- How did you find this forum?
Google search.
- What is your current age, height, weight?
22, 5’8"", 160
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise?
Semi regularly, go for awhile, then fall out of the routine. Try to do a 5 x 5 program whenever I am consistent.
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Omnivorous. Did a keto diet over the summer.
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hairloss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
18 months
- How old were you when you started Finasteride?
19
- How old were you when you quit?
21
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Taper off. Unintentionally, just got tired of taking the pill and figured I would take it slowly until I didn’t have any left.
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia or generic sometimes.
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/day, sometimes half.
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
Some weird sexual sides throughout my use, where I would stop for a week and then feel normal.
- 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
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[x] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[x] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[x] Other (please explain)
My main complaint is the lack of libido/sensitivity that make it hard to finish. Also just the typical feeling of disconnectedness between head and genitals.
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Just started broccoli treatment. I’ve been taking B vitamins and Vitamin D. Also Vitamin C.
- 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)?
I have low Vitamin D and Globulin. Everything else is in range but generally tends to be on the lower side of that range.
-
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
-
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
So I took fin for a year and a half with varying levels of side effects. I remember about 8 months into it I noticed that my testicles felt like they were disappearing. That scared the shit out of me so I stopped taking the medication for a week and felt better. Began taking it again without any significant problems until winter break of my junior year of college. I didn’t take it much over that break and I went to study abroad in London. Sometime within days of arriving I realized I couldn’t feel my genitals and I felt really off. Like I was just drained of everything I had. Felt very depressed and alone.
Told my roommate about what was going on and he said we should get back into the gym. Started lifting heavy weights but between all the travel/food/drinking we did abroad I gained a ton of weight during my 5 months there. Ballooned to about 197. While I was there I was still able to have sex with girls, although finishing when drunk was difficult (and would have been difficult regardless I think). When I came back I actually had an okay summer in the girl department but still did not feel like I used to. Felt like I was running through the motions and not really feeling it. I probably went back down to about 180 pounds.I felt okay throughout the summer although I was very depressed. Sensitivity still being the prevailing issue.
Senior year of college my weight increased. I recognize that I did not focus on living a healthy lifestyle, and I do think that improvements I have made have been compromised by poor health decisions. Over the summer I resolved to change that and began a keto diet. I shredded weight and finally lost the abdominal weight I couldn’t seem to get rid of. I have been off the keto diet for 3 months now and have not regained the weight. I have also been back in the gym. Day to day I feel okay. I just don’t get excited about girls and the sensitivity is a disappointment for sure. Orgasms range from like a 2-10 to 6-10. Thankfully, I do not have trouble getting it up with women at all. In the moment, I have no trouble. It’s the lack of motivation to actually go out there and try for a girl that has brought me down as of late. I’m finally posting just because I’ve been despairing over the growing doubt in my mind that I will not get much better or regain sensitivity. Also, going to all of these doctors that say it’s in my head is extremely frustrating. the urologist i went to said it was an endocrinology issue, and the endocrinologist referred me back to the same urologist. It’s very discouraging to not have my family understand what I’ve been going through either. I think by all outward appearances I look and sound fine. However, this drug has taken away my ability to feel connected to what’s going on around me and everything I used to love and enjoy feels very muted.
Going forward I am going to look into the prostate again and maybe read up on DHEA. I feel a tightness in my pelvic floor and pain when i press on the area that makes me think there might be Prostatitis or a pelvic floor spasm/nerve issue going on in addition to some hormonal issues. I do feel like there is a blockage of some sort and that’s why I am trying the broccoli method.
It is hard to believe that something this awful has happened to all of the men on this site. I’ve appreciated reading these forums for hope and advice over the last two years but now I really want to participate and actively work to get myself better again. While I don’t feel as awful as I did right when I stopped taking the drug, I know that things are still messed up and I want to try new things in order to figure it all out.