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How did you find this forum? Excellent!
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What is your current age, height, weight? 24 years, 6’3", 215lb.
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? I’m a natural bodybuilder and I also do cardiovascular exercises like running or rowing.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Chicken, turkey, sometimes pork, soymilk, vegetables/fruits, soy protein powder, and fish. I rarely eat red meat and I used to drink dairy milk, but have waned off of that, although I enjoy the occasional yogurt maybe once a week. Also I love tea, green, peppermint, black, white, etc.
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Thinning of hair in the front.
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 7 weeks, 1 day.
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How old were you when you started Finasteride? 24.
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How old were you when you quit? 24.
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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.)? 1mg/day.
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 weeks.
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? mental side effects only (I’ve been off the drug for almost 3 days now and the side effects are more or less mostly gone and my speech is much better.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[X] 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
[ ] 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? Nothing, just my usual array of fatty acids found in flax seed supplements.
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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)? N/A
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? Before I started Propecia, my dermatologist put me on Minoxidil, which it turned out I was allergic to. So I went off that, and started up on saw palmetto/pumpkin seed extract and green tea for about 7 days while waiting for my dermatologist appointment. Then I went on Propecia and continued my regimen of saw palmetto. When I stopped Proepcia 3 days ago, I also stopped saw palmetto, but I might go back on the latter. Also, when I first started Minoxidil, I pretty much completely switched my dairy intake with soy intake, thinking that somehow milk was related to balding, wihch I’m pretty sure is not the case. I’ve heard some interesting/great things about soy.
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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’m glad I tried Propecia, so now I know what it does. My side effect was tripping over words and slurring speech when talking in conversations that used to be chlll. I found myself thinking about what the hell I was talking about. Words like “Dr. Danielsen” were hard for me to say, and my usual witty, slick, quick speech went south fast. I felt like my mind was moving too slow for my mouth. Also, I don’t think I could come up with witty things to say like I did pre Propecia, but I think the wit is returning since I stopped it. I did not experience any sexual side effects or physical side effects. If anything, I felt like I had better workotus at the gym and I had a stronger libido.
I"ll keep you guys updated, and hopes this helps.