My story

  1. Where are you from (country)? US

  2. 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?) propecia erectile dysfunction stem cells

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 65, 5-11, 213 lbs

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? No exercise

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? meat, eclectic, almost no junk food but not a very balanced diet. Occasionally have been on HCG diet.

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? About 12 years

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? about 54, 1999

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 65, March 2012

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

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Initially Propecia, then finasteride over the internet, then dutasteride over the internet starting I think in 2004.

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 0.5 mg/day

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Not sure because other health issues were going on around then as well, but probably within a few wmonths.

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? ED, almost completel loss of penile sensation, memory problems, mental fog, sleep problems.

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[x] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm (limited)
[? ] 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 Not clinically depressed, but very sad and discouraged because of the ED.

Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

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

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None

  2. 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)? I don’t have any copies of the tests, but my blood tests have always been fairly normal. In particular testosterone has always measured ok.

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? Can’t think of anything.

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug. I have ideopathic peripheral neuropathy that started around the same time or a little earlier (maybe first miniscule signs around 1996.) I’ve thought that might be due to mercury tooth fillings or gentital herpes. I went through extensive diagnostic testing for the ED and PN in 2005. Doctors couldn’t find any causes for either. I haven’t noticed any changes in symptoms since discontinuing the dutasteride. Since the PN has caused numbness in my feet and legs (mostly lower legs) I’ve wondered if that might have caused the penile numbness which might explain some of the ED. Replacig my mercury fillings with ceramic in 2002 seems to have helped my PN, but not the ED.