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)? Spain
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
What is your current age, height, weight? 44, 77 kgs, 1.83 cms
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug? hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 8-10 years
Date when you started the drug? 2013
Date when you quit the drug? 2020
Age when you quit? 38
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? one month after quitting
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Fatigue all day, lost emotions, lost libido, lost erections, heavy eyelids, poor concentration, poor sleep…
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
[x ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x ] 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
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x ] 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? Probiotics, healthy diet, heavy metals quelation, ozone theraphy, betaine
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)? Low progesterone
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 took Propecia (Finasteride) for about 8-10 years. One pill a day. Sometimes I bought Proscar and I took 1/5 pill a day for the cheaper price.
The first weeks I experienced a loos of libido but some weeks later i was fine.
During all these years taking finasteride i experienced some issues but i didn´t know it was for the pill. I felt fatigue sometimes, i felt loss of libido, loss of erections, heavy eyelids etc.
I decided to quit cold turkey in 2020 and one month later i suffered a crash. I felt fatigued all day, loss of libido 100%, loss of morning wood…
Some months later i realized than i have the post finasteride syndrom. The first year I recovered the libido and erections a little bit. I had ups and downs. The second year with SPF the fatigue went much worse. I feel without energy all day. I get tired walking 15 minutes or going up some stairs.
Actually fatigue is the best issue for me. I have some libido sometimes and also morning erections sometimes.
I have take a lot of supplements these years like vitamin D, probiotics, vitamins, etc with not very good results. I also practice grounding and ketogenic diet.
I would like to know about other people who recovered from fatigue and how they do it.
Sorry for my english, it´s very simple.