My story, nickname Correiovip

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    Brazil

  2. 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.

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    31, 5’ 10’’, 200

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Before: 5 Days a week lifting, 4 days a week 20 min running. After: Hardly have the energy/motivation to exercise once a week, but i force myself to do a 20 min bicycle ride, 4 times a week.

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Before: healthy on weekdays, a little more fun on weekends.
    After: Very healthy: no sugar, no caffeine, no gluten, mostly steamed veggies, fruits, low fat meats/ chicken/ fish, fat free milk.

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

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

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?

  1. June 2004
  1. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
  1. February 2006

  1. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    Cold turkey

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

  3. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    1 mg a day.

  4. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    I never realized i had lost morning erections during the time i was taking the drug, because i was able to have sex. About a year and four months while taking it, there was one day i forgot how to sign my name (my signature in a check). I got very worried, but didn t link it immediately to Finasteride.

  5. 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
[X Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[X Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[X Confusion
[X Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Depression / Melancholy

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
[X] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[X] Muscle Wastage
[X] Muscle Weakness
[X] 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

[X] Other (please explain)
Dental problems (two teeth colapsed, broke into pieces while i was eating peanuts, both of them had root canal, but still, that is too weak), changes in my face (moon face, bloated), water retention, i have headaches almost everyday (some times a pressure around the head, other times pain in the core/center of head), dry eyes, dry mouth, can’t exercise too much (any “agression” to the body comes with an over reaction in healing, i think it is high cortisol).

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    1.About a week in Clomid - no results, 2. A year on Valium - got rid of anxiety and panic attacks that Finasteride gave me.

  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)?
    All tests come out in range, but estradiol seems too high for me.

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    Yes. The drug seemed to have an addiction effect on me on the first and second months, i felt “better” than before (making it even harder to quit). After this period, it went downhill, i felt worse and worse.

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

I used to be a very healthy person, only had mild allergies 3 or 4 times in my life. I used to exercise five times a week and was in good shape. I also was very intelligent, every subject or school i studied in i graduated with honors, mostly because of my fast thinking and great memory than dedication to study.

When i was 25, i started losing my hair. I went to the family dermatologist and he strongly encouraged me to take Finasteride. He stated that he took the drug himself (for five years then), and the drug worked just like a swiss watch, very precise (lol), with no side effects. I wasn’t convinced still, and did a google search. Back then i didn t find anything against the drug. I also called two friends, one of them had taken finasteride and stoped because of sides, but garanted that everything came back to normal. The other one stated that he had no sides so far. Based on “if you have side effects, you quit and everything comes back to normal”, and “less than 2% of men who take it have sides”, i thought i had nothing to lose in trying it.

The funny thing with me is that fin made me hornier on the first month. I also gained a lot of muscle and definition, and lost almost all fat on my stomach. My erections were normal, with the plus that i took longer to ejaculate. My girlfriend loved it. I got worried with the changes and called my doctor. he told me it was normal, that some men experience a little increase in testosterone in the begining, the body would balance itself or “get used to the drug” in his own words. I was a happy camper… Back then i had two jobs, but my schedule wasn’t crazy, it was well balanced.

In a few months i started picking up hours and shifts (i now realize i became compulsive while on Finasteride) up to the point i was working 80 hours a week. I also had too much energy to spend. I started waking up at six in the morning without an alarm clock (before it was hard to wake before 10 am). I guess the best word to describe the time i was taking finasteride is compulsion, i could never get satisfied, altough this is totally diferent to the real me, so i started working more and more, making more money, eating more fat foods, and having more sex (i would have sex for hours in order to get a minimum of satisfaction).

After a year and five months, i started having a feeling of melancoly, different than depression, but rather a loss of interest for most things in life. This was the point i got suspitious of Finasteride, called my doctor again (same bla bla bla), but didn’t believe him and researched by myself. This was the first time i found DHT being described as a hormone, prior to that i read many times “substance” or “enzime” or just DHT.

