Need advice on what to do

  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?)
    Propecia

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    29, 6 feet, 11.5 stone

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    fairly. Running some weights

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

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

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

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    28, march 2011

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    28, July 2011

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

  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?
    Just before I stopped taking

  14. 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
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[ ] 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

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

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ x] 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?
    Nothing taken as yet. I have been to the doctor who is convinced my problems are psychological

  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)?

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

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

My symptoms began a few weeks after stopping taking propecia and since then have gradually been getting worse. I really need advice on how to convince my doctor that my problems are related to this drug and are not simply psychological as he is convinced that they are.
The first time I spoke to him was roughly 2 weeks ago at which point he told me to come back in a few weeks time as he was convinced that my problems are all in my head.

I returned yesterday and he has taken blood samples for hormone tests which will be returned in another 2 weeks. I have been told to come back then. I am concerned that if the tests come back with my hormones in the normal range, as is seemingly the case with many who have experienced side effects, that he will again tell me that the side effects are just psychological. I need some advice on how to explain the idea of post fenisteride syndrome to my doctor in a way that will get him to understand that something else has happened to me to alter my hormones or the way that they are used within my body to create these changes.

I am going to try and see him again tomorrow but feel that it is down to me to come up with an answer about what is wrong with me and to suggest some way of going forward from here.

Please if anyone has any suggestions on:

a) how to explain this to my doctor and
b) some sort of list of suggestions on things that could be tried in an attempt to treat this

it would be greatly appreciated

  1. Review and print out items from the following:

propeciahelp.com/published-studies
viewforum.php?f=8

  1. That’s what this forum is about. Review FAQs if you haven’t:

propeciahelp.com/treatments
propeciahelp.com/faq

Hi, I have had great difficulty trying to get help in this country, I have been beating down the doors to get help, you just have to be consistent and refer them to this web site and all the studies that have been done. Good Luck

I’ve answered this on my thread http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4393