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Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? Australia.

  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? 21 turning 22 next month. I’m about 6’2, i weigh around 98-102 kg.

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? 3-4 days a week, free weights - all parts of the body, cardio.

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? I’ve recently started fixing up my diet, mainly a high protein diet these days, vegetables, meat, minimal carbs ( i’m an ectomorph )

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? I am thinning at the crown and at the temples. I estimated in another 2 years i would have a really bad looking hair line, and a bald patch on the back. Doctors at a hair clinic confirmed my fears. They put me on sal palmetto 320 mgs daily with pharmacor finasteride 5 mg which i have to cut into 4 peices and take daily with the saw. Along with minoxodil. (7%)

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? I took it for 4 days initially. I noticed mental side effects on the third day, rage that was uncontrollable, really bad dreams. A week or so later, i continued. I mean i was stuck in a contract with no cool off, 3600$ over a year. i felt inclined to give it another go.

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 21 , i THINK it was the 22nd of june this year.

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? I’ll be 21 tomorrow, and it will be the 21st tomorrow.

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? I am going to cold turky. I beat all other drugs i used to take that way.

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

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 5 mg cut into quarters, take one quarter daily.

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 3 days for mental. A week and a half ( the second time i tried it ) for sexual side effects.

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? After the initial 4 day trial i did, they took about one day to resolve.
    I won’t know the longer period resolution untill i quit tomorrow.

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] 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
[ ] Confusion
[ x] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

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

[ x] Other (please explain)

I’m not certain if this is relevant, i was a heavy drug user up untill 3 months ago. But since i started the finasteride i’ve been having very vivid nightmares. Not sure if placebo, or the fact i can finally dream again, but the months of being clean that was prior to me even knowing about finasteride, i was having dreamless sleeps that did not bother me in the slightest.

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? No. I am going to try quitting first and see if it resolves itself.

  2. 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)?

I have taken no blood tests, i have an appointment with the doctor of the hair clinic next tuesday. No doubt her opinions will be bias but i will see what happens.

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

Not so much the sexual side effects that have hit me just yet, all though some are present, no morning erections one out of two days, interest in sex has gone down by at least 60% if i was to estimate, but i had a ridiculously high sex drive prior anyway.
It was the mental side, the aggression and depression that hit me in waves. I honestly felt like i was well on my way to the nuthouse.

  1. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    As stated above ^
#2

Sorry to bump an old thread but this is quite educational.

I was just wondering and it may seem like a stupid question, but does the lesser duration of time taking finasteride mean i have a higher chance of my side effects not being permanent? or are they absolute if you get side effects that they will stay with you?

thanks!

#3

The longer finasteride is taken, the longer a person’s tissues are deprived of androgens and neurosteroids - which is obviously not a positive thing. The longer it’s taken, the better the chance fin has to do it’s damage.

Nothings absolute here. You took the drug for a short while and just stopped, so it’s still in your system. Give your body a chance to recover naturally - which you hopefully will. Start by getting enough rest, get moderate exercise, no stress, don’t overdo sexual activity (maybe once every 3 days), no alcohol, no smoking, no caffeine. Most members who report success with the diet are eating paleo (google paleo diet).

It seems that due to your prior drug use you may have been more susceptible to fin’s actions on neursteriods in the brain.

You should also try to get the recommended blood tests ASAP for a baseline during finasteride use. They are found here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=92

Good luck and keep us updated in the future, but for the mean time try not to focus your time on this board, rather on yourself and limiting stress to promote recovery.

#4

So pretty much i did it for 4 days straight, noticed mental side effects. Stopped. Somehow talked myself into round 2, did 9 more doses, lost alot of libido.

Im pretty confident i’ll recover, i just wanted to gain an estimate of how long.
I also wanna take part in any movements against the banning of this drug!

#5

There’s no set, guaranteed timeline but you can see a general progression on the main site, propeciahelp.com. Mew has a section dedicated to the timeline and side effects.