Where are you from (country)?
Canada
- 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 search yes, but I don’t remember what the terms were at this point as I joined 3 months ago or so. “Propecia erectile difficulties” or something most likely.
- What is your current age, height, weight?
I’m currently 23, about 5 foot 10, and 150 pounds.
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
I get a bit of exercise on my bicycle fairly regularly, but it’s used mostly for transportation so I’m probably on it less than 20 minutes a day when I do use it.
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Mostly meat and rice, grains, etc. overall I’m reasonably healthy except my diet is lacking in fruits and vegetables at times.
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
hair loss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
6 months
- How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
I was 22, started September 6, 2009
- How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
Was 22 when I quit, and quit on March 14, 2010
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg/day
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
2 months
- 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
[ ] 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 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)
[ X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] 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
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[X ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[X] Other (please explain)
[X] Difficulty ejaculating (Note that it is not an inability, but generally ranges from fairly difficult to extremely difficult)
*Note that the penile numbness and changes seem to have occurred only after being post-finasteride, not during. The specific penile change I am noticing is that the underside of the penis from the tip to about an inch down appears more blunt or flat than it used to when erect.
*Also, sometimes when getting an erection when I am getting one more quickly, it feels as if it is being blocked, so that my penis is trying to become fully erect but can’t. Likewise, if I have a reasonably erect penis, if I try to begin masturbating or having sex, that feeling of moving toward ejaculation begins but then soon feels as though it is being prevented or that it cannot continue, and the feeling stops and I lose my erection.
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Recently I have tried cialis (not a recovery exactly but a fix anyway), which improves my ability to get an erection, although the erection does not seem to enter into the top inch of the penis, and I still do not get completely erect. There does not seem to be a big difference between whether I take simply half a 20 mg pill or the complete pill: my erection will be less likely to go away with the 20 mg pill, but it is still difficult to ejaculate and there is no difference in sensitivity of my penis.
- 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 only had a post-finasteride blood test, in mid-May, but have yet to see my doctor again and have not been informed on any particular levels of hormones.
Update: Although I did not get my exact numbers from my doctor yet, the following were all quoted to be normal: Free and total T, FSH, LH, Prolactin, and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Interestingly, my folate level, which was actually tested mistakenly by a lab tech, is reportedly “high.” I hope to get exact numbers from the doctor in a couple of weeks.
- Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
Don’t think so.
- Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I began taking propecia for hair loss as I wanted to be proactive and do something about it. I began and thought nothing of it, things seemed to carry on normally for a while. I may have first noticed problems when with a girl about a month and a half after taking propecia…I had had an erection but we stopped and started with things before actually having sex or oral sex, and when it came time for this and I couldn’t get an erection anymore, I believed it was just due to blue balls. However, a couple weeks later, 2 months after being on propecia, I suddenly noticed I was not masturbating as often anymore…going from once a day to about once every 3-4 days. Generally before I would actually get hard without the intention to masturbate initially…with just a passive hand while doing other things…and sooner or later this would lead to a very hard erection, and I would masturbate. Now because I never got a hard erection, I was not masturbating. I also noticed that my libido may have gone down a little bit, although it had been quite high before and I still certainly had a sex drive, so I didn’t worry about that. At this point with the masturbation, however, I knew something was definitely wrong, but I attempted to “hold out” and continue taking propecia, as the pamphlet stated that most people who take it and experience these side effects will get over them with continued use, so I hoped I was one of these people.
Throughout November and December I was with a couple girls and not getting an erection really at all. At the end of December I began doing weights and taking the protein supplement Mutant Mass, not because I had thought it would make a difference for the sexual effects I was experiencing, but because I wanted to gain muscle. During this time I was seeing improvement, and 1 week after stopping working out (worked out for about 5 weeks, 4 times a week for 2 hours at a time before stopping due to neglected studying) I actually got a 100% normal erection. I was excited and thought my body was over the effects on it’s own, but since then I again have not had a normal erection. Whether the working out had anything to do with the improvement or whether my body was starting to get over things on it’s own I don’t know, but I’m thinking now the weight-lifting had a greater effect than anything.
In March I got off propecia after going another month of hoping my body would just get over it, and my side effects have not gone away. The ability to get an erection may have improved slightly since, but not nearly enough. Also, it may have been the case that I was simply less aware before, or because I wouldn’t get as hard, but in the last two months or so (about 2 months and on since being post-finasteride) I have noticed numbness at the tip, and it simply just feels rubbery. I am now trying to get into a real urologist as the one I was referred to is so old and is losing his mind that I can barely have a conversation with him, but I am moving cities shortly so am patiently waiting for the date to come so I can begin trying to figure things out.
Update: Seeing a urologist, things are only slowly being taken care of, not seeing any new progress as of yet. I am convinced that I am suffering mostly from a physical issue brought on by finasteride, although I believe some sort of hormonal issue is still present as well.