New member - 32 feeling like I'm 70. Please advise.

Member Stories
#1
  1. How did you find this forum?

Searching “Propecia Sexual Side Effects” on Google

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?

32 years old, 5’8, 180lbs.

  1. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?

I try to fast-walk on the treadmill 4 times a week for about 25 minutes.

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

Meat-Eater/Fast Food. Recently I have taken up juicing vegetables.

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

To help make my hair thicker and help reduce facial hair since Finasteride is an anti-androgen.

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

I took it for a total of 2 months (on and off). I took it one month straight. Stopped for a couple of weeks. And then started taking it again for a month, before I completely stopped.

  1. How old were you when you started Finasteride?

31

  1. How old were you when you quit?

32 (even though I only took it for 2 months, my birthday happened to fall in between those months)

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

Cold turkey

  1. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other
    generic?

Generic Proscar 5mg (manufactured by Dr. Reddy’s) cut into 4 pieces.

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

  2. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?

In my case, there was a 1 month lapse in between the total 2 months that I had taken it. I noticed the side effects around the third week of the last month that I took it.

  1. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

Rapid heavy hair shedding/loss especially in the front and temples. Lack of erection/sex drive. No morning wood. Weak/limp penis. Sagging testicles. 25lb weight gain in less than a year. Increased Gynecomastia (this was preexisting but to a lesser degree.) Feelings of depression, tiredness and anxiety and losing self confidence.

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
[ X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[X ] 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
[ ] Testicular Pain
[X ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X ] Weight Gain
[X ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ X] Muscle Weakness
[ X] Joint Pain
[X ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

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

[X] Other (please explain)

Moderate Acne flareups occasionally and graying of facial hair.

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

None. I had lost my health insurance last December. However, I just got insurance again this month so I plan on pursuing the task of helping to get me right again.

  1. 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)?

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any hormonal blood tests prior to or since stopping Finasteride. I did take a regular CBC blood test a month before I started Finasteride and just last month, I took another basic blood test. Unfortunately, none of these blood tests have enough pertinent information for this case. The only relevant categories are:

7/2/2009 Bloodtest - TSH 3rd Generation: 2.99 Range: 0.40-4.50 mIU/L

6/25/2010 Bloodtest -TSH 3rd Generation: 1.28 Range: 0.40-4.50 mIU/L
DHEA Sulfate 175 Range: 110-370 mcg/dL
Testosterone Total, Males 445 Range: 241-827ng/dL

I did take a blood test in November-December 2009 which may list my TSH, DHEA Sulfate and Testosterone Total. At this time, I do not have a copy of it though.

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

I feel like it made my insomnia a lot worse.

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

I started taking Finasteride on August 20, 2009. I decided to start taking it not because I was losing hair, but because I wanted to make my hair thicker and also help prevent future hair loss. So essentially, I wanted to take it as a preventive measure. I also read that it helped decrease facial and body hair, so that was a plus. When I started taking it, I weighed 160 lbs.

I stopped taking Finasteride a month later (September 17, 2009) because I felt that it was hindering me from losing weight while I was dieting.
When I stopped taking it the first time, I didn’t notice any negative side effects and no hair shedding. Sexually, I was doing great as I had no problem getting erections and actually had strong sexual desires like most normal men my age. For the couple of weeks that I stopped taking Finasteride (in September), I noticed that my weight was still increasing, so I assumed it wasn’t the Finasteride.

I re-started taking it again on October 1, 2009. My weight at the time was 167lbs. On October 19, I started noticing a noticeable lack of erection and pain in the testicles. Eventually, on October 28, 2009, I stopped taking Finasteride for good, as I was shedding and losing hair rapidly and was losing my erection and had pain in my groin. I also seemed to have gained over 10 lbs. (weighed 178 lbs.) for the month that I re-started taking Finasteride. What really scared me was the occasional pain in my testicles and heavy frontal thinning as I was losing tons of hair in the shower. This has continued ever since and has not stopped (the hair loss).

On December 13, 2009, I weighed 185lbs. So ever since I started taking the Finasteride on August 20, 2009, I had gained a total of 25 lbs. in less than 4 months. As of today (August 1, 2010), almost a year later, I weigh 182lbs.
My hair loss is still continuing as I see a lot of hair in the shower drain. Just over a year ago, I had full hair and had a lot of hair in the front and on the temple regions. Now I feel like I have a comb over to cover my receding hairline. Sexually, I hardly get erections. And in the times that I do ejaculate, barely anything comes out. My erections feel so limp and weak.

