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)? Spain
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 “Finasteride muscle loss”
What is your current age, height, weight? 38, 1,79m, 65kg (75kg Before finasteride)
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finasteride + Minoxidil
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg/day + recommended dose of Minox.
What condition was being treated with the drug? Male pattern baldness
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? Around 5 years taking the drug with 2 starts and stops during around 12 years total
Date when you started the drug? 2009
Date when you quit the drug? 2021
Age when you quit? 37
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? First time, I did not notice side effects. Second and Third time I took the drug I notice side effects in the first month. Second time i used Finas i did not relate finas to side effects. That is why I re-started the drug by third time.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? None.
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
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x] Suicidal Thoughts
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)
[xxx ] Muscle Wastage
[xxx ] Muscle Weakness
[xxx ] Joint Pain
[xxx ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[xx] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[xxx ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[xxx ] Frequent urination
[x ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain) Dry Skin with frequent eccema, Joints Laxity (mainly knees), joint cartilage damage and ossification (mainly hips), muscle twitching.
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Antibiotics (2 weeks) + probiotics (4 moths) for gut microbiome re-balancing.
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)? No blood tests with hormonal profile before Finasteride. After Finasteride, hormonal tests are ‘Normal’ acording to several Endocrinologist.
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience? PFS got much worse every time I restarted the drug. I re-started two times because I (and doctors) did not link health problems with Finasteride.
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I took FInasteride a total time between 4 to 5 years during 12 years aprox.
First time: 2009-2013: I did not notice any side effect. Nor during the treatment neither when stopped the drug.
2016 (1-2 months in drug): I started with frequent urination with urgency. I quit FInasteride cold Turkey. I was bad diagnosed with bacterial prostatitis, but now I know it was 99% Finasteride. 2 Years later started muscle loss and Joint pain (after 2 years of quitting Fin, I did not related it to the drug).
2021 (3 Months in the drug): I feel so stupid for starting Finasteride again, but I did, as I thouthgt frequent urination and muscle loss and joints pain was not related to Finas. Here is when everything explodes. I start with dry eye, tinnitus and then severe joint laxity (knee) and muscle loss, and then all the other symptoms. Here is when I relate Finasteride with all the symptoms and I stop again cold turkey. No improvement in 1 year and a half since then.
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 [ ]