My Symptoms

Member Stories
#1
  1. Where are you from (country)?
    Canada
  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
  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    25 yr old, 5 ft 10 inches tall, 170 lbs
  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    No
  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Regular Western Diet
  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    Hair loss
  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    1 1/2 months
  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    25 years old, started taking propecia in second week of October 2013
  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    25 years old, quit taking propecia in early December 2013
  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    cold turker
  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.)?
    0.25 mg/day
  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    Relatively quickly, probably within the first two weeks
  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    Weaker erections, loss of libido, producing less semen
    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
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections -Unknown
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[X ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[X ] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled) -Possible penis narrowing towards the base since quitting (unsure if this is just in my mind as I have been over examining everything lately.)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X ] Testicular Pain -only since quitting, occasional and slight
[ ] 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
[X ] Prostate pain -An occasional mild pain in pelvis/scrotum since quitting
[ ] 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)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    Take oral zinc (50 mg per day), taking fish oil supplement once per day, taking vitamin d 1000 IU per day, co enzyme Q10 300 mg per day, DIM 100 mg bioavailable per day

  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)?
    No tests

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    I can not believe that I have not yet recovered after 2 and a half weeks from only taking 0.25 mg of propecia a day for less than 2 months. Since quitting I have been depressed (mostly about my side effects) and I am even considering taking my life as I understand there is no cure.

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    On the drug I had decreased libido and erections, but I had managed to have sex with my girlfriend and I could still maintain an erection even though it was not as strong as those I would get before taking propecia. I stopped cold turkey as I was afraid that the side effects get worse. Since quitting I started to feel testicular pain on and off, my erections have not improved (may have improved slightly but only with manual stimulation when I am extremely aroused, the rest of the time they are softer and they are difficult to maintain). While on propecia (and after stopping) I noticed that I do not get morning wood or random erections. I have trouble focusing on sex for too long whereas before my mind would be consumed by sexual thoughts. I rarely get sexual thoughts out of the blue any more. When I masturbate (usually to make sure everything still works) I can get hard and I do get turned on but it takes much more stimulation and desire to keep focused and maintain my erection.

Feedback from people who did not experience a singal "crash"
#2

Hi everyone,

I am just on here looking for any input or advice. Here is a bit of a background for more info you can see my story which is posted in the member stories section.

So I am 24 and started taking propecia back in early October of last year (2013). I was weary of taking anything that may alter hormones but my doctor assured me that he had patients taking 5x the dosage for prostate issues and they had taken it for years with no problems. So I got my prescription filled and took my first mg of finasteride. The first day I took 1mg, then I dropped down to 0.5 mg as I was weary about taking too much. After a short while I noticed I was producing less semen, I read the merck website and apparently this was normal so I thought not much of it, however I reduced my dose to 0.25 mg/day. Therefore overall I was on 1mg for 1 day, 0.5 mg for a few weeks, and 0.25 mg for maybe a month before quitting completely due to erection issues and difficulty getting it hard (in addition to low semen volume).

So overall I started early October 2013 and quit early December 2013.

Since quitting a number of things have happened:

I did not feel immediately better as many claim to, in fact immediately after quitting I may have actually got worse for a few weeks before slowly starting to return to normal. I figured this was okay and I could just take a tiny dose. I took maybe 0.1 mg or less one day in late December and experienced all the sides in full force again. Since then I have quit for good and discovered this site.

After this I have never really recovered yet, now 2.5 months after this last tiny dose and 3 months after my last 0.25 mg dose. Here what happened since that last dose in late December:

On the positive side:
-erections have slowly but surely come back to normal, I can masturbate with a normal erection and have normal sex
-penis has not shrunk at all in its flaccid or erect state (as far as I can tell)
-I believe I get nocturnal erections, although no morning erections (don’t know why)
-Semen has increased somewhat but is still pathetic- severely reduced-it went from a tiny drop while on propecia to maybe 20-30% of what it used to be
-Semen has started to normalize in texture, used to be clumpy or watery but rarely normal consistency
-Beard seems to be growing a little bit faster than it was while on fin (not sure about this but being optimistic)

On the negative:
-Recently have been extremely fatigued
-Testicles seem a little tighter than normal, and possibly a little smaller - been this way for several weeks
-joint and muscle pain that started recently
-Depression that started recently- slowly been getting worse since quitting-may be a result of me stressed out about the situation
-No morning erections still (not 1)
-Lowered sex drive that has had tiny ups here and there but pretty much diminished
-No random erections

Overall I just don’t know if I am getting better or worse. Erections are definitely better but weakness and fatigue is worse. Could this be from the depression? Any input is appreciated.

