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)?
United Stated
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?
26 5’7 160lbs
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Fin and Dutasteride Together
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
Started at 1mg and increased to 5mg + 1 capsule of Dutasteride a day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Almost 4 years
Date when you started the drug?
Date when you quit the drug?
October 2021
Age when you quit?
25
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Immediately
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Libido still not where it used to be
Still a little numbness
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
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] 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
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] 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)
[x] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[x] 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?
ALCAR
Tribulus
DIM
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?
No
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off
To make a long story short i took fin for 3 years. Upped the dose insanely high to 5mg because I thought it stopped working (it didn’t), and started taking Dutasteride with it everyday… I was so anal about my hair that I did this stupid shot.
Had an incredibly terrible crash when I stopped the Dutasteride, so stopped the Fin as well.
Experimented with supplements like DIM and Tribulus which would make me feel normal again, but I would always crash after
Started taking ALCAR and skin got oily again, sleep got better, depression disappeared. Took it everyday for 6 months. Stopped taking it, and the benefits have stuck for about 1.5 months now. Not sure if it got me to this point or if it helped along with time. Maybe it was time by itself. I don’t know
Not cured, but 75-80% better.
Went from waking up every 2 hours to sleeping 7-8 hours every night, maybe waking up once or twice on a bad night but go right back to sleep . Sometimes i don’t wake up at all.
Went from incredibly depressed and suicidal to normal. Still have 1-2 bad days a week but that’s normal has nothing to do with pfs.
Still have some ups and downs! But they come for a day or 2 and then disappear which is a positive sign considering it used to be weeks long of hell!
Went from couldn’t get an erection to waking up with wood sometimes and being able to perform at about 80%.
Still have lines and wrinkles on my hands
Still have some numbness
Still have a big blue veign on my dick lol
Libido still not where it used to be, but improving very slowly, and I can have sex normally as of right now.
Im at the 1 year mark.
Time is likely the biggest factor that helped me feel better but I want to let people know ALL the things I tried even if they had minuscule effect.
I used to get on here and become so depressed thinking recovery is “RARE” because that’s what people on here preach. It’s not true. It’s made me feel so much worse. I would drive myself crazy.
You may be reading this saying “how is he saying he recovered if he still has a few lingering symptoms”.
My answer to this is, when you are so fucked up that you don’t want to live anymore, being able to function normally, think normally, and live a normal life again, is a recovery in my book.
I have hope I will continue to get recover from the lingering symptoms but that’s in gods hands 
.
I may never regain full sensitivity
The wrinkles on my hands and veighn in my dick may not ever go away. But atleast I can live a normal life now. I was destroyed when I crashed with weird symptoms.
My ears would be clogged like I had water in them or something for weeks.
My eyes would spasm/twitch if I would squint or scrunch up my nose. My muscles were mush.
My vision was blurry and delayed almost. It made everything look very “fake” and “dim”
My skin produced ZERO oil.
(I now produce oil but not as much as before still improving slowly)
My face literally would have a burning sensation.
My cheek bones would hurt when I would push on them.
My memory was terrible
My brain fog made me feel like I was 90 years old.
I had a red rash on my cheeks for around 6 months.
In the beginning of my crash, my face would burn after every meal I would eat. Almost like an allergy intolerance.
This syndrome is absolutely bizarre. I’m not an OCD hypochondriac this shit is just crazy.
I would wake up with my heart pounding sometimes, and would wake up 10-15 times a night and struggle to go back to sleep.
I would randomly get a metallic/chemical taste in my mouth occasionally.
I developed wrinkles under my eyes and my skin became grey!! This symptom made me very depressed but thankfully has improved dramatically. Still not 100% where it used to be but night and day difference. I look more like myself again.
I developed wrinkles on my hands, but they have not improved.
My joints started clicking and popping but has never been painful.
(Has improved but still there)
My veins are much more prominent now. I can see blue veins on my chest after I get out the shower and I have a blue vein on my dick.
Funny thing is, the blue vein on my dick appeared before all the other symptoms while I was still taking Dutasteride and I thought nothing of it.
I had no emotions towards my wife. She would cry because she thought I was ruined from this shit, and that I was going to do something stupid like kill myself. She said herself when I was at the worst that it seemed like my personality disappeared.
All these things have resolved in a year. I just want to spread some hope to someone who may be considering killing themselves from this shit. I thought my life was over and was ready to do it. I’m glad I waited because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I expect to continue to improve considering im only a year in almost exactly. If not, im thankful for the fact I can live a normal life now.
Il talk with anyone that needs it whether it be on the phone or text and can provide proof that im a real person.
I know I’m clearly lucky and there are many people suffering who haven’t improved after decades. I have nothing but empathy for those people because I went to hell with them!! I pray everyone suffering from this shit gets to a place where they can be happy
Self-reporting form
Name of the therapy/substance: Tribulus
Dosage: 3-4 capsules a day
How often you took it: daily
Still using: no
Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [x]
Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
Duration of use: 1-2 months
Response when you started: Felt 100% better but crashed again when I stopped taking it.
Name of the therapy/substance: ALCAR
Dosage: 4 capsules at the same time every day
How often you took it: once a day daily
Still using: no
Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms []
Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [x]
Duration of use: 6 months
Response when you started: Felt much better. Depression disappeared and skin started to produce oil again. Muscles started feeling harder. Overall felt much better
I stopped taking it but the improvements seem to have remained 1.5 months after stopping. I want to clarify though, it is likely time that caused the improvements, but I do not know for sure. The ALCAR may have nudged me in the right direction, but just to clarify again, that is just my speculation.
