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How did you find this forum? Internet.
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What is your current age, height, weight? 29, 6’0’’, 1
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? I do, although recently not as much as I used to (not least as a result of post-finasteride
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Meat eater, though fairly healthy diet: practically no alcohol, no fast food, little refined sugar
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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)? I took Propecia for five or so weeks last summer, then not for seven months, then again for fifteen days this January. (It was then that all hell broke loose.)
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How old were you when you started Finasteride? 28
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How old were you when 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.)? 1 mg/day
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? During the first time around of taking the drug, I noticed what I thought was slight gynecomastia within three or so weeks. During the second time around, I noticed gyno within five or so days, but the real trouble - testicular pain, ED, low libido - set in only afterwards.
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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
[X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X] Watery Ejaculate
[X] 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
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[ ] 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
[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? Not much yet. I am just getting started. Part of the problem has been a lack of appreciation of my condition on the part of the physicians I had first seen. I am only now working with ones who understand the reality of post-fin syndrome.
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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)? I am currently waiting to hear back on the full results and will post them as soon as I have them. What I already do know is that my testosterone levels do not seem to have dropped. As we all know, however, that needn’t mean anything.
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? One thing that merits mentioning is that, prior to taking Propecia, I had taken saw palmetto for two years, also in order to preven hair loss. I also took saw palmetto during my seven-month break from Propecia.
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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.
As I said above, I took two rounds of Propecia, the first time five weeks last summer, the second time a good two weeks this February. The side effects I noticed this summer were fairly mild, namely slight gyno and a sense of depression. I nonetheless quit but afterwards started wondering whether the side effects had been real or just in my head, which is why I thought that I might give it another try this February.
Worst idea of my life. Pretty much immediately, gyno set in. After ten or so days, my testicles started hurting massively, and severe ED and loss of libido set in soon after. The testicular pain subsided eventually, giving way to a general sense of tingling and discomfort in the genital and perineal area, which has also slowly subsided over the last few months and is almost gone now. (I am wondering if this is a good thing: in case there was any neural damage involved, did the nerves recover or just die off?)
My semen, which had become watery, has gone back to its pre-fin (or even pre-saw palmetto, I’m not sure) consistency, so I take it that’s a good thing. That said, the volume of my ejaculate seems to me to have decreased. (I have not had a sperm count done or anything so far.) I am still able to orgasm, but actual intercourse has become impossible, due to ED. Also, my interest in sexual activity rarely flares up. Ejaculating used to cause up to a whole day of subsequent discomfort, but recently this seems to have gotten better.
To sum up. The conditions I am currently suffering from are: gynecomastia, erectile dysfunction, lack of libido, mild genital and perineal discomfort. Plus, of course, the psychological consequences of having to deal this situation: melancholy, panic attacks, loss of interest in most everything.
With few exceptions, the medical community has been a complete failure in all this, not just for prescribing me Propecia in the first place and reassuring me that all talk of side effects was irrationally exuberant but also in the aftermath. My PCP suspected that I had some kind of bacterial infection, possibly VD, and gave me an antibiotic, which unsurprisingly didn’t do anything (I take it that the correlation with the drop in testicular pain was just that, a correlation). The urologist I subsequently spoke with denied that Propecia could have these effects. He still did a simple testosterone test, which came back with testosterone levels slightly higher(!) than those from before starting Propecia, which he then interpreted as proof that there is really nothing wrong with me.
Thanks to this forum, I found out about Dr. Goldstein, with whom I had one of his free 15-minute phone a good month ago. He referred me to a doctor in Germany, Dr. Michael Zitzmann, with whom he is collaborating. I recently saw Dr. Zitzmann, who seems to be genuinely knowledgeable about this condition, which is huge compared to most of his colleagues. (I have familial ties to Germany and go back there frequently; hence the reference to a German doctor.) I am still waiting to hear back about test results. Once I do, I will post them.
Finally, on a personal and more positive note (as if this hadn’t been personal enough as is): three things. First, thank you so much to all those who have been contributing to this forum. To be honest, reading it is a bit much to handle at times, so I can’t always do it. All this information is simply too overwhelming and depressing at times. More importantly, however, it is good to know that others understand what I am going through, and it is great to know that our collective brainpower is committed to tackling our condition. People are incredibly supportive, respectful, and professional here, which means a lot to me. If politics in this country were anything like this forum, it would be an incomparably better place.
Second, my girlfriend has been unbelievably supportive, understanding, and patient with me throughout this, which has made a huge difference. I really hope for all of you to experience the same level of love and dedication from your loved ones. Third, I think that all this has led me to look a bit differently at life, at what is important and what isn’t. In particular, I have come to understand that having a full set of hair isn’t important, or at least much, much less important than other things. I just hope that this valuable lesson will not have come at a permanent price.