-
Where are you from (country)?
UK -
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?
31, 5’12’’, 9 1/2 stone -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
swimming, gym (weights) -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
vegetarian -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
propecia for 2 years, then dutasteride for 1 month -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
25 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
27 -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia/ Avodart -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg day -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
none on Propecia, noticed sides 1 month into Dutasteride and stopped taking it -
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
[ ] 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
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] 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
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
initially none, then Prozac for the depression related to the ED -
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)?
-
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.
I had no side effects - I think - from Propecia so went on Dutasteride. About one month in I noticed a loss of sex drive and no morning erections. It was also much harder to get an erection and I wouldn’t get one from visual stimulation or thoughts, just touch. Frequently, I couldn’t get one at all when I tried to have sex.
This caused a lot of problems with my sex life, which caused the end of a very important relationship with me, which caused me to get extremely depressed. The depression may well have been worsened by the Dutasteride.
For about 6 months I was really really depressed and terrified I could never have another relationship. I ended up on Prozac. This calmed me down and around the 8 month mark I could actually have sex, although the mild ED remained.
Now it’s about 5 years later. I would say I’m 80% ‘normal’ - after 6-8 months things stabilised and were ‘usable’ but unfortunately not the same as they were before the Dutasteride. Rarely, I can get an erection from thoughts, but usually only in the morning. Morning erections hardly ever happen.
I am now going to look into herbal testosterone boosters to try and sort things out. I have recently stopped the Prozac and last week had 2 morning erections which amazed me, so I’m hoping that things continue to get better.
The only hormone levels I have are these, from 1 month ago:
T 14 (10 - 28) nmol/L
SHBG 45 (11-52) nmol/L
Free androgen index 32
So ‘low normal’ according to the doctor.
I consider myself to have been lucky that my side effects were mild in comparison with some other peoples. If I have any luck with the supplements I’ll let everyone know.