I need advice- short story

NEW MEMBERS, PLEASE FILL IN THE FOLLOWING TEMPLATE. This is so that we can more easily track symptoms and hopefully find patterns in our syndrome. This will also help others understand your background and situation.

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    Portugal

  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

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    31

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Yes. Gym.

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

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    Hair Loss

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

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    28

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    31

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    Cold Turkey

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    Finasteride (Pharmakern)

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

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

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    Swollen testicle (darker tone)
    Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] 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
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] 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
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x ] 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?

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 am a 30 year old male who has been on Finasteride (5mg divided in 4 pills) for approximately 3 years now.
For a while now, I have been getting a really annoying side effect: I urinate too much at night and lost a bit of sensitivity on my uretra. Because I wanted to get rid of the side effects and give my body a break, I decided to stop taking Finasteride.

Fast forward three days later and i start having slight pain on my left testicle. A few hours afterwards, my testicle is darker in color and it’s somewhat swollen.

I know it was a stupid decision to stop the medication cold turkey, but I’d never thought this would have happened.

I’m going to the ER but I’m really wary now

VF

What was the outcome of your ER visit? How are you doing? Well, I hope.

I’m fine, man. Turns out my varicocele has “come back” and I had epydidimitis, so the Propecia/Fin wasn’t related. I guess I panicked a little.

Very glad to hear that. Im assuming you quit finasteride?