Hello guys! Too bad we’re not meeting under better circumstances. 
- Where are you from (country)?
SF, CA, US
- 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?)
“Propecia side effects”–was researching the effects of low testosterone.
- What is your current age, height, weight?
49, 5’11", 180lbs
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Yes, resistance training, 2 to 3 times a week.
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Something close to the Paleo diet.
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss.
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
Don’t exactly remember, yet. Maybe ±6 months.
- How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
Don’t remember exactly when I took it–it was sometime between 2001 and 2007, so I could have been between 36 and 43.
- How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
See #7.
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey as soon as I was sure I was seeing some nasty side effects.
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Pretty sure it was Propecia.
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
Don’t remember at this time.
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
Maybe 5-6 months.
- What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
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
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] 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
[x] Other (please explain)
“Prostate insensitivity”–see #17.
Reduced force of ejaculate.
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Viagra, cialis, and things that are supposed to naturally increase testosterone production: paleo diet, resistance training, impact cardio, zinc, fenugreek supplements.
- 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 yet.
-
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
-
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Was already using Rogaine for hair loss, heard about Propecia so gave it a try. I’d heard of the potential side effects, but as I’d suffered no side effects from Rogaine, I figured it wouldn’t be an issue. As soon as some of these side effects kicked in, mainly when I noticed a decrease in the size of my testicles, I stopped the Propecia immediately.
I ended up selling my remaining doses to an anonymous someone on the internet who claimed they were getting ready for MTF gender reassignment. No surprise there. I wonder if Merck knows of this application of finasteride?
The worst side effects, besides the shrunken testicles, all of which started around this same time, and all of which I still experience to this day, include erectile disfunction, a marked reduction in ejaculate, a reduced force of ejaculation, and what I call “prostate insensitivity”: as a gay man, I was well aware of the pleasure that can be derived from direct prostate stimulation. I lost that ability too.
I went to a doctor with my side effects and he chalked it up to “just getting older.” He examined my testicles and claimed they were a normal size, though I know they weren’t MY normal size. I tried to put the whole issue out of my mind and went with the “getting older” line, and tried working with that. I also put some of the blame for the ED on a stressful life issue I was going through at the time, even though I’m over that now and the ED is still present. Viagra and cialis only work so well.
Essentially, after taking up an interest in body building and researching ways to boost declining testosterone levels I happened upon propeciahelp.com. Hopefully, this will get me somewhere in understanding at least, if not totally overcoming some of these issues.
For now, I’m going to study this site for the necessary defences, then make a doctor’s appointment to hopefully do something about it.