My story

Member Stories
#1
  1. Where are you from (country)?

USA

  1. 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 search “Propecia side effects after stopping”

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?

33, 6’4" (194cm), 85kg (190lbs)

  1. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?

No, but I was exercising consistently during Propecia use and over a half year after quitting.

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

Moderately heathly

  1. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?

Hair Loss

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

1 year 2 months

  1. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?

30 years old in June 2009

  1. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?

I quite twice. Both times I was 31 years old. First time: April 2010 Second: Nov 2010

  1. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?

Started with a half a pill for a while then went cold turkey from there.

  1. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?

Propecia

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

1mg/daily (prescribed amount)

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

almost immediately I didn’t have morning wood, but within 10 days of the second time I started is when I noticed my “ball drop”.

  1. 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
[x ] 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
[x ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[x ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[xx ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x ] Depression / MelancholyPhysical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x ] Testicular Pain
[ x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x ] Weight Gain
[x ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[x ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

Testicles dropped and stay that way most of the time (atrophy?)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

Mostly tried treating the prostate. Last October I went on Chinese herbs for the prostate, T caps (160mg/day) and clomid for over a month along with a multi, fish oil, calcium, vitD, mag. I recovered for 3 months. After relapsing I couldn’t get clomid again, so I’ve just been taking a opti-men by ON, vit D and mag, cal supplements. After a few days of taking these and Vitrix by Nutrex I am feel a little better than before.

  1. 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)?

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

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

After being on this drug for almost one year with the only side effect that I noticed being loss of morning erections, I successfully went off (no crash), for about three months. Within 10 days of going back on it, I noticed by testicles dropped and stayed that way. I continued to take Propecia for 2.5 months because I thought the sides would “pass”. During the 2.5 months I had complete impotence and pain. Over one month after I stopped, I crashed. I remember waking up after sleeping a good 10 or more hours and feeling like I didn’t sleep for a whole week. I found this website and lurked for a long time hoping that I wasn’t like you guys, but I guess I am same. I’m better than when I was a year ago, but still not even close to recovering. I’d like to get some treatment ideas from this site, support and hopefully contribute the same to others on here. I believe that we can beat this. P.S. F**K MERCK AND OTHER COMPANIES LIKE THEM!

#2

Was any benefit from Clomid?

#3

Yes, the clomid helped A LOT I think, but they won’t give it to me now because my sperm levels are “normal” (barely). I would recommend going on clomid right away for two months or until your levels are slight above normal. When I go on it again, I plan on reporting my recovery.

#4

Why did you go off and then back on?

#5

I couldn’t buy Propecia for a few months (at least not conveniently).

#6

  1. My testicles dropped within one week after taking Propecia, but I also have a varicocele. So is the testicle always hanging very low due to atropy from a lack of the dht in the genital skin/tissues or due to the varicocele. What is your guess? I don’t want to get varicocele surgery if the testicles won’t go up after. The doctors don’t really know. It seems more than a coincidence that they dropped within a week of taking Propecia.

  2. When I wake up I always feel tired and kinda depressed. What does this usually indicate?

  3. I don’t get horny at all anymore. Is this most likely due to low DHT levels since my T is normal?

  4. I don’t wake up with erections, but can achieve them pretty ok when I am with a girl, but I don’t get horny or the urge to have sex when I see hot girls. I find this really weird. Is this what they call androgen insensitivity?

Sorry for all the questions, but you are my best source right now I think. The doctors here don’t know about this and I can’t afford the PFS docs. Also, it’s hard to get straight answers and info from this sex

#7

I wanted to wait a while before posting, but it looks like a finally recovered. It has been over five months since I felt any sides due to Propecia. I contribute my recovery at least partially to a cleansing system I took by GNC. Here is a link: gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11935123

I got it on sale for $25 and I figured what the hell. After the first day I didn’t feel anything. However, on the second day I had to take a really bad shit all of a sudden. I noticed that there was some blood in my excrement which was mostly like diarrhea. Although I was worried, I decided to wait it out a few days and see how I feel. Once I started taking the probiotic supplement I noticed I had no symptoms. Unfortunately the probiotic in this cleanse kit only is for five days, so I thought I would run out before seeing the full affects. They held on though and I have been symptom free ever since.

I’d like to note that after taking Propecia I went on some antibiotics which caused my digestive function to become abnormal. By abnormal I mean that most of the time I would shit diarrhea. I believe the Propecia caused the sides, but the anitibiotics contributed to making them worse and even perpetuating them.

The other thing that helped me a lot was changing my attitude. I would often let problem get me depressed by thinking that this was permanent. To be honest, getting on this website didn’t help either. This website is good and bad, but I would recommend staying away from it. Once I started thinking more positively, I noticed that my symptoms would alleviate.

I am willing to answer any questions you have.

Good luck to you all in this fight

#8

So you recovered in all your symptoms?

I mean: sexual, mental etc.?