My Finasteride History

Member Stories
#1

  1. How did you find this forum? Googled-permanent impotence from propecia

  2. What is your current age, height, weight? 40, 6’0" 215 lbs

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Weights,cardio and basketball

  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?Balance of healthy food,no junk or alcohol.

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?Hair loss

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 5 years.

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride? 28

  8. How old were you when you quit? 33

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Quick taper-once a week to once a month

  10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Proscar.

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg/day

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 years later when I was 30.

  13. 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
[ x] 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
[ ] 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
[ ] 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
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[x ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

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

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? TRT,HCG, Arimidex,Tamoxifen

  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.

I started taking finasteride when I was 28 .I noticed testicular shrinkage,loss of libido and falure to achieve and maintain an errection from any type of visual,auditory or tactile stimulation.

I was also having problems with sensitivity,especially around the glans area.My ejaculate volume was a few drops and was a yellowish colour.

I used to have easy triggered errections that would stay engorged,even after ejaculation,and could have sex a few times during an evening.
Now I still have trouble having any type of sexual urges and I’ve been off for 7 years.

I had gynocomastia within 2 weeks after treatment,and that has subsided a couple of years ago with the addition of Nolvadex.

I have little energy,motivation and poor sleep quality.However the sleep could also be caused from my sleep apnea which I have been treating with CPAP.

My flow of word finding when writing or talking,recall problems and visual spatial memory has greatly detetiorated in the last 5 years. I am very forgetful and have a constant brain fog with long confusional episodes.

Although I appreciate and am moved by all kinds of beutiful girls.I dont spring to life once I get close.This is very depressing and frustrating and I’m sure develops into a negative viscious spiral!

#2

Have you seen NO improvements in libido after 7 years of discontinuation? I used propecia for 3 years, and had a sudden onset of sexual side effects which have worsened even a year after stopping the drug.

Did your side effects worsen after stopping the drug?

#3

You mention you have tried TRT, hCG, Arimidex and Tamoxifen.

  • When did you start/stop each treatment?
  • What changes did you notice with each treatment?
  • Which treatments are you currently on today?
#4

Sorry I actually gave you a bum steer.I have been fully off for 12 weeks.Before that I was taking a single 1mg pill every 6 weeks,for 3 years to preserve my insanity as probably dht was through the roof and caused excessive cns stimulation,anxiety and sleep problems.When I found this forum I decided to quit for good,no matter what!

Libido is still in the dumps as well as erectile equality probably because of high dht,testosterone and estradiol which can all supress the testicles,HPTA and cause excessive norepinephrine as well as decrease the neurosteroids in the brain.

I was taking trt(testosterone cypionate)120mgs/wk for 4 years.I have reduced to 50mgs/wk to lower my estradiol and dht and testosterone(free and total).My shbg is low.So my free will always be parallel with total T.

I will minimize exogenous T while taking agressive HCG therapy to kick start any natural T production and add arimidex if needed.

I believe if most of us do the appropriate blood tests and balance our natural hormones so that our pituitary glands are not out of whack,then we can achieve huge progression in recovery.

#5

I had some good functioning Mew back in 2003 when I stayed off of Fin for 12 weeks.I was takiing 120mgs/wk of test cyp 2200 I.U. of HCG on Mon and Thurs. and 20mgs of tamoxifen a day.I jumped back on fin because I was going out of my mind.Maybe from excessive everything.
I had better errections and libido was good.

I have been taking 120 mgs/wk of test cypionate and arimidex 0.25 e3rd day.No improvements so yesterday I lowered to 50mgs as recommended by Dr.Crisler and will get re-tested in 3 weeks to see where all hormones stand.

Once lowered to propper levels,I will do at least 3,000 iu’s of hcg/wk and decrease my exogenous test accordingly.I will add arimidex if necessary.Testicles and penis is smaller than ever now.I feel as if I’m neutored! Probably from huge supression from high testosterone,DHT and estradiol.

I will keep you posted with all my blood tests.

Does Rhein,Quest or Labcorp do the Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme tests Mew? Thanks.

#6

Can you clarify exactly when your erections and libido were “good”? Was this several weeks after you stopped fin, and BEFORE TRT? Or after you stopped fin and WHILE on TRT?

When were your libido and erections good and when did they become worse?