Finger muscle completely gone

Member Stories
#1

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)?
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?)
Google
What is your current age, height, weight?
24 6’3 150
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
1 year
Date when you started the drug?
June 2021
Date when you quit the drug?
June 2022
Age when you quit?
24
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
11 months, then took month break and restarted, right away after
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Muscle loss, joint cracking, eye floaters
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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[x ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ x] Muscle Wastage
[ x] Muscle Weakness
[ x ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ x] 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)
Loss of padding on hands and feet, hair stopped falling out, receding gums

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.
I was taking the drug for about 11 months and I stopped for a minor side effect. About a month later I started again and experienced heavy brain fog and dizziness. This went away but when it did I started to experience muscle twitching and weakness. Now my muscles are leaving me, there is nothing in my hands and it’s only been four months. I am very worried because I have not seen any stories where people stabilize from these types of symptoms.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY

  1. Name of the therapy/substance:
    • Dosage:
    • How often you took it:
  2. Status
    • Still using [ ]
    • Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
    • Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
  3. Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
  4. Response when you started:
    • Greatly improved [ ]
    • Slightly improved [ ]
    • Stayed the same [ ]
    • Slightly worsened [ ]
    • Greatly worsened [ ]
  5. 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 [ ]
  6. 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 [ ]
1 Like
#2

Welcome to the PFS Waste-Case Division, here’s your gun and your badge.

With all my skin aging, muscle loss, and facial disfigurement, the only physical changes that have gotten a ‘hey look at that’ from a doctor are the hollowed-out hands and gum recession.

You mention eye floaters…I had those as on-drug sides and never made the connection until PFS. Then a couple years later I had to have cataract surgery. Still didn’t make the connection though the medical staff involved were surprised someone my age needed cataract surgery.

2 Likes
#3

How are your joints do they crack a lot?

#4

Not anymore. My neck and shoulders used to crack and pop but not lately.

#5

Hmm do you think this wastage will leave us at a baseline eventually or keep going until we are disabled?

#6

Hard to say, we’re at the mercy of devolved physiology so we can’t count on it to be orderly or predictable. Some members here became disabled and bedridden. I’m almost a year in and so far still mobile but I do take 20mg adderall a day to combat fatigue.

#7

Man that’s scary stuff. Who are the users here who have become bedridden and disabled if they wouldn’t mind you sharing their experience?

#8

Some are beyond minding but you can search on disabled and bedridden for others. Or don’t…not everyone’s path is the same. Based on others’ stories I fully expected to be unemployed and subsisting on bone broth by now but I’m not.

#9

Hopefully I follow the same path as you then. I’m going to try to work as long as possible but I’m already struggling physically