How to quit?

Member Stories
#1

Hi,

i started with propecia 5 weeks ago. I was informed about the possible side effects. Meanwhile i have expierenced some side effects that increase slowly.

Today i found this forum and now i doubt that it was the correct decision to take the drug.

Today i have quit to take propecia. I think i’ll do a cold turkey, because 5 weeks seems not a long period. Has someone an advice, something i should consider?

What is the experience with such short-term usage. How much damage could i have taken?

I hope the side-effects will dissapear with the next week (like doctor said at precription)

  1. How did you find this forum?
    google

  2. What is your current age, height, weight?
    22, 178 cm, 82 kg

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    yes, gym, martialarts

  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    meat eater (try to eat healthy)

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    hair loss

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    5 weeks

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride?
    22

  8. How old were you when you quit?
    22

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    cold turkey

  10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    propecia

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    1 mg

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    after 3 weeks

  13. 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
[X ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X ] 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)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
  1. 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)?
  1. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
  1. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    Some months ago my hairs started to thinning out. After some time i decided to went to doctor. With me i got a regular blood test of a standard health analysis. Everthing fine. But for me it was clear that it has to do with inheritance. There are some cases of baldness in my family. Therefore propecia looked the right decision. The doctor said that sexual side effects could happen, but would dissapear with quitting the drug. To have such side effects is another story to just talk about it. Today i found this forum and i’m annoyed that i haven’t looked before i started to take the drug. Propecia looks to be a hormone hammer, and i think it isn’t worth to have hairs for that price.
#2

Welcome, most likely you shouldn’t have any problems after quitting. Most men don’t, but you won’t know until a few weeks after you quit.

Here is some info from the FAQ at top of site:

"If you have made the decision to quit Finasteride, you can either quit cold turkey or ween off the drug. Some suggest cold turkey, others suggest weening off over a period of weeks/months (ie 1-2 months) in order to minimize shock to the endocrine system and reduce symptoms of withdrawal. It is ultimately your decision, although some believe quitting cold turkey may have been a contributing factor to their ongoing problems since discontinuation, though this is of course not provable in hindsight. Regardless, the fact is if you are getting side effects and want to quit, the sooner you can discontinue using the drug, the better.

Despite the fact that Finasteride has a flat dose response (ie, 0.05mg inhibits nearly as much DHT as 1mg, as evidenced here: physics.upenn.edu/facultyinf … index.html ), if you choose to ween off (and are taking Propecia) we recommend gradually reducing the dosage from 1mg to 0.5mg (half a pill) to 0.25mg (quartered pill) to 0.125mg (8th of a pill) 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.

If you are taking Proscar, same concept – reduce from 1.25mg/day (quartered), down to 0.625mg (8th) and possibly 0.313mg (16th of a pill – if even possible to split it this much), over time.

Before you quit, it is also recommended you take bloodtests as outlined in section 6. This is so that you will have evidence of Finasteride’s effects on your hormones while on the drug, to compare against after quitting. "

#3

Hi,

thanks for your reply. I have already the faq. I’m not sure if it’s necessary for me to ween off over a long period, because in relation to 5 weeks it would a very short ween off duration. I could take half a pill after the 3rd day and then a quarter pill after another 4 days?

What plan would you propose?

Do think that would change anything?

Thanks for your help.

#4

Probably won’t change anything, the drug has a flat dose response as mentioned before so really it probably doesn’t make any diff in the end other than spacing out the days you take the medication, ie every 3rd -5th - 7th - 10th day until finished. Just my thoughts.

#5

Everthing seems to be fine again. Side-effects stopped after about 2 weeks. I’m very happy that everthing returned to good.

My doctor proposed i might consider using viagra instead auf quitting the drug. :open_mouth: OMG … i surely never go back to this idiot.

Taking propecia is playing with fire and i hope that i havent taken to much damage and i could give an advice to everyone who wants to try it out.

  1. DON’T try it out. It is not worth to have hairs for that price or for that risks.

  2. If you do it go to a doctor who handles Propecia with caution and monitors your hormone levels FIRST, before starting the drug.