I need help!!!

Member Stories
#1
  1. Where are you from (country)?

UK, London, England

  1. 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?)
    YouTube link…
  2. What is your current age, height, weight?
    age:27 height: 6’0 weight: 13.2 St
  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    No exercise
  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Normal
  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    hairloss
  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    18months
  7. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    20s
  8. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    20s
  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.)?
    1mg/day
  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    cannot remember
  13. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    ed, rash. all other side effects only developed when i quit.

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
[ x] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ x] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x ] Testicular Pain
[x ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ x] Gynecomastia (male breasts) (pseudo-G…)
[XX ] Muscle Wastage
[ XX] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[XX] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ x] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

I am destroyed.

#2

Of course everyone here is is interested in your treatment so keep us all posted. Post your blood test results aswell its very good when people have before and after results.
Otherwise your going to have to search through this site to see what will help you because somethings that work for some dont work for others.
Also please participate in this study if you havent already

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3497

Good luck in a recovery

#3

Thanks for the respone Tim, i appreciate it. Tell me, is the study still ongoing? Also, do you know of any other British-based user of this forum - I intend to post everything about my treatment, prehaps with their imput it will be more productive.

#4

Theres plenty of british based guys here, you should look at the bbc thread and consider emailing the reporter

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4127&hilit=bbc

And yes the study with dr irwig is ongoing so do it :smiley: :smiley:

#5

Hi Oscar, another British guy here, am going through tests at the moment, was on this shit for 13 years, have been suffering for some time but did not know why until a few months ago. If I can be of any help, just pm me.

#6

gazzaa - what tests? what doctors? what conclusions/theories have they drawn? have you been reffered to a consultant endocrinologist on the nhs?

#7

Your story seems like a bit of a farce, see a psychologist and you should be ok.

#8

Yeah it sucks man. I’m barely holding on myself. I still cannot believe a drug could do this permanently. It is like we swallowed something radioactive or had some strange test performed on us by a Nazi doctor. Many of the people on this site will tell you to get blood tests and “treatment” with one of the post-fin docs, but you will likely be doing nothing but throwing money down a black hole. I would rather have cancer than this shit. At least they have a way of attempting to treating that, and you get real sympathy from the medical community. Also, if they can’t treat cancer, you usually die and don’t have to languish in some miserable twilight existence.

#9

Please explain.

#10

He’s just being a fucking tit as per usual.

#11

Frame this post

#12

The PFS docs I’ve seen will openly admit they have no idea why we are screwed up. And yes, I’ve spent thousands on bloodtests, travel, appointments, drugs, supps, and so on. I don’t feel like it’s wasted money to be honest. The more of us who get to the docs the more case files we have to work from when we get to the point when we can research. And, at least I feel like I’m doing all I can to get better at this point.

I agree, it sucks. You can’t really say , “I took a drug because I was worried about balding (which is embarassing enough) and now my penis has shrunk to 1/2 its normal size. Among several other equally as fun side effects.” People just think we got lazy and stop caring about how we look. Like the rest of you who were badly effected this has turned my life to shit. We don’t “live” anymore, we just exist.

#13

Story update. This is what happened to me, it might help people to know.

Before Fin

Normal person in early twenties. Full time employed in well payed job. No health problems apart from dandruff and slight acne - both of which started as soon as I hit puberty and stayed. Not overweight and ate a healthy diet, although I did little exercise.

Noticed my hair was getting thin and hairs where falling out. Freaked out because I was turning into Patrick Stewart overnight. Researched the best thing to take (Propecia) and (unusually for the UK) recieved a private prescription from my GP. At the same time I got a prescription for medicated dandruff shampoo and a 3 month course of oxytetracycline antibiotic for acne. It was my first Drs visit in about 10yrs.

During Fin

I used propecia for 2 years. My hair seemed to stop falling out and I stopped worrying about hairloss, I didnt use any other hairloss products or any other medication other than those stated.

I did not have a regular girlfriend in these 2 yrs. But I have very clear memories of sexual encounters at this time and I certainly did not suffer from ED and still needed to ‘knock one out’ before going out on a date. However, in retrospect my libido was probably a lot lower and sensitivity decreased (could feel little with a condom). I also gained weight on my chest.

I seemed to have tons of energy whilst using Propecia, maybe this was because it raised my (v.low) T levels or because I was just enjoying life. In fact I was working/partying 6 days a week with little sleep and half-expected to ‘crash’ at some point.

Eventually I simply couldnt be bothered to get a repeat prescription and stopped.

Shortly After Stopping?

I have little memory of what happened to me here. I was lazy toward the end of my Propecia use and may have skipped weeks before starting up again.

I remember suddenly feeling very tired, but put this down to my lifestyle. I also noticed slow erections, I knew this could be a temporary side effect from Fin so i did not worry (even though I had ED I didnt know I had ED!). I also remember loosing all interest in subjects that had been of very intense interest to me combined with a sudden drop of all ‘aggression’ and muscular strength.

Months passed in a sleep filled haze. Which I still put this down to a hectic lifestyle. As time passed I became more aware of a severe emotional detachment I was feeling for the world around me and I began researching what this meant. This is how I found the PHelp website.

It was only at then I realised I had almost no libido (a word not even in my vocabulary before) and much reduced feeling during orgasm amongst other problems. I only became extremely alarmed and concerned about my health at this point.

At Present

I have tried various ways to increase my T levels, these have only made my sexual condition worse. None of my symptoms have improved. My current problems are;

Total loss of libido
ED
penis shrinkage/hardening tissue changes
watery semen
no feeling during orgasm
Genital numbness
penis pain when getting an erection or after masterbation
colouration change to genital skin

muscle loss from all over my body, including from my backside making sitting difficult to sit, and from my face making me look ill/aged. Plus the padding from my hands and feet has almost gone making walking and carrying things sometimes painful.
Constant crushing chronic fatigue making daily routines an ordeal.
Numb scalp
Numb anus (this causes toilet problems).
Physically very weak and legs feel like jelly when I walk.
weight gain (now 14.5st/200Ibs) leading to worsening of pseudo-Gyno.

Total severe emotional blunting (unable to experience emotions properly anymore) - I hope I havent lobotomised myself.
harloss from all over scalp (including diffusely from back and sides) and pubic hair falls out (although i have grown some chest hair)
grainy vision (worse in the morning)
Poo pellets
recently (~1yr) return of back acne
Hypertrophic scarring from smallest scratch (only in last ~1yr)
short term/medium term/long term memory loss
sensitive skin/urticaria
Post Traumatic Stress disorder?

#14

I find this sentimentality a little odd. You aren’t planning on making an exit anytime soon ?

#15

…

#16

Visiting a psychiatrist and joining a gym would probably do you wonders Oscar. Something is awfully wrong with your attitude towards people that are in the same dire predicament as yourself. Do you even want help?

I can’t shake the feeling that you’re just fat and depressed rather than suffering post finasteride syndrome.

#17

he’s in pretty bad state. i remember when i was hit with a really low crash from PFS and felt my entire world around me falling apart. i know you have lots of different friends which can help you feel better, but not everyone has these support groups. plus when feeling this bad, you sometimes lose focus and your attitude is the least of your concerns… you know these things. don’t judge him, he without a doubt has PFS based on what i’ve read and his dedication to finding a cure.