My Finasteride Nightmare

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? United States

  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- Propecia Side Effects

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 26, 5’8", 170 ibs

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Aerobic 6X a Week, Weights 3X a Week

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

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 9 Months

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 21, Jan 22 2007

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 22, Oct 15 2007

  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?

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

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 1 or 2 months

  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
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] 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
[ ] 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
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] 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)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None

  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)? Extremely Low Testosterone (204, should be about 700)

  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.

Back in early 2007, while still on Christmas break I noticed that my temples were starting to recede. I started to obsess over this and began to look into potential treatments. The treatment I decided would work best for me was Propecia and before too long I had made an appointment with a dermatologist who prescribed me the drug and told me that any side effects I experienced would go away soon after ceasing treatment.

Well around March one night while partaking in my usual ritual I had trouble getting it past the “chubby” stage but after a while got a full hard-on. After that though it was impossible for me to get a full erection, but I stupidly told myself I was just adjusting to the drug and that the symptoms would subside after I quit.

My spontaneous erections also disappeared- no matter how big or round a girl’s rear end was it didn’t trigger that “warm” feeling in my glans that started my spontaneous erections. After about seven months of this I decided to quit in October 2007. My symptoms never resolved but I never experienced a crash either.

Since then I have had only partial erections hands-free, and it takes manual stimulation for me to be able to achieve a full erection. When I ejaculate my semen is good quality and milky-white, but the volume varies from full to fair(I’m not sure this is reduced ejaculate since it is sometimes fine and sometimes only ok).

I have not really noticed any mental symptoms. I don’t think I am suffering brainfog or anything like that. I sometimes have trouble coming up with more difficult English words but I blame that on the fact that I read Russian or watch movies in Russian several hours a day and that I am suffering interference from Russian. My mind is clear and I have no trouble concentrating or learning new words in Russian.

The thing that troubles me most though is the fact that my total testosterone level is through the floor. It should be in the 700s for someone my age, but my reading when I had it tested at the Urologist was only 204! He prescribed me a gel for the testosterone but I think there are more pieces to the puzzle so I am trying to contact an endocrinologist who is familiar with PFS or who can at least measure my hormones and take an appropriate course of action.

I am also going to want to get my cholesterol, bone density and blood sugar tested as my cholesterol is so low. I am hoping to find support and understanding from all the other men on this website who have been victimized by Big Pharma. I also hope to offer them support and understanding in their time of need.

I have faith that together we can push for more research that can offer insight into our condition and offer possible treatment options and perhaps even a cure. For now though we need to also make sure that Merck is held fully accountable and we also need to be sure that this awful poison is removed from the market.

#2

I used Fin from January to October 2007 and quit hoping that my sexual side effects would go away. They included loss of spontaneous erections, the glans not filling up and moderate erectile dysfunction. That said in early 2010 I noticed a “warm” feeling in my glans that came and lasted for about a minute. Since then I have experienced it occasionally.

A few months ago I was on the couch and experienced a spontaneous “chubby” that came out of nowhere and would not go away for about ten or fifteen minutes. A few weeks ago as well when I woke up I had a weak chubby upon waking one morning. These chubbies were both accompanied by the warm feeling that I have been having infrequently since 2010.

So is it just wishful thinking or could there be a recovery in my future? Also considering this would it be advisable to start something like Clomid or TRT or just wait and see what happens?

#3

One odd thing I have noticed about my side effects is that they seem to come and go in waves, especially in recent years. I have “periods” that last several days to a week where all I seem to be able to do is think about sex and masturbate, up to five times a day. The last one of these was in early February and I seem to be at the beginning of another one now.

Now here’s the really odd thing: my testosterone tested at a very low 204 ng/ml (750-800 ng/ml is about right for my age of 26) on February 10th(right around the end of the period) and tested as a much better(but still very low) 369 ng/ml on February 29th, at a time when my sex drive was low but still existent.

These facts open up some interesting questions for many of us. Is it possible that our bodies are turning the T into other hormones that are causing these spikes in sex drive? Or is there a “lag” in the effect of testosterone. Also, why would T production vary to such a degree?

If any of you guys have had similar experiences please post about it. It will be interesting to see if anyone else here has similar experiences because PFS sufferers seem to fall into several categories: Low T types, those with normal hormone levels, those with cortisol problems, and perhaps a few others.

#4

Many guys here have flatlined libidos, with no fluctuations. If you feel insanely horny, take it as a good sign that perhaps your body is attempting to restore its balance hormonally.

#5

Dude your problems began in 2007 and you only googled propecia side effects in 2012? :confused:

#6

slow thinking you know…lol

#7

Man I thought the side effects were “all in my head”. I believed the bullshit that Merck said about problems going away after quitting and assumed the persistent problems were just psychological. It wasn’t until I saw ads late last year about propecia lawsuits that I decided to do a little research. In a way I guess it’s good that I found out what’s wrong but in a way I still don’t know exactly what is wrong. All any of us have is hope that we can get the word out and get research done.

#8

Well I had an MRI done and they didn’t find anything wrong with my pituitary but the radiologist noticed what looked like a benign tumor. So now I have been referred to a neurosurgeon. Lovely.

#9

FinUser2007: I myself also experience “waves” of better and worse sexual interest and functioning. each lasts maybe 2-3 weeks, though with variation–it is not regular, and it’s not clear if it is improving in general (i think it is, but very very slowly), but i am glad for the “on” periods I have. I might wake up with spontaneous erections 3 days in a row, and be a little horny, and then the following week, it seems to shrink and be permanently soft for a few days or longer. I have been off propecia for a year and a half with moderate improvement, at times. you can see my story on this message board. it does seem to me like there is some sort of re-balancing going on.

#10

This is an update to describe some positive effects I have been having from drug therapy. Back in April I visited an endo in Raleigh NC who put me on 25 mg of Clomiphene daily along with 50000 IU of Vit D weekly. I started feeling better after a while. My balls felt larger and hung lower and I also felt a lot hornier. In June I went back to have my testosterone and vit d checked again and my testosterone was way up (in the upper normal range for someone my age). My vit D had also improved but was still a bit low.

He told me to have 25 mg of clomid every other day and start taking 4000IU of Vit D3 daily. My erections have improved and premature ejaculation is no longer a problem for me. In late June I went to see an amazing young woman for a week and we had wonderful sex 28 times. I never had to try not to ejaculate. In fact, i had to consciously move myself into a “higher gear” to be able to ejaculate. I went back about two weeks later for another wonderful week of sex. I just returned yesterday from seeing her again for eleven days and we had sex an incredible 46 times.

My erections are harder and stronger, I find myself much interested in sex now, and I just feel brighter and happier in general. Although I am not holding my breath for these effects to be permanent I am just happy that I have been able to feel pretty normal for a few months. I’m going back to the endo in October to have my testosterone and vit d checked again. He’s a good doctor and he actually believes that the Propecia is the cause of my problem. For now though I feel pretty satisfied with the results clomiphene has given me and even if they don’t last I am happy to at least have tasted normalcy.