Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)?
Canada
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?)
What is your current age, height, weight?
32, 5’10, 180
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Fin
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/ day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
2019 to 2024, restarted April 1, 2025
Date when you started the drug?
2019
Date when you quit the drug?
2024
Age when you quit?
31
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
4 years
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Muscle stiffness
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
Sexual
[ x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] 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
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] 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
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ x] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
Muscle stiffness, tendon pain
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
None
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please 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?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I took finasteride from 2019 to December 2024. I had not had any notable side effects. I had a series of injuries (big toe in Sept 2023 and hamstring strain in Nov 2024 - along with stiffness of hamstrings and calves) and I had read some literature that indicated muscle tightness and myalgia had been mentioned as a rare side effect. As my hamstrings and calves were giving me problems with tightness I stopped taking finasteride in case it was contributing to my issues. Things did not improve when I went off of it, and actually my calf stiffness got much worse about a month after I went off of it but I wasn’t looking for it to get worse I thought that things would improve if the finasteride was responsible.
Around February 2025 I began no longer being able to walk forward due to severe calf stiffness. I hadn’t really tied these events to finasteride until recently. I also had a nerve injection in May 2025 which made my muscle stiffness substantially worse.
A few weeks ago, I looked in the mirror and was upset that I had lost a lot of hair. I made an impulsive decision to take finasteride again. I took a 1 mg dose of finesteride for 6 days. During this time, I again didnt put it together until I had taken it for a week but my hamstrings and calves were stiffening up more as I continued taking it as well as more tendon pain. I also started getting severe anxiety and insomnia towards the end of that week. So I am now dealing with a worsened condition of my legs as well as insomnia, emotional blunting, ED/shrinkage and anxiety. It has been two weeks since I stopped and I still have all symptoms.
They were getting better over the past two weeks, I was like hey maybe Im over this shit but then I must have had a crash again yesterday because it all came back today. I got really hungry yesterday and ate like 6 Oreos, Thats the only thing I can think of that was different yesterday.
This seems cortisol related to me? Any thoughts or words of encouragement? Thanks all, Fuck this shit so hard - y’all are brave beyond belief. Please no negativity, i CaNt handle it right now
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]