Jonnas12's Story

Member Stories
#1

I am active for a while now but did no member story until now.

First Post: https://forum.propeciahelp.com/t/is-it-post-finasteride/49125

My story:

Where are you from (country)? Europe

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, searching for forums and experiences.

What is your current age, height, weight? 29

What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finasteride. Sertraline (a few times during studies) and tretinac (isotretinoin) for acne (1-2 years)

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1 -1.25 mg

What condition was being treated with the drug?
alopecia, acne and anxiety

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
7.5 years

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 18-19

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 26, december 2017

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
all cold

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 years but never thought about fin

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? ED

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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive (low but still looking at girls at least)
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections (really rare)
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[X] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency vo
[ ] Extreme Anxiety
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[X] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness (twitching)
[ ] Joint Pain
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[X] Prostate pain (diagnosed with prostatitis)
[ ] 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
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[X] dry skin (the most on forehead, on arms just a little)
[X] sleep (can’t sleep 7-8 hours through)
[X] weird odor
[X] eyelid hanging

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? L-Arginine and ashwagandha but stopped in fear of worsening sides (read some negative posts about these herbs)

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience? influence of alcohol in ED (look at my previous posts). In contrary alcohol is rising my anxiety and difficulty in concentrating the 1-3 days after.

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

Did not try any special treatment for the sides. For my ED I am using tadalafil and viagra with decent effect. Doing Keto diet since 2.5 weeks and working out with heavy weights.

During my time as a teenager a had severe acne everywhere on my body and therefore took 1-2 years tretinac (isotretinoin) to cure it.

For my anxiety during studies I took sertraline for a few times (approximately 7-8 times).

Was a heavy smoker for years, quit weeks ago. Want to reduce the amount of alcohol I am drinking. I am heavy drinking at least one time in a week for years

I made a lot of threads before this one, if you want more details about my story.

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#2

The past weeks my libido got significantly better. The last days I had the urge and the desire to sleep with a girl. Like this inner feeling when you know it is going to happen and it is arousing you.

Don’t know what exactly caused this. Right now I am doing keto diet and exercising, nothing else. No supplements.

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#3

Feel like with fin the sides are so subtle that you can just brush it off. You realise it only when it becomes significant. How has your forgetfulness/memory been since you’ve quit? (On scale of 0 to 100 what percent would have recovered?)

#4

Some symptoms get better over time but other are worsening. For example: libido improving right now but muscle pain or joint cracking got bad. Everytime when I get up my feets are cracking crazy, I am 29. It’s like trading with your symptoms, you have to get something bad to improve other sides.

I am sorry to say that but my forgetfulness did not improve. I feel more forgetful when I am in stress. For example: I had to get back from my car to my house 3 times. I often forget what I want to do when I am going in a room. The same when I am working. Sometimes it is really frustrating. I hope we won’t have to deal with early dementia.

All over recovered maybe 60% but I will never know the feeling of recovering 100% because I took fin when I was 18/19 and can not recall when I was feeling ‚normal‘.

But there are also guys here who got severe sides and I hope it will get better for them over time. They deserve a healthy life.

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#5

60% is still something to look forward to. I quit today after realising why I have so much memory loss and failing to remember everything I study… hopefully improves. I took an IQ test but its not too bad but memory wise it’s absolutely horrendous. I can’t remember peoples names 30 seconds later.

#6

In your case it will improve for sure, it is your first day give it time. Don’t think to much about it. Stress is the last thing you need in this process.

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#7

I noticed that I now (for at least 3-4 weeks) sweat under my armpits and chest much more. My body temperature is constantly over 36 degrees aswell. My Skin seems to produce more sebum too. Muscles are not twitching anymore. Stopped smoking since 2 month.

But: Sleep is still a mess and I am feeling unmotivated in the mornings. Butt cheeks hurting while sitting since 4 months.

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#11

Noticed some kind of dizziness when I am walking or even moving my head SLIGHTLY from left to right. And I have a kind of tunnel vision more often as usual. My scalp is really itchy with pimples on it.

#12

Erections improved a lot. I don’t need cialis/viagra and alcohol to masturbate. I am really surprised.

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#14

Started to take testogel for one week now. Libido and anxiety up. Can feel my heart pounding much harder.

Since taking this gel my hairloss surprisingly stopped.

#16

How would you describe your libido in % from your pre-PFS one? Also, do you experience any tissue changes and dry skin?

#17

There are good days and bad days. My libido is not constantly high like pre-pfs. I would say in good days (a few days per month) about 60-70 % and most of the days between 40-50%. But it varies a lot. Lost a lot of fat in my face and can’t gain it back. Most of the fat is now in my belly or legs stored.

#18

I wonder if there’s anybody who recovered 100% to the pre-fin condition. Even when I had my temporal recovery, I couldn’t say it was exactly the same as it used to be before.

#21

You have a girl who is understanding about your condition and you can keep an erection for a few minutes while standing? I’m jealous! But I understand the anxiety that comes with not having confidence in your erection. I hope it improves! I can’t keep an erection without constant stimulation. It’s a nightmare. I’m trying Pycogenol and arginine for ED. Not sure it’s helping yet. Will fill out one of those forms later.

Try to make the most of the good days you have. I too had the worst anxiety I’ve had the past 2 weeks and it’s finally subsiding. The up and downs are a pain but I’ll take what I can. Also, relationships can end for various reasons, try to enjoy the present as much as possible. Now I need to follow my own advice which is unlikely lol

Not watching porn doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on me. It actually helps sometimes. Avoiding ejaculation is something that might help but I’m not sure. My good days have no obvious cause unfortunately. Reducing stress is the only thing that might help but that info isn’t very groundbreaking.

Thanks for the update!

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#22

Hope not to bad karma…

What should I write you?! We’re all fucked about this condition. We all have had an or more encounters with problems, with a soft erection and the men killing stress not to get it in. For me harder as being killed.

Only a stone hard cock and the androgen agression is that what gives us lifesence. Personality, character and intelligence is nothing at all

With a disconnected cock, we all feel like nothing any more. It’s the long and stony road we have to go to find a new life without our cocks. To find our way as an totally asexual monich. With meditation and true spiritual love. F*ck this…but there is no alternative

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#24

For me personally sildenafil citrate does nothing. Tadalafil is way better.

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#25

@pete Tada is way more effective than viagra for me aswell. I think I found the best dosage for myself. Experimented with dosages over 60 mg (tada) and 300 mg (viagra). Now I combine Tada 10mg (everyday) and viagra 50 mg (before intercourse). It’s not working like I would want but it’s okay. It depends a lot on my mood/anxiety/depression I have on a few days.

#27

Alcohol does something with my brain to penis connection. I don’t need to drink until I pass out I just need like 2-3 drinks and I am good for several days. Much much stronger erections and libido. A lot of spontaneous erections until now (last drink was saturdaynight).

Only negative: more anxiety and bad sleep

#28

Stopped with Testogel 2 weeks ago. Didn’t like the fact of getting smaller balls and my balls were much more shrinked. Felt a little improvement in libido first but didn’t last. Improvement wasn’t significant though.

The best medicine for the last years: tada, alcohol and relaxing

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#29

Feeling really good the last days. Hopefully for a longer timeframe.

Still will keep up with alcohol and tada.

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