New member, need advice on where to seek prof help

Member Stories
#1
  1. Where are you from (country)?
    canada
  2. 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

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?
    25, 6ft, 170
  2. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    weights, cardio, 4 x aweek
  3. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    relatively healthy
  4. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    hair loss
  5. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    propecia for 5 years, duta for 3
  6. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    17
  7. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    recently, started to taper off
  8. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    taper off, (please offer advice)
  9. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    avodart generic
  10. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    .5 mg daily
  11. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    right away
  12. 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
[ ] 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
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x ] Depression / Melancholy

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
[x ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x ] Muscle Wastage
[x ] Muscle Weakness
[x ] Joint Pain
[ x] 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
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] 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?
    None - please help
  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)?
    No- I want these done. Should I ask my doctor for them>?
  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

I made a studpid mistake for the past 7 years. I currently am considering seeking medical attention and a pyscologist to help me through this. Please tell me how I can get started. I would like to see an hormone specialist, but I need to see my primary doctor first.

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

I was stupid. I wish I would have just accepted myself. My muscle wastage is crazy… I can see it in my face.AAs ssoon as began the drugs my sex life was destroyed.

I’m goin to buzz my head tomorrow. I DO NOT care about hair anymore, but this whole thing has been really tough on me at such a young age. Can anyone offer advice on how to get through the depression.

Please offer any support on how to get through this.

#2

Welcome.

Sorry to hear you have bad muscle wastage. I also have this side effect among others and undertand how you feel.

First step is to get your blood work done. A complete hormone profile. I believe there is a doctor in Toronto who has some experience with PFS. Check the “doctors” section of the forum for his contact info. Some people have responded to treatment so there are some things you can begin to try.

I think the first few months and coming to terms with this is the most difficult. I’m glad you’re seeking some professional help. Just steer clear of SSRI’s. Some of us take Wellbutrin and it seems to help.

#3

Hey Man,

Welcome to the forum, it’s important to know that you’re not alone in this. Also, despite how grim it may seem at the moment we are making progress towards figuring this thing out.

I noticed that you are on Dutasteride, you should know that it has a half life of approximately 5 weeks so it will take some time for it to be out of your system. The extended half life may mean it’s not as important to taper off as it with fin, which has a half life 6-8 hours. Of course you should make your own decisions about how you come off, but good luck man.

#4

Tolstoy,

welcome to the forum, sorry to hear you have to join us here.

I advice definitely to wean off of the drug rather than cold turkey. It might improve your chances of not having a “crash”.

LIke the others recommended, get a blood test as soon as possible. Refer to the main area of the website and it will let you know which hormones to include. POst it here as well once you get it done.

Some simple stuff that might seem obvious, Eat as healthy as possible, avoid alcohol any type of drugs, Light exercise is good & get plenty of rest.

I recommend supplementing with Vit D3. It’s one of the few supplements that I have seen offer a degree of help to many men here.

Lastly, the first 3-6 months are the most difficult in my opinion. So, use this website to help you get through the worst period.

#5

Thanks for your reply.

I’ve just been off for about 5 days and I can already tell a difference in my muscle wastage (I look so much healthier already). Also, my hair is thinning dramtically. Is this a good sign that I can make a full recovery? I’ve decided to ween off. This is very depressing.

#6

Hi,

If you see my other post you will know that I am weening off avodart.

Today for the first time I took an over the counter testosterone enchancer. I am still seeking professional help (blood tests). I asked a doctor about it and he said see if the sides persist once quitting. I am still going to try to get tests completed.

But I did take this testosterone enhancer and I feel alot better and my muscle mass seems to increased.

I do not plan to jump on this but does anyone have any knowledge about this?

#7

Your muscle mass increased overnight? How is that even possible considering it takes weeks to pack on new muscle?

#8

muscles probably gained water weight, which will make them appear bigger. I experienced this all time when I lifted weights religiously. Do you lift quite often toy?

#9

Correct. Also, you can actually gain 5-10 lbs of water weight from one workout if you just begin lifting weights or start a more intense protocol.

#10

Yeah, I do lift often. Could be water weight.

Can anyone give me any encouragement?
Please… some good stories about recovery (still reading that section). Stuff like, how you met a great girl after, how you get morning wood again, how much healthier you feel and look, how your mood improved. Anything support, pls.

PS i buzzed my hair down (I know noone cares)…

#11

I started going out with a girl i work with, we were really good friends, worked with her for like 2 years. Didnt ask her out until post fin, was thinking what am i doing, how am i going to make this work and so on. Lets get this straight, i am fogged as hell and have ed, no shrinkage, which i am greatful for.
So i ask her out and we start going out, we make out the 3rd time we go out, we’re on.
Next time i see her i tell her whats going on, i decided in my mind there is no other way, also to be fair to her, to let her know what she is getting into.
We have been having sex now once a day for a while, with good results due this kind of regime…

Monday…Cialis 20mg
Tuesday…Nothing
Wednesday…Cialis 5mg
Thursday…Viagra
Friday…Hgw/yohimbe
Saturday…Cialis 5mg
Sunday…Levatra

It took me 2-3 times to get results from yohimbe.
I get a few days off every 28 days if you know what i mean :wink:
This has also given me back strong morning erections. I am fogged as hell but i can handle it.
I 100% recommend finding a girl post fin, it takes your mind off this b/s. It is pricey but for me it is well worth it, daily sex is a real confidence booster.

#12

Hi again,

Does anyone know if