Where are you from (country)?
Belgium
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?)
Searching for my symptoms using Google, then finding this website
What is your current age, height, weight?
28, 176cm, 75kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
dutasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
0.5mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
9 months
Date when you started the drug?
december 2021
Date when you quit the drug?
september 2022
Age when you quit?
28
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
at the beginning of summer 2022, so approximately after 6-7 months
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
sexual issues (mainly ED, and changes in penile size/shape) and weird sensations (not always painful) in the perineum/prostate area
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
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat (<-- mostly resolved with time)
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating. (<-- mostly resolved with time)
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency. (<-- mostly resolved with time)
[X] 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
[ ] 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
[X] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] 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?
Currently on 5mg tadalafil daily (efficacy is waning, which is giving me major panic attacks); trying supplementation with zinc/magnesium intermittently, with varying (but usually disappointing) resulting. Tried a supplement (Proxerex; contains L-arginine, zinc, maca, …) which together with Cialis worked well, but also started losing efficiency and was hence discontinued (long-term L-arginine can apparently make things worse than they were to begin with!)l
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)?
Two blood tests taken five years ago showed T levels of 600ng/dL and 610ng/dL. Three repeated tests in the last 4 months showed 320, 340 and 325 ng/dL. Did an additional test for DHT, which I hadn’t tested before so I don’t know what my baseline is, but it came back pretty low at 0.38 nmol/L (range 0.32-2.18nmol/L).
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
**Started dutasteride in december 2021, fearing hair loss.
At first, I didn’t notice any side-effects, and hence continued taking it throughout the first half of 2022.
Then, around summer, I noticed I wasn’t getting any morning or nocturnal erections anymore, and I also started losing my erection during masturbation. I visited a urologist who told me everything was probably fine, and he gave me a prescription for 5mg Cialis/tadalafil daily. While this initially “worked” great, I noticed that already by the end of the summer, the drug was losing efficacy. I started searching for my symptoms online in greater detail, found this forum, and immediately threw away that poison in september 2022. Unfortunately, some side effects are lingering even after discontinuation of the drug.
Currently, I’m consulting with an endocrinologist. He recommended supplementing with Proxerex (a supplement containing L-arginine, zinc, maca, …), which worked well together with the Cialis, but also started losing efficacy. I feared that I would build a tolerance or even worse, end up in an even more miserable baseline situation. There is some research backing this up (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24860943/), so just to be safe I discontinued this supplement.
Currently not taking anything for a few weeks except for a magnesium pill in the evening, to see if my body can reset its tolerance**
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
-
Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
-
Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
-
Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
-
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 [ ]
-
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 [ ]
