- How did you find this forum? I googled ‘Propecia side-effects’
- What is your current age, height, weight? 32yo, 5’10", 175 lbs
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Yes, occasional running.
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? A bit of everything
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair Loss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 4 years
- How old were you when you started Finasteride? 22
- How old were you when you quit? 26
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Just stopped dead - cold turkey
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Propecia & Avodart (tried Avo for one month after 3 years on Propecia - thought it was increasing my hair loss, so went back to Propecia).
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 years or so
- What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] 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
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X] Weight Gain
[X] 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
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[X] Other (please explain)
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None so far
- 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
Hello, I took Propecia for 4 years (2000-2004), starting when I was 22 and stopped the day I had my gyno operation when I was 26. I’m now 32. My hair looks exactly the same now as the day I quit 6 years ago. The most noticable I side-effect I had was that I developed moderate gyno, so I paid for a private operation which worked perfectly and my chest has looked fine ever since. I stopped taking propecia the day of my operation.
I can’t remember at what stage the erectile disfunction problems started occurring but I definitely had no problems until at least the second half of 2003, maybe later. That may co-incide with the time I took Avodart for a month. I honestly can’t remember the exact timescale as I just didn’t connect what I was experiencing with propecia/avodart until much later, as crazy as that sounds.
My libido has always been strong and these days, I can still acheive full erection and have no problems at all masterbating, but when it comes to actually having sex, I need to use an ED drug such as viagra or kamagra to make sure I don’t lose power during the act. I no longer get spontaneous erections and while I still get morning erections about 60% of the time, it is very rarely full-on; more like 50-60% power.
That isn’t my main problem though - it seems that Propecia has tried hard to turn me into a woman and the effects were so slow that it took some time before I began to connect the dots. As I was developing gyno, I was kidding myself into the idea that I was just putting on weight. After 2 years of propecia, I realised I had to do something and eventually paid for a private op in 2004, which fixed the problem.
However, the Propecia seems like it has made me less masculine than before and this has not worn off in the six years since I stopped taking it. My face is a little fatter and more rounded than before but the main problem for me is that it has given my midsection a more female appearance, which makes me self-conscious. My hips have become wider and rounded like a woman’s and they are only about 3 inches narrower than my chest at its widest point. My pubic hair has also taken on a slightly more female pattern in that the ‘string’ up to my belly button has become less visible.
My penis has denitely shrunk a little when non-erect, though it seems the same size as before when erect. Veins have become more prominent on the shaft. I also have an increase in abdominal fat, including my thighs.
The change in my thighs has affected the way I stand, balance myself and also how I walk, run and sit. I think a few people who I work with and other casual acquaintances have seemed to think I’m gay (which I’m not), yet I never had a single instance of people thinking that before I took Propecia. It irrates me a great deal.
In short, I think I’m suffering from a Propecia-induced mild case of hypogonadism. I still have a healthy libido, don’t think I have any mental side-effects and I’m reasonably active so I think my problem may be high estrogen levels rather than low testosterone (though I’m no doctor).
I’ve lurked on this forum for a while and I’m posting my situation on here now as I’d like to start posting a bit and hopefully get some advice. I have never tried any drugs or medications to combat these side effects but I’m interested in trying to find some kind of solution, particularly in the direction of trying to something / anything that might help in making my hips go back to the way they used to be pre-propecia.
I’ve started to think about trying arimidex or something like that, or perhaps as a first shot, concentrate on spending more time down the gym in a concerted effort to build myself up some and maybe the resultant incease in testosterone may reduce some of my side-effects.
Any help / advice / comments would be much appreciated.