Good luck to all of you,

Brad

#3

Well I figured I’d give a bit of an update.

If any of you have read some of my other posts you will know it has been a lot of ups and downs for me. Now about 5-6 months off of Propecia here is how things stand:

Got tested 2.5 months after quitting and was found to have low Free Testosterone (29.6) Ref (31-94)

A follow-up test about a month later (in March) confirmed that I still have low Free T (27.5) Ref (31-94)
However this test showed that I had normal/ slightly low normal LH and FSH, perfectly normal TSH, Normal Prolactin and I believe that was all they checked for but pretty much everything came back normal except my free t.

Another follow-up test in April they checked my Total Testosterone and I have not been given the results but was sent for yet another blood test a few weeks back where they checked free t, total t, and a bunch of other things.

#4

Now to go over how I feel, I will try to break it down symptom by symptom. I will rate my problems from 1-10 (1 meaning this is still no longer a problem and 10 being this is a huge issue)

Constipation: (Started in February 2.5 months after quitting at a 9/10 and has since improved to about a 3/10): This symptom started suddenly about 2.5 months after quitting and has since improved where I have regular bowel movements once again. Althought sometimes I still don’t go as often as I used to it has definitely improved. I take Metamucil once per day, but I have reduced the amount I take and I no longer take it on weekends and so far I have maintained this improvement. So in short, Metamucil really helped me with the constipation but I am needing it less now.

Brain Fog & Depression (First 2 months off of the drug 7/10 and is now 1/10). I no longer feel foggy or depressed all day, and this has simply seemed to come with time. Depression I have had issues with before finasteride but right now I am doing good (for the past month or so)

Erection Strenght: I have had periods where this was a 10/10 and I couldn’t even get an erection, now I can most of the time and although it is still back an forth with some bad days mixed in there, I am able to have sex and have had sex several times since quitting. I guess I would put this at about a 4 or 5/10 now, simply because there are times where it will not get hard while masturbating, although it is generally okay.

Libido: At its worst about 2.5 months off of the drug I had very little libido (9/10 in terms of severity). This has slowly gotten better with ups and downs but I’d say it is only a slight reduction from normal now (3/10)

Semen volume/consistency: This was severely reduced on the drug, then thick and very little after coming off. Now I feel it has improved and some days it seems almost normal and it shoots even farther than before, but these days are rare. Most days it is about 25% of what it used to be prior to fin. After my crash I had some dry orgasms or times where it was 5% of what it used to be so I would still say it improved. (For the sake of clarity I never really had a big crash per say, however things seemed to be at their worste 2.5 to 3 months after quitting.) So overall this has improved slightly and it has its good days but still pathetic compared to before. On the plus side I can go about 2 times per day now and the second time I still get some semen coming out.

Penis Curve: (3/10) I first noticed a slight bend in my penis about 2 to 3 months after quitting. This bend is not severe and it is only really visible when semi erect and straightens out when erect. This has not gotten better or worse from what I can see so I have pretty much just been waiting to track changes. Overall though I don’t see it worsening. There are 2 rings halfway down my shaft but they aren’t that noticeable and have not increased since I first noticed them in March so who knows.

Dreams: I still do not remember my dreams as much as I used to, however I do have a few here and there that I remember. I guess this would have been about a 10/10 when I first came off and now its about a 7/10. Either way I feel rested and less fatigued for the most part so whether I dream or not is not a huge issue for me.

Muscle aches and pains: (2/10 now, was 6/10 at its worste). I barely ever feel muscle aches or pains or joint aches like I did about 3-4 months after quitting. I have random days where it is a little noticeable mostly when I didn’t sleep much the night before but overall this has improved.

Beard growth: This slowed considerably after quitting and while on fin (5/10) and while this is really hard to tell I feel that it is improving so I may be at like a 4/10 now in terms of it not being as much of an issue any more.

Prostate pains: Now (1/10=absolutely none) at its worst 2.5 months after quitting (6/10)- would get occasional pains in my prostate area. Nothing to severe but dull aching pain would come and go frequently. Now this is no longer an issue.

Tesitcle Pains: Now (2/10- occasional pains but very rare- although the other day it hurt much of the day). At its worst these pains would happen relatively frequently but were dull and not too severe (maybe a 4/10) at its worst.

