Just Looking For Answers

Member Stories
#1

Tomorrow I will visit my doctor so he can order a hormone panel via blood test, but I quit the generic proscar for MPB five weeks ago. While on the drug, I functioned mostly fine other than a loss of morning wood and evening erections as well as watery semen quality. I decided I no longer wanted to take the drug due to the possible long term health ramifications. Well for the first few days after quitting I wasn’t horny at all, but eventually it came back after about a week or so and it was all good until about a week ago when I couldn’t get it up one night, and then I went into full blown panic mode. I couldn’t eat or sleep thinking I was following the time line of PFS.

Eventually I took a viagra and was able to achieve erection while on it for two straight days. The following three days though, I became extremely horny and no need for viagra at all. I was able to masturbate about 7 times over the course of 3 days. Today though, I just wasn’t feeling as horny as I was yesterday and the days prior. My erection quality dipped a bit, as did my semen quality. I’m just wondering if it’s normal for the body to kinda go through peaks and valleys like that or if it might be PFS. I had blood work done at the hospital about 5 days ago, right around the fourth week and the doctor said if my endocrine system had crashed my sodium levels wouldn’t have come back normal. Just want to figure out what’s going on, and I need some advice from people who may have experienced this before, so any feedback would be encouraged. 26 years old by the way.

#2
  1. Where are you from (country)?
    United States
  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?
    26 yrs old, 6’ 1", 250lbs
  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Used to in years prior, but not often while on medication
  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Meat, fruit, dairy, etc… and occasionally junk food
  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    Hair Loss
  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    7 months
  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    25 years old, Late April 2014
  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    26 years old, Late November 2014
  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?
    Generic Proscar
  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    Originally 1.25mg daily but settled into .625mg daily after first two months
  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    A few weeks
  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    Morning Erections, Nocturnal Erections, Spontaneous Erections, Watery Ejaculate libido is completely intermittent (high for a few hours, then not so much)
    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
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks (Stemming from ED symptoms, this sort of thing has happened to me before due to a completely unrelated issue)
[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
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
    None

  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)?

  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.

#3

I’m 26 years old. I took finasteride for my thinning hair over 7 months, and for the first few weeks off it I felt great. Then for about a week afterward, I felt horrible. I was having panic attacks for days to the point I couldn’t leave my house. I had no sex drive for a week. Eventually I took a viagra, and masturbated. After that, I had about 6 weeks where I felt really good and could masturbate on a regular basis and my semen quality was vastly improved in comparison to my time on the drug. My blood test from one month after my discontinuation revealed that my T levels were “normal” aside from a slightly elevated Prolactin level, around 18 if I remember correctly but I could be wrong, from what the woman at the lab said over the phone. I can’t recall the figures of T3, T4, or other levels that were tested.

That 6 weeks ended pretty abruptly though, as the next 6 weeks were filled with weaker erections and only occasional morning erections. Then, a few nights ago I felt extremely horny and got a rock hard erection like I haven’t felt since I was a teenager without any pharmaceutical assistance. I masturbated twice in about 45 minutes. My semen volume and quality was great. Even my erection the next morning was great. However, the last few days have been shitty and I’ve had no sex drive to speak of really. It could be the fact that I’ve done nothing but obsess over my libido – or lackthereof – and erectile quality for the about 6 weeks now. The morning wood comes and goes now (maybe once or twice a week), I never got it while on finasteride…ever. My energy level is really good. I’ve been back in the gym for about a month and feel great after long workouts. My brain function is still as sharp as it’s ever been, my body hair certainly hasn’t suffered, I did gain quite a bit of weight over the past year but that’s because I ate terrible food and didn’t exercise, but I’m working on that. I don’t have hot flashes, my penis and balls haven’t shrunk and they’re still sensitive to the touch. My general practitioner doesn’t believe that PFS exists, so I’m just looking for an answer. Please help me.

