Here’s my response to the template:
-
Where are you from (country)? United States (New York)
-
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. don’t remember what exactly.
-
What is your current age, height, weight? 36, 6’0", 175lbs
-
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? yes, running and yoga
-
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? non-veg but pretty organic and healthy (lean meats, get a lot of vegetables, whole grains, etc.)
-
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? hair loss (biggest, biggest mistake of my life)
-
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 2 months
-
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 26, and it was 10 years ago - 2001.
-
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? Still 26. Only on it for 2 months, so it was still 2001.
-
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
-
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Propecia
-
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Don’t remember- probably 1mg/day
-
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? I can’t remember exactly, but pretty I quit pretty quickly after I noticed, so it must have been about 2 months, or maybe 1.5 months
-
What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? ED -no spontaneous erection, weakened/smaller erection, no libido, no real enjoyment of sex, no morning erection, very rare nocturnal erection. It has come and gone a little bit in terms of intensity of the issues (for example, for awhile couldn’t get an erection at all), but it has never, ever returned to the function of pre-fin days.
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
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
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
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
-
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
none. I am interested in trying something.
-
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)?
I don’t have the exact levels with me anymore, but I was told most of the major hormone levels were all just normal.
-
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
Besides how much I HATE this drug and company? No.
-
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I was 26 and in a committed, serious relationship (with a great sex life) when I started this drug. Immediately thereafter, our sex life starting going rapidly south. I could still have sex most of the time, but my erection would come and go, and it was just not enjoyable anymore b/c I was so stressed about keeping it. I also lost my libido entirely, so I never really wanted sex. Both of us, at first, thought this was just a normal decrease in sex drive b/c things had gotten a bit routine and stale, and since it really wasn’t the main reason we were together, it didn’t affect our continued relationship that much- we just resolved to work on it, have more sex, etc. In the next few years, into our marriage and onwards, I can count on 1 hand the times when I really wanted sex, had a full and normal (spontaneous) erection, and was able to have a great sexual experience with my wife as a result. The episodes were few and far between (but they did happen a very few times).
I still didn’t really know what was going on, but we still figured that we just didn’t have a good sex life, and that was that. We then started trying to have a baby, and hit a really rough time for a few years b/c of some issues on my wife’s side. My sperm issues all checked out fine, but having sex to try to conceive became an increasingly stressful and extremely unpleasant experience all around. I was usually able to finish, but it was almost always with an erection that would come and go at best. It was really, really tough. But we had bigger problems with the actual infertility and a lot of other stressful things in our life, and this issue was tabled for awhile.
We then had our kids (thankfully) and have lived a relatively normal life, with the exception that we never have sex. The last time we did was 2 years ago, and it was another disappointing and frustrating (and frankly terrifying) experience for me- enough so that I just never have wanted to do it again.
I can masturbate ok with manual stimulation, but never get morning erections and my noctural erections, although they do happen, are very, very rare. Most of all, I just don’t have any spontaneous erections, interest in sex, or a normally functioning erection during sex.
I’ve spoken to doctors about this and they say it is psychological (when I know it is not- it was like a switch was flipped and I can actually remember the specific sexual experience where there was a change that simply never recovered). About a year ago I saw this website and immediately knew that this is what had happened to me (I’d always suspected it anyway, but just never let myself believe- b/c it’s such a devastating thought). I’ve been afraid to get involved or really spend too much time on here or researching this till now. I’ve basically been somewhat in denial. But I’m here now and I’m interested in investigating what might or might not work. My expectations are not high, but at the same time, I am beyond petrified of even starting to try to treat and learning that nothing is going to work. It is hard to face a lifetime of no libido, even though I realize I am one of the true lucky ones on here in terms of my marriage and kids at least.
That’s my story, and here are my questions:
-
Is there any guideance out there for a good place to start in terms of treatment? There seems to be so many random things to try, and I want to be a bit systematic about stuff. As in, try x for at least x months and if it doesn’t make a difference, move on. Any good posts that go through treatment options?
-
Is there any good rule of thumb out there about what % of people the various treatments (of any variety) do help? As in, is it safe to say that over 50% of men have some improvement? Or is it more like a lucky 10% have some change? I’m just looking for ballparks, based on your experiences on this board.
-
I saw the docs that were recommended, but does anyone know of a doctor in New York City or the northeast of USA that has experience with this?
-
Has anyone tried out accupuncture? I’m pretty interested in this avenue- particularly b/c it involves no medications, and also I think helped my wife during her infertility days.
Thank you for reading, although I’m beyond sorry and angry that we’re all here. I can’t wait till a class action lawsuit comes to the U.S.- I’ll be first in line to sign up. I would like nothing more than to bring Merck down.
