Where are you from (country)?
Russia
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?)
Some guy on Youtube mentioned this forum
What is your current age, height, weight?
28 y/o 186cm 86kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
finasteride (Proscar)
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
First two weeks 5 mg, 3 month ~1mg (cutting pill), 6 month ~0.3mg (diluting in vodka)
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
~9 month
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
26
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
28
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
I guess it can be considerate taper off. I tried to minimise sides by reducing the dosage.
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
All the time. But everyone warned me about sexual sides(had very mild libido decrease over time, was not concerned about it). And I had brain fog (but was not sure about the reason until recently)
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Still have some brain fog. But much less. Emotional Blunting - 100% This shit grows gradually so it was hard to notice. Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive - the reason why I stopped taking finasteride. No motivation at all. Like I still can do the job but what is the point? Motivation improved since I stopped taking finasteride.
Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems during first two weeks on 5mg.
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
Sexual
[ X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ +/- sometimes] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ X] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
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
[+/- probably not from finasteride ] Joint Pain
[ +/- probably not from finasteride] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[+/- probably not from finasteride ] Prostate pain
[X ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ X] Other (please explain) Feeling of a mild flu 24/7
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Well, when I was on ~0.3mg. I had an oppotunity to change my life a bit. I’ve lost weight, started exercising, fixed diet but still felt bad. Than I stopped taking fin and felt much better. In addition I am taking zinc as zinc policonate, iodine and drinking magnesium rich mineral whater, Vitamin D
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Well 2 years ago I noticed that I was balding. I started taking finasteride 5 mg. One Proscar pill a day. I got diarrhea and had to stop after 2 weeks. I haven’t noticed any other side effects by that time. After a year of not taking the drug I started again. This time a had cystitis and thought that finasteride could help my prostate health (in addition to regular treatment) and I still was not happy about balding. But that time I started with 1/5 of Proscar pill. I took it for 3 months. During that period I had “no sides”. Well, now I understand that I had side effects but just was not aware of the cause. My motivation, decreased I was pretty depressed, but I had some troubles in my life and thought that finasteride is not the cause. After 3 months I decided to stop taking pills because I’ve regrown my hair to a certain extent and was OK with it. Had a break till the September 2018. By that time I have fixed some problems in my life so it was time to fix my hair (and fuck up my brain, yay!). At that time I found some papers on the Internet about low-dosage efficiency. So I decided to try that. I took 0.33 mg of finasteride from Proscar pill diluted in vodka. At the same time I had an opportunity to fix my body somehow. I started eating properly, doing sports, losing weight and taking supplements (zinc, iodine, magnesium, , Vitamin D). I was doing better, but still felt not so good. At that time a started to notice something that can be described as 24/7 flu with no temperature. I thought that I was doing everything right at that time, except one thing was still unclear to me. Maybe that is finasteride? I stopped taking finasteride and got immediate improvements in my mood and motivation. Yeah, some people might say that I am a lucky guy, who has just a little post finasteride syndrome, but here is the thing I want to share with people who still might be on finasteride. If I didn’t have such improvement after stopping taking finasteride I would probably think that I have no sides. I mean detecting sides like decreased motivation and brain fog is not so easy. First: it grows very gradually. Second: we’ve been taught by society and our life in general that those are things that we can control. We feel unmotivated just because we are lazy, we feel brain fog because we don’t exercise enough. And after stopping taking finasteride I don’t know if I still have the post finasteride syndrome simply because I was on finasteride for so long that I can’t compare to the time when I was clean.