I got pissed… I would never have taken a medicine that interferes with a hormone, i felt cheated and stupid and could not believe a drug approved by FDA would BLOCK a sexual hormone. Unfortunately, all my life i had had good experiences with doctors and medications, and was naive enough to trust both of them. I kept researching and found this website. I then cried a lot and stayed in bed for two days… I just KNEW it was my case… same sides, same reactions, same pattern.

I quit cold turkey and threw the bottle in the trash. Then i quit one of my jobs. The first three months after quiting Finasteride were hell. Really. Three panic attacks, three days in a row without sleep sometimes, metabolism very accelareted (again i think it is high cortisol). I told my sister and my mother, showed them the websites, everything, but they didn t believe me too much. I was sent to a Psychiatrist. Great guy, he believed me, and worked WITH me. He prescribed Valium (small dosage) to fight the extreme anxiety and panic attacks (wich was very succesful). We tried hypnosis. No results. Back then i had no libido at all, almost no erections, plus depression. The cognitive symptoms were mild.

After almost a year on Valium, he decided to withdraw it. I was able to keep calm and the sexual side improved a little bit regarding sensation and firmness of erection, but still very far from who i used to be, and from feeling horny. It s been 3 years and 6 months since i quit. So far i have gained 40 pounds, i would say most of it is water retention, because i don’t look fat, i look “big” (some people ask me if i am working out, it is ridiculous, i miss my old body).

I have many symptoms of Hipercortisolism, but i am able to control them, trough diet and mild exercise (yes, mild, if i exercise normally, i feel awful, cortisol goes up fast and is kept up for some days). I need to eat every three hours or so, again to keep cortisol down. I have become allergic to gluten (Wheat, baking flour, etc). So i dont eat it anymore. I lay down a lot, gives me relief to my headaches. It has been 3 years that i don’t work, and i don’t think i ll be able to work with the same energy again. I have spent so far one third of my savings, and didn t make about US$ 300.000 these years because i got sick. And you know what? I couldn’t care less about this… This whole situation made me a different person.

I tried to date again many times, but i ended up loosing interest, as i am not horny (never) anymore, plus the sensation on my penis is almost absent, WHEN AND IF i have an erection. It just became too complicated for little satisfaction.

I realized i deal better with this whole situation if i try something new and different from who i was, so i am not able to compare and don’t suffer. I get sick much more often, being it a cold, tooth infection (every cavity spreads really fast now), acid reflux disease, bronchites. Overall i feel very old.

The only thing i can’t do is live like a zombie. I need to feel that i am living my life anyways, no matter what happened.

I am definetely a different person, wiser, skeptic about our society and much closer to GOD. Last, about doctors: I have found most of them are very unprepared and close minded. Most of my test results come in range, but some DO come OUT of range.

Their answer: “we can’t take an isolated test result too serious, they are not so precise”… A.k.a: Most of them know Bull**** or are blinded by Drug Companies marketing. And because i show only some of the symptoms of hipercortisolism, they get very puzzled.

Almost all of them are ready to deny that Finasteride could cause all of this. And, if you show that you know what you re talking about, by using the right terminology and questioning anything, they treat you as an Hypocondriac… lol.

Be strong…

1 Like
Reality after 3 years off fin
#2

I am back from an appointment with probably the best endocrinologist in my country. i am doing the blood tests tomorrow and will have the results soon.
I am so tired of this. I didn t want to talk about propecia, but he started to ask me if there was a single event before my alleged metabolism changes. Well, then he said finasteride is responsible for these symptoms only while you re taking it. Untill this point i was fine, but then he asked me: “Do you have history of depression in your family” and i said yes, in the family yes, but not me or my father. After this point it was like he wasn’t listening to my story anymore, and all of my problems were in my head. “You probably got impressed with the stuff you read on the internet.”
Man, this is so aggravating… You know, i ve always been known among my friends and family to be very well balanced, down to earth, calm, ponderate… It is so humiliating to be treated as if you have mental problems. I am sure my LH and FSH will come up low in the tests, lets see what he says about this.

