Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)? EU
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?) I dont exactly remember. I knew about it long before i used finasteride. i was just researching internet about about this topic.
What is your current age, height, weight? 28yo, 187cm, ~73kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 0.5mg
What condition was being treated with the drug? male patern baldness
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? about 4 weeks (note i was not taking 0.5mg for the whole duration of 4 weeks, after about a week i started taking lower and lower doses and less often, basically fading it out… in total i estimate that i comsumed less than 10 mg total)
Date when you started the drug? November 2022
Date when you quit the drug? December 2022
Age when you quit? 27
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? taper off
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? It started getting worse from day one basically
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
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 or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
-> i would say i experience reduction in many sexual aspects but not a complete loss
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
- Pain and soreness in the area between my legs, pelvic floor, genitals
- reduced sexual sensation and orgasm sensation
- penis is often stiff when flacid
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
~~~~~~~~~ my story: ~~~~~~~~~
so i november 2022 i took fin,
first few night i already felt somthing was going on, had strong, long, kinda uncomfortable erections.and started to lose sensitivity, orgasm pleasure.
after about 10 deys developed pain in my penis as well
then stoped taking fin…
what has resolved/imporved since stoping:
- for the first few months since stoping, i developed 2 small bleedings around the head of my penis - like a small vein broke or something… and 2 small black spots on the shaft of the penis - dark spots, like a small vein broke under the skin. doctors said that is nothing to wory about and it can happen sometimes - but still it was wierd that it happened without me doing anything wierd, i would just go take a piss and there would be a small injury on my penis … i dont know … wierd… this hasent happen in a long time now…
- i think semen consistency has somewhat improved. was watery on fin, since stopping it was not always stable sometimes it was watery,a few times even thick. these days i dont pay much attention to it, but i guess its not that bad.
- i think erections have somewhat improved a little over the first 6 months post fin, and think i have more sexual thoughts.
i am (not always but many times) able to get a good erection. but it is definetly not as reliable as before pfs.
one big problem is the pain that im experiencing. it affects my genitals, pelvic floor, my ass and upper inner thighs as well… this pain comes and goes in waves … i can have better or worse days… its like burning inside…and when its bad its like my whole body is burning, even my brain… usualy is not so bad that i cant focus on work for example, but sometimes it is…
when it comes to numbness, i would describe my reduced sensation like this … imagine your genitals is wraped in an office paper, all the good sensations would be reduced plus it would be unconfortable on the skin… had maybe 1 day window since pfs where i felt good sensation
orgasms are not that great… however i had maybe 2 - 3 good ones this year thet felt satisfying since pfs…
doctors dont help much, tests come back OK… i got tested for:
hemoglobin, iron, thyrotropin, triglicerid, b12, LDL, HDL, Kreatinin, Natrium, Potassium, vit D, glucose, ALAT, alergies, hormonal salvia test, heavy metals, minerals, testosteron, prolactin, LH, FSH …
…all is ok…
some tests that dont look good are
- low calcium
- some food intolerances, stool test showed kinda leaky gut - i changed my diet kinda but not much improvement…
what have i tried?
not much, tried cialis, makes erections but i suspect get a lot of ubearable pain from it (which can be a cialis sideefect)
lately i was focusing more on pelvic floor exercises, relaxation, lots of walking and sitting less … i feel like it makes my penis less stiff when flacid (improves hardflacid symptoms) …
also one thing i didnt mention is that i get this needle sensations like needles are poking me in areas mostly around my (excuse my language) asshole, pelvic floor, and genitals … i feel this often when im walking, so im hoping walking more is gonna give me some relief … but way too early to tell, i will update later…
mental sides?
not sure, i am sick all the time basicaly, i had a cold many times this year, am depresed, had sort of a mental crash recently … but i dont know, i was sick often and kinda sad before as well, im not all that sure if i have mental sideeffects, but i am extremely exhausted and stresed from dealing with this thats for sure…