- How did you find this forum?
Research on Propecia side effects.
- What is your current age, height, weight?
31 yrs, 6’1", 13st 3lb
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
7 days a week, weights (4), Running (1), Jumping Rope (1), Cycling (1)
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Paleo
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair Loss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
10 weeks
- How old were you when you started Finasteride?
30
- How old were you when you quit?
30
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg/day
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
8 weeks
- What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
I experienced the following side effects whilst on the drug:
Sexual
[X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[X] Complete Impotence
Physical
[X] Muscle Wastage
[X] Muscle Weakness
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
I experienced the following symptoms in the two weeks after discontinuing the drug and these remain unresolved:
Sexual
[X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X] Watery Ejaculate
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
I supplement with the following:
Wellman Sport Multivitamin+
Vitamin D (high dose)
Gingko Biloba
Ginseng
Horny Goat Weed
Omega 3, 6, 9
Acetyl L-Carnitine
Applied Nutriceuticals HGH-UP
ZMA
- 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)?
No doctor has yet to believe my symptoms are connected to Propecia use.
- Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
Just a trend for things gradually improving. I’ve started to lose my hair again, I’ve started to grow body hair in those places you don’t want it. Although I lost a lot of muscle mass when I took the drug, I have recently been able to increase gains again to pre-drug levels. In fact, if it wasn’t for the sexual side effects, things are pretty normal.
- Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I was deployed overseas with the military when I was taking the drug, so it wasn’t until I returned home and had the opportunity to have sex that the full range of the side effects demonstrated themselves. It was then, in hindsight, that I realised I had been masturbating much less than pre-drug and I stopped the drug immediately, hoping that the side effects would go away. However, the next two weeks were pretty bad, with flashes of irritability / anger that were completely uncharacteristic, my right testicle gave me significant pain (the one that continues to do so) and retracted into my body and the other symptoms (listed above) started.
I’ve spent the last year believing things were gradually getting better, which, as I stated above, they have been. The dark circles under my eyes have gradually diminished, I can put muscle on again and my mood is generally good. I am now able to have sex occasionally, so I recognise that I’m certainly not the worst of the people on this forum. However my lack of libido, the numbness (sort of like faint pins and needles feeling) in my penis, and the testicular pain make maintaining a relationship impossible; when the other person realises that they cannot turn you on and that you have to help them out to get things going, its pretty destructive on their self-esteem (and mortifying for me of course…)
