Minoxidil induced PFS

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    new zealand

  2. 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

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    21 years old, 5’11 ft, 70kgs

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    5 days a week, weight lift and light cardio

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    eat generally health

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    i used minoxidil for roughly 2 weeks for hairloss

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    minoxidil for 2 weeks

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    near the end of may until 12th of june i stopped using minoxidil

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    i was 21 years old quit using it june 12th 2016

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    cold turkey

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    kirklands minoxidil 5% foam twice a day

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    half a cap may have used more

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    noticed a drop in libido in the first week of using minoxidil

  14. 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
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x] 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
[x] 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)
[x] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[x] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature

[x] noticed water retention, hands going numb at night time and limp forearms Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    just supplementation with herbs

  2. 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)?

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    used minoxidil because i didn’t want to use finastride because i was afraid of the sexual side effects, within the first week of using minoxidil foam i noticed libido had dropped but didn’t think much of it, then i had noticed loss of morning erections, penis shrinkage and couldn’t achieve an erection. Please approve this post, I know it sounds impossible but there are studies show that minoxidil is an AR inhibiter…

#2

Hi, are you recovered!?

#3

Lol you try to fool us or what? Sry but posts like yours destroy the whole credibility of this useful site. I know myself that PFS is real. And i know that you cant get PFS from Minoxidil because Minoxidil doesnt alter hormones in any way. So what is your point in fooling us? do you think we are all dumb and only placebo is the effect of our symptoms? Then youre the dumbest person ive ever known. RU58841 can also not give you PFS for gods sake. When i would read this without having pfs i would think this forum has no seriousness and credibility.

2 Likes
#4

There was a study showing minox impacted 5ar2 as well or it altered AR expression or something

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#5

lol its been 2 years later, still not recovered. same issues, feeling better and healed in some areas but not fully my self before all this. none of this is placebo, for you to say what im dealing with is placebo, maybe your situation with finastride is placebo also? i know my body, i know how i was before and after minoxidil COMPLETE difference. just like you know your body before and after finastride. not trying to convince anybody here, idc. I was panicked at the time and very scared but ive accepted it all. but i know these issues arent exclusive to finastride, finastride is just a trigger, just like minoxidil was a trigger.

someone can get stabbed in the brain with a knife or shot in the brain with a bullet , both have same outcomes= death

just like different drugs can have same outcomes, finastride or minoxidil doesnt matter, even SSRIs or accutane have been reported to give “PFS” . for you to say “YOU DONT HAVE PFS BECAUSE U TOOK MINOXIDIL AND NOT FINASTRIDE THEREFORE U R EXPERIENCING PLACEBO” is like saying you cant be dead because a knife stabbed u in the brain and not a bullet from a gun, (extreme comparison but you get the jist)

dont be so arrogant to think this 1 drug is the only drug that can cause these sides and also understand its a much broader picture than just finastride.

completely forgot about this post, didnt even know it was approved. enjoy your days

2 Likes
#6

josh, its not in your head, with just a quick search i found this study and im 100% sure there was another turkish one that showed minox impacting 5ar2, yes you can get “PFS” from minox. I hope you get better with time, take care!

1 Like
#7

Lol ok i believe you that its not placebo but i think your case is extremely rare. But thats not PFS. PSSD is also not PFS. But its still a Syndrome. And Accutane as well. They are all widely known for causing these permanent problems. But is there a Post Minoxidil Syndrome? no. but why not? I mean its out there for treating hairloss since the 80s. Thats a very long time. Its not that i dont believe you but its not common. And yes, this forum often says PFS is uncommon , but i think thats not true. Dr Andrew Rynne said PFS occurs in 20 % of those who take Finasteride and i think he is right with it. There are not so many young people with hairloss that take it.

#8

ah its against cancer. thats pretty nice. and personally i dont want to get bald and be impotent. i have pfs but i will still try to hold my hair with minox and ketoconazol. im sure i wont “crash” from it. Even RU58841 is much safer than fin.

