Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)?
US
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?)
Reddit
What is your current age, height, weight?
26 5’11 290lbs
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1.5mf topical
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
1 month
Date when you started the drug?
May 28th 2023
Date when you quit the drug?
June 26th 2023
Age when you quit?
26
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
No real noticable affects until the last day. Maybe some headaches occasionally after applying
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
ED
Low T - Hypogonadism
No Libido
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
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 or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] 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
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] 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?
- Vitamin D
- Omega-3
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
I did not get pre fin bloodwork unfortunately
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Because of a new job, I decided that I would attempt to treat my hair loss. The biggest fear of starting finasteride before was that I could have shed all of my hair.
At the time I started Finasteride I was already a Norwood 6, within 30 days of minoxidil plus another 30 days of finasteride, I was already back to a Norwood 1.
On the last day I dosed, There was an acute least stressful event which resulted in me getting this sudden feeling of impending doom that lasted a few minutes. After that sudden impending sense of doom, my genitals were shrunken and numb for 5 days. I had a severe episode of depression and suicidal ideation for 5 days, which ended up stopping halfway through that fifth day.
Also after the crash, I’ve had numerous other symptoms that are troubling.
-
diarrhea that is persisted for nearly 46 days now (I had maybe a week of normal bowel movements but it seems like this is regressed again)
-
I had an episode or two of severely dry and peeling skin, this lasted only a few days but skin oil production is still nowhere near where it was.
-
My testicles shrunk probably 30% in size
-
on day 46 off of Finasteride and I’m starting to get some more muscle and body aches
-
I had a complete lack of appetite and everything would run through me almost immediately. I have lost nearly 40 lbs of weight which is now a little more stabilized than it was initially. I am losing 3 to 4 lb a week now
-
Eating sugar screws with my stomach and gives me a weird head feeling. It’s possible this could be due to my body being unable to process sugars with the loss of muscle and low testosterone causing insulin resistance
I had a brief resolution of erectile dysfunction issues for a couple of weeks, but this is now regressed. I can no longer get fully erect.
Immediately 4 days after crashing, I scheduled an appointment with my nurse practitioner and got whatever blood work I thought was relevant at the time. If you scroll past these, you will find test results that my endocrinologist ordered and were taken at 35 days after crashing.
4 Days Post Crash:
35 Days Post Crash:
Recovery Plan:
My endocrinologist wants me to lose all the excess weight and adopt a ketogenic diet. He also seems to be recommending this detox program but I couldn’t get a good answer from him as to how it helps.
I have an appointment with a urologist on Monday and will be seeing if the Hypogonadism is something I should treat directly or if I should wait until my testes begin producing testosterone again.
The second set of labs revealed I was unnecessarily supplementing Zinc which might have been detrimental.