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)?
Canada
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 Search
What is your current age, height, weight?
26, 6’1, 180 lb
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Propecia
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair Loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? A few weeks at most
Date when you started the drug? 2015
Date when you quit the drug? 2015
Age when you quit? 18
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? Loss of facial hair, genitals atrophied and constantly tight and retracted, numbness, erectile dysfunction, spider veins.
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
[x ] Erectile Dysfunction
[x ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections - Don’t know
[x ] Watery Ejaculate
[x ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility - Don’t know
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
I did have these mental side effects. The brain fog felt like I was stoned 24/7 and lasted for about a year. They’ve since resolved.
Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[x ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[x ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[x ] Gynecomastia (male breasts) developed puffiness and a lump behind my left nipple
[ ] 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
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[x] Increased hair loss I suffered unprecedented hair loss during the crash.
[x ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
In a nutshell, it’s mostly sexual and physical. Erectile dysfunction, numbness, atrophy, tissue changes, gyno lump, loss of facial hair, testicular atrophy, numbness, and retraction.
My testicles were constantly moving for a while after I took fin, but not anymore.
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Clomid, Nolvadex. I plan to try Dostinex soon.
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)?
I had no pre drug blood tests. Now my hormones are normal, although prolactin tends to be on the upper end of normal or slightly higher. DHEA is also sometimes high although I do not see this as a concern.
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I suffered erectile dysfunction and unexplained numbness immediately upon taking the pills. I did not link them with the drug as I was unaware of their existence. I stopped for unrelated reasons. A day after that I crashed completely. My penis and testicles became completely numb and retracted into my body. My testicles were atrophying horribly and painfully for a week, after which they stabilized, although the numbness is still there and they are still often retracted. I also suffered from penile pain overnight for a few nights, which is now gone. I also lost a lot of my facial hair, and it has never recovered.
The vein on my penis is now far less prominent, as there is much less blood flow there. I also developed spider veins very rapidly over the few days that I crashed and suffered penile and testicular pain. The veins have never gone away.
I now have a bulging varicocele in addition to my penile spider veins. Either this was not there before, or it was there but masked because my testicles were much bigger. If that’s the case then it would show just how much they must have shrunk
Currently I suffer from almost complete impotence, numbness, penile spider veins, penis shrinkage/ loss of penile weight, bendiness. My testicles are still atrophied although they have remained within normal range, and they are numb, so if I’m kicked I feel nothing.
Right now I’m on my third dose of Alfuzosin/ Uroxatral, which doesn’t seem to be doing much at this point, and I plan to try Dostinex in a few days.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
can shrink men’s penis and testicles from the beginning. Nothing about this on the liers leaflet.