My Symptoms Profile - Chronic Prostatitis & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    UK

  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?)
    Google Search - propecia side effects

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    age 30, 5’8’’, 70kg

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Weight Training and limited cardio (due to condition) 5 times a week

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

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    Propecia for 3 months

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    28 - march 2009

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    28 - june 2009

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

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

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

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

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    Chronic non bacterial prostatitis, Chronic Fatigue, Acid Reflux

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] 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
[x ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x ] Depression / Melancholy

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

Misc
[ x] Prostate pain
[ x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ x] 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?
    Ciproxin - 3 month programme for prostatitis, did not work, acupuncture - slight relief

  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)?
    None that im aware of

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

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

I started taking propecia for hair loss 1mg a day, didnt notice any side effects for about 3 months, until one day whilst in the gym on the treadmill i felt a shooting pain in my prostate. I knew that the medication was used for BPH so wasnt hard to put two and two together. I then went to the doctors are was diagnosed with Chronic Non Bacterial Prostatitis. After a 3 month course of Ciproxin (antibiotics) there was still no change and I had constant symptoms of non specific UTI, acid reflux, upper leg pain and the worst of all chronic fatigue syndrome - I felt like a zombie 24/7.
After suffering for a year with an enlarged prostate I then went to an acupuncturist which releived the symptoms slightly. However the CFS was still there.
Its been two years now and although I am back in the gym, I can only lift weights, cardio sets off all my symptoms again and I appear to get random flare ups of all of the above i’ve mentioned. Its got me down so much that I was on anti-depressants for about 4-5 months (due to suicidal thoughts) and dont get me wrong, im normally a very positive and up-beat guy.
Please can anyone out there offer any advise if they’ve had a similar problem or know how I might tack this life ruining problem?

Many thanks

Question: your prostatitis has no effect on your ejaculation? can you describe in detail your problem a little more?

Hi,

No my problem does not seem to directly effect me sexually in any way - however a whole host of problems occur in its place. These inlcude swelling in the prostate area (I can feel this mostly when I lie down or sit down), unbelieveable fatigue, pain in my upper legs (mostly around my quads), confusion/brain fog, gastrointestinal problems such as nausia and acid reflux and a constant lump in my throat (probably brought on by tha acid reflux), depression and random water infections. Before I took propecia I never suffered from any of these symptoms, in fact i’d say my health was above average until this point. Id appreciate any haelp you can give in the matter, thanks.