormone levels corrected is the key, everything should correct itself once things are back in balance… in MY opinion.
Apart from DHT being too low which can cause the problems stated here there is another side effect that have often seen occur.
Not only is total testosterone affected but more importantly I have noticed many men who have elevated SHBG and this can often cause a crucial lowering of bioavailable/free testosterone.
You need to check DHT, check SHBG and have either a calculated free testosterone or free testosterone assay. It is also useful to test estradiol to see if it is high and to look at the androgen to estrogen ratio.
I have posted in the general forum- you may wish to take a look.
Yes, I’ve been suffering from ALL of these side-effects except for the heart disease!!!
This is incredible, same thing here. I have taken maybe 2 prescription drugs in my life. It does not sound good after reading these. I only took propecia for 3 months, and an overactive sex drive has been shut off. Has anyone heard any stories of it coming back??? Below someone mentioned 6- 12 months to leave your system. Has anyone seen, or heard of a return within this amount of time?
I am overseas, and cannot go to a Urologist. At this point a person where I am, panic, wants to know what has worked for people. I will do us all a favor, and see what kinda witch doctor stuff I can find here. I will let you know, but you can pretty much forget about that.
Townes
When I was on TRT, my libido was somewhat better. No near before, but maybe 25% better. Im sure this shit we are going through is hormonal, but its just not a matter of raising Testosterone, there is mch more to it. One hormone has influence on others and so on, and Im sure there is some messed up neurotransmitters in the equation also.
I think Im hypopituitary cause of propecia. My cortisol, my thyroid hormones, my prolactin, my LH and FSH, my IGF-1, my Testosterone, my DHT are all low. Somehow propecia has fried this controlcenter in my brain, and now Im trying to restore my hormones from one end to another. First adrenal, then thyroid, then sexhormones and then growthhormones. Currently Im on hydrocortisone for adrenal support and armour for thyroid. Im only taking ½ grain, but expect to see changes when Im up to 3-4 grains. Then I plan to start TRT again, but this time with gel which also will raise DHT.
Well, enough babbling, thats just my theory…
JH
I’m 25 years old and I had been taking it for 3 months… about 2 months in, my shedding, which had pretty much been constant since my teens, almost completely stopped, and over the next few weeks i noticeably saw my hair thicken and was very happy about it.
BUT from a few weeks in, i noticed my libido had dropped SIGNIFICANTLY and even when having sex had a problem maintaining an erection… I guess I tried to deny to myself what was pretty obvious, but I eventually decided I had to at least try and see if propecia was causing the problem.
I stopped taking it about a week ago and noticed a significant increase in my libido after 4/5 days, pretty much back to normal as far as I can tell as well as no problem maintaining an erection now.
The hair loss results were great, so its a shame these side effects appeared. I will start up again on a half dose daily and hopefully the side effects will be reduced. If the ED reappears I will have no option but to quit or just drastically reduce my dose just in the hopes of maintaining what hair I have now…
user1099,
I will strongly advice not to do this. There are a lot of people who suffer strong side-effects after stopping propecia and then starting again. This is very possible scenario. Read some stories from member section.
Take Generic viagra.
i have heard that having garlic helps you have a harder erection, try it!
I’m nigh on 25 and I have been off of Propecia for two years. I took it for about two years (I started a few months after having finished taking Accutane, the medicine for acne because one of the side-effects was temporary hair loss… and then I got paranoid) and my situation is declining. I’m very healthy and I don’t drink or smoke. I have lost an inch in length and over an inch in girth. My penis now curves to the left and up starting halfway at the shaft and it also turns at the base. My ejaculate level and strength have significantly decreased. It is difficult to maintain an erection and women have noticed.
It is incredibly difficult psychologically to go from having an above average penis to now having what could actually be classified as, at least girth-wise, below average. I truly wish that I had never taken it. Not one of the doctors could tell me what to do and the last specialist actually told me, “Well, it could get better, it could stay the same, or it could get worse.”! My hope is low, my confidence penis-wise is low, and I’m worried that this is only going to get worse. Now, how do I get the doctors to believe me that this is because of Propecia?
None, I’m pretty much in the same position you are. I took propecia for about 18 months, and I lost about .75 inches in length, and 1.25 inches in girth. Ejaculate level and strength has both decreased. I’ve been off for 7 months now, and the only improvement has been that it’s become easier to get an erection.
My libido is nothing like it used to be, but genital shrinkage is the worst side effect. I went from above average to below average, and honestly this is preventing me from having any sex at all. I can’t stand the thought that I’m significantly below average. I would be happy with even half of the girth back. The fact that you’ve been off 2 years w/o improvement is not encouraging.
None, have you lost size since quitting, or did it happen while you were on propecia?
Folks,
Reading some of the younger guys experiences I shouldn’t complain, as I’m 60, but I’ve been taking Finasteride for 6 months and it seems to have turned down my libido, after shutting down sperm (just watery) and shrinking my testes. Now I’m not getting nocturnal erections and it’s rarer to get a strong erection when I want it.
At any age this is a sad loss, but for the young guys it must b***** awful. I’m going to stop the Finasteride and see if there is any life left in me. Thank goodness I’ve had children.
The doctors should be more specific about this stuff; my consultant said nothing about the side effects, just said to take it.
C.
I saw Dr. Goldstein in San Diego and he said that there was decreased blood flow to my testicles. He said this could be caused by a damaged/weakened blood vessel. I did experience changes in the tissues of my genitals during the last few months of taking propecia and right after stopping. During that time, maybe one of my blood vessels was damaged. I’m going to get more information on this soon.
See if you can get an ultrasound done of your prostate. Don’t all the studies say that Fin kills prostate cells and tissue, and this is how it shrinks it.
Well, your prostate wraps around all those blood vessels and nerves that go to your penis.
Good luck dude.
Stay all over that. Goldstein’s in your area, correct! Well make it happen. Try to get him to take you on as a regular client to get to the bottom of this, i.e. monthly at least. Good luck. If you can get a doctor to like you, they will try harder, make it much easier to see them, and also will give you a better deal most of the time. Negotiate wit him if there is a money concern. BUT tell him it is ruining your life, and you NEED to get to the bottom of this, that money is not, or rather should not be an issue. You want to get treated like a valuable patient. 
Btw, welcome back!
Is ED the only issue with you, or are you still having libido problems as well? What did he discuss as potential treatments, if anything? Does Viagra do anything for you? Just as a test, I mean.
let us know what he says Quint won’t you?
To those that have ED, do you sometimes get hard erections or is it always soft?
For me, it can be hard sometimes and then soft another time. I haven’t figured out what makes this fluctuation though. At least now, I can get it up consistently although the quality of it varies.