- Where are you from (country)? Texas, U.S.
- How did you find this forum (Google search , Propecia, Testosterone)
- What is your current age, height, weight? 37, 5’6”, 175lbs.
- Do you exercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? No
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? All of the above
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hairloss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 7 yrs.
- How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 2005, when I was 30.
- How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? November, 2011 – 37 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
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 7 yrs.
- What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Low Testosterone, Depression, Anxiety, lowered sex drive
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] 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
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] 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
[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? Citalopram, Clomid
-
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)? Low T count, Low LH
-
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.
** I originally wrote this for someone else, which is why it contains some basic info that the majority of the people on propeciahelp.com probably don’t need.**
2005
I started taking Propecia after noticing a receding hairline and thinning hair at the back of my head which was beginning to form a bald spot. I went to XXX Dermatology for the first consultation and prescription. Within a few years my hair was thicker, the bald spot had regrown, and I regained some of the lost hair at my hairline. At some point I switched to having my prescriptions filled by my family Doctor at XXX.
October 2011
I sought out a Psychiatrist after suffering from, at times, overwhelming depression and anxiety at work. Dr. T prescribed Citalopram for the depression and within a few weeks I was on a 40mg daily dose. The Citalopram helped greatly with the anxiety and depression. She also prescribed Ambien for my sleep issues. I was waking up in the middle of the night was not able to go back to sleep because my mind was racing. I also experienced unusual weight gain as I’ve been pretty stable at 165 for the last few years, and I’m now close to 180. Dr. T also recommended that I get a full blood workup done to look for any medical causes of the depression.
November 2011
The results of the blood tests showed that my testosterone was below normal, at 266 (Above 300 is normal). Dr. T recommended that I go back to my family physician who had prescribed the Propecia for me to conduct some follow up testing and ask about possible side effects of Propecia.
I had now been taking Propecia for seven years and I felt my hairline and hair growth were normal for my age. Not quite as thick as it was at 17, but I felt it looked good long or short. I never fully regained the hairline at my temples, and the hair there grew at a slower rate, but I doubt even my mother could tell that my hair looked different than when I was a teenager.
My regular doctor was on vacation so his backup, Dr. N, reviewed my blood tests. He confirmed my levels were low and suggested the cause could be a pituitary tumor and that I should take this seriously!! He scheduled a follow-up blood test for me.
The results of those tests again confirmed my low testosterone level. I reviewed those blood results with Dr. I, my regular physician, now back from vacation. He asked… Did I have ED issues? No. Still having sex? Yes. He seemed slightly irritated at me, and greatly irritated with Dr. T for ordering the blood tests in the first place. He didn’t feel there was any issue present that he would treat for. He felt that if Propecia were to have any effect on my Testosterone, it would only be to increase T levels in my body. He felt the whole depression thing was either bunk, or at least not concerning, and that the Propecia had nothing to do with any of this, and as far as he was concerned his involvement in this was over.
I decided to stop taking Propecia after I read about negative experiences of other men that used it. Their experiences were different than mine, usually irreversible ED even after discontinuing medication. But I felt that a drug powerful enough to have those effects couldn’t be good for me, and could be causing some of my own issues. The lack of consistent, credible information on the long-term side effects of Propecia also weighed heavily in my decision to stop using it.
Interestingly Dr. I mentioned that since my T levels were now so low, I probably didn’t need the Propecia to maintain the hair regrowth. But I was still concerned that I would lose all of my hair rather quickly. I ordered maximum strength Minoxidil from Amazon and started using it daily. My hope is that the Minoxidil will help to offset, or reduce the any hair loss I experience after stopping Propecia.
December 2011
Dr. T felt that I should get a second opinion on the Propecia/Low T issue and referred me to an endocrinologist. They sent me in for a third round of blood tests on my Testosterone, as well as checking a few other hormones.
The Ambien was giving me mixed results. Some nights I would sleep through to the morning. Some nights I still woke up early. If it was early enough I would take half a pill and go back to sleep. Many days I found myself fatigued after a night of Ambien and presumably, a night of full sleep. I stopped taking the Ambien after hearing about so many people with trouble breaking their addiction. I think the decision was made for me when I was visiting my family for Christmas. My sister heard I had some Ambien pills and asked for one. She had taken Ambien in the past but had since quit and was trying to sleep naturally. When she asked for the pill she had the look and sound of an addict.
January 2012
My T levels came back at 288. I asked the endocrinologist if the small increase could be material or just natural variation, she felt that it was just normal variation. My prolactin levels were also normal. This is the hormone that controls milk production in women. Men can actually start producing milk if their pituitary develops a tumor and starts producing abnormal levels of Prolactin. But she expected to see a higher level of luteinizing hormone (LH, produced by the pituitary) which should have been signaling my testes to produce more testosterone. Because the LH was normal (it should have been high) she ordered an MRI for me to rule out a pituitary tumor. She also prescribed Clomid to bring up my T levels.
There are several hormone replacement therapies (HRT) for low T, and all of them except for Clomid are essentially life-long. Direct testosterone replacement, either through patches, gels, or injections, causes the body to stop producing testosterone on its own. This causes the testes to shrink… ouch! I’m really hoping that the Clomid will be enough for me. Clomid is the only HRT approved for men trying to conceive children. If works by tricking the pituitary into producing more LH, which I hope will then cause my testes to produce more T.
The Minoxidil is already having a noticeable effect on my hair. I keep my hair very short on the back and sides, and about an inch on the top. It’s even thicker now than it was on Propecia, definitely bushier. Unprompted, my wife noticed the difference in my hair on her own. One of the results of higher T levels is more T converted DHT, and DHT is the hair follicle killer. The true “Minoxidil test” begins once I start taking the Clomid and increasing my T levels. Oh well… I had a good run and held on to my hair seven years longer than god intended.
The MRI went experience was much different than I expected. I’m not sure how they get small children or claustrophobics to sit still in there for 30 minutes, sedation maybe? It was like lying inside a jackhammer. I wasn’t expecting to need earplugs. But after a while my anxiety went down and I drifted off to sleep. The MRI tech was great but afterwards strangely told me he also did a full brain scan in addition to scanning my pituitary. I hope that’s not because he saw problems. The results go to my endocrinologist in two days. They will call me if there are any problems but otherwise I go in for a follow-up in three months to check my blood and see if my T levels have improved on Clomid. I’m really hoping they don’t call early.
I have thought about just leaving things as they are since the Citalopram has been treating the anxiety and depression. But Dr. T has been telling me there are other benefits to correcting my low T levels. Energy, focus, cognition, would all be improved with normal T levels. And I have noticed a slow, gradual decline in my libido over the last 5-8 years. I had thought it was just age related but now I’m hoping it is something correctable. I feel like the Clomid treatment makes sense but I’m hesitant to move to a life-long HRT unless I start to experience more severe symptoms.
Thanks for reading all of this, thanks for the information this site provides, and thanks for any guidance you can provide me.
