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Where are you from (country)? USA
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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
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What is your current age, height, weight? 27, 5’8, 150b
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? Used to exercise, didn’t help, don’t bother any longer.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Tried healthy, paleo, now I just don’t give a fuck.
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? I was on Accutane, which is also a 5-a-reductase inhibitor. Severe, nodular, acne.
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 6 months on Accutane, 20mg I think (standard dosage).
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 18, May 2006
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 18 when quitting, Oct. 2006 (6 months after starting)
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Isotretinoin, generic for Accutane
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 20mg daily
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Perhaps a year. Persistent symptoms since 2007 for sure.
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? No side effects while on drug.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[ x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ x] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] 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
[ x] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ x] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ x] Lowered body temperature
[ x] Other (please explain)
BRAIN FOG!!!
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Here we go:
SSRIs, stimulants, mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, sedatives, anti-convulsants, hormone therapy, all types of supplements, naturopathic doctors, regular doctors, sleep specialists, endocrinologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, gastroenterologists, urologists, and much more. Have had SO MUCH TESTING it cost my insurance company over $1,000,000. -
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)? None. Nothing showed up. Numerous blood tests.
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
My life has gone to hell. Once a highly functioning, highly intelligent, work-a-holic, athlete, and someone who was really going places in life. Now I struggle to get out of bed. I have no sexual desire at all. Every time I ejaculate I crash for days. Recently was diagnosed with “Autonomic Dysfunction”. Pills for that don’t work. Ejaculation is a MAJOR cause of all my problems. I feel like my life has been over for the past 10 years. I cannot continue on with this and think about suicide on a daily basis. Stimulants help a tiny bit (Adderall the most) with the debilitating brain fog, but tolerance builds and I end up much worse. There is no end in sight. -
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Let me state again that I was on Accutane, another 5-a-reductase inhibitor. I’m 27 years old. I have been at rock bottom for years. I have been to Stanford University Hospital, Mayo Clinic, and a bunch of other top notch hospitals, all of which turn up nothing. I think about suicide every day. Brain fog is the worse; I could give a fuck if I could get my dick up anymore. No morning erections, no spontaneous erections, no sexual desire. My brain fog is so think I can’t remember my parents names half the time. I get lost on familiar driving routes. I have recently become disabled. I can no longer hold down a job because I regularly forget everything about the job and cannot perform. Every time I ejaculate I CRASH FOR DAYS. My heart rates, I have panic attacks, I get dizzy and have to lie down. The brain fog sweeps over me and I go into a state of stupor. I don’t know how I snap out of it sometimes, or if sleep helps? I can’t say, but I’m in this fog all the time now and ejaculating seems to increase it to unimaginable levels.
[b]I have all sorts of tests done: CT scans, MRIs, MRAs, MRVs, tests on pituitary function, adrenal function, hormone panels, blood tests, you name it I’ve done it. I don’t know what to do anymore. Adderall is poisoning me and I can’t take this shit any longer, but it gets me out of bed. All I do all day is look for answers, try to figure things out, try to figure out what went wrong and how. My family and friends have abandoned me, telling me it’s all in my head, or worse, DEPRESSION. Fuck them. I did an internship at NASA for christ sake, and now I can’t get out of bed. Can’t trust anyone.
I’m so tired of this fucking bullshit I wonder if it’s even worth suffering any more. Has there been any developments on this?
I was recently diagnosed with “Dysautonomia”, however the symptoms only surface after ejaculating. I don’t know what to make of it because I never had this as a kid (always very healthy and smart) and my symptoms only present themselves after ejaculation. Fuck it I’m going to take some more Adderall.[/b]