New Member, had crash one month ago.

Member Stories
#1

Where are you from (country)?
USA
2) What is your current age, height, weight?
23, 6’0", 167
3) Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
recently can only run a bit.
4) What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
All over
5) Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
BPH
6) For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
9 days
7) How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
age 23 - June 20th 2011
8) How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
age 23 - June 20th 2011
9) How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
10) What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
propecia
11) What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/day
12) How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
4 or 5 days
13) 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
[ x 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
[xxxx ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[xx ] Depression / Melancholy

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

Misc
[x] 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)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    Only vitamens D, ZMA complex, l arganine, and try to watch what I eat.

  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)?
    Testosterone 288 after crash

  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.

I quit June 28 after nine days of use. Felt weird a few times after even went to emergency room. Made no connection. Then felt like I crashed August 5th. Woke up brainfogged, sleepless, brest enlarged, shrunken scrotum. Since then my brainfog subsided, but has returned. Not as severe as before but still in another world so to speak. Besides the muscle wasting and all these things happening to my body, I have to return to a better state of mind. I walk around and find NO relief from these feelings of helplessness. A moment by moment anxiety attack 24/7! If someone asked me what hell feels like this has to be the closest thing Ive experienced. If I can get passed the anxiety and emotionless state I am in, I know I can find it in myself to fight on with this bullshit. So thats my top priority. Finding my sanity that this drug has stolen from me. What a crock this world can be man. A few pills offered as cures for hairloss. How could I be so naive.

1 Like
#2

You were not naive. Like all of us you probably believed in the information by highly educated and well paid professionals. Of course, some scepticism is always good, but we really should be able to rely on information from such experts in such an important issue. It’s a travesty that a cosmetical drug which can have such dramatic sid effects is still available for sale and regarded as completely safe. Things like this really just shouldn’t happen. It’s not your fault.

You are one month in, you still have a good chance that your side effects will resolve themselves. Try to have a positive outlook, improve your diet and everything else you can control that belongs to a healthy, active lifestyle.

Good luck and keep us updated!

#3

Hey thanks man. I will give it some time. If it had not been for this site and all the information, i would have no idea whats happening. I asked my doctor if i could have a tumor or stroke. But anyways ive found im my best when my diet is strict, even better if any food at all. The sexual sides definately show no improvement only decline. However the mental aspect is my biggest concern. All i can do is hold off and be strong. I took an early lunch break and in desparation looked around the bathroom to find an object to kill myself. Then like two hours later i felt some relief of this anxiety. I was so close to suicide today, but I know this will get better so Im holding on. What a rollercoater this is.

#4

Anxiety has gotten a little better, not much. Better when im doing schoolwork or watching tv at night. Dangerous suicide thoughs are less frequent. Physically and sexually no improvement. Still shrinking testicals. I can masterbate w stimulation every two days if i want, but no desire to. Developed digestion problems. Bought a body cleansing kit which I started yesterday. I dont have problems w ejaculating, usually strong but watery. Losing muscle and gaining fat. Idk i have hope because Ive only been off for a little over two months. But considering my time of crash and developing new symptoms cant honestly see myself just waking up feeling better one day in the near future. Hopefully Im wrong. Lawyer says he would like me as a plaintiff, but thats only if they upgrade the warning labels here. Though money is the least of my worries.

#5

Man its weird to go back and read my posts from one year ago. Im so glad i didnt do anything drastic. I can see how someone could if they didnt know it gets better. Im living proof that Ive been to hell and back. But I can say for any new members, of you were as bad as me, it gets better! I was also making things worse with alcohol abuse. I am now spber and living a much better life. Hang in there.

#6

2 weeks out of the gym and I’m paying for it. Now I’m certain the gym cannot be ignored I must include it. This really is only an issue of body image because I feel fine otherwise. But the self confidence of working out is a huge help. I believe working out will be the key to my recovery, or atleast greatly improve my quality of life.

#7

Good to hear you’re feeling better!!!

I definitely agree that exercise along with other lifestyle and dietary changes in general are an essential cornerstone for recovery.