- Where are you from (country)?
USA - 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. “propecia (persistent) side effects” - What is your current age, height, weight?
37, 6’1", 176 lbs. - Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
No. - What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
I eat a somewhat balanced diet. I try to avoid unhealthy food, but not a health freak either. I eat most kinds of meat. I could eat more veggies. - Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss. - For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
2.5 years. - How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
2004, 24 yo - How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
2006, 26 yo - How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
From what I remember, 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?
After 1 year - 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
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
I am currently undergoing a Clomiphene Citrate, Anastrozole, and Andractim treatment regimen to increase testosterone and DHT levels. I also use various supplements to combat cognitive effects, such as Piracetam, Citicoline and L-Theanine. I also use low-dose Modafinil (50-100 mg) daily to combat motivation and focus issues and fatigue. -
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 don’t have any blood tests from pre-finasteride. My last blood test results before I started the Clomid/Anastrazole regimen is as follows:
Vitamin D 25-OH Total 31.3 ng/mL
Testosterone, Total, Serum 279 ng/dL
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) 1.11 uIU/mL
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (Testosterone-estrogen Binding Globulin; TeBG), Serum 18.5 nmol/L
Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), Total, Serum 0.8 ng/mL
Prolactin 18.3 ng/mL
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH, Follitropin), Serum 3.5 mIU/mL
Luteinizing Hormone (Lutropin), Serum 5.0 mIU/mL
Estradiol, Serum (Oestradiol, E2, 17-beta Estradiol, E-17) 12.6 pg/mL
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) 20 ng/dL
Calculated Free Testosterone 7.32 ng/dL -
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 used finasteride for ~2.5 years, from 2004 to 2006. The first year was great, the drug stopped my hairloss and I didn’t experience any side effects. In fact, I have vivid memories of highly increased libido at times in that first year. After a year, I started developing the common side effects - low libido, erection issues, watery ejaculation, brain fog, weight gain, water retention, gynecomastia, etc. After living with the side effects for another 1.5 years, I quit the drug. My symptoms slowly got better, but never back to pre-finasteride baseline. Especially low libido has been a consistent issue, and has affected my life and relationships considerably. However, for a long time, my erection quality was “good enough”; I had low libido, but at least I was able to function sexually. In 2015, things took a turn for the worse. My already low libido has dropped further, but most importantly I started having much worse erection issues. I had a couple of very embarrassing sexual dysfunction experiences that year. That’s when I decided it was time to seek help. I have been under Clomid/Anastrazole treatment for about 1.5 years now (with a couple months break in between), and DHT gel treatment for 4 months. My hormonal values have restored, and in general I don’t feel as “crappy” as before, but my libido has not really restored much and I still have issues on the erection. I underwent an ED ultrasound test which found no blood flow or penile tissue scarring issues, and the test came out fine. In other words, the mechanics seem to be still good, and it appears that the root cause of my erection issues is really the underlying low libido and low sexual arousal. That probably explains why I don’t seem to benefit that much from PDE5 inhibitors.