I’m scared to death here as I’ve still yet to get married and don’t know how the heck am I going to have a normal sex life and be able to have kids. I’m definitely in panic mode. I initially read that the post Finasteride side effects could last up to 8 months, that’s why I decided to remain patient thinking that it would “fix itself.” Nevertheless, the good news is, I just got health insurance again so I plan on visiting all the docs that I need to. I just don’t know where to start and what I need to do. That is why I’ve come to this board hoping to learn more and I hope you guys could advise me as I’m lost and terribly worried.

Thank You.

#2

Please participate in Dr. Irwig’s study…He currently is the man doing the study which will hopefully come to a solution…

#3

Anonn1 – would be helpful to provide a direct link when stating such things, since not all new members know where to look:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3497

Cheers.

#4

I certainly will participate in his study. Could you guys advise me on a course of action I should take when it comes to doctors? I understand I should first visit my General Practitioner. But from there, I have no clue what to do. Which specialists should I try to see? Endocrinologists, dermatologist, urologist etc.? I went to my dermatologist in late June for my hair loss and mentioned that I wanted my hormone levels to get tested. He sent me out for a blood test, but the goofball forgot to list all the hormonal related tests on the labtest sheet, which is what I originally came to him for. This week, I want to try to get an appointment with a General Practitioner so I can hopefully find out whats going on. I wish there was a subcategory on this forum where members in their respective cities/states/countries could recommend good doctors who can help us out.

#5

I’m 25, and you have a testosterone level higher than mine, and I was on that crap for about 10 months, I recovered mostly after about 4 months being off it, but only dramatically after taking thyroid medication once I figured I was suffering from hypothyroidism brought on by Fin.

I don’t really have libido issues though since starting thyroid treatment almost a month ago.

I can relate to the same problems you had after about 2 months of use. It’s amazing how quickly this drug can ruin your body.

I think if you stayed on the drug longer you would’ve noticed a change in body temperature.

Have you noticed since you’ve been on Fin if you can stand warmer weather a lot better and have felt colder? Also have you not been sweating as much and how is your body odor, has your BO become less potent? Is your hair also very brittle and hard?

I’m no doctor but myself and some others here have made good recoveries with thyroid medications like synthroid and armour. Ask your doctor if you could get a perscription for one of these, take it for a few weeks. Based on my experience and other’s you’ll notice whether or not in a week if you’re actually getting better.

Though the watery semen is most likely a result of the decreased size of your prostate which a majority of the semen comes from, that will recover in due time once your prostate returns to normal(hopefully).

I’ve just about made a full recovery in about 4 months after being off Fin, treat your thyroid before you go on more risky treatments like TRT which I think in the long term will eventually do more harm than good. There are guys here with T levels over 900 and they still can’t get an erection. While guys like me with testosterone levels barely over 400 can get one whenever I want.

Some guys here who shall be unnamed I think find it hard to believe that our situation is a result of Fin causing our thyroids to fail in us which is an explaination for most of our problems.

A lot of your symthoms match a person with early to late hypothyroidism. Even your libido issues can be a result of it due to impairment of testicular testosterone syntheis, so get it fixed as soon as you can.

#6

Unfortunately that is a blanket statement and does not apply to all users. Some guys get thyroid issues from the med, while others do not. If the solution were as easy as prescribing thyroid meds, everyone here should be curable. However, that has not been the case.

Regardless, thyroid issues should be looked at, in addition to the many other areas this drug impacts. Hence why it’s so important to get as broad a hormonal profile done as possible (blood/urine tests), to see where issues may lie.

#7

Review the FAQ - viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7

Endocrinologists are probably your best bet. Forget dermatologists, most of them make a living prescribing this stuff and will never admit to the potential dangers from Finasteride (androgen deprivation therapy) use for cosmetic purposes… nor do they have the necessary background to evaluate the many hormonal issues the drug can cause.