Testicle size: (7/10- much smaller than pre fin days but this has not gotten better or worse since I first noticed it 1 month after quitting).

Right now I am on week 2 of 2 g of acetyl l carnitine per day and 1 g of Alpha Lipolic Acid (or however you spell it) and 200 mg of co enzyme q10. I feel this hasn’t done a whole lot however my beard has been growing faster so who knows. Either way I am going to finish my bottles of these supplements which should take about a month. Once I am done I plan to go on to fish oils with co q 10 and vitamin d which I haven’t been tested for but based on everyone else on here I am probably deficient.

In summary: I have definitely improved in the last few months - either that or I have just gotten used to living like this. I don’t know about my testosterone levels so I am kind of nervous that they are continuing to drop. However I am seeing a specialist soon so I will see how it goes. If I feel okay and I can still produce semen I will prolong TRT and maybe try some of the restart protocols. In the mean time I feel okay so I am in no rush to go in. I am definitely not perfect but in these 6 months of hell that I have been fighting through I am definitely not at my worst. Wishing you all the best.

#5

Hi,

I am on here with just some questions. I am sick of this shit. I’ve been off for about 10 months now and my case is shit. My symptoms at first were more mild than alot of people on here (I can still occasionally have unassited sex etc.) however I feel like I have the most fucked up case because unlike most people, mine follows absolutely no pattern.

My testosterone kept getting lower from months 3-6 after quitting, since then havent had it tested. Had eustachian tube dysfunction from months 4-6 but that cleared up. Constipation from months 2-now. Now randomly the past 3 days I have had muscle twitching in my one arm that will not stop. On top of that my nuts started to shrink up nice and small and my ejaculate is back to pathetic (after improving for like 4 months from April - July). What is going on with me? Why do most people notice stable improvements, whereas for me everytime one thing gets better another gets worse, or as is the case this week…everything just goes to shit.

Honestly I’ve tried. I’ve gone to an endocrinologist who told me my free T shouldn’t be considered because it isnt accurate (even though it came in below range 3 times and each time lower than the last) and he told me my total t which was measured once at 380 was normal. I’ve have vitamin D (normal), TSH (normal), LH (normal), FSH (normal), cortisol (random- high end but normal), estrogen (normal).

Honestly am I just going to get worse and worse? Seems like most people get some sort of improvements. I never had a crash per se. I just am all over the place. Felt fine for three weeks back in July now I feel the worste I’ve felt yet. I dont fucking get it. I don’t want sympathy I want answers or I want to fucking end this bullshit. What the fuck is this. What do I do? Why is everything still getting worse almost a year since quitting. I ONLY TOOK 0.25mg/day FOR FUCKING 2 MONTHS! WHY THE FUCK DO I DESERVE THIS SHIT.

Ive cried alone in the shower for weeks at the beginning, then I got good at dealing with it. Now I’m back to this miserable shit and crying all the time again. Honestly will it just keep getting worse? Fuck guys I just need some answers. Something. Anything.

#6

My experience has been a lot like yours. Mostly all bad.

#7

Hello,

I have been on this forum since December when I first quit propecia (I was only on 0.25mg per day for 3 months total). I am 25 and I was healthy and had a very high sex drive. After taking the drug I immediately noticed weaker erections and extremely diminished semen volume. I tried reducing the dose and waited it out thinking it would improve as I had read that with most people the side effects resolve over time with continuation of the drug. Once I quit in December, I had some rough patches but also some good days where I felt almost normal. I continued to slowly decline, however, and without experiencing a specific crash, now almost 8 months later what I am left with is:

Below range low Free testosterone as confirmed by 3 tests
Low but within range total testosterone
Constipation and unpredictable bowel movements (sometimes constipated, sometimes it comes out ribbon like or pencil thin)
Low libido
Little to no morning or random erections (up until April I was able to get erections through mental stimulation, no longer possible)
Muscle twitches (have come and gone and returned over the past few months)
Small testicles (sometimes they return to about 70% normal size but this does not seem to last)
Random aches and pains
Weight gain
Depression and anxiety (this may be one of the only things that has improved since quitting)
Lack of dreams (this has been good the past week for the first time since quitting, but who knows if it will hold)
Eustachian tube dysfunction- started in april I have had fluid that wont drain in my ear. This may be unrelated but never happened before.
Small rings and a slight curve appeared on penis in March, has not improved or worsened since

Anyways I in no way envy anyone on this site, however sometimes I wish I had just crashed off the beginning as at least some of the crashers seem to experience improvements. I am terrified that I am going to keep getting worse and worse, and honestly I don’t know what to do. Will I be left with nothing? Does anyone else have this slow decline? Did it stop or get better for anyone? I pretty much just want to hear stories from other people who did not crash, and hopefully we can help eachother out.

