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)? Africa
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 “Finasteride sides”
What is your current age, height, weight? 34 y/o, 1.74m, 66kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finasteride and saw palmetto
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 2mg a day and a capsule of saw palmetto
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? On and off about 5 years
Date when you started the drug? February 2014
Date when you quit the drug? Early 2019
Age when you quit? 29
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 4 years in
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Loss of muscle and libido, ED, voice changes.
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
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] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] 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
[ ] 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
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ Voice got thinner and more feminine and always felt like I needed to clear my throat] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Proviron 25mg every 12 hours
Multivitamins
Shilajit
Fenugreek
Dates
Removal of processed foods including sugar
Added weight training
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)?
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.
Just wanted to tell people it’s not over and maybe it’s not a cure but I feel good and it’s been a year since I’ve started my treatment. I used all the stuff I mentioned above but started with prayer. It’s a long journey but I was explained what the Finasteride and saw palmetto did to me and my hormones and how it works and what I need to do to get my body producing its own.
I have blood tests which I’m not comfortable sharing for anonymity but my free test was below 146pmol/L when I started (9th May 2023) and at my last test (8th May 2024) showed 409.1pmol/L.
While I understand all the implications and complications and don’t really need people to tell me why it’s not working or anything along those lines but for me, I feel really good and I love it.
On the downside, my hair is defo shedding a lot but I have been for 1 hair transplant already and will probably need another in the future. Honestly, I’m ok with being bald as well if I need to be to heal my hormones.
I need to add that I only did proviron for the 1st 6 months and had a massive improvement. Added the rest thereafter and it defo helped. Hope this helps at least 1 person to a better life.
Thanks!
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]