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How did you find this forum? Web search
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What is your current age, height, weight? 27, 6’1’’, around 155lbs
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? I lift weights 2-4 times per week. I used to play cardio-intensive sports once or twice a week, but I haven’t done that much over the past 5 or so months.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? I eat meat, and generally eat a pretty healthy diet. I don’t eat fast food too often, maybe once every 2 weeks. I do like to eat sweets, and normally have chocolate or some sort of dessert at night.
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? To prevent hair loss
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was something like 11 months.
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How old were you when you started Finasteride? 25
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How old were you when you quit? 26
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? proscar 5mg, cut into quarters.
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? the cuts weren’t always exact, but on average 1.25mg/day
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? I don’t remember how long it took to notice side effects, probably a month or two. While on the drug the side effects I noticed were reduced sensation during sexual activity, and orgasm felt like it was numbed. Also, when I would pee, I would always have a little dribble after I finished.
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? The side effects I felt while on the drug seem to be gone, but new ones have emerged.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections - not completely, they are just weak now
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ x] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm - not total inability, but reduced amount, and weaker 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
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x ] Depression / Melancholy - had severe depression over the few months after stopping the drug. I then recovered and felt normal. Now, over a year later, I started having feelings of depression and general apathy.
Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled) - not sure, but maybe some
[ ] 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
[ ] 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) - Over a year after stopping the drug, and after feeling more normal for a while, I recently started experiencing negative sexual side effects. I became sexually active with my current partner in late February 2013. I feel like the recovery time after sex is greatly increased. After just one sexual episode my penis feels physically worn out, similar to how I used to feel when I was younger (age 19-23) and had a weekend of lots and lots of sex with my gf at the time.
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? none
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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)? I’ve had no testing
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I starting taking finasteride in late 2010 because I thought I was going bald. The doctor who prescribed it only warned me that there have been reports of reduced amount of ejaculate, but that goes away after stopping the drug. He prescribed proscar 5mg, to be quartered, because my insurance would cover it that way. I took that regularly for around 10-11 months when I stopped because my prescription ran out, and my new doctor warned me about the endocrine system problems. Over the few months after stopping the drug, I because extremely depressed. I was going through a very emotionally stressful time, which I think caused the depression to be so bad. But eventually I recovered from the depression, and I felt like I had more sexual strength, and was having more physically pleasurable sexual experiences. I was hopeful that I would not have to deal with PFS and forgot about it. From December 2012 to Mid January 2013 I was in a sexual relationship and didn’t notice any problems with libido, erection strength, or recovery after sex. In late February I began a new sexual relationship (current partner) which started out fine. But over the last month or so I feel physically worn out after sex or personal stimulation. It feels like when I was in my early twenties and my gf would visit for the weekend and there was tons of sex in a short time (makes sense to feel physically worn out after that). But now, even with no sexual stimulation for over a week at a time, I just generally feel like it’s worn out from sex. Also, over the past few weeks I’ve had emerging feelings of depression, loss of libido, and general emotional apathy. It’s weird that these effects would emerge after a good stretch of little to no bad effects. I think what may have caused it is high stress. I started a new job in January and have experienced episodes of SEVERE stress from it since. All my life I have been a low stress person, and this is definitely the most stress I’ve experienced. I’m now very worried about these effects and sexual dysfunction. I’m interested in taking non prescription remedies, like vitamins and herbal supplements to attempt recovery. If anyone can advise me on such treatment options I’d appreciate it.