#4

Hey man, like you I had anxiety after quitting propecia.
I found that drinking regular cups of tea throughout the day helped my anxiety.
If your anxiety does not improve, go see you doctor and ask for help.

How is your sleep?
Is your sleep quality good or bad at the moment?

I noticed in your post that you eat junk food.
Is this still the case?

You need to completely avoid junk food asap.
Really bad for you and could delay your recovery.

Here is my regime:-

  1. AVOID 5AR INHIBITORS:
  • Saw palmetto
  • Astaxanthin
  • Fish oil
  • Zinc
  • Red Peppers

  1. AVOID TEA-TREE
    Many soaps/shower gels contain tea tree.
    Tea tree is an anti-androgen and can prevent the body from responding to androgens.
    Pay close attention to your soaps, shower gels, handwashes etc.
    If it contains tea-tree, bin it.

  2. FOODS:
    Avoid junk foods from fast food outlets and any un-natural sauces.
    Google “paleo diet”.

  3. DRINKS:
    Avoid coffee.
    Avoid alcohol.
    Avoid fizzy drinks.
    Avoid cordials.
    Drink plenty of fresh water.

  4. DIGESTION / GUT HEALTH:
    Probiotic Yoghurts. Two or three each day.
    Works well alongside Viridian digestive aid.

  5. IMMUNE SYSTEM:
    Soluble Vitamin C daily - 1000mg
    Garlic & Selenium daily - Odourless garlic capsules are generally useless.

  6. DOLICHOL:
    Boost dolichol by eating raw spinach regularly.

  7. EXERCISE:
    Avoid prolonged/intense exercise, such as sprinting.
    Weight lifting is ok. Google “Bullworker”.

  8. METHYLATION:
    Vitamin-B12 in morning
    Metafolin in evening.

  9. VITAMIN-D:
    Regular/Safe exposure to natural sunlight to boost vitamin D.

  10. SEXUAL FUNCTION / LIBIDO:
    ASPARAGUS RACEMOSUS (Shatavaari)
    Taken in “cycles” 4 days on, 3 days off.

1 Like
#5

Forgot to ask if you drink alcohol?

If so, how much?

#6

I don’t drink, smoke, or eat junk food anymore. I workout 4-5 days per week, both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. I have a lot of energy. Feel good after workouts. My testicles and penis are still sensitive to the touch and normal sized. Most days my sex drive is pretty good, some days great if I don’t ejaculate for a few days, but my erection quality has dipped quite a bit in the last 6 weeks, as opposed to the 6 weeks prior. Every once in a while I’ll get my steel rod back. It’s just really strange.

Last Monday afternoon for instance, I was feeling very aroused, but my erection was shit. I still came, but it was with a semi-erection. Then later that night, I gave it another go and I got massively hard without any pharmaceutical aide and was able to masturbate twice in about an hour with great orgasms and great semen quality and volume. Even had a semi erection when I woke up the next morning.

Then I couldn’t get erect at all the next few days despite my willingness to. My stress and anxiety are pretty regular due to the infrequency of erection quality or being able to get it up at all. I get morning wood maybe once or twice a week, but rarely is it super hard. The most recent time it was, but it’s not always the case. Viagra helps, but I’ve only used it maybe 3 times in 4 months and don’t like to because I don’t want to become reliant on it. I don’t know if it’s the placebo effect or whatever, but it does help.

I go to my GP again this week, and I am going to make sure we review in full my recent blood work in comparison to my pre-fin tests. Luckily the dermatologist that prescribed me finasteride made sure that I took a blood test for certain hormone levels – not sure how many and what they were off the top of my head – prior to releasing my script. The only thing the nurse would tell me over the phone about my recent blood work was that it showed “normal” levels in all testosterone areas – but what’s normal for one individual may not be ideal for another – and that my prolactin level was high, but still within range. I was extremely stressed about PFS at the time of the blood test, and from what I’ve read, stress can jack up prolactin levels so that could be why. Also, I remember me pre-fin blood test that my T4 level was slightly above normal. I’m just trying to make sense of all this mess.