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)?
Canada
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?)
Very easy to come across when researching finasteride
What is your current age, height, weight?
21, 5’8", 125lbs
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.)?
Varied (either 0.5mg or 0.25mg)
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Male pattern baldness
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
~ 2 weeks, however I took a 3 day break in the middle of that due to testicular pain
Date when you started the drug?
End of May 2021
Date when you quit the drug?
Beginning of June 2021
Age when you quit?
19
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Testicular pain after a few days. Dull orgasms, ED, and narrowing of the penis after like 10 days
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 (working with ~50% of libido)
[X] Erectile Dysfunction (sometimes isn’t as firm but usually not really a problem)
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections (less frequent and weaker but I still get them)
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections (less frequent and weaker but I still get them)
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections (less frequent and weaker but I still get them)
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate (only because my orgasms are less forceful)
[X] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm (they’re less intense due to dysfunctional pelvic floor muscles and sensitivity issues)
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled) (Narrowed slightly and wrinkled, skin itself has lost ist natural friction that it had before. Moreover, the veins are more prominent and there are dark lines where there weren’t before. My penis and scrotum is also frequently cold)
[X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis (minor)
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness (scrotum tighter to the body a lot but not always, however, do not believe the actual testicles have shrunk as I have no apparent signs of lowered testosterone)
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease (huge loss of senistivity on shaft and scrotum however I haven’t really lost any sensitivity in the head of the penis oddly)
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
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 do not
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.
You know the deal:
Noticed hair loss, freaked out and immediately sought out finasteride from the Canadian equivalent of Keeps (it’s called Maple). I did a ton of research before taking the drug. Believed in pfs but convinced myself it might not be true, I wouldn’t get it, and I could treat it if I did get it from listening to idiots like Kevin Mann. Didn’t help that my friend was on it and doing just fine and that there are two doctors on youtube (The ones from the HairLoss Show) who were very insistent that pfs doesn’t exist. I really am curious how doctors are going to grapple with the fact that they were prescribing poison for years that destroyed lives and chose to trust in fraudulent clinical data instead of patients sitting in front of them telling them the messed up things that have happened following their drug consumption.
Anyways, I took the drug for two weeks despite my fear of its potential to harm me. First took it for like 4 days at 0.25mg. This first period only gave me testicular pain. I stopped once I developed this pain and restarted a few days later once it went away. During my second period of using the drug, I developed the trademark wrinkling in my penis which came about with the sensation of tingling and burning in my genital skin. Not sure how long I took it during this second stint but it was maybe 5-6 days. I thought nothing of the symptoms as I still had no ED or any sensitivity/orgasm issues. Eventually, when I developed ED a few days later I, of course, quit. The ED went away within a few days but the wrinkling stayed and has stayed ever since.
After maybe a week, in the middle of a goddamn exam, I started to get stabbing pains within my penis. These continued for about three days and were accompanied by bad insomnia where I’d awake from my sleep every 2 hours nonstop. I also had bad brain fog and anxiety during this episode. Fortunately, the pain stopped but following it I was left with a numb penile shaft and dull orgasms which have remained ever since. The mental side effects also disappeared.
I appreciate everything you guys are doing to bring about an end to this condition and am actually quite hopeful we will eventually have this resolved and get a chance to go on with our lives. I’m pretty young so I don’t have a lot of money but I’ll figure out a way to get some donations headed your way. I’m especially encouraged by the fact that pfs sufferers are together in this fight with those suffering from pssd and pas. This means any research into these conditions can only help those with pfs.
I do have to say though I am in complete utter shock at just how deep the corruption runs in the pharmaceutical industry. I’ve been to two doctors following this episode and both didn’t believe a thing I’m saying. They really are quite the useless bunch. I even worked in a bloody pharmacy for years and was sickened to see my pharmacist give out the drug like its candy to so many young people like myself. This world really is pretty twisted.
I have some ideas on the condition I’d like to share as well as some plans I have in the future to raise awareness. I will make a youtube video at some point for sure and would be happy to be interviewed by Mitch for his podact though I’m fortunate enough that my life hasn’t been too impacted by this. I’ll save a lot of this stuff for a future post I guess.
Stay strong guys, we’ll get through this no matter how long it takes and be rewarded in spades for our suffering I’m sure of it. Sorry, I waited so long to post my member story, I’ve been a lurker for the last year and a half.
- Ethan