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)?
Brazil
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?
28, 1,86m, 115kg
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?
Baldness
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
About 2 years. Difficult to say precisely as my use was not continuous. I stopped and returned a couple of times.
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
23
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
25
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Like I said, I stopped and returned a few times. But the last time i stopped it was cold turkey.
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
One and a half year. To be honest, I only really noticed when I stopped taking it and saw the improvement I had for the next 2 weeks. Then I crashed, or at least I believe so.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
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
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] 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
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] 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?
A week ago i started using tribulus.
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)?
I never had a blood test after use.
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.
First of all forgive me for my mistakes, here in Brazil we speak Portuguese (yes, it’s not spanish you uncultured bastards).
It’s hard for me to tell my story because honestly I don’t remember for sure how things escaloneted.
I’ve been watching this forum througth the shadows for a long time, ever since I began to suspect what I might have.
I imagined that my situation would improve over time, as I read in various topics of this forum, the best to do was wait and hope for the best. Which was not the case, last year I got worse gradually and today I am in my worst situation.
I can get erections with pornography and physical stimulation, now with more effort than I used to. I am only willing to have sex after taking viagra, for obvious reasons I would not risk having sex with the lone collaboration of my penis. Two nights a week I still wake up to an erection, but never in the morning. Having a spontaneous erection is a distant memory. Absolutely zero libido.
As I did not pay attention to symptoms during this time I can not say accurately. I believe I have suffered none, or very little, from the physical and mental symptoms. Only now I see that I increased my frequency of urinating a lot. To be honest, I’m a lazy fat man who smoked some weed occasionally. Much of my skepticism about what I been going through is that I could justify my symptoms for these reasons.
Reaffirming what I answered in the questions above, without really noticing the symptoms, I stopped and returned to use finasteride a few times. The times i stopped I felt the automatic return of my functions, and for that reason I believed it was no big deal, because that’s exactly what the doctors said i should happen. But gradually I felt it getting worse and decided to stop. The last time I quit I felt that I was 150% better, and after a few days it faded. I got worse, but it didn’t get as bad as I’ve been this last year, so I’m not sure if i really crashed.
Sowed by my despair I started following the tribulus protocol a week ago. Its a bad brand because it’s hard to find what the topics suggest here in Brazil. Nor did I dare superdose as sugested because I am afraid of aggravating my symptoms.
Although I already know the answer, I would like to know if there is any way to confirm that we have PFS ?
Any advice or suggestion would be welcome.
Thank you gentlemen.