Depends where it is. I think you can’t really change the fat around your eyes. I’m considering getting fillers under my eyes to see if it helps my appearance. Kind of concerned about more complications from that though.
I’ve noticed that I’ve lost fat on my forehead too, you can see every bump and line in my skull now.
I don’t think I’ve lost much if any around my eyes. My loss is under my left cheek bone, like what happens with people on HIV meds.
Hello,
I also have experienced an extreme case of facial fat atrophy… I stopped using Finasterid 2 Month ago due to this but the facial wasting has not yet stopped.
I have been comparing my face to my pre fin face and i notice severe fat loss in the upper half of my face. Basically all fat above an imaginary line/plane above the earlobe/tip of the nose has melted away. He whole upper half of the face has wasted away. My skin has become really thin around my eyes, cheeks and temples and i almost have no underlying fat anymore. My eyes have sunken and my lower eyelid is much more exposed now compared to its pre fin look. I also think the skin on my forehead and scalp has become much thinner. My face looks totally different now - from young and robust to narrow, skinny and feminin/old looking. It looks like the upper half of my facial fat has almost completly melted away…
My question: Has anyone, experiencing the same side effects, recovered from this?? Has anyone regained his pre fin look and built the lost fat up again?
Thanks for your answers.
Hi there notna
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve also been affected by this side effect. Although this won’t address what’s happened, I’d strongly advise reporting what’s happened. I had a cursory look at Germany’s own medicines reporting system via the propeciahelp website and came up with the following link: hma.eu/index.php?id=11&showctr=1. It’s only by each and every one of us reporting all our side effects that a labelling change could happen.
ok thanks.
has anyone recovered from this?. i think my fat layer on the face has melted away like 3 millimetres thick. ffs!!
Id love to know that someone has recovered from this.This is the side effect that has affected me the most, although ive experienced pretty much all sides.I’m struggling with this mess at this point. Hard to see a way out.
Hi there regretful. I’m sorry that you’ve also been hit by this side. Can I ask how this manifested itself with you, as there appears to be slight variants in how we’re all hit. I think it’s important that we share our stories because in isolation the medical community is disbelieving of propecia’s ability to cause such damage. The more stories that are shared with similar experiences from this drug, the more credence we have. Unfortunately this doesn’t address the damage, but at least we are not alone.
hi regretful87 and others,
i see that you stopped using propecia in october 2013. After stopping propecia, did the fat melting continue although you had already stopped or did it level out? If it did continue to melt away, can I ask you for how long after disconiuation you further lost fat in your face? eg. 6 month or 3 month?
I’m asking this, because I stopped over 2 month ago now, and I’m afraid I’m still continuing to loose fat. Am I just imagining im still losing fat or is this real? I feel like my look constantly changes… How long until this will stop?
thanks for your answer/s?
Hi there notna
The fat loss occurred for me after stopping propecia, with both subcutaneous fat loss to my face and also more generalised fat loss where I probably lost about a stone in weight. This generalised weight loss wasn’t a bad thing in itself as I could do with it. The subcutaneous fat loss to my face kind of crept up on me, in that I was becoming aware that the crinkling of my prematurely aged skin was becoming more evident. It was really around the six month mark that I became aware of the extent of the damage, although I believe that it pretty much has stabilised from then and I haven’t lost any more subcutaneous fat. I did refer myself to a dermatologist who specialises in connective tissue disease. She said that if it was a reaction to a particular medication then it should stabilise, which I believe it has. Just to be on the safe side she tested for connective tissue disease (An ANA test) which came back very weak positive (which is inconclusive) as a very weak positive result can occur even if connective tissue disease is absent.
This is one of the rarer sides, but no less upsetting for those who experience it. It would be interesting to know how the hell propecia is causing this. Is it a lipid abnormality?; connective tissue disease?; autoimmune reaction?; issue with cortisol?
Unfortunately it is yet one more side effect which Merck has wrecked on otherwise healthy young men.
My fat loss happened in 3 days. No joke.
Hi Scotsman Notna,
The fat loss for me only occured afer I stopped taking the drug. It took months of being off the drug before I noticed anything. I think it was in the middle of March it started coming on pretty badly, having been off it since October. Not sure if it has stopped, it may have but the damage is done to be honest I think. Fuck me its hard to take. can’t see how it would reverse itself either seeing as it only came on after I stopped. This stuff has butchered me in most every way you can be butchered. Its strange because ive been hit so hard, its fucking hard to remember what I felt like beforehand. It feels like this shit has been in my life forever.
Have any of the guys hit with subcutaneous fat loss seriously considered some kind of cosmetic reparation e.g. fillers or fat transfer?
I would consider either, although after being well and truly fucked by propecia, I am very reluctant to fuck with my face any more. I would have to give it a hell of a lot of thought and consideration and weigh up the pros and cons, because like propecia, things can go wrong.
