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Where are you from (country)?
France -
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 -
What is your current age, height, weight?
21 years old, 1m75, about 70kg -
Do you exercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise?
Almost everyday mild weightlifting -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Eating healthy -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
3 days from April 1st to April 3rd -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
I was 21, on 1st April 2018 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
I was 21, on 3rd April 2018 -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
I used H&W topical finasteride. Instead of 2.5% liposomal, I lowered it down to 1% to try to let my body get used to it first. -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
I only took about 1/3 of 1mL on April 1, nothing on April 2, and about 1/2 of 1mL on April 3. -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
3rd day -
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
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks - This is by far the worst, I am constantly shivering
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[x] Gynecomastia (male breasts) - not quite, just severe nipple sensitivity
[x] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[x] Prostate pain - discomfort
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature
[x] Other (please explain)
- I am constantly shivering and cannot lie still
- I sleep 4h exactly per night and wake up gasping
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Nothing yet -
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)?
I’m going to a doctor soon -
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 decided to proceed with topical finasteride because of apparently lowered side effects. Wanting to taper my body into the drug, I got a 1% liposome topical finasteride from H&W, instead of their 2.5% formula. Not only that, but my plan was to take smaller doses and more wide apart. So I took about 0.30mL on day 1, nothing on days 2, and 0.5mL on day 3. I stopped on day 3.
Immediately after the first dose, my scalp stopped itching. It was extremely soothing. Not only that but hair stopped falling instantly. Only after a couple of hours would they start falling again, at a much slower pace. I think I noticed my first side effects now retrospectively on the first day: very sharp headache that lasted for 30 seconds (almost like someone shaving your brain), and slight nipple tenderness. What’s more striking is that immediately after the first dose for about 2h my brain felt much heavier - I thought this was due to 1) the brain getting used to the drug and 2) lowered DHT levels.
The next day I felt somewhat better than the day before. I didn’t have those dark patches under my eyes. I felt less paranoid and focused more on studies.
The day after I tried again another dose, coupled with minoxidil. The whole day I didn’t have a headache, libido was fine, everything felt fine. Bar a nipple itch that would become more and more persistent. At this point I told myself: stop the drug. I went asleep peacefully, as if nothing happened. But then it happened: I knew instantly that I crashed. I woke up at 4am, gasping for air. My penis felt completely numb. for the next 12h I was pacing around feeling terribly anxious: very high heart rate, no way to control it. My whole body was shivering as if I was cold. I felt completely different. Whereas normally I am the type of person to eat a lot, this time round I could not eat, even if I tried forcing myself. Sexually my symptoms were: 0 libido, complete numbness to the penis, slight shrinking (it felt tighter, more compact and veins popping out). Nipples still itched. Needless to say I tried to nap, and going to bed early; everytime I was about to sleep “something” pulled me out of it at the last moment. This happened about 12-15 times. Anyone know what this is?
The following day, I went to sleep early convincing myself this was only a bad dream. I woke up exactly 4h later, with the same rush of adrenaline/ anxiety. However, I felt somewhat better in the morning and decided to gym a bit. After gym I tried to eat but could not. After that, all my symptoms of shivering, persistent cold, anxiety, trembling came back en force. I had this odd feeling whereby I would get hot flashes on my face, chest - but feel terribly cold inside although I took my temperature and it came out at 37.3 degrees everytime. My flatmate told me I looked like a zombie, and I do feel like one. However, I noticed that my penis regained sensitivity (I could feel when I peed - didn’t think anything would feel so good) and it somewhat calmed me down. I went to walk outside and I felt this weird feeling in my groin (prostate?) - you know that feeling when you can “pump” the penis by contracting a muscle? Well that felt extremely odd and instead of pumping my penis it retracted it. At night, all my anxiety and trembling issues stopped. I just felt extreme fatigue, which felt as if I just had a drug overdose.
I woke up next morning after 4h of sleep exactly and all the anxiety symptoms led me to post here for the first time. I am going to see a doctor tomorrow to do blood tests.
I do not know what to do. I feel as if the drug completely deregulated my hormones; it feels almost like chemical castration. I do not want to masturbate at all and to be fair don’t have any sexual thought at all either.
How can this drug be so potent?? I took about 0.5mg equivalent for 2 days. 3 days later, the symptoms are even stronger.
Now I know it has only been 3 days since I stopped usage. Typically most people experience crash about 2-3 weeks after discontinuation. However I feel like my crash was instant (given the psychological side effects) - it’s been a complete nightmare since.
Is there any chance for me to recover in the next few weeks/months?
What blood tests should I ask to do and will they be affected by the fact I stopped the use only 3 days ago?
What protocol should I be doing to avoid the 2-3week crash?
Are there any other short-term users for which these symptoms never subsided?
What can I do to improve with regards to anxiety and sleep patterns?
Should I stop minoxidil 1%?
My general advice to people reading this and thinking about taking finasteride: DO NOT DO IT. Don’t have the arrogance to think the symptoms won’t hit you. Don’t be naive to think small doses for a very short period of time won’t affect you. And most importantly, finasteride in all its forms is poison: AVOID THE PILL, AVOID TOPICAL, AVOID IT ALTOGETHER.
