Hi guys,
Just thought I’d share my story as I’m in a bit of a scary place right now. I took propecia for 7 years for hair loss. At first, I didn’t notice much in the way of side effects - it definitely had an effect on my hair, and it didn’t give me weird heartburn symptoms like saw palmetto.
After several years on the drug, I began to have a few problems urinating. Basically, I started needing to go more often, and I started to experience quite bad dribbling after I thought I’d finished. Stupidly, I thought this was worth putting up with. I also experienced a minor loss of sex drive but considering my sex drive has always been sky high it wasn’t a huge problem - I was still having sex a couple of times a week with my girlfriend.
Anyway, last month I finally decided to stop taking propecia - it wasn’t even really a conscious decision, I had just read quite a bit about side effects and decided it wasn’t worth it any more (like most men I guess my decision to take propecia in the first place was partially based on vanity and as I am in a longterm stable relationship with a gorgeous girl I’ve become less worried about my looks). So I gradually tapered off and eventually stopped altogether.
Since then, there have been several notable effects. First, my sex drive has notably increased - I find myself looking at just about every girl in the street and wanting to rip their clothes off. I hadn’t previously noticed a huge drop in my sex drive but the increase since I stopped taking propecia has been marked.
Secondly - and far more worryingly - I’ve developed what the doctors think is a chronic urinary tract infection (UTI). It started two weeks ago, when it was incredibly painful to pass urine (I had a burning sensation in the tip of my penis) and I had a constant urge to go. The doctor proscribed me a 3-day course of antibiotics and it seemed to clear up, although I was still conscious of needing to urinate more often than normal. The doctor did a piss test which came back with a high white-blood cell count, so he ordered a series of blood tests to investigate further (still waiting the results).
Anyway, yesterday the pain back with a vengeance. I started pissing blood (I’ve never done this before, and believe me it is very scary) and went to the ER in agony. The doctor who examined me there did another piss test and came back shocked, saying it was one of the worst infections he’d seen. He gave me another course of high-strength antibiotics and urged me to go back to my regular doctor asap to get everything checked out, as UTIs are very rare in men my age.
I’m now trying not to freak out waiting for the results of my blood test. Clearly propecia has knackered my prostate and now that i’ve stopped it’s either enlarged or is going badly wrong in some way. My doc says prostrate cancer is unlikely given my age but might be a possibility - my grandfather had it (although admittedly at a much older age). It may just be a one-off UTI but the timing seems to coincide with me stopping taking propecia.
I realise that on many levels I am much more fortunate than many of the poor guys on here who have had their sex lives ruined by this drug. However, I am still freaking out as I don’t fancy spending the rest of my life with chronic urinary problems. I’ll hopefully know more when the blood tests come back.
If anyone is browsing this forum (as I did a while back) deciding whether to start propecia or come off it - my advice is clear: do not touch the stuff with a barge pole. However embarrassing hair loss may be it is not worth risking your long term health for. I was an idiot for doing so and I gravely regret it.
W
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Where are you from (country)?
UK -
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 -
What is your current age, height, weight?
33, 6ft, 80kg -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
yes. 5x week various sports - gym, soccer, surfing, running -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
normal healthy -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
7 years -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
26 years old. 2004 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
33 years old. 2011 -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
taper off -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
finpecia -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/day -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
2-3 years -
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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] 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
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
n/a -
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 -
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
n/a -
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.