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Where are you from (country)? USA
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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 “Finasteride lower back pain”
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What is your current age, height, weight? 25, 6’, 126 lbs
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Yes, heavy lifting 3 times a week, although not as of late from my side effects
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Very healthy, organic fruits/vegs, no processed foods, supplements (iodine, vitd, fishoil, magnesium, zinc) every day
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair loss
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 2 weeks
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 25, 3-14-16
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 25, 3-29-16
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey although I reduced my dosage leading up to quitting so I may have incidentally weaned myself off (??)
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Finasteride 1mg
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Started 1mg every day, dropped to .5mg, then dropped to .25mg
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Immediately (hours after my first pill)
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Put an X beside all that apply:
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 to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[X] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness (testicles normally shrink from groin pain)
[ ] 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
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[X] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[X] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None
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If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)? None
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? See below
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I took Finasteride for 2 weeks and suffered a myriad of side effects (lower stomach pain, lower back pain, constipation, gaseous, bloating, groin pain, ball pain). After suffering for a few days at 1mg every day, I stopped taking it for a couple days and then adjusted to .5mg. My symptoms ramped back up but this time were a bit milder. I tried that for a few days and then eventually had to stop from the side effects. My break lasted another couple days until I adjusted again to .25mg which gave me even milder side effects (stiff lower back, constipation, insomnia). I tried running with that for a week until I became fed up with my side effects and quit cold turkey. After quitting and for the following few days, I felt fine and healthy. Unfortunately, my side effects then returned and have persisted for the past 5 days. Currently, I wake up and feel healthy and fine. As the day progresses, my lower back and groin hurts more, and my stomach becomes more bloated. By night time, I am in significant lower back/groin pain (as of writing this) and my stomach becomes the most bloated. I wake up multiple times throughout the night but my insomnia has improved as of late. I also recently had an emotional episode followed by extreme emotional blunting (no desire to do anything) which is highly uncharacteristic for me (I’m generally a calm objective person). I also have had extreme racing heart even when my mind feels calm and at rest. I’m also finding myself to be more irritable. I may be suffering side effects related to my labido but have generally been unaware as my focus is typically on my pain, and gut pain always detracts from labido.
So far, the only pattern I’ve noticed is that I’m fine in the morning and can feel my symptoms onset and then worsen as the day progresses until they eventually become worst at night. The pain is strong (5/10) in the few hours before I eventually sleep. I eat extremely healthy (fruits/vegs every day, no processed foods) and take many important supplements daily (zinc, magnesium, fish oil, iodine, vitamin d) and have for at least the past two months. I’m desperate for a reprieve from this pain, and don’t know what to do. Please help.