Anyone in a similar situation please respond as I find it even more frustrating when I can’t seem to find anyone with my situation so i feel all alone in this. Can it get better (or at least stop getting worse).

Please any information is appreciated.

Brad

#8

HI bradv1800, you’re not alone. I also have symptoms w/o a crash. See my member story for the details. How are you doing these days?

#9

Hey 5arvic,

Thanks for the reply, and apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I have taken some time away from the website for the past month due to a busy schedule and an overall improvement in many of my most debilitating symptoms. My symptoms are so weird, while some get better others get worse. For example, over the past month my erections and sex drive have been much improved, and the volume of my semen has improved (on some days, others it remains low). Also, since taking a heavy dose of probiotics my bowel movements have been much more normal (although not completely normal).

However I have had itchy nipples (almost like dry skin that keeps recurring), and eustachian tube dysfunction has returned. I last had this for three months from april until june, and it went away but has come back with a vengeance. It is so weird. It seems like I take 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

How about you? How are you doing?

Ps I am about a year since my last 0.25 mg dose of finasteride at this point.

Thanks again,

Brad

#10

Brad, glad to hear that things are improving for you. 2 steps forward, 1 step back seems to be a very common pattern. I think it means your body is finding it’s way back to its original equilibrium, which is a good thing, albeit in oscillations. You haven’t been on the drug that long and you didn’t crash, so I’d be pretty optimistic in your case and your improvements show that. Not sure about the eustachian tube, probably unrelated. I have that tinnitus problem reported by many here.

Unfortunately I haven’t seen much improvement in my situation. The 2 steps forward, 1 step back doesn’t seem to happen. It feels more like my body has found this new low T equilibrium after fin. I don’t feel or show any signs of E dominance and my T/DHT ratio is good. So things seem balanced. The only significant improvement is digestion. I’m doing the Paleo diet now and that stabilized things. It also gives me more energy. Already lost 15 lbs in the process. Taking probiotics too. But I have to stick with it or things go wrong in a heartbeat. Taking some T booster and they show minor results. The occasional morning wood and one night time erection. My facial skin is oiler on some days which points to more DHT. What does make me feel good is working out. Back to 3x weights per week, 2x jogging.

My next step is to tackle that low T. I think that’s the root cause of my problems. At this point I don’t know if I have 5ar damage too. The only way to find out is to raise T and see what my E does. If it skyrockets it’s probably PFS. The only reason I’ve held off so far is that I’m scheduled to do a water fast in early Jan. I expect the fast to detox my body, reduce fat further, hopefully fix the digestion, help with sleep. In any case the fast will make my body react better to treatments. I don’t expect natural recovery to happen in my case. The system needs to be pushed to higher T. After the fast I’ll attempt a PCT restart cycle w/ Nolvadex, probably. If my Endo is not on board I might contact Dr. Goldstein and work w/ him.

#11

Are you on any protocol or supplements besides the probiotics?

#12

please check out my thread in the hormone section (experienced steroid user)

I may be able to offer some help in terms of PCT protocols at a shot to jump start the HPTA

#13

It is good to hear that your digestion has improved. As long as you can maintain some of the improvements one-by-one you may slowly start to feel better. How long have you been off the drug?

For me at this point I am not really following any specific protocol. I have been taking vitamins (magnesium, calcium, D3, K2, and vitamin C) as well as my daily probiotics. I am also debating whether to start taking a fish oil supplment, which seemed to help me early on in the PFS nightmare.

Additionally, I have not been exercising nearly enough. My schedule has been so busy but in the new year I plan to actually get back into exercising as I feel that this might help with the weight gain that I have been experiencing (not sure if this weight gain is related to PFS or just poor lifestyle).

Overall it is so hard to say if I have improved or got worse over the past year. I think when I first came off the drug things seemed to slowly get worse in the first two months (Jan-Feb of last year). Things seemed to peak between Feb-April of last year.

Since this time some symptoms have improved markedly. The lasting improvements include: no more testicular/prostate pain, much less/very little muscle twitching, improved libido (still not 100% but better than before), facial hair growth has returned to normal.

