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)? England
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?) I’ve been lurking for a good few years. Found via google.
What is your current age, height, weight? 29 years old. 5’11. 11 stone.
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Fin and dut.
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Fin was 1mg daily for approx a week. Dutasteride only one pill.
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss. Although the ironic thing is, with hindsight, my hair was fine. I began my first steroid cycle in 2017 and pretty much researched too much. Too much vanity led me to be overprotective, I.E keep my thick head of hair and get bigger. How wrong I was.
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 1 week.
Date when you started the drug? November 2017.
Date when you quit the drug? November 2017.
Age when you quit? 22
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey.
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? After three days.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Mostly mental side effects. Severe brain fog, inability to concentrate, emotional numbness, severe anxiety, depressions, a lack of motivation.
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
[x ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ x] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ x]Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x ]Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ x ]Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x ] Muscle Wastage
[ x] Muscle Weakness
[ x ]Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] 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)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? I tried all of the herbal routes etc. the last two years I’ve started SSRIs - I know they’re not encouraged at all on here, but they have helped.
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)? I haven’t had my bloods tested in a long time. Although, I’ve now started a huge task of trying to get this all sorted, hence making an account on here. First step is bloods to see where I’m at.
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.
2017 it begins:
22 year old lad. Confident, just finished my degree, motivated, sexual, sociable. I started taking testosterone to enhance myself at the gym, noticed slight temple thinning so looked on the forums and was recommended fin/dut as it would ‘reduce your DHT by 60%’. I was under the impression - and given advice - that the 40% that would remain would be enough to aid me in my physique goals. I quickly learnt this advice was complete bullshit. The impact the drugs had on me neurologically was pretty instant. I ceased usage. I was instantly depressed and carrying substantially more water in my face and body.
Since then I have tried books worth of herbs. I even used DHT based steroids in the beginning, believing it his was simply a DHT based issue. They helped to an extent but I didn’t want to be taking steroids anymore, and these compounds destroyed my hair, so I’ve been off all of them since 2019.
It’s almost as if I’ve been living someone else’s life since 2017. It’s crazy how much these drugs change us and our brain.
I would absolutely love to connect with some fellow UK based sufferers. It would be great to just chat if anything at all. My private message is always open to.
Cheers guys!
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
-
Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
-
Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
-
Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
-
Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
-
Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]