I filled out the profile below. As a 10 yr fin user, I am NOT currently experiencing side effects but the more I learn, the more I want off. From reading the board, there seems to be little support for weaning off the drug due to the flat dose response rate; however, there is some support for spacing the dosage as noted in the FAQ “over time while increasing the days between dosing (ie instead of taking it everyday, take it every 2nd day, then every 3rd day, 5th, 7th and so on), until you are ultimately no longer taking the drug.”
Seems that some people think the DHT rush once you go off may overload the system.
My questions are:
Should I space the dosage or just go off cold turkey?
If I should space the dosage, anyone have any idea exactly how this spacing should take place? Every 2nd day for a week, then go to every 3rd day for a week? Or just skip a day, then skip two days, then skip 3 days, . . . until when? I assume that since DHT seems to rebound within 1-2 weeks in most guys, that once you are skipping a week or so between doses that you should just go off.
The dermatologist (actually a physicians assistant) I went took blood and is running a hormonal profile, which she said will take about 2-weeks before I get results. Any benefit in not going off until I see the results and make sure everything was tested? I tried to get a second test from Rhein Labs but my Primary Care Doc has not gotten back to me.
This is a great site and I’m just trying to make sure I quit with the lowest risk of additional side effects.
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How did you find this forum? Searched the web.
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What is your current age, height, weight? 34yrs old, 183lbs, 5’11”
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Kettlebells and some running/sprinting. Mostly anaerobic conditioning. Loosely follow Art Devany Evolutionary Fitness. www.arthurdevany.com He has great Free T for a 70-yr old. Need to find his post on it.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? I loosely follow a paleo diet. In order of importance: Meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, high quality carbs (sweet potatoes, etc). Try to limit dairy, sugar, etc. I’m not saint on this, but better than your average Joe. Don’t smoke. Drink a few times a week but seldom to excess. Recently, heard that beer is a very pro-estrogen so that’s not good news. I mostly drink whiskey (Jack Daniels).
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair Loss.
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? ~10 yrs
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How old were you when you started Finasteride? 24yrs old
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How old were you when you quit? Looking to quit now.
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? N/A
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Propecia.
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? N/A
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Since I have no major side effects, I’ll make a few comments. I still have interest in sex and have sex once or more times a week with my wife, but I feel my libido is too low. I had my sperm tested for fertility and had low motility but an extremely high number of sperm. This was tested twice.
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? N/A
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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)? N/A
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? I do worry that my libido is not where is used to be. I used to want to have sex all the time, even while on the drug. These days its less.
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
For the last 10 years, I’ve taken Propecia for hair loss and been very pleased with its effect on hairloess since once I got out of college I started to see rapid hairloss, and the Propecia stopped and restored much of it. Well, due to moving around, I’ve had about 7 dermatologist and I always ask them about the dangers of taking it, and they say that unless I’m having any side effects (which I’ve never really noticed) that I have nothing to worry about. That started to change with an MD PhD who warmed me not to let my wife touch the pills if we were trying to have kids since it can cause birth defects, especially in genital development of male fetuses. He reassured me there was no risk to my health in taking it. At my recent visit to the dermatologist, they asked about side effects and asked about gynecomastia . I was shocked that this was now a side effect because I knew this must mean something big was going on with your hormones. The derm then commented that propecia does have an effect on your androgen levels. So even without personally suffering side effects, I was now concerned and started researching and that’s how I came across this site.