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Where are you from (country)?
Switzerland -
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?
37 / 178cm / 76kg -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise?
No change to exercise because of “energy crashes” after exercise…only walking is possible for some time -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Gluten-free, no milk, almost no carbohydrates -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
14 years…but sometimes with breaks of 2 years -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
22 yrs old -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
36 yrs old -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia and generics -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg/day -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
- experienced short episodes of brain fog since beginning (but thought of another cause)
- muscle weakness started 5 months before stopping & Crash
- 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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[X] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[X] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[X] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[X] Muscle Wastage
[X] Muscle Weakness
[X] Joint Pain
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[X] Other (please explain)
Extreme brain fog, Muscle twitches / weakness, pressure in head, “Energy crashes” after activity (like chronic fatigue syndrome patients)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
1000 Supplements, Kreatin, Ribose, Proteins, Herbal Medication, Acupunctre, Shiatsu, TCM, Physiotherapy, Pre-Hormones (Pregnenolone, DHEA), Antidepressants, “Gut restoration” -
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)?
pre Finasteride: elevated liver enzymes & LDH
post finasteride: low/normal T, low DHT, high FSH, high LH, high Prolactin -
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.
Use of Fin since 22yrs old because of hair loss. Experiencing episodes of brain fog and tiredness since 22yrs old (but thought was because of EBV-infection). With age 32 experienced fast exhaustion doing sports (but thought it was because of deconditioning). With 36 had brain fog for about 3 months day & night…then suddenly new symptoms: muscle weakness, exhaustion, twitching of eyelids, numbness in some parts of the face. Then stopped fin what caused a major crash with muscle twitches all over my body (day&night), muscle weakness & sometimes inability to walk, brain fog / ataxia-like sensations. Finally was admitted to hospital with suspicion to have neuromuscular disease. 3 weeks of hospital stay in miserable state of health (needed wheelchair), but nobody found the problem. Back home started lots of different therapies as I mentioned above but nothing really helped so far. It’s now 2 years in horrible state of health, can’t do nothing what I used to do before in my “healthy life”…what ever will help, I am ready to try but so far I didn’t find things that really help. Hope to find some good advice reading trough some of all the posts here…