COPY AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING INTO YOUR OWN POST, then answer the questions.
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Where are you from (country)? United States
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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 - propecia neurological side effects
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What is your current age, height, weight? 38years, 5ft 11in, 170lbs
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Yes, I used to do alot of trail running, but once I started having these issues I stopped. I have recently started back into weight training.
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? I have changed my diet to mostly Paleo diet in hopes of resolving my issues.
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair loss
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 12 years
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 26
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 38, Sept 23, 2012
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Propecia
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg/day
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Not sure, now that I look at the possible symptoms I believe I was having them for quite a while
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
Erectile Dysfunction
Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
Confusion
Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
Depression / Melancholy
Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
Testicular Pain
Gynecomastia (male breasts)
Muscle Wastage
Muscle Weakness
Joint Pain
Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
Frequent urination
Lowered body temperature
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] 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
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x] 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
[x] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? I’ve tried to eat really healthy, get out in the sun, working out, accupuncture, probiotics, vitamin d supplement
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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 do not have pre bloodtests to compare. I tried to get my PCP to draw the recommended tests, but she only drew Testosterone, Free, Bioavailable and Total, LC/MS/MS stating that we would think about drawing others if these were off. My results were within “normal” ranges, but at the very low end of free and bioavailable. Hoping to find another doctor willing to draw the other labs.
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Well after reading some of the postings it’s pretty scary to think this may be what I am dealing with. I was hoping everything would snap back to normal after getting off the drug, and for a little while it was feeling pretty normal, but now it seems worse. I had surges of what felt like my hormones were getting back to normal and then a week later it was gone. I recall while I was on the drug my penis would get tight and retract into my body at times and it seemed like something was wrong, but I didn’t attribute it to the propecia until now. I have been trying to work with my primary care doctor on this, but am getting nowhere. Most recently I was told my problem is anxiety and was prescribed Cymbalta. I took one pill and was so dizzy and nauseaus I had to take the day off. I definitely don’t disagree that I now have an anxiety issue, but it seems to be a symptom, and for the doctor an easy out. I would love to hear if anyone knows of a good doc in Colorado open to considering this is an issue.