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)?
Norway/ USA
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?)
What is your current age, height, weight?
36, 192cm, 72.5kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride, topical. Two days
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
About 1mg equivalent on Tuesday April 11 and another Thursday.
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Two days
Date when you started the drug?
April 11
Date when you quit the drug?
April 13
Age when you quit?
36
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Next day
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Tinnitus, others.
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
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ x] Confusion
[ x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ x (better now)] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ x (better now)] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ x] Testicular Pain
[ x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ x] Muscle Wastage
[ x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[x] 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?
Lots of supplements. GABA seems to help a bit.
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)?
None
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.
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:
-
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 [ ]
-
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 [ ]
-
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 [ ]
I started finasteride for two days, on the second day I had bad tinnitus but thought it was due to Dexedrine. Finally realized it was Propecia at the end of the week. Actually lost hearing out of my left ear for a period of time. On the following week I got crushing anxiety and was unable to work and had to quit taking Chinese classes. On the week following that I recovered enough to resume work.
Mentally I’m still able to function and work, but I feel like my IQ and drive is maybe half of what it was. Previously a typical day for me would have me waking up at 8 to prepare that days work, work late, then attend language classes. Now I can take a slow 9-5 and have to rest. I was also able to keep all my current contracts in my mind without looking at them and always had an urge to sit down and work, that’s gone now.
My penis has shrunken to nothing (about 5cm) with frequent ball pain, that got really bad this week. Though today they sort of felt warm. Sometimes I have this weird sudden thing that feels like a muscle tensing in my penis.
Muscle wasting is bad - I’m not able to go the gym for now just run. Last week I had very bad joint pain but that got better this week.