Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)? France
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?) Hair loss forum
What is your current age, height, weight? 29 yo,187 cm, 80 kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1 mg/day, then 2 mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? Almost 6 years
Date when you started the drug? 2012
Date when you quit the drug? 2018
Age when you quit? 24
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? The last 2 weeks of treatment
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
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
[ ] 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
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[X] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X] 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
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] 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
[ ] Other (please explain)
6 years of taking finasteride.
In 2018, I noticed a very sharp drop in the quality of my erections. I immediately stopped the treatment as I was aware of the potential side effects.
At that time, the blood tests were normal. Penis EMG showed some irregularities. I also practiced an Penile Echo Doppler but without injection, therefore useless. Normal spermogram. I had an EchoDoppler of the testicles because I had the impression of having some pain, which showed a varicocele on the left side.
I went through this forum for a long time in 2018 because I couldn’t have sex without Ipde5.
Then I didn’t go back for 5 years, because I was able to get good erections with ipde5, and I was fine with that. I was able to have sex really often with no fail.
Then everything changed about 8 months ago, because the ipde5s started not working anymore. Pelvic pain appeared. The situation continued to deteriorate until today, I am no longer able to have sex even with a high dose of ipde5 (20 mg cialis or levitra).
The visible veins on the penis have grown even more.
A varicocele on the right side also set in and the last spermogram showed infertility.
So my biggest concern is my very bad ED (no loss of libido).
My flaccid penis is constantly contracted and retracted.
I see no other solution than injections or penile implant.
I don’t have the impression that my condition is due to an addiction to Ipde5, my baseline has really deteriorated, I had no pelvic pain before but I don’t know how this is possible 5 years after stopping treatment and experiencing a condition stable.
It’s very strange and very depressing.
I will spend in the next few days a Penien EchoDoppler and a new EMG.
But in my opinion, I don’t have permanent penile tissue damage, as I have observed a few short periods where it went back to being like my first 5 years of PFS.