#9

here’s testimonials of 100s of dudes complaining about their situation from minoxidil https://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20834&name=rogaine+extra+strength+(for+men)

, not just me, i wrote my experience on this site also. i’ve had many dudes from this site reach out to me via email to see how i am too. @kon93 thank you so much for being so understanding man, its much appreciated. guys who get affected by minoxidil are very rare, nd its so rare to the point ppl dont take them seriously, especially in this “PFS” community. @Darkparadise get off that shit, it’s only going to make your situation worse.

#10

@darkparadise, that 20% figure is not based on any data. Minoxidil has in fact been observed to strongly downregulate 5 alpha reductase 2 and inhibit the androgen receptor. While I’ve never personally seen a case to the degree of severity that occurs at the severe end of us unlucky ex-finasteride users, I have seen many cases of these minoxidil induced problems which are likely mechanistically PFS. The symptoms and persistence overlap. Moreover, the acquisition of the disease states share a common denominator: Reduction of intracellular androgens available to the androgen receptor. This demonstrably common to use of finasteride (selective 5ar2 inhibition), accutane (5ar1 inhibition) and SSRI antidepressants (strong upregulation of enzymes 3α-HSD and 17β-HSD which reduce androgens to inactive metabolites) and lupron (gnrh analogue). It’s very likely it’s the same mechanism, as with the antiandrogen RU58841.

I’m sorry you’re still suffering @josh22, and hope that the investigation and potential treatment of our condition can benefit you. In the meantime you’re welcome to post here, as are others affected by antiandrogenic substances that can cause this very likely related disorder.

4 Likes
Why topical Minoxidil is dangerous?
RU58841 and temporary ED relief
#11

dude you don’t have to prove to anyone you got PFS from minoxidil. A simple google search of the same symptoms is enough proof to show that minoxidil is just as dangerous as finasteride. Plus the askapatient info.

just ignore that darkparadise guy.

4 Likes
#12

Lol i think you guys are the reason so many people do not believe in pfs and think the pfs guys are trolls. Minoxidil is NOT a DHT Inhibitor and can’t cause the same permanent sides. I asked dr Zitzmann about that and he is of my opinion. I hope not everyone on this site have this opinion that you have. Because then guys will get pfs from drinking cola and eating pizza.“I crashed so hard from Aspirin last week” yeah of course… and then it become ridiculous, same shit like the guys who recovered completely with some supplements. lool. sad that this useful site has so many trolls on it.

#13

There are many drugs that are said to be linked to or cause very similar sides to PFS, more than likely they are causing some form of PFS as axolotl said, similar mechanisms at play, these drugs are Lupron, isotretinoin, finasteride, dutasteride, SSRIs, saw palmetto and minoxidil.

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#14

are you sure with minoxidil ? but its prescription free in my country. And i mean you only use it topical. I have used Minoxidil oral and had no problems… In 2010 also Mew said that is not possible: HELP: Have the Exact same Propecia side effects as you all, EXCEPT caused by Minoxidil do you have scientific data for claiming this ?

#16

The problem is no one! until today knows exactely how minox works. I have read about minox crashes.

1 Like
#17

Thats kind of strange of course but i don’t know. I mean of course i wouldn’t take fin again in my whole life (fucking poison) but i think i should give minox and ket a try. It can’t get worse now so why not

#18

If you’re still worried about your hair, it can get a lot worse.

Re: this thread

I used minoxidil every day for near three years prior to taking finasteride four times at 0.25 mg dose and crashing. Seeing as minoxidil is a mild anti androgen, it may have been a factor in the severity of my crash.

#19

Finasteride is prescription free in my country. Didn’t stop it from giving me PFS.

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#20

can someone just ban this guy

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#21

@Milando97 maybe your pfs from finastride is placebo :rofl:

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