#3

You played along with it, big mistake.

#4

I have not gone to a doctor (2years with this problem) but I want to make sure whoever I see is open to Fin being the problem as its the only thing it could be.

I hope the next person you see is more enlightened.

#5

i tell you one thing… depression and any mental disease isnt genetic. It comes from experiences… its sad that he think like that

#6

I know, i should have lied about depression in my family. My next appointment is on the 25th, to talk about the blood test results.

#7

What was your doctor’s response to your blood test results?

#8

He said everything is normal, besides my cholesterol and Acido urico. Joao, it is not worth seeing this doctor. I am going to see Dr. Crisler in USA, it is clear to me that my Testosterone is too low.

#9

you should try the adrenal saliva test to check cortisol and dhea levels
water retention (related to salt levels) is one of the symptoms

#10

Hi Ruffneck,

Yes, i should probably do these tests. I ll wait for my appointment with dr Crisler.

#11

it would be a good idea to get the tests done before you visit chrisler so he can have more an idea what is going on but it’s up to you

good luck with chrisler

#12

Well, one more damage from this evil drug:
Since i took the drug, my cholesterol has gone from 170 to 280. Hdl has gone from 40 to 33.
But to my surprise, this is not the only factor in heart failure risk.
My Uric Acid is above the upper limit. It means i am accumulating uric acid in my blood. The problem is: “Uric Acid alone is capable of increasing in 3.5 the risks of calcification in the heart - which means 10 to 12 times a higher chance of heart attack and sudden death.”
Also, i might be getting resistant to insulin as excessive uric acid is a result of it.
My hope is TRT will reverse these.

#13

Correiovip,
Did you test your hormones with blood tests or saliva?

#14

Joao,

I did only blood tests.

#15

I have questions about the AR insensitivity theory and gene expression theory. In these four years of suffering it was like a roller coaster. i had a few days in which i felt absolutely normal, even sexually. AR insensitivity or Gene expression seem too radical for allowing someone to feel good for a few days. On the other hand, a metabolic problem like hypopituitarism is known to cause ups and downs.
Doctors are discarding we have pituitary issues because there is no medical literature suggesting that a prescribed medication could cause this. Vasopressin, Oxytocin and Growth hormone deficiency could very well explain our issues. Vassopressin deficiency can explain the bloating, dehydratation, water retention, alterations in blood panel. Oxytocin accounts for spontaneous erections and much more. Growth hormone deficiency could explain depression, lack of energy, loss of lean mass, elevated cholesterol, and even (why not?) little 5arII activity.

IT IS IMPORTANT WE RULE OUT OR CONFIRM THIS CONDITION, HYPOPITUITARISM HAS A 87% INCREASED RISK OF DEATH COMPARED TO NORMAL POPULATION.

I finally was able to have my vasopressin and IGFBP3 test done today. Something i did not know untill this week: Even if you IGF1 is in range, this does not mean you can rule HGH deficiency out. IGF1 blood tests are not a good marker for HGH deficiency. It might be necessary to go for an INSULIN TOLERANCE TEST, to confirm HGH deficiency. This could be useful as proof for a law suit.

#16

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#17

Hi Solonjk,

I tested Vasopressin (also known as Anti Diuretic Hormone) because after Propecia i am bloated and have signs of diabetes insipidus. I did a blood test without a doctor prescription, you can do this in Brazil. It might be necessary to take desmopressin, but i wouldn’t do it without a doctor. I gained 40 pounds but most of it seem to be water retention. I think it is also another sign of hypopituitarism if vasopressin shows out of range. See, i already have three pituitary hormones very low: LH, FSH, Growth hormone (i ll explain why i think it is low). So if also Vasopressin shows a problem, it becomes more clear the diagnosis is Hypopituitarism, and no doctor can argue about it. About Growth hormone: I have clear signs of Gh deficiency. 1.When i try to fast, cortisol goes up fast, and does not aliviate in about three days or until i go jogging again (GH and cortisol act together preventing hypoglicemia). 2. The only think that makes me feel better is running. 3. When i eat Fava beans (rich in Levodopa), i have a burst of well being. Levodopa is one of the stimulants accepted to test Gh deficiency because it causes pituitary to release GH. A dose is injected and Gh is measured. I am afraid of doing the ITT because it can lead to coma. But the experiences i had trying to fast were terrible, never felt so much anxiety, literally my muscles were aching, so i call it my home Insulin Tolerance Test. Anyways, i am on my battle to prove this diagnosis. I need to have something, to start treatment. Let’s see how it comes up.

