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)? INDIA
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 search
What is your current age, height, weight? 68 kg , 5’10, 32
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finastride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Topical finastride
What condition was being treated with the drug? hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 4 months
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 25
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 25
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? a month
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
sexual sides and now insomnia and swollen lyphon nodes around ears
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
[. ] 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
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None
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.
Hi, thanks for putting up this forum, it is really a beacon of hope and somewhere to confide, given this terrible condition we all are in. To summarize my story, i tried topical finastride for 4 months in 2014. A month post that (and somewhat while i was using it) i start experiencing onset of PFS symptoms. Most of my symptomps were:
MY STORY****
- Sexual sides - mostly all
- Muscle wastage/loss of muscle
- increased anxiety
Some of these symptomps progressed over the year (like muscle wastage and anxiety) but my sexual sides kept going up and down over the year - reaching say a 40-45% pre-fin stage.
Then in September 2020, i tried a herbal (ayurvedic) ointment from an ayurvedic doctor supposed to pump blood to your genitals like how minioxil does to your hair. Post 3 days, i experienced a severe crash, here are my symptomps:
- First i experience pain in the groin area (it vanished as soon as i disconitued the med)
- Blurry vision & severe brain fog (i was dazed for a day) - this also vanished after i discontinued. Very small levels of blurry vision remains, but i think it could be my mind overthinking.
- Total impotence - all the gains i made over 6 years, gone down the drain. This symptom is continuing now for a week.
- Swollen lymphnodes around ears. This symptom is continuing now for a week.
- Dry skin. This symptom is continuing now for a week.
- Join pain. This symptom is continuing now for a week.
- Insomonia (this is by far the worse). This symptom is continuing now for a week.
Before this herbal ointment crash i never had insomnia - i could sleep for 8-10 hours very sound sleep.
I don’t know when these symptomps will recover (and now i’m stopping to think about it). I want to focus on recovery and that too natural no matter how long it takes and i believe it will come.
I need help of all the experienced guys here to guide me through it. I have very basic questions for now. Keep keep updating this thread with my recovery and questions as time passes.
Recovery help questions
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What all tests do i need to do ? blood, hormones, brain etc. ? to define my baseline now - so i can track improvements (or worsening)
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Given the new symptoms of my current crash, can anyone relate to it ? and tell me what all vegetables/fruit to avoid ? or will it only become clearer once the reports are out ?
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Similarly, is there a list of vegetables/fruits that are completely safe (neutral effects on hormones) ? so i can start with them from get go.
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Is it safe to include meat - like fish in my diet ?
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Should i completely give up - on carbs ?
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I have seen a lot of discussions around estrogen/testosterone levels. Once my reports are out - and say my estrogen levels are high - should i focus on suppressing them through foods ? or if my testosterone levels are low - should i focus on increasing it through food ?