Hi,
good point. I have been considering plastic surgery because my case is extreme. I have lost nearly all fat around the eye and on top of the cheekbones and temples.
IF this condition does not recover… and I assume this, because no one has told us about recovery here… I will stronly consider plastic surgery.
I will need to find a highly competent surgeon though… What about you guys?
I have had this stuff going on for 3 years. It doesn’t stop. I look like hell and notice more loss by the day. The really cool part is that it only started with my face. Now my elbows, knees, neck, hands and feet are affected. Basically my skin is thin and ruined everywhere. It gets worse by the day. Oh yeah, and i’m on mediclear supplements, bone broth, collagen…nothing works. I can hardly sit at work any more because it hurts. I have no cushion anywhere on my body anymore.
The only question is…do i look like i’m 100 when i’m 45 or 50? I’m 39 now. Not to mention…doing anything is a chore anymore because my skin is so thin and worthless everything hurts.
Super fun.
Hi krieg17,
sorry to hear about your story… you must be suffering much more than me. Can you tell me if you also experienced a face ache along with the fat loss? Did the facial atrophy only happen in the upper half of your face also or was it in the entire face (chin, hollow cheeks, jaw also)? For how long did the facial wasting continue after disconiuatation of the drug… I cant believe that it really is continuing/hasent stopped after 3 years. When did your hands and feet start to waste?
notna
Hi Notna,
Sorry not trying to be debby downer as that doesn't really help anybody. But i've had about every side effect known to man listed on this board over the last 6-7 years of this PFS wonderland. This started about 3 years ago. So to answer your question....the collagen loss started about 3 years into my nightmare. As some things finally improved slightly (brain fog, sleep a little) other things got drastically worse. That being massive gut issues (can't really eat or drink anything anymore) and the collagen DESTRUCTION. The collagen loss is the worst of the bunch, I'd take any other side over this...including severe brain fog.
I noticed it under the eyes first. Figured it coulda been from the heinous sleep. Then noticed my forehead looked dented and the brow protruding…thought my head was changing shape, took awhile to realize that it was collagen loss on the eyes. Then took even longer to realize it was collagen loss on forehead too. My eyes are so caved and starting to wrinkle so badly i try not to even look at myself anymore or i get real depressed (or more depressed i should say). I don’t even recognize myself anymore. The fat loss is all over my scalp too, if i shave my head there’s dents in the back of my head.
As far as cheeks, they still seem full, but the skin is definitely looser, so that’s just a matter of time. Jaw has become skinnier and more feminine, so that’s cool. My neck skin is now becoming loose and starting to show wrinkles. My hands and feet went about a year ago…now i can no longer stand cold temperatures or my hands and feet become popsicles. They have wrinkled up as well. Believe it or not the skin on my ass has become loose and thin, now my ass sags and it is uncomfortable to sit down for more than 5 minutes. My elbows skin is sagging and loose, in fact, so thin that i slammed my elbow and the bursa sac swelled up and i’ve had bursitis for the last 6 months…it of course is not healing at all.
Keep in mind i went to a naturopath who has gotten me on every supplement known to man, fish oil, bone broth, paleo diet, you name it. I also eat better than anyone i know and i also workout more than most people i know. Nothing works…EVER. Either way, this is no way to live. Constantly battling every second of every day. Nothing stops or even slows it.
The only time i’ve seen any turnaround in my skin was when i got so desperate i did a 12 day juice fast. But one can’t possibly do that their whole life. 12 days was hard enough.
I have had problems with alcohol since this started which i know is a huge no-no, but is the only thing that made me forget about myself when i needed to.
I have a theory that maybe the alcohol is speeding it up and that i’m also chronically dehydrated. That would explain the turnaround when not drinking booze and on a liquid diet. It’s either that or still some foods that i’m eating are ruining me as my guts can’t handle anything and the juice fast gave the system a break that it needed. If it’s neither of these things, I hate to say it, but we are in real trouble.
If i see any improvement by drinking a gallon of distilled water a day and no alcohol i’ll report it back on here.
You could try pregnenolone. When I used my face got to where it was within one day, the only problem was I couldn’t sleep … for 3 days in a row. That was when I used it the first time 1,5 years ago or so. That made me think that our problem is not fat loss, but water loss. This experience also gave me hope and showed me there is just something wrong with hormones, if they are fixed I will look like my old self again.
Raberduck, that gives me alot of hope but is that not a steroid cream? doesnt that itself cause skin issues after prolonged use?
I hope you’re right about just lacking water.
I used the pregnenolone pills (50mg) but I would recommend to start with 25mg. The cream is also an option but hasn’t as much pregnenolone in it like the pills. But keep in mind that it is not unlikely that you will get “side effects” like I had.
Hello Raberduck,
could you specify what you mean with “my face got to where it was within one day”? Did you regain the subcutaneous fat you lost? Is the effect permanent or do you lose the fat once you stop taking the medication?
Thanks in advance for further details.