I’ll begin by pasting the completed template and then I’ll continue to tell my story.
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Where are you from (country)- I am from England
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How did you find this forum- I googled my symptoms and the forum came up in the search
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What is your current age, height, weight? I am 26 6’2 and weigh 213lbs (muscle not fat)
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? I participate in weight lifting and boxing/cardio
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy) mixed diet, usually healthy but eat junk now and then, I am a meat eater, mainly white meat (turkey, fish, chicken) but do eat red meats.
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other) for male pattern hair loss
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? I took finasteride for roughly two years
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? I started finasteride aroubd april/may of 2009 I was 24
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? I stopped taking finasteride january/march of 2011 at 26 years old
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? I initially began by skipping a dose here and there, but then quit cold turkey
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? I used both propecia and proscar at different points
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? initially on propecia I took 1mg every day, when I moved to proscar I took 1.25mg (estimated) 4 days of the week having 3 days off
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 8-12 month period on the drug I noticed side effects
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Low Libido, Watery ejaculate, occasional premature ejaculation
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
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ x] 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
[x ] 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
[x ] 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? no direct treatments
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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)? no bloods as of yet (will update)
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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.
OK, my story, I first noticed my hair loss beginning at 19 with a receding hairline, it was not until i was 22 that I decided to take an active role it attempting to slow down or stop the process. I began by using 12.5% minoxidil with .5% progesterone as a topical treatment, which I reacted too very well. Within the first three months of treatment my hair had thickened up and I had enough re-growth in the frontal hair line to wear my hair in any style I chose. It was not until 1 year and six months later I noticed the treatment had begun to decline in effectiveness, it would be a further 6 months before I would take propecia.
Like most people I did some re-search, but it was not extensive, mainly opting for looking at the clinical trials, patient stories, the propecia web-site and other hair loss focused web sites. I now wish I had done a little more in depth re-search into longer lasting side effects, rather than taking the word of the propecia website. What really encouraged me to use the drug, however, was a friend of mine who had started using it after a poor reaction to minoxidil. His doctor has prescribed him propecia and he was responding very well with no sides. So I began.
For the first 6-12 months I had no side effects, in fact I had an increased libido (which was already high before propecia) to which my girlfriend had began to complain since I was like a rabbit during mating season. But this is put down to regular exercise, a new better diet and a very regular routine (bed @ 10 up @ 6 lunch, dinner, gym all at the same time week in week out).
Soon after the 8 month period my girlfriend and I broke up and I had a new partner, I wasn’t as attracted to her and put my lower libido (lower than the recent increase) down to the fact I found this new partner less attractive than my last. I didn’t think this was a big deal as this has happened to me before, my desire for sex being dependant on how attracted I was to my partner.
Around the 12 month period on Propecia I was made unemployed, I was exercising less, eating more junk and drinking alcohol fairly regularly, my sex drive had diminished, I wasn’t getting erections at all, even with visual aids such a porn. I put this down to depression, an unhealthy lifestyle and lack of interest in my new partner. I decided it was time for a change, I read on the internet that frequent porn usage can have negative impact on sexual health and cause ED like effects, and cause you to have less desire for your partner. Therefore I decided to head back to the gym, eat healthier stop drinking and stop watching porn.
This seemed to work, I was getting erections I was able to engage in sexual intercourse and had a better overall mood and attitude. I then broke up with the current partner and met a new one ( I know I sound like a womaniser but this isn’t the case). My sex life with the new partner was very good, I was achieving strong erections, I was turned on by her, had a healthy appetite for sex and was beginning to get in great shape.
I then decided to return to boxing, I threw myself into training at the deep end and, this is where my story takes a less positive turn. I had over exerted myself, I went to have sex with my partner and nothing was happening, I was limp, the first few occasions I was able to use porn as a stimulus to gain a mediocre erection, but I wasn’t very interested in sex with her, I even began looking at the clock wondering how long it would last.
I put this down to fatigue, my GP also agreed, my body had been abused and now I was paying the price for jumping back to extreme fitness, which normally boosted my sexual appetite. Soon though the visual aid I used began not to work, and I was fairly certain my body had enough time to re-calibrate. I began to blame my girlfriend for my lack of interest in her sexually, I was able to masturbate to porn, all be it, with a weak erection. This lead me to believe the problem wasn’t me, it was her.
