- 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?)
Girlfriend refered me to the site
- What is your current age, height, weight?
32 years old, 5’7’’ and 175 lbs
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Yes, bike, soccer, run, weights
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Regular diet, no fast food, meat eater, vegetables and somewhat healthy.
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
1 Month
- How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
28 years old
- How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
28 Years old
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Proscar
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
5mg cut in 4
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
Following 1 month
- 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
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[?] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[X] Other (please explain)
Bloated stomach (hard stomach at times)
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Mainly celexia to cease anxiety and chest pain and depression symptoms
- 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)?
Will post…
- Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
I have since the symptoms started have a huge difficulty staying in large social settings (possibly due to my psychological condition since not being able to overcome the symptoms) as well as having huge difficulties maintaining and focusing on emotional relationships.
- Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
It all started by asking my Dr. To prescribe me something to deal with my hair loss. He suggested I take Proscar. I began taking Proscar In 5 mg cut in four, daily. I took the drug for about a month before I started feeling different symptoms.
During the first few weeks of the symptoms I consulted my doctor. He said that the symptoms were normal and that they would go away. Three months later I went back to my doctor mentioning that might side effects were persisting. Once again trusting my doctor I went back and mention those side effects again. He send me to do some blood tests and nothing was found. Three more months went by until I had to go back to my doctor and face him with these symptoms again.
During my first three visits following seizing the drug, I mentioned to my doctor my worries about what I had heard about Proscar. He dismissed my worries right away making me wait another six months until I continued in a downwarding spiral.
My girlfriend at the time had suggested me to search online for the site she had seen Propeciahelp.com. From the different posts I kept getting ideas of going to different doctors and trying to suggest different things. These doctors always dismissed any comments I would make. I have been to different specialists; general doctors, endocrinologists, gastronologists, urologist (3), psychologists, osteopaths, psychiatrists even naturopaths. Nothing has helped and these sometimes unbearable symptoms continue.
As I continue to find answers by researching this site as well as partaking in studies such as the one performed by Dr. Irwig out of the University of Washington, I’m also part of the action legal battle out of Montreal Quebec, Canada.
I hope more to find a solution or reversal to there side effects and feelings this drug has created more than getting compensation, since I’m sure many of us believe; that what we’ve gone through doesn’t really have a price.
Cam08