I think Finasteride got me too :(

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

Denver, CO USA

  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?)

Google search “Finasteride dry eye”, “Finasteride vision problems.” Stuff like that.

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

35, 5’7", 185

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

Currently trying to exercise to counter effects of Fin. Wasn’t exercising enough during Fin use. Elliptical, push-ups, pull-ups.

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

Mostly crap before. Trying juicing, whole-foods plant-based diet.

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

Hair loss.

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

About 6 months

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

34 years old. Started March 28th, 2012

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

34 years old. Ended around October 1st, 2012

  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?

Finasteride generic I believe. Just said “Finasteride” on bottle. Got from Target pharmacy.

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

Can’t remember. Once a day. I’ll get back to this.

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

About 5 months.

  1. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

Vision loss. Other sides have come stopping.

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

Mental
[X] 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
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[X] Suicidal Thoughts

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
[X] Muscle Weakness
[X] Joint Pain
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes (significant dry eye)

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

[X] Other (please explain)

My lower back hurts.

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

Crying. Multiple dry eye things (drops, plugs, Restasis, Azasite, etc.). Currently trying juicing, exercising, eating better. No medicinal treatments yet as I have no clue where to go.

  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)?

N/A

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

Nope. I don’t think it would be a revelation to anyone on this board to say, “Fin sucks balls!” So I won’t.

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

Yup, was losing my hair. Doc it to me like candy; I took it. About 5 months in I noticed my vision wasn’t quite as good, but didn’t think about the Fin being the cause. A couple weeks later (around 6 months), BAM, a fog covered my eyes at work. It was like trying to look through a thick cloud. I also had light-sensitivity.

Shortly after that, I quite the Fin and the Rogaine I was taking.

Then, a month or so after that, my eyes got crazy dry. My eyelid margins were burning like they were on fire, and I could feel air moving across my eyes.

Anyway, over the past 5 months, I have noticed about a 50% improvement in my symptoms. I feel like, however, I’ve reached a point where the improvements are not coming. I fear I’ve got garbage vision and dry eye forever.

Been to multiple eye docs (cornea and dry eye specialists). They seem to think my eyes look fine. They do think my eyes are dry, but don’t seem to think it’s a big deal. Not sure where to turn at this point.

Lately I’ve been realizing that I have had a certain amount of brain fog over the past year. I kind of wondered why I felt like I was getting dumber. Seriously, I feel like I’m not as smart as a used to be. Sucks balls.

Bottom Line: My eyes were ATTACKED by Finasteride. This isn’t allergies, this isn’t the dry climate I live in, this isn’t anything else. After reading the material from this website, I KNOW that Fin was the cause all this crap.

#2

Sorry to hear about the vision and dry issues, others have reported same. Following might be why:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=659
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=141

Hopefully over time things will improve further.

#3

Quick update:

Things have gotten worse. I’ve actually “acquired” new side effects AFTER I quite taking Fin.

New side effects:

-inner ear infections with tinnitus. The tinnitus lessens as the ear infections ease, but there is always some tinnitus present now.

-SEVERE random itching with dermographism.

My eyes have not improved since the last update. I’ve seen a really good optometrist in Florida that believes hormone affecting drugs can change the structure of the cornea. He also believes my tear film was definitely altered by Fin. He told me the tear film was the most important refractive surface regarding your vision. So, if your tear film sucks, it will mess with your vision. He also compared topographies of my eyes from 2006 and after my Fin use: the cornea changed. Of course, it’s impossible to prove it was the Fin that did this, but I know it was.

I have low T: 269. Going to ask for more tests from my Endo.

Has an MRI today to see about my Pituitary gland.

Anyway, this sucks balls. Somehow this drug f’d up my body.

Are we not replacing the 5aR or not creating enough DHT now???

#4

I have low T as well

How’s your ED sexual symptoms?
I’m impotent since my T level crashed

#5

Somehow I’ve managed to mostly avoid the sexual side effects…knock on wood.

I say “mostly” because I did have them for a few days. It was a weird experience. One night at work I got this awesome warm feeling all over my body. It kinda felt like my body was repairing itself. It lasted for a couple of hours and then I felt cold. Immediately after that, I had pain in my scrotum, soft erections, and ejaculations that weren’t enjoyable. These effects lasted a few days and tapered off.

Can’t explain it. I’d love that “warm feeling” to come back though.

#6

As I write this I am lying in a bath of hot water. This is the only thing that seems to temper my itch attacks.

My skin is so dry. My eyes are dry. I am drying out.

My vision is blurry, and I have ringing in my ears.

One year ago I was celebrating a new child and career. Shortly thereafter the sides came. Eleven months into whatever hell this is, and I feel no closer to the end.

I fear I will never be the husband or father I know I was on the path to being.

This is not me. I am not this person.

This is a nightmare, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to wake up.

#7

I did not have the typical “crash” that seems to occur a couple weeks or so after stopping Fin.

What I did have was this:

About 5 months after stopping Fin I had an awesome “warm” feeling sweep over my body. This lasted for about 2 hours, and it almost felt like a healing experience. I could actually feel it in my eyelids as well (I have dry eye). It was great.

