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Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? Australia

  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 - PFS search term.

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 34, 195cm, 90kg

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? work as a labourer 3 days a week, generally very active.

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

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? First time for 2 - 3 years, had 2 years off then back n for 3 weeks

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? First - 27, second - 32/33

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? Quit in September 2011

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Tapered off for two weeks then cold turkey.

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

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1.25mg

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Second time after two weeks.

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? ED, loss of libido nd anxiety.

Put an X beside all that apply:

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

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

Physical
[ ] 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
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

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

[x] Other (please explain) Have a tingling sensation in the testes.

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Diet, exercie and herbal remedies.

  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)? Post bloodtests taken 1 year ago:

Bloodpressure - 120/75

Right testis volume - 25ml
Left testis volume - 15-20ml

Prolactin - 197 mU/L

Plasma testosterone - 19 mmol/L

SHBG - 34 nmol/L

LH - 3 units/L

FSH - 6.4 units/L

Endocrinologist took these tests and said everything’s normal so androgen deficiency not the cause of my symptoms?

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

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

#2

Here is a rundown of my story.

I first noticed my hair thinning in 2004, when i was 26. This worried me a great deal, so in 2005 i paid several thousand dollars to sign up with a hair clinic. They pretty much just gave me a bunch of minoxidil bottles and a few boxes of proscar tablets which they told me to cut into 1/4’s to take daily. I used these products daily for two years, and did not notice any adverse side effects. I discontinued to use proscar but remained on minoxidil.

After i stopped taking proscar my hair started falling out again, so in 2011 at he age of 33 i started to take proscar again. After about two weeks i started to lose sensation in my penis, but could still have sex normally. If anything, the only difference i noticed was i was able to last a lot longer - so thought it was great. Another two weeks on proscar and i noticed that sometimes i could not get an erection at all. I saw a doctor about this and he said i should stop taking proscar and the sides will dissappear after 1-2 weeks. I stopped and indeed did go back to normal after about two weeks.

The next thing i did was in hindsight the dumbest thing i’ve done, i started taking proscar again at 1/8th of the dose. I thought worst-case scenario the sides would return but i could just stop again and go back to normal. The sides did come back so i stopped taking proscar again, but the sides did not go away. In fact, the sides got progressively worse until i was completely impotent - no erection of any kind - ever. This was so traumatic to me i went through bad depression, this was compounded by all the doctors i saw saying that it was all in my head and there is no such thing as PFS. They prescribed me viagra (did nothing) and cialis (worked once or twice) and sent me on my way.

In May 2012 i went to see an endocrinologist. He took some blood tests and measured my testicles. (see above) He said:

“The testosterone, prolactin, and gonadtrophins are all normal suggesting that androgen deficiency i not the reason for his current symptoms.”

After this i kind of lost hope and didn’t do anything until a few days ago. My girlfriend found a sexual health doctor local to me so i went to see him as i have nothing to lose. I’m so glad i did, as it was the first time someone didn’t just dismiss what i was saying. It was awesome to see a doctor and not have to present him with mountains of evidence in order to update him on medical developments - that’s what they get paid for! He sent me to get blood tests done again (waiting on those now) and measured my testicles again.

Weirdly, my testicles are approx. 30% larger than they were 1 year ago. The right testicle grew from 25ml to 35ml, and the left from 15-25ml to 30ml. He said this was a good sign as it means i’m producing more testosterone. He also gave me some cialis even though i said it doesn’t work for me. When i got home i took a cialis tab and for the first time it actually worked well! I’m thinking maybe because i have more test than before but i only took it one time, and after it wore off i’m back to being unable to get an erection reliably.

Overall, over the last 6 months i have little bursts of functionality where i can get an erection, even wake up with one, but then i go back to how i was for another few weeks. I still constantly have tingling sensation in my testicles, and sometimes still get pain in my upper thighs.

Lastly, the doctor i saw suggested i take l-arginine. He said in large doses it can help with erections.

Any feedback would be much appreciated everyone.