I am a unique case because of the duration of use

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? The USA

  2. 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 Search

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?

29, 6’3", 170

  1. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?

Yes, but mostly walking and biking around town.

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

Vegetarian

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

Hairloss

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

11 Years!

  1. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?

18 Years old

  1. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?

3 days ago

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

Cold Turkey

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

Propecia

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

1mg a day

  1. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?

Just started noticing them recently…

  1. 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
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ x] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ x] 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?

Since I just quit, I haven’t attempted any treatments yet…

  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)?

Have yet to get bloodtests… getting some on Friday.

  1. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  2. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

I started losing my hair at age 18 quite abruptly. As everyone here I’m sure knows, as a teenager hairloss seems like the end of the world. I saw a doctor to ask about Rogaine and he suggested I try Propecia. It was brand new and there wasn’t much known about it, but he assured me it was pretty safe and the main risk was an enlarged prostate. Well, the drug worked. My hair grew back and I have lived the last eleven years with a full head of hair. I’ve hardly EVER missed a daily dose. Over the last 4 months though, I noticed some increasingly alarming side effects. To put it bluntly, bigtime erectile disfunction. I have a beautiful girlfriend who I am madly attracted to, but I noticed recently that I can’t perform. I googled ‘Propecia Side Effects’ on a hunch and was BLOWN AWAY by what I found. I immediately stopped taking the medication. I’d much rather have my sexuality intact than a head of hair! Also, I have had acute anxiety and depression for my entire adult life, as well as urination difficulties, but since I’ve been on Propecia for my entire adult life, I have no idea whether or not these psychological traits are related to the drug. I will update this post as I go through “withdrawal” from this apparently potent and dangerous drug. I hope to god that my sexual functions return to normal, although I took this drug for so long that who knows what it has done to me. One thing that makes me hope that I will be ok is that I didn’t have sexual side effects for a decade or so… they also seem to be WORSE now that I am off it. This seems typical judging by others’ posts. What a traumatic experience. I am excited to be off this drug though, I don’t want to ever take a drug again for the sake of vanity.

One question I have is: what have been people’s experiences using Viagra and Cialis while having severe ED (which I have now!!!)???

Thanks.

#2

Vanity,

You should take some time to read some of the other member stories. There are a whole bunch of other symptoms you may have been experiencing and you did not suspect they were caused from propecia. Brain fog, memory problems, joint pain just to name a few. I was unaware of some of the problems this crap caused and you may be too.

Also, get a blood test as soon as possible. Try to get tested for as many items on the “short list” as possible. Search for short list on the main page and you can find it.

good luck

#3

Thanks bostonusa2009,

Because I started taking the drug at the age of 18, It’s impossible to tell if the other symptoms I have are related to the drug. I have had panic attacks, depression and anxiety, but they run in my family. Perhaps they will subside with the cessation of my taking this drug. I will certainly update as I go along. For the time being, I haven’t had an erection in 4 or 5 days now and am terrified. Here’s hoping…

#4

VanityPrice,

Things will get better for you over time. They have for me. This should provide some motivation for you. I had head fog, eye sensativity to light and wind, memory problems, anxiety and sleep problems. All of these symptoms are gone for me and I had all of these just 10 months ago. I had no idea these were related to Propecia until I found this message board. Now looking back on, it’s completely clear. I never had a problem sleeping ever or any of these other issues until I started this crap.

I still have a complete lack of sex drive, diminished sensation when having sex and muscle atrophy, loss of energy; although it has improved.

Try to exercise regularly with a cardio and weight routine, eat healthy foods and stay away from liquor.

#5

looking at our experiences my adivce is don’t stop suddenly but go off slowly. this will save your body from sudden T-level crash. I have this experience from Saw Palmetto. For some reasons their effcts seems to be close to steriods.

#6

It’s been about 17 days since my last Fin dose, and I’d like to say that I’m 100% recovered or close to it. It’s hard to tell, because I’ve been on this medication for so long. Who knows, I may recover to the same libido as my 17 year old self! God help me…

In any case, it was a dramatic recovery and happened at almost exactly 14 days out. A dark two weeks… my heart and best wishes go out to all of you on this board who are dealing with long last side effects. I can’t imagine.

It is possible that I will experience a crash or two (or more) in my recovery, but I feel good and confident now. My anxiety is less as is my depression. Who knows if it worked, but I have been taking Saw Palmetto, L-Arginine, L-Carnitine, Zinc and a Multi-Mineral-Multi-Vitamin as well as eating a very vegetable/raw-food-heavy diet and exercising more than usual. They at the very least helped my mental state, which is half the battle, if not more. Taking the offensive and trying to take control of the situation was therapuetic.

This will be my last post, unless I have a severe setback.

Good luck everyone.

#7

Congrats on your success thus far, may your recovery last indefinitely (as Merck claims).

I would advise against SP, it is also a 5AR inhibitor and affects both 5AR1 and 5AR2, and prevents DHT from binding to the androgen receptor.

There are men on this site who have experienced long term problems from taking SP extract, suffering from similar side effects as ex-Fin users.