When it ended, I immediately got cold. This event seemed to improve my dry eyes about 40-50%, but they are still very dry. Since this happened, I have gained sides (dry skin, tinnitus, etc.).

Was this the rush of DHT back through my body? 5 months after quitting Fin?

I’m wondering if this (and the crash others have) overburdened my body and now I don’t react the same to DHT.

Any thoughts?

#8

OK everyone, I am sick and tired of waiting around for this shit to get better. I can’t even do my job anymore cause my vision is so messed up. I need moisture in my eyes and body.

Time for some action; I can’t wait any longer.

The protocol I am planning was created based off of my blood work and by talking with other members.

Relevant blood work issues: High Reverse T3, Low T, low DHT, low am cortisol, and mid-to-high Estrogen (all results were “in-range,” but at the extreme end of the range).

According to this site: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/rt3-ratio/ my Free T3 to rT3 ratio is an “11.” It should be just above 20. This link helps explain the rT3 issue more: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/reverse-t3/

So, my protocol is based on these assumptions: I have a problem with my thyroid, low T and DHT, and possible estrogen dominance).

My Protocol:

  1. T3 (Cynomel) using the CT3M method (http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/t3-circadian-method-for-adrenals/) to hopefully raise my low am cortisol and clear my high rT3. Time: 8-12 weeks.

(The rest of the protocol will start after I see how I’m reacting to the T3.)

  1. Progesterone 14 days on, 5 days off (Hypo’s regimen) to help with estrogen dominance. Time: As long as needed.

  2. cdnuts’ T-boosting protocol (supps, Androhard (or equivalent), and PCT) to raise T and DHT. Time: Supps 1 month; Androhard, 2-3 months; PCT 1 month. As long as needed.

Any advice is appreciated. I’ll update when I start.

#9

How are your mental side effects? Any improvement here or just as bad as your first post?

#10

My mental side effects are the one subset PFS sides that I can honestly say slowly improved over time. I’d say I got back to 70% (from around 50% at my lowest) over a year and a half. I got to 85% with Celexa. I can’t recommend SSRIs, but it does seem to have helped me. The 15% that is left is still residual mental issues because of my eye problem.

So, with time and Celexa, I am thinking and coping better. I’d say I still have mild depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, but this is mostly from dealing with my eyes. Basically, if my eyes got better, that 85% would jump up considerably.

Also, I don’t know if the Celexa is just “masking” some of the issues, or if it is actually helping permanently re-balance something.

Keep in mind I got hit hard in my eyes and skin, moderately in my head, and mildly everywhere else. My biggest issue seems to be a lack of moisture.

#11

I’m shelving the protocol I mentioned above for a bit. I spoke with Dr. Crisler and am going to see a doctor in Denver that he recommended. The Doctor is another anti-aging doctor like Crisler, and he’ll at least be sympathetic to my issues.

Dr. Crisler said that if I was his patient he’d probably try HCG first, then TRT. I had low T before Finasteride, so that seemed to throw him off a little. He seemed to not be sure about the HCG protocol because of this, but said he’d try anyway.

Two interesting notes about my conversation with Dr. Crisler:

  1. He told me he’s not worried about my high cholesterol and to NOT take any statins.

  2. He said my SHBG is LOW

My SHBG is: 22 (normal : 10 - 57 ) NMOL/L

I’ve seen a lot of people worried about their SHBG being too high, so it took me by surprise when he said it was too low.

#12

What is your expectation of HCG or TRT?

#13

I’m not sure exactly. Those were the protocols Dr. Crisler said he would do if I were his patient. I’m not sure Dr. Grossman will suggest the same protocols.

Robotmouse mentioned he did some HCG and it helped him; I’m sure there are others here that it did not help.

I’m going to have to research what HCG is supposed to do to give you a scientific answer to your question. Maybe someone else knows a quick way to explain it.

#14

I asked because I was curious what exactly HCG helped with. I have so many issues from this its hard to even begin. I certainly don’t want to make shit worse.

#15

About a year ago I didn’t know about water fasting and I had to do something about my ability to sleep (about 1,5 hour/day). I’ve read that hcg helps some people with hormonal problems and one of the endos I visited also suggested hcg as she believes it can reset some screwed up HPTA for some. hcg made my symptoms a bit worse in about the first two weeks but after about a month I definitely felt and slept better. It was just 3x5000IU shots with 10 days between them. It wasn’t a miracle cure but at the time it was a life saver for me as I couldn’t anymore sleep. About a half year later we retried the 3x5000IU shots and I felt basically no change. The endo told me that I should be really horny from this, some of her patients get this treatment with libido issues usually every half year.

An interesting thing was that I took the shots without aromataze inhibitors. hcg tends to upregulate your T production that goes into estrogen quickly. This is why body builders use hcg usually with arimidex. In my case E was already very high and interestingly as the result of hcg shots my E level went down to normal levels (that surprised even my endo) and at the same time the whole hcg thingy helped some other hormonal imbalances to improve a bit (like thyroid issues). Later my E2 slowly went up again along with my SHBG but my ability to sleep a few hours remained so the first 3 hcg shots have definitely helped.