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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 “Liver damage finasteride” -
What is your current age, height, weight?
33, 5ft 6in, 135lbs -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Yes cardiovascular HIITs (basically intervals of running and then walking), Lifting weights, sports, 30 minute walking the dog daily. Basically 30 to 60 minutes of exercise 6 days a week. -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
On and off again vegetarian, eat extremely “clean”, try to eat mostly organic, cheat meal once a week consisting of a dessert or pizza or something not very healthy. -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
approx 2 and a half years -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
31, not sure on exact start date -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
33, 3 weeks ago -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
slight taper, one week took 3 doses instead of 7, next week only 1 dose, next week off completely, none since -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
must be generic? just says Finasteride on prescription -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
approx 1mg daily -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
approx 6 months into use, but had no idea it could be related to the drug -
What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
extreme liver dysfunction, difficulty regulating body temperature, blurred vision, difficulty adjusting eyes to changes in light, brain fog/short term memory loss, some libido changes but not total ED, depression (but this may be from hospitalization)
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x] Frequent urination
[x] 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?
Recently stopped, haven’t done anything specific, looking for help with this -
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 have followup tests in 2 months -
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.
About a year ago I went canoeing with my wife and ended up strenuously paddling back about a mile downstream because her back went out and she needed to get to shore. I didn’t have a lot of water or food for the 3 to 5 hour trip but did have some. Later that night I had extreme stomach pain. Like food poisoning pain but couldn’t vomit or defecate. Pain persisted in my upper abdomen under rib cage and wouldn’t subside. I went to the hospital and they gave me fluids, ran blood tests and discovered ALT AST were through the roof, over 3 times normal levels. After 2 days in the hospital and tests for all heps, MRI, ultrasound, and tests for other liver diseases and gal bladder they couldn’t get a diagnosis. Liver levels eventually returned to normal and was released with instructions to followup. Followup indicated normal liver levels 2 weeks later.
Throughout this time I was getting significantly, noticeable blurred vision. Went to the eye doctor and he said I have Astigmatism, that is just getting worse. But I asked why it was getting significantly worse so fast. He said he wasn’t sure. Also during this time I was having lapses in short term memory and trouble remembering names, words, and common occurrences. It was bad enough that I looked into history of Alzheimer in my family.
Over the next year I had 5 more “minor episodes” of stomach pain/liver inflammation. I struggled through 4 of them and they eventually subsided after around 3 hours each. I still had minor pain after each episode into the next week. Each time those episodes consisted of my body becoming too hot. They all seemed to have a combination of hot surroundings, possible lack of water, lack of food, and stress. Usually these occurred on vacations or out of town trips where I was out of my routine and away form a home base. We thought I was getting dehydrated, but sometimes even lots of fluids were not helping with prevention.
My latest episode was in early July. Poolside party, body overheated, at night had the most extreme episode of all. Pain was so bad I was on the verge of passing out. My wife called an ambulance and they rushed me to emergency room. More fluids, blood test, liver levels were 400 of either AST or ALT (Id have to check) and and 600 of the other. Basically, I was on nuclear liver meltdown. I was a guinea pig for the doctors the next few days, where they ran every possible test they could think of. I even was tested for AIDS. Everything came back negative. My levels came back down to somewhat normal and they set me up with a liver/GI specialist. He had the nurses draw 9 vials of blood, and ran tests the nurses had to look up because they had never seen them before. Everything came back negative. I had a HIDA scan (nuclear gall bladder test), also negative.
Doc wanted me to get off all supplements (which I wasn’t taking any of), asked me about my drinking and drug habits (don’t do either at all), and asked me about my diet (which is extremely clean, natural bodybuilder type stuff). He asked about my finasteride because it is literally the only drug I was taking for the past 3 years. He said he would prefer I was off of it but he didn’t want me to lose anymore hair if that wasn’t causing the issue and allowed me to stay on. I was pretty much deemed the “healthiest sick person” they’d ever seen. His current plan of action is to wait till I have another episode and have a liver biopsy done when I am inflamed.
Recently I was on a vacation in Florida and was being extremely careful about my water, diet and body temperature. We had rain all week so stayed inside mostly. The last day, we had sunshine. I had a 30 minutes morning cardio workout, spend 30-45 minutes in the sun at the beach, came in for a long break, spent 15 minutes in a hot tub, then shade the rest of the day. Did some walking during shopping, plenty of water, and ate really well all day except some nice desserts for a treat. That night I had a minor episode that lasted 45 minutes but not enough to warrant a trip to the doctor. I decided I had to kick this thing at all costs and weened myself off finasteride, as it is the last thing I can think of that could be causing these issues.
After analyzing what happens to me, it seems that I can not regulate my body temperature very well. Changes in temp that would be okay for typical people cause me problems if I am not extremely careful. This is my main and most life threatening symptom because it makes my liver go into extreme crisis mode. My vision is annoying and I have gotten glasses, but it may be solely caused by my astigmatism. I have a huge issue with memory fog, which has gotten worse and worse. To the point where I feel stupid when talking to people and not being able to remember simple names, places, or activities I was involved in just a few days prior. My wife asked me on many occasions in this time period if I still find her attractive. I don’t have ED, but it is more difficult to get erections in sexual situations, and I told her that it is not that I don’t find her attractive, I just don’t have as much drive. I told her it probably is the propecia and just getting older. But I’m starting to think it is definitely from my time taking finasteride. I wonder if my depression is from traumatic hospital stays and doctors worrying that I was possibly having liver failure. Feeling like you are possibly dying or going to stay in a hospital permanently was very life changing for me.
I have looked over the message boards and feel very overwhelmed and confused. I have trouble deciphering the medical reports and would like to know if this sounds at all typical of other finasteride users. I really feel like I am at my wits end.
I haven’t had alcohol in 3 years, and even when I did drink it wasn’t more than a glass of wine a week.
I stopped drinking diet sodas completely after my first episode.
I stopped eating meat, and changed to as much organic food as possible.
I stopped putting stevia in my coffee, or anything I eat.
My last ditch and seemingly wisest move has been to stop taking finasteride.
I’m hoping the community can tell me if this is a possibility for causing my liver issues, or if I really am just a medical mystery destined to have a dysfunctional liver.
Thank you for any insight you can provide.