It was a dark and stormy night. My story

  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?)
    Googled Post Finasteride Syndrome I think.

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    48yo, 5’11" 190lbs

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    3 to 5 times a week. Weights and cardio.

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Meat eater, so so healthy eater.

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    Hair loss. Ironically I think it was a thyroid issue that caused my hairloss which is defuse pattern not male pattern.

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    Somewhere between 12 and 14 months.

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    I was 40.

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?

  1. I don’t have the specific dates. Started in 2003 quit during the next spring in 2004. These are approximations.
  1. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    Cold turkey but I went to Saw Palmetto, which based on my research might be as bad as Propecia.

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

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

  4. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    I don’t think I did while I was on it.

  5. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    I discontinued because I lost my health coverage and Saw Palmetto was cheaper. I wasn’t getting great results anyway.

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
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] 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
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ x] 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
[x ] 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?
    I have started TRT.

  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)?
    No blood tests prior, but this year my total T was 280(250 -1100)

  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.

The last decade I’ve had all the above symptoms but the biggie was lack of libido and erections. Had bloodwork and my thyroid levels were off, so I began taking Synthroid. I began taking compounded T cream at 50mg a day, then 100mg a day. I had something resembling libido at 100 and on a few occasions night time erections. My doc didn’t like the high DHT which was twice the limit, he wanted to reduce me. I found another doctor as I had suspected by this time that my issue was not enough DHT. New doctor prescribed 200mg a week injectable T cypionate. The gains I made in libido and night time erections disappeared. Now I knew it was the DHT. Began doing extensive research on the subject and came to realize that my problems began after the Propecia nd Saw Palmetto usage. I did not h ave these problems prior to that usage. The doctor was shocked that I had lost my libido and erections at such a high dosage, he agreed to put me back on cream at twice my prior dosage. Libido and erections have improved especially night time wood but day time erections still not there. The quest continues.

Sorry your story is confusing. you started Fin+Saw palmetto while you were already on TRT?

Read it again…more carefully this time.

I’m not sure why you think being disparaging is going to get you anywhere. This forum was created in part so that guys with similar issues could have a place to share their stories and support one another. All you’re doing with your attitude is encouraging everyone here to ignore you.

I’m not sure why you think lecturing me is going to get you anywhere.