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How did you find this forum? google search
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What is your current age, height, weight? 36, 6’ 2", 15st
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Do you exercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? walking, light weight training.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
meat eater, some fruit and veg - occasional alcohol and fast food. -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? hair loss
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 5 days
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How old were you when you started Finasteride? 36
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How old were you when you quit? 36
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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? Propecia
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg daily
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 2nd day
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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
[ ] 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
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x] 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) unable to sleep
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
None -
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)?
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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.
About 5 weeks back I foolishly decided to try Propecia for my thinning hair. Thing is I’d done some research into the drug before and thought it would probably be a bad idea to take something which messes with your hormones. I’ve been using Minoxidil for about 6 months without any real improvement. Vanity eventually got the better of my reason and I ordered a 3 month supply of Propecia online – figured I’d give it a try and if I got any of the side effects I’d stop it right away – you wouldn’t get lasting side effects only taking it for a short duration – right? – well that’s what I thought.
After a few days I noticed my penis felt rubbery and I had some mild pains in my testicles. I should have stopped on the first or second day – but the drug seemed to mess with my mind and I wasn’t able to think straight. Looking back now, the 5 days I was on it was a complete blur and I can’t really remember much of what happened during that time. I just remember thinking on day 6 as I was about to take another pill “WHAT HAS THIS DRUG DONE TO ME!!!” I stopped at that point, thinking that all should return to normal. Things seem to stay more or less the same the week after I stopped with some episodes of ED. I didn’t worry too much at this point as I thought these side effects would go away. Unfortunately the 2nd week everything seemed to get worse – to the point where I was completely impotent for a few days. Pains in my balls got worse, the mental side effects were still present and I was now also peeing every 5 mins. I got really freaked out at this point. It was then that I started doing more detailed research on the internet on the side effects of propecia. (and found this website in the process)
Apart from the ED problems and a rubber penis, I also found it impossible to get to sleep, even with taking sleep aid tablets. Come to thing of it I had sleep problems from the very first night after I took the drug – I just never realised at the time that it was another side effect of the drug. I also put this down to the stress caused by the other side effects, but I’m sure now that its a side effect in itself.
The inability to sleep was driving me insane so I thought it was time to visit my doctor. I explained everything to him – all my symptoms. He just said that I was very sensitive to the drug, that I’d just taken a bad reaction to it and that it would sort itself out in a few weeks. He said that having only taken it for 5 days that it would be impossible for it to have any lasting effects on my body. So he ended up giving me some Temazepam (10mg) tablets to help me sleep and to come back again in 2 weeks. Even with taking them I can only get about 2 hours of deep sleep, then I just wake up feeling as if someone has injected me with a stimulant – heart pounding in my chest and a burning sensation all over my body, which would change to feeling shivery after a few mins. Then the hot / cold process would repeat itself maybe 3 or 4 times. After that I’d lie in bed the rest of the night unable to get back into deep sleep. I’d just doze for maybe 15 -20 min periods then wake up again thought the night. I have the odd nocturnal erection on waking during the night but no sign of them in the morning when I awake.
Its been just over 5 weeks now since I quit and some of the symptoms have improved. My brain doesn’t seem to be as messed up now and I’m thinking more clearly now and not spacing out, loosing my train of thought etc. I’m no longer urinating every 5 mins, and the shaft/ foreskin of my penis isn’t quite as numb as it was, although the tip is still almost completely numb. Pain in my balls has also greatly subsided. Libido is still basically non existent, but I can still get an erection from looking at porn with the help of a bit of manual stimulation. I can also get semi-erect from just thinking about sex – so at least the connection between my penis and brain isn’t completely dead. Can also still ejaculate but the sensation of orgasm is about a tenth of what it should be, and the volume of semen is about half of what it would normally be. I also get a tingling sensation in my scrotum every 30 mins or so throughout the day. My sleep has not improved at all however – which is worrying. Even taking lots of exercise during the day to tire myself out doesn’t seem to make any difference.
I’m going back to my doctor next week. Should I be pushing him to get some blood tests of my hormones etc? I know these will be of limited use as I’ve no baseline to go on before taking the drug.
I am worried that these side effects may never go away, as I’m now well outside the normal 2 week recovery window. I think that for now however, the most important thing is to be able to get some proper sleep. Lack of sleep is bound to have very negative effects on my body in itself, never mind all the sexual side effects that the drug has caused.
I’ve binned the propecia tabs, along with the last few remaining bottles of Minoxidil and other products I’d bought to prevent hair loss – couldn’t give a shit about my hair falling out now!! I’d just be happy to get back to my old self. Odd – a few weeks back loosing my hair seemed such a big deal and one of the worst things that could happen to you, shame I’ve had to do this to myself to realise how stupid that idea was. I just hope I recover from this, although from what I’ve read on this site, I can’t expect much help from the medical community. It seems the best I can do in the meantime is lead a healthy lifestyle and hope that my body will in time heal itself from the damage that Propecia has caused. If anyone here has any advice on how to assist the recovery process I’d be most grateful for your advice.