Where are you from (country)?
Brazil
How did you find this forum
What is your current age, height, weight?
40yo 1,81m 78kg
What specific drug did you use? Dose?
Isotretinoin (Roacutan): late teens, less than a year (can’t accurately remember dose, length)
Finasteride: 1mg/day - still on it since 30yo with a 2 year gap
What condition was being treated with the drug?
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Isotretinoin: acne, less than a year
Finasteride: alopecia, for over 10 years
Date when you started the drug?
Isotretinoin: circa 2001
Finasteride: circa 2012
Date when you quit the drug?
Isotretinoin: Circa 2002
Finasteride: Stopped in 2019 and 2020, started again on 2021
Age when you quit?
Isotretinoin: About 17yo
Finasteride: 35, started again with 37
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Isotretinoine: more pronounced after interrupted treatment
Finasteride: slightly more pronounced off the treatment
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
really weak orgasm
low libido
somehwat premature ejaculation
brain fog
weak memory
flat emotions
depression
anxiety
no job for the past decade/ total loser
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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] 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
[ x] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[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)
[x ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
None. I have just found out about the link between isotretinoin, finasteride and the symptoms.
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.
Finasteride and isotretinoine were the only 2 drugs, legar or illegal, that I took in my entire life. And the symptoms appeared with isotretinoine and got a tad worse with finasteride/age, apparently.
At the time my derm dismissed the depression as “something common in teenagers, not connected to isotretinoine” so I had never thought about it until now.
I knew finasteride had sides on sex, the derm and the endo said there were only reversible sides.
Really weak orgasms, blunted emotions and lack of energy is the worst part for over about 25 years now.
On top of the ‘brain fog’ there is a sensation that everything is a bit unreal, that i’m not really here and this is not happening. Meditation has helped but not much lately.
I’ve actually taken IQ and cognitive tests looking for a possible ADHD but eventually found out I had major depression and anxiety and and while I score above 100 the psychologist says my working memory was severily impaired and I should have scored even higher. Since depression and anxiety affect cognitive capacities, the ADHD diagnosis wasn’t conclusive.
I have no one, no career, no future, I need to fix this shit so I at least don’t end up having a horrible death. A minimum of dignity.