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Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? USA

  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? 37, 6 ft, 165 lbs

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Casual walks and hiking daily

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Healthy as I can

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair Loss

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 10+ years

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? @25

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 36, about a year ago.

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey

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

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

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Maybe 5-6 years

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Loss of pleasure when ejaculating(seemed to come on gradually over many years) went to no feeling after stopping Propecia, Shrunken Testicles, Brain Fog, Fatigue.

Put an X beside all that apply:

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
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] 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
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[x] 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
[x] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Tried different Diets, Exercise, Wellbutrin, Detox

  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)? The ones I have had come back normal and had my testosterone checked 2 years ago and it was 1100 which the Doc said was very good for my age.

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

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

Took the medicine for over 10 years. My hair grew back and did not really have any side effects other than lessening of ejaculation amount and occasional testicular pain in right testicle. After about 5 years my pleasure while having sex gradually decreased and when I got to about 10 years I would not feel anything when having sex and had difficulty ejaculating. It also seemed that my penis was smaller than it had been. I stopped taking the medicine in 2010 and it seemed that my penis got larger, the amount of fluid when ejaculating dramatically increased, but had less penis sensation than when I was taking it. Went back on the drug after a 6 months of non use. Some sensation returned to my penis, softer erections, less fluid when ejaculating, and my penis seemed smaller again. Quit taking it again in 2011 and have been off of it since then. Nothing has improved in the time since I stopped taking it. Tried Welbutrin for awhile and had some feeling return but it was more like a burning sensation when ejaculating. No longer taking the Wellbutrin. I basically feel that I am just living in a fog. I get no pleasure from anything and have moved from my condo in Breckenridge, CO to my parents basement in North Carolina. I used to be successful, had lots of friends, and had sex with hot college girls all the time. Life really just sucks right now and I have no idea what to do. I started taking Vyvanse to help with the fatigue and concentration problems. Started going to a University near where I live to try and get things going again but it hasn’t helped. I am not 100% sure that Propecia is completely to blame. In the past I have been on and off antidepressants/anxiety meds and I know that the SSRI’s I took messed me up sexually while I was on them, the problem went away after stopping them, and I took those pre-propecia. The two that I have taken since have been Remeron and Wellbutrin that aren’t supposed to cause sexual problems. I currently take 30 mg Remeron and 10 mg Valium for sleep. From about 22-32 I drank alcohol heavily and at times casually used pain meds and cocaine. Been pretty sober for 5 years and the Dr’s do not think I am suffering from depression. I am hesitant to have any more tests done because I’m not sure they can do anything about it and I’m sick of Dr’s and tests. The Tests come back normal. Blood work, Brain Scans, etc and everytime everything is okay. My sex drive used to be extreme(at times annoying) and now it just doesn’t exist. Getting kinda tired of this BS and at times just want to die. Well any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.

#2

jhuckmg25,
My story, and many others, are so similar to what you’ve gone through and continue to experience. Propecia IS to blame and is definitely the root cause for a host of symptoms. Check out pfsfoundation.org/ to see the common symptoms experienced by most. I took Propecia daily for 4 years. It’s been 2 years since I quit.

How my story is similar…
I lost my job… at a biotech, senior level position, making 6 figures and reported to the CIO directly. My responsibilities required interaction with Senior level and Executive staff. I began taking Propecia after landing this position. My performance began to decline around the 2nd of 4yrs, brain fog, unable to focus, not getting projects done on time, cognitive decline. I remember experiencing mood swings, irritable, angry about small things, emotional, crying while walking at lunchtime and praying to God for help. I was fired for performance issues, yet all my prior employee reviews were above average and included bonuses and stock options each time.

Loss of interest… The fun and engaging things I was involved in fell by the wayside, the biggest one being my passion for high performance cars (porsche, BMW, MercBenz) and restoring them to new condition. My wife used to complain a lot about how much time I spent in the Garage, then everything changed after Propecia. She has suffered almost as much as I have. I can’t imagine how she felt to see me curled up on the couch in a fetal position crying, and not knowing why I was so emotional. I had wild emotional swings from RAGE to Severe Depression. And one thing which stands out to me the most, is that I no longer smile or laugh. The reason this stands out is that I was always the happy kid, the joker, prankster and witty one-liners in social settings. I avoid people when I can, no longer make jokes or poke fun at anyone. But I do have hope that God will restore me back to new.

Sex… Prior to getting married in the early 90’s, and I say this without ego or in a bragging way, I was considered ‘hot’ by the girls; Tall, Blond Surfer dude look. I lost count of how many girls I had sex with over the years before marriage, more than 30. And once I got married, we were very compatible in bed, had two beautiful kids, and this is when the Propecia DEMON came in to ruin everything I ever worked for, studied for, dreamed of, Loved and spent time doing. Right after the second child. And our sex life went spiraling down to zero. Since I started getting hormone therapy, we have had sex once or twice over a span of 3 to 4 years. I think the only reason I’m still married is that God stepped in, showed me the answer the huge list of health issues. I found out about Propecia after being Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder while reading an online forum. Up to this point, I had seen 9 different doctors for the various symptoms, not knowing what was wrong for 6 years.

It appears I’m the first to reply to your post, so I just wanted you to know that help is out there, your not alone in this struggle and there are therapies which can help as well as vitamins, supplements etc…
My doc prescribed Testosterone and Clomiphene Citrate(clomid) to bring my hormones back to the normal range. I take about 3000mg of FishOil(omega3) daily, magnesium, Ashweganda Root(natural remedy for anxiety), alprazolam(anxiety), Mirtazapine(anti-depressant-no sexual side effects)<most recent change and it’s helping a lot. There are two others that I haven’t tried yet, but which are also mentioned on this forum: GABA and 5HTP. I’ll be giving these a try after talking with my doc. Also, before you buy any vitamins or supplements, ask your doctor for recommended manufacturers with the highest quality and best absorption rate. Some are also clinically tested/verified.

It’s not a short road to recovery, but at least it’s a road, and now you have other guys to talk about it.
If you haven’t filed a lawsuit against Merck yet, I highly recommend doing so. One of the most experienced with Propecia cases is in Wisconsin, and is listed on this forum. Also, find a Sexual Medicine doctor to check your hormone levels, mine tested a list of 9 hormones.

#3

I read posts like these regularly and often wonder what happened to the OP?

More so, what’s happened to worried1?

I’d like to hear they are recovering nicely