My story (need some advice)

Member Stories
#1

I took Propecia for a year and a half and quit two months ago. My side effects were not as bad as many on here, but still worrying to me. I maybe got a slight loss in penis size while on the drug, but that was it for sexual side effects. I didn’t get gyno, but I think I did get some “fat face” around the chin, although I can’t be 100% sure this was Propecia and not my bad diet and exercise as of late, as my face has always had kind of a round look even though I’m skinny. The worst side effect was the brain fog I got, but I only really started noticing it my last few months on the drug.

Anyway, now that I’m off for over two months, my libido seems to be good, but the brain fog and facial puffiness around the chin is still there, although I feel like I’m slowly returning to normal. Can it take more than a few months to get back to normal after being on fin for more than a year? Will increased cardio exercise or any other method help with fat face? Thanks, and I wish you all the best in your recovery efforts because I know many of you were probably hit harder than I was.

#2

Even without gyno, you may have experienced elevated estrogen levels and weight gain due to the drug. It is known to disrupt the androgen/estrogen ratio in favor of estrogens in men.

Would recommend you get bloodwork to see what is going on in your body if you are concerned.

Yes.

Weight training, clean diet and cardio 3x a week should definitely help.

#3

Thanks for the advice, I am going to schedule some blood work to be done the next time I can take a trip home from college, and just try to be healthier and see what happens. My younger brother is still on Propecia, and I am going to advise him to get off before he regrets it.

#4

Here is a list of tests.

propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92

I would recommend he also get bloodtests BEFORE quitting. That way, should he end up with issues after stopping the drug he’ll have something to compare against.

#5

Well, I posted on here recently saying I had been off for two months and my sides were only slight physical ones. In the past week, my situation has taken a turn for the worse: I’m starting to get serious sexual side effects(I tried this morning to get an erection and my penis barely responded), feeling tired all the time, already noticed weight gain around the midsection but now I’m noticing chest enlargement which I’m sure is the beginning of gyno, facial changes, brain fog, lack of motivation, the whole thing. I didn’t notice any sides except weight gain while on the drug, so it’s incredibly distressing to me that I took a nosedive two months after finally deciding to quit for my health.

You all probably know what I would like to do to the purveyors of this drug right now. I used to think all these stories about horrible sides were people exaggerating, but I now realize the horrible truth. The worst part is, I’m a 22 year-old college student supposed to be in the prime of life, and I have to worry about this ****. Anyway, yesterday I finally decided I couldn’t take it anymore, I got my mom to schedule me some blood tests this morning, and I’m about to make the three-hour drive back home to get them done. I’m posting this now to see if anyone can respond before I get back and have to go. I know my doctor won’t take me seriously, so I’m going to print out the FAQ for this group and demand that he tests my hormone levels. Any other advice on subjects to broach with him? The gyno and sexual sides are the two things that get to me the most, so I’m going to bring up the possibility of options like Tamoxifen and ED drugs, but I’m wary of trying anything else right now.

I am finding it incredibly difficult to focus on anything else right now. I tried to get some exercise the past few days, but it only results in me feeling incredibly tired for hours afterward, which never happened in the past. Anyway, the one bright spot right now is that I found this forum, otherwise I might never have been able to pinpoint what is happening to me. Thanks for all the help, with enough support from each other, I hope we can all figure out the most effective methods to fix these problems.

#6

Imagine living with it from 19-22.

It sounds a bit like my story, barring the lack of severe initial symptoms. My body strength, mental acuity and sexual function nosedived a few months after stopping and I had no idea what was happening 'til I found the sites one year later. It could very well be a downgraded HPTA function resulting in less essential hormone.

Good call getting tests, but remember, if you don’t get as wide a spectrum as possible, you will likely miss out on any significant problems and need to go back to get tested for other hormones, etc. Nip this in the bud now and get most if not all of these tests. Free & total T, DHT, E, LH, FSH, DHEA, Cortisol, SHBG, Prolactin, Progesterone, ACTH, TSH and thyroid hormones are all your essentials, and anything else in there would be extra helpful.