Recommended doctors include:

Dr. John Crisler - Michigan - allthingsmale.com

Dr. Eugene Shippen (author, The Testosterone Syndrome) - Pennsylvania – vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Eugene_Shippen.html

Dr. Alan Jacobs - NYC - viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3757

Dr. Irwin Goldstein (uro) - California - sandiegosexualmedicine.com/

#8

Thank you Dury for your detailed response. Much appreciated! You make a lot of sense in regards to my issue possibly being hypothyroidism. I guess that would kind of explain the weight gain. The skin on my face also seems to be thinning. My mother also suffers from an underactive thyroid. She takes Synthroid for it. Perhaps the Finasteride just accelerates the path to predispositioned genetic disorders.

May I ask, how did you determine that your issues were related to hyperthyroidism? Was it just through regular labwork through your primary care physician?

As for body temperature, there hasn’t been no change. I still cannot stand hot weather and prefer cold weather just like before I was on the medicine. And for body odor, I don’t notice any difference. So I’ve somewhat been pardoned in that regard. However, my hair has become very brittle and hard.

As of the past couple of months, the semen hasn’t been watery. There’s just not much volume. And a whole lot of numbness on the head of the penis (I apologize for being graphic.) It almost feels like the penis is disconnected from my brain.

However, I have been having to urinate frequently. Especially at night time. Sometimes I will go urinate. And then 10 minutes late, have to go again.

Has your hair stopped shedding since you’ve gone on the thyroid medication? My scalp itches a lot and my and my hair, especially in the front is rapidly thinning. This didnt happen prior to going on Finasteride.

#9

Thanks Mew. I looked into Dr. Jacobs previously, but he doesn’t accept insurance. And the other docs are out of my distance. I guess I’m just going to have to visit a few Endocrinologists until I find the right one. Sometimes with a lot of those “Rate Doctor” forums, a lot of those “patient” recommendations are from the doctor himself. So it makes things tough.

#10

Unfortunately I had to figure out my problem myself. Originally I’m from NY but now I live down here in Florida, the doctors are terrible down here. My father is a physican as well, he suffered from thyroid problems a year after taking Fin as well back in 93’. My father’s family has no history of thyroid problems, that was until he started taking Fin. He still does take fin, he has actually no side effects because he’s on synthroid.

Blood tests don’t always show everything, sometimes you have to go by how you feel, and I did and I’m practically recovered because of it.

The urination problem is something I had as well, though that didn’t start to happen around month 7 for me, it went away by itself after a few months.

Your thin brittle hair is one of the first things that happened to me when I started to go on Fin. It’s also an early sign of hypothyroidism. Other early signs are joint pain, depression, brittle fingernails, osteoporosis, paleness, constipation and poor muscle tone. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothyroidism

Before I took synthroid I was really screwed up. I had hair on top of my head that would not grow or fall out, I also lost a majority of my body hair and my pubic hair rapidly thinned out. I also lost all my rectnum hair.

Synthroid actually caused an increase in shedding for me. It seems like I’m shedding more hairs but I just think they might be more visible and bigger. I remember combing my hair and having all this black looking dandruff fall out of my head. They were actually hairs, only they shrunk to such a degree they looked like dandruff.

#11

Lucky - Alan does file insurance if you have out of network benefits. Also, he is likely to be the most experienced endocrinologist in the NYC area with this condition, however, another member here is seeing raphael kellman and has had a rather positive experience thus far - raphaelkellmanmd.com/

#12

Dury, Is Synthroid something you are going to have to be on for the rest of your life? I know that in Synthroid’s patient literature, they mention hair loss . And I have seen this first hand in my mother’s case. Perhaps one of the alternatives such as Armour might be better?

One factor that kind of points to Hypothyroidism for me are my TSH levels.

7/2/2009 Bloodtest - TSH 3rd Generation: 2.99 Range: 0.40-4.50 mIU/L

6/25/2010 Bloodtest -TSH 3rd Generation: 1.28 Range: 0.40-4.50 mIU/L

It seems like it dropped by a lot. In a couple of my older blood tests from a couple of years ago, my TSH was always in the 2.30 and up range.

Golf, thank you for the advice. I’ll look into it. One think that kind of shuns me away from Dr. Kellman are Doctors who tend to sell “proprietary” medicine. I admire the Hollistic approach, but past experiences have led me to lose faith in it. I guess I’m going to have to go through trial and error. I might have to visit a few knuckleheads until I find a diamond in the rough.

#13

he does standard hormone therapy as well if you read his website.