- 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.
- What is your current age, height, weight?
30, 6ft, 185lbs
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Have been active most of my adult life. Cycle between weightlifting, calisthenics, cardio, martial arts and outdoor activities.
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Generally healthy with one day a week of binge eating junk foods to satisfy my sweet tooth. Over the last year or so I’ve really slacked in this department though and I haven’t been as strict with my diet (ie no 5-6 small meals with emphasis on high protein, veggies etc).
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Mild hairloss… ironic because I’ve grown my hair out longer over the last few months and although the very mild loss continues my current hairstyle looks pretty great… damn you vanity!
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
I used the drug for a period of 2 months last year after which I stopped due to poor planning. I didn’t pack enough pills for a trip and ran out. At the time I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of taking a drug everyday (with potential longterm health implications) anyhow so after missing doses for a few weeks I gave up. At the beginning of this year I foolishly decided to give it another go and used the drug 30 days before crashing in March.
- How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
29
- How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
30
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey. Once the side effects kicked in I decided to cut my losses and quit the drug.
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Actually… I’m pretty sure it was a generic. (disregard the “propecia” listed in my profile)
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg daily (I should note I initially used 0.5mg during my first run for about 2 months without incident… I upped it to 1mg during my second run to try keep things simpler).
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
30 days at 1mg
- 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
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] 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
[X] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] 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?
Nothing as of yet. I initially adopted a wait and see outlook. As this situation has now persisted for seven and a half months (with some minor improvements) it seems like I’m going to need to step up and take charge of my health in a serious way.
- 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 as of yet. Will do this soon.
- Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
See below…
- Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug
Ok folks I’m going to try to keep this brief. In early March I crashed after using fin for 30 consecutive days. I had one painful ejaculation and then my entire genital region went dead for a few a days. I’m not being metaphorical here, we’re talking complete dead zone… I couldn’t even feel water from the shower in this area. Needless to say I was terrified. The literature included with the drug indicated that painful ejaculations and erectile problems were to be expected and that they would subside with further use… but I wasn’t waiting to find out if this was the case, I promptly stopped taking the drug and hoped for a swift recovery. Sure enough after a week or so things got marginally better, there was some life again in my twig and berries. Another week and I was feeling much more relaxed as I could achieve an erection, feel water on my crotch again etc. However things were still “wrong”. Sensation in my genitals was markedly different (absent), orgasm was almost like taking a piss in terms of pleasure, erections were pathetically weak compared to normal and ejaculate volume and consistency were just strange.
I figured… “hey, maybe this will take a bit longer than two weeks to resolve… relax buddy”… and I tried to put this out of my mind as much as possible (this is amazingly difficult as everyone on this site can probably attest to). Two more weeks passed and the situation wasn’t improving much. During this time I had spent enough time on google to become a veritable fountain of knowledge on male genitals, hormones, finasteride and it’s complications etc. I ran through the possible list of afflictions. Did I have prostatis? Pudendal Nerve Entrapment? Low T? High E? High Prolactin? Low Dopamine? Some dastardly combination? etc etc… you know the drill. After waiting a month and change I decided to see my GP about this. He gave me the usual platitudes about the psychological component to ED (I can hardly feel my johnson dude!), checked my blood sugar and did a digital rectal exam to rule out prostate issues. Once these checked out he conceded the problem may be hormonal but referred me to a urologist to look into my frequent urination (which at that point was nightmarish)… a couple of months and a visit to the uro later I was left with no meaningful information. My bladder was fine and according the uro “propecia doesn’t cause lasting side effects”… he wrote me script for Cialis and sent me on my way.
This was no good. Between then and now a few things have improved organically;
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I could now achieve an erection from watching porn without having to grab my junk… the erection is nowhere near as strong as normal but it will do. I have moments where I’m at full strength erection wise but overall it’s a sad affair, weak…quick to vanish and in need of constant stimulation.
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My urination at night is now down to one trip (from 4-5 at the peak of this disaster)… so I’m not too worried about that anymore.
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Orgasms feel somewhat good again although nothing like the rush of sensation it use to be. There’s a feeling of some release but t he lead up is still better then the final result. I think this anhedonia coupled with the lack of full sensation in my penis points to a neurotransmitter issue. Though who knows really?
My penis is now vein-ier than it’s ever been, it’s also much less sensitive. We’re talking about 30% of normal sensitivity with a moderate increase near the point of completion. This is probably my biggest concern sides-wise. I feel like part of the reason I can’t sustain an erection properly is that I can’t really feel much.
Other appreciable sides; I have a vague feeling of unease and discomfort in my prostrate region. I woudn’t call this “pain” but it’s concerning none-the-less. The whole region just feels… I don’t know… unwell.
Ok enough with the commiseration. Here’s what I plan to do over the next year+ to address these problems. Having read all the different theories I can only conclude that any means of addressing this issue needs to be holistic to appreciate a higher chance of success.
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Overhaul my health and fitness. I’ve always been a health nut but over the last 2 years or so I’ve slacked a great deal and haven’t been consistent at all in terms of daily exercise and nutrition. This changes now. I plan to do a modified P90X style routine for 6 weeks to get the gears moving (have been at this for about a week now) and will incorporate a weight training and cardio routine afterwards. Diet will be hit and miss until I can afford to eat precisely again… this won’t be for another few weeks unfortunately.
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Daily meditation. I’ve read enough about meditation and it’s positive impact on regulating stress + hormones to be convinced it needs to be a part of my plan.
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Supplementation routine. We all know the supps that are supposed to help… no need to run them down here. Needless to say I will attempt to improve my hormonal profile as well as my neurotransmitter functioning as much as possible without pharmacological intervention. Unfortunately I won’t be able to incorporate a serious diet + supps regimen for another few weeks.
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Living a happy and full life. I have a lot to be grateful for and erection/sexual issues notwithstanding I feel that I need to move into a positive and celebratory mindset in order to increase my odds of coming through this thing successfully. I’m in this for the long haul!
Once I get my health together (and by “together” I mean a sub 10% body fat reading, 25 extra pounds of muscle and calmer brain waves via meditation/yoga etc)… I will see where I stand. I truly suspect my core complaints will have improved by then.
Next steps will be investigating hormonal, thyroid and dopamegenic solutions.
I will keep this thread updated with my findings and progress.