Most doctors need to be dragged kicking and screaming into running all those labs, but if they have any sense they will agree to it. It took a while before I found one receptive to this issue and willing to help instead of tell you you’re either depressed or imagining things. Just be sure to inform the uninformed doc that you’re among a considerable number of guys with these issues post-fin, and you need to see what your hormones are doing for starters.

Hopefully you can pinpoint something from those tests and rebalance yourself from there. If it’s more ambiguous, you’ll be in the boat we are in - unsure exactly where the symptoms are originating from.

#7

Thanks for the reply, sorry you have to deal with this at such a young age. I read your story, and our side effects do seem somewhat similar except for the time of onset, and you said you didn’t get any gyno.

One question though, did you notice any general weight gain in your chest at all? The reason I ask is, I went to the doctor today, and while there was some confusion and he wasn’t able to do tests (getting them tomorrow), he did check my chest area and said it didn’t look like gyno because there were no hard lumps or anything behind the nipple. But I know my body better than anyone, and there has definitely been fat gained in the chest, as well as in my stomach, sides, and hip areas. So I’m hoping maybe I have some pseudo gyno.

When I get my tests I will post the results as well as any actions I might take to correct the problems.

#8

Figured I’d go ahead and post this since I have some time.

  1. How did you find this forum?
    Internet search engine

  2. What is your current age, height, weight?
    22, 5 foot 9, 150 pounds

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Cardio, mainly running and basketball, would like to add some light weight training.

  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    I try to eat relatively healthy, veggies, fruits, and whole grains, but I haven’t completely sworn off fast food and red meat.

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    hair loss

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    About 1 year and 6 months

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride?
    19

  8. How old were you when you quit?
    21

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    Cold turkey, although I think I may have been taking it every other day for the last few months before I decided to quit.

  10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    Propecia

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    1 mg/day for the majority, 1 mg/every other day for the last few months

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    Only really noticed weight gain while on the drug, but noticed everything else about 1 and a half - 2 months after quitting.

  13. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    (All but weight gain only manifested or were noticed after quitting)

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
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[x] 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
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x] Weight Gain
[x] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[x] Other (please explain)
Changes in the face, more puffy with less definition around the jawline and sunken eyes.

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    So far, I have only purchased some Zinc and DIM supplements until I get tests done.

  2. 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

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    I would just advise anyone thinking about trying Finasteride who reads this to really think about whether using it is worth messing with your hormones and potentially causing irreversible damage. Just know, when I started I wrote off all the stories of horrible side effects as exaggerated or so rare I would never get them, and I got pretty much all of them. I wish I had never touched the stuff.

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    Already did.

#9

So, it’s been a few weeks, and the mental, sexual and physical side effects have improved somewhat, but the gyno and weight gain is still there, although people really don’t seem to notice so it doesn’t bother me as much. I’ve been taking Zinc 30mg/day to help with testosterone and DIM/Plus for the weight gain. I have been able to get it up and have had some morning erections.

I have now seen a general practitioner and a dermatologist, both of whom told me they didn’t feel any ductile tissue or lumps in my breast but they couldn’t be sure it hadn’t enlarged somewhat. Today I finally got in to see an endocrinologist, who was actually pretty receptive to the idea that Propecia can cause some unreported effects. He told me he did think I had VERY mild gyno, and did some tests that I will get back next week. He also said in his experience gyno from Propecia will usually go away, but it can take up to twice as long as I was on the drug, and my problem wasn’t nearly severe enough for surgery.

I read some case studies on the internet that discussed reversible gyno from Propecia use disappearing after about 2-6 months. This has put my mind at ease somewhat…I am trying to just take a few supplements, stay positive, and wait and see until I get my tests back. The endo did express some concern over the use of DIM supplements, but he seemed to think they decreased estrogen metabolism as opposed to increasing it. What do you guys think about DIM? I value your opinions about things like that higher than any doctor, because I know most people on here have done more research into the details. Anyway, just checking in, I will post my test results and let you know if I find anything to improve my condition.