I began cheating on my girlfriend, maybe to prove my lack of interest in sex wasn’t due to me or the propecia. I was successfully able to participate in sex with other women, sometimes with a weaker than normal erection, and intermittently with a very strong erection and very vivacious sexual urge, this often was the case if I had abstained from sex or masturbation for several weeks.
I noticed that alcohol consumption increased my ability to gain a decent erection and have an urge for sex, and dismissed any notion that the medication for hair loss that I was taking could be the cause. At intermittent times I was able to engage in normal sexual behaviour, and sex drive, often this would occur during the night. And at times I would wake up with an erection, but often would not have the energy or desire to have sexual intercourse. This combined with the infidelity ruined my relationship.
I then switched from propecia to proscar, advised by my doctor, as this would reduce costs for me. I would divide the pills into 4 and take during the week. Initially I was taking 1 and a half pills a week, which meant my dosage had gone up from 7mg per week to 7.5mg per week. This is where I really noticed side effects, I was unable to get or maintain an erection or even become aroused. Needless to say this worried me so I reduced my intake to 1 and a quarter pills a week or 6.25mgs. I noticed a slight Improvement. But if I wanted to have sex I would need to stop taking the pills all together for 7 days and not masturbate or have any type of ejaculation to have one decent sexual encounter. However, I started to find that I couldn’t maintain an erection during sex and I was beginning to ejaculate a lot earlier than usual. However this often lead to being able to achieve and maintain an erection the next day during intercourse, but again premature ejaculation would take place.
I then decided I wished to bulk up a bit for boxing, in order to get to the next weight class, So I decided to take a mild steroid called Anavar (oxandralone) which is a DHT derivative, I found that if I didn’t take the proscar, my training and strength gains were good and I was able to achieve a normal erection, if I took even on quarter of a pill during my 6 week cycle no erections and strength gains were not as great.
After the 6 week cycle had ended I began taking proscar again, but this time only taking 1 pill per week in daily quarters. I then found I was able to become aroused, but my penis would not get fully engorged, although there was great improvement. I put the improvement down to lowering the dosage, but the inability to become fully engorged down to high cholesterol, which is a by product of taking steroids.
I then fell ill and had not taken proscar for two weeks, do to the fact I felt it was pointless and I would eventually throw up before the pill had a chance to absorb. Not long after my recovery I was able to engage in sexual intercourse, Full firm erection, no premature ejaculation and a strong desire for sex. It is at that moment that I conceded that perhaps the finasteride was the root to my problems, and I decided not to take them again. I was then able to get erections when involved in a sexual encounter, although I was not that into the sex and my desire had diminished, but sadly again the premature ejaculation began to rear its ugly head, and then I was no longer gaining all the pleasure I could from orgasm.
Due to my illness I had lost a fair amount of weight and muscle, so I decided to do another steroid cycle, this time I took 500mg testosterone enanthate a week for 3 months through Intra-muscular injection, either into my leg or buttock. I began to get a sex drive again, if I had not masturbated the night before I would wake up with morning erections, unfortunately I also gained a bad temper, lack of patience and had mood swings. However I was able to engage in pretty normal sexual activity, once even managing 3 times in one night, waking with an erection and then continuing once in the morning.
After the cycle had ended I took a PCT (post-cycle-treatment) of Nolvadex (to drain the oestrogen) and a cortisol inhibitor supplement called X-Lean. Since then I can gain a full erection when watching porn, but I don’t have much of a sex drive, I still ejaculate pretty quickly and now my semen has become watery…which I never experienced before. But for me to be interested in sex, the girl has to be unbelievably beautiful, have a great body, kiss me right, touch me right and I can’t be wearing protection (condom) or I’ll be unable to perform. I went to my GP told them the exact story I’ve just told, she said it’s a positive sign that I am intermittently able to have sex and that I am able to gain a full erection, even if by visual stimulus such as porn. She asked if I was stressed recently and I said yes, I have been under a fair amount of stress, which she attributed to my low libido. BUT stress does not explain my watery semen. I know something isn’t right, maybe I just need to for my body to balance after the array of chemicals I’ve pumped into it over the past two years.