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Where are you from (country)? United States of America
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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?) Internet search after panic attack from Propecia
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What is your current age, height, weight? 29yrs., 5’9", 163 lbs.
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? 1-2 hours of bike daily.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Mostly vegetarian diet, meat once a week only enough for one serving that day.
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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)? 29 days
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 29
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 29
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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? First day, but the third day had very noticeable side effects.
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Lower Sex Drive, Loss of Libido, calming effect, more sensitive to emotions, Erectile Dysfunction, Phallus Numbness/disconnect.
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
[X ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[X ] 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
[X ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X ] Depression / Melancholy
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
[ ] 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
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None
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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)? Had nothing done here.
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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.
I started taking Propecia after a local visit to a hair transplant clinic–the guy there told me to take the Propecia because it was recommended that I try to gain as much hair back as possible and to try to maintain the remaining hair that I still had. Only after 6months-1year of using Propecia were they willing to take me seriously as a client. I was given a prescription by the consultant and given a 6 pill sample to start right away on the Propecia.
I noticed a difference that night when I took the first Propecia, I could not sleep because my body felt as if it was high on caffeine. The second day, noticed that I would get random numbness sensations from the head of my penis. The third day of taking propecia, I noticed a lack of sexual drive and energy, I also noticed that I didn’t have my regular morning and night erections. My emotions were mellow as I took less attention of things that would normally irritate me, such as aggressive drivers during traffic. My wife mentioned to me that I was becoming more socially understanding and pleasant, not my normal silly and stubborn self. I paid attention to the side effects but tried to justify them by telling myself that my body was either adjusting to the medicine or that I was too tired for sex, these justifications were false.
My sex life before Propecia side effects was great, my wife and I have been married for over 10 years and still have fun in the bed room, we would become intimate at least 4 times a week. After I started Propecia, I was fine going without intimacy for most the week! During the first week of taking Propecia whenever my wife and I became intimate it was harder to maintain an erection, my erections were NOT full, stimulation during intercourse was also inconsistent and awkward. During the first week, climaxes or orgasms were premature, painful, less pleasurable and my semen production was cut by half.
Week two was similar to the first week as far as side effects went, except for the fact that my libido was further reduced, erections were even more difficult to maintain or even achieve, and whatever pleasure I managed to have I had even less semen to show for and the semen became clear!!!
Week Three was the worst! There was a deep desire to become intimate with my wife because by that time it had been at least a 5-6 days without intimacy, BUT I was NOT able to have an erection, I could not feel anything, it was as if the Penis was a numb piece of flesh, even after a period of stimulation ejaculation from the limp penis was a clear as water!!! SO I QUIT!!! Given that I personally feel that the hair gains from Propecia is NOT worth mentioning, I will for the sake of readers whom are concerned. Gains were surprisingly rapid for me, I noticed small hairs growing after the sixth day of using Propecia, by end of the third week my hair thickened by 15% and my hairline started to lower. The hair on my scalp also became thicker and more healthy. If there were no devastating side effects such as loss of function and sterility I’m positive I would still be using Propecia and also positive my hair would be in better shape.
After quitting, my erectile function slowly came back, but not until after about 1 1/2 month (6weeks). It is important that I mention, during this recovery period I exercised my prostate, through daily routines of induced erection without ejaculation. The reason for this was because after the third week of using Propecia, I noticed that not only did one of my testicles become smaller, my prostate as well–thus making my erections less reliable.
Although everything came back to normal, it was not easy, there were a lot of panic attacks, and lots of work for things to come back to normal. DO NOT TRY PROPECIA!!! IF you are on the fence about it, DO NOT TRY IT!!! Unless you are ok with having a full set of hair and TOTAL CHEMICAL CASTRATION as the price. Think about it guys, is it worth having hair and no love life, with your wife or girlfriend for the rest of your life?! Sorry guys and gals but I choose function over hair.
As of this writing I am functionally back to normal but have read of millions of others whom have NEVER recovered and weren’t as lucky as myself, many of which have committed suicide because of chemical castration. I have also decided to go with another hair restoration clinic and method. I had hair transplantation surgery and never looked back, fully happy with my results and a full head of hair like when I was a kid in high school. Good luck to those trying to recover, and WARNINGS to those whom are contemplating on using Propecia.
-Lee
