My Story

tenq1257
Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:18:11 +0000

1. How did you find this forum?
I googled “Propecia side-effects”.

2. What is your current age, height, weight?
21, 6-1, 195

3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Yes. I Run every day and play basketball.

4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
I eat a healthy balanced diet.

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

6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
1 week

7. How old were you when you started Finasteride?
21

8. How old were you when you quit?
21

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

10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Generic Finasteride proscribed by my doctor.

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

12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
6 days

13. 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
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] 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
[ ] 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
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

14. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? I researched libido enhancing foods and have started a healthy diet. I have also started taking Centrum vitamins.

15. 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)?

16. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

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

My mind is very tired and foggy as I write this. About a week ago I decided to try Finasteride to slow my hair loss. I went to my doctor who prescribed a 5 mg generic finasteride tablet, which I would then cut into quarters for 1.25mg/day. I took fin for about a week when I noticed I was completely unmoved by looking at girls. I noticed watery semen and weaker erections. I stopped immediately on the sixth day. It has been 3 days since I stopped and I still have a clouded mind and absolutely no libido. Things I used to love no longer inspire me, music is flat and unmoving. I have trouble creating coherent complex sentences. I think my school-work is deteriorating, I have completely forgotten about classes. I was a very observant alive person before taking this drug. Now I feel dead inside. It feels like an out of body experience and I am just hoping I will wake up from this bad dream. Since I have not taken the drug for very long, I am holding out hope my system can correct this thing on its own (although judging from the other guys-the hormone system looks to be a delicate thing). It has only been three days with no signs of improvement but also no deterioration. I am hoping my system can fight this thing.
Most importantly, thank you all for creating this forum and allowing me to share my (although clouded) thoughts.

I have a few questions I would like to ask.

Are there any forumers who have had a similar time line to my own? Should I hold out hope that having taken this drug over such a short time-span, my chances of recovery are better? (sorry, if that sounds selfish, I know some of you are dealing with much greater challenges).
(looks like BigSoftie and 19 are in my boat…are they active on this forum…can I get in contact with them?)

What is the timeline/bench marks I should be looking for regarding improvement?

And WHEN IS THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST MERCK COMING!!!??
-ha, that felt good.