#18

thnk you for ths new approach,i m going to test everythings these days …

#19

I am going to try the following protocol, starting 09/21, in an attempt to have higher HGH and Testosterone at the same time.

  • Interval training, 20 min of bycicle three times a day. Morning, afternoon and night, everyday, trying to boost HGH.
  • Clomid to try to boost Testosterone.

Right now these are my hormone numbers:
IGF1 - 194 NG/ML (Range 117 - 329)
IGFBP3 - Already tested, don’t have results yet
FSH - 2 mui/ml (Range 0,7 - 11,1)
LH - 2 miu/ml (Range 0,8 - 7,0)
CORTISOL- 22,2 ui/dl (Range 5 - 25)
TESTOSTERONE - 479 ng/dl (Range 262 - 1593)
Androstenadiol Glucoronide: 2.44 Range 3.5 - 22.00

After 45 days i will repeat my blood tests. Let’s see how it goes.

#20

Well, It s been 3 years since i quit Finasteride. My side effects are just like most of you, so i won’t go through this. Here is what i ve realized after 3 years of observation, treatment attempts, sex attempts, etc…

  1. Nothing, absolutely nothing worked to return me to the level of sexual satisfation i had before fin. When i have sex it is now an experience just like anything else - like watching tv… yeah, that exciting. My erection varies day to day, my libido goes from 0 to 30 % of what it used to be

  2. I hope i am wrong, but i don’t think i will ever be the way i used to be before finasteride. So i better learn a way of being happy and have fun besides all these problems. Just in case i don’t get better, this is plan B.

  3. I can’t exercise or stress myself too much or the symptoms worsen. If i do weight training, if i get mad at someone, if i have to deal with a very stressful situation, if i work for long hours standing… all that makes me worse. Basically if i stress myself phisically or emotionally, my erection weakens and my libido (well, the rest of it) plummets. So, IN MY CASE, there is a clear relation of side effects and Cortisol. So i try to avoid problems.

  4. I have realized that depending on my lifestyle, i can still have a peaceful life from now on. I won’t have bursts of euphoria or great excitment about life, but that doesn’t mean i need to be unhappy, depressed or sad.

  5. I decided to do what i call “fine tunning” to deal with the mental and physical (non sexual) side effects. The goal is to return, on a daily basis, to a state of well being and balance that i used to feel my whole life before fin. Basically i observe how i am feeling everyday. If i wake up depressed (for no reason, something really physical) i eat only foods that give me great pleasure on that day. It seems ridiculous or too simple but i have observed (from trial and error), that cheese and chocolate improve my mood considerably on these days. There are other days that i feel too accelerated, as if my metabolism is going to fast. On these days i eat bread and pasta and that calms me down.
    Caffeine helps me when i feel brain fogged or slow. This was a task… At first i tried coffee, but i felt it was to strong and left me accelerated, so i chose one can of soda as the measure of caffeine that i need. And before anybody say “this is not healthy”, i try to balance this by eating salads and running.

  6. I have done tremendous mind changes to live peacefully with who i am after Finasteride. This is essential and i recommend to anyone on this forum. It really helped going to a psychologist for a year, reading a lot, observing other people, searching a meaning for life, spirituality and a lot of time thinking. After all that, i can say i am proud of myself when i look in the mirror, i don’t feel inferior to anybody because of what happened, and i have realized i am very, very, very strong.