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)?
Germany
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?)
Recommendation in messenger group
What is your current age, height, weight?
31, 180 cm, 67 kg
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.)?
1mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
First for 3 years, then after a 3 year break, 1 pill and crashed
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
First I took finasteride when I was 17 to 20 year old (2006- 2009). After a break of approx. 3 years, I took a pill and experienced a horrible pain in my pelvic floor area. This was in spring 2012.
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
23 and in 2012
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
For approx 3 weeks I had reduction of sperm volume then I quit
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Digestion problems, ED, no orgasm feeling, significant reduction in sperm volume, frequent urination, some years ago shrinkage of penis and testicles (not now), brain fog, too much thinking in head, confusion, Vision is like snow syndrom (I see all things flickering), fatigue
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
[ X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections (is a bit improving lately)
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ X] Watery Ejaculate
[ X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ X] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[X ] Confusion
[ X] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[X ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[X ] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X ] Testicular Pain
[X ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain --> no weight loss
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[X ] Muscle Weakness
[X ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X ] Prostate pain
[X ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ X] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[X ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[X ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ X] Frequent urination
[X ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Any kind of medication investigation like colonscopy, gastroscopy because at the beginning I had just massive pain in the pelvic, MRT of my head and lower and uppper spine, cystoscopy with very small prostate as result, Uroflowmetry normal, basic horomone test with low FAI index --> all investigation was from a medical point of view normal
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)?
Test was in the normal range, SHBG slightly increased out of normal, FAI with 22 low (norm range 35-50) --> I will do a extended hormone test with E, progesterone, DHT, etc.
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Hello guys,
I am now in my 9th year after the last intake of finasteride. I first took finasteride 3 years from 2006 to 2009 starting with a age of 17 years. After a few weeks I recognized minimal blurry vision when focusing on things which are far away. I questioned myself can finasteride generate this, but found no side on the instruction leaflet of Propecia. The next years I experienced no more sides til I came in the third year where my sperm volume suddenly was significantly reduced. I went to a urologist in 2009 who said to me it cannot be possible that 1 mg can do this.
Nevertheless I decided to abuse the medicine for some days, the sperm volume normalized and I took finasteride again to see what happens. It dropped again and i completely took it off. Then some days later I was very weak, felt somehow ill and experienced all the sides like brain fog, ED and frequent urination within two days, but then it was all over and I recovered.
I lived then for 3 years happy. However then with more hair loss, I decided before a trip with my friends to take finasteride. After just 1 pill I got a horrible pain in my pelvic area, it was massive and I never will forget how this pain stinged in my underbody (I would say it was near prostate / bladder).
From this night on I felt constant pain in my stomach area, increased hungry feeling and digestion problems, but no sexual and mental problems til then.
From 2015 on fatigue, visionary problems (I see like if I have the snow syndrome what is horrible and I have it till now) and no sensation at the orgasm. All these symptoms developed after having a tinkling pain in my head.
At end of 2020 I experienced similar headache pain and depression. Then I had to go to the toilet more and more frequent (up to every 20 min) and always a heavy urge to urinate after orgasm or after drinking something (1,5 hour after drinking something). I also developed ED.
I tried it with some diets (just eating vegetables for some days, this improved the situation a bit).
But then with introducing normal food like meat, gluten and fruit the urination frequency got up again. Gluten free eating also didn’t help. Currently I am vegetarian, where I have the best feeling regarding diet. Maybe diet doesn’t matter at all for improving PFS. Opinions regarding this topic would be beneficial
Currently since my SHBG is slightly over normal and FAI far under normal (22 when the normal range is 35- 50) I will do more in depth hormonal testing (DHT, free T, progesterone, vitamins are still missing). What do you think about hormones and there effects on PFS?
As a supplement, I tried L-Tryptothan, which helped me regarding mental issues. It really “clears” your mind from all negative 
and you are relaxed.
Maca (yellow one) gave me some slight improvement, I will test this further.
In PFS lately the theory developed that the nervus prudendus has been damaged and a study showed this nerve showed conspicious reaction when testing it at PFS patients. Has anyone made experience with testing it?
Greetings from Germany
Tobi