Other symptoms have remained the same or only slightly improved: Bowel movements seem a bit more normal now when they come, but I continue to experience constipation and oddly flat shaped stools. Also, my erections have been a bit better this past month, but prior to taking DIM at the start of December they were terrible. I continue to have very few morning/night time erections, and my semen volume (although slightly improved from when it was at its worst) is still far from normal. I also feel fatigued (not sure if this is just due to my busy schedule or PFS). My balls are bigger than when they were at their worste, but also continue to feel smaller than normal and definately are not as “full” feeling as when they were normal.

Finally, some symptoms have appeared more recently and continue to bother me: Most notable the eustachian tube dysfunction which flared up in April and left by June, has now returned. Also, my nipples get crazy itchy all the time. Cortisone cream seems to help, as well as this anti itch cream that I purchased. They look very dry, which has never been a problem before but for the past 2 months they have been driving me nuts.

So overall I am definately better than when I was at my worst, but I am still far from perfect. If I could cure the itchy nipples and eustachian tube dysfunction and finally sort out this constipation issue I think I would feel pretty good overall, still not 100% sexually but close enough to function (managed to have unassisted sex with girlfriend 2 times this week, its like a record for me since pfs!) haha.

How about you? YOu didn’t have a single crash either? What are your symptoms like and how have they progressed/regressed? How long has it been since you quit?

#14

This all sounds very good I’d say. I think your body is bouncing back naturally. The problems you’re still having seem to be of secondary nature. Meaning your hormonal levels don’t seem to be far off anymore and secondary problems should sort themselves out.

For me it’s been about 4.5 years since I stopped fin. Yeah, that long. Only after I started having digestion problems and insomnia earlier this year did I do some research an came across persistent/permanent issues after quitting fin. It all made sense then. So if there was a single event for me it was reading about PFS back in October. That caused massive depression and anxiety on top of what I was already experiencing. I quit 4.5 years ago because my libido was decreasing and there were some episodes of ED. This never really resolved but I didn’t make the connection to fin. It’s strange that digestion and insomnia started that late. My theory is that stress and bad lifestyle finally caused my system to fail. But what that tells me is that my system is not going to bounce back naturally or I would have seen improvements. I think it’ll take some manipulation of hormones to get back to baseline. There are no ups or downs either. My body has found a new static equilibrium. Side effects I have:

  • All side effects of low T. The list is long.
  • Bad digestion, diarrhea style
  • Intermittent insomnia. Wake up every night typically at 4 AM.
  • Tinnitus, extremely annoying.
  • Depression
  • Anxiety

Blood work confirmed low T. I have not seen any sings of either hypothyroidism or poor methylation. Other areas people here frequently report about. Those mostly manifest themselves in fatigue and/or cognitive problems. Something I haven’t experienced. If anything I actually have more energy now with the Paleo diet. The diet brought my digestion back to 80%. Other improvements I have made since October are no more debilitating depression, but a depression that is sort of always on in the background, and far less anxiety. I have had some depression and anxiety before I read about PFS, fin induced I assume. It seems I’m back to that level now, typical for low T I’d say. So for me the next step will be an attempt to raise T. I’ll first try with a SERM based restart cycle. But that will have to wait until mid February or so. I’m off to a water fast first in a couple of days. The fast will hopefully significantly improve digestion and reduce fat. This will make me respond much better to any treatment. Can’t wait to finally get started …

#15

Sounds like you have had a rough go with everything. I think its very important to keep yourself from worrying too much. I know at the beginning I had serious anxiety and depression and it made all of my symptoms much worse. Although I still get upset at times, I think by coming onto the site less and keeping things in perspective it has helped me mentally and even a bit physically. I used to be on here every 3 days screaming for help and having panic attacks. That is not to say that I won’t ever get back to that spot again, but for the past few months I have been doing much better mentally.

Let me know how everything goes with you. I have diagnosed low Free Testosterone and low/borderline total testosterone. I have another test for total testosterone in February and a follow-up appointment with an endocrinologist in March so we will see how it goes. Unfortunately my endo focuses mainly on total T and not on Free T, and says that because my total T is “in range” that I am not a candidate for hormone replacement. Unfortunately he neglects the recognize the fact that my Total T is 380 on a scale of 300-1000 and a guy my age (26) should be near the upper end of that range. He also neglects to recognize that my Free T, which many endocrinologists view as the most important factor, is below range low. I may be in the market for a new endo soon haha.

Again sorry for the novel but let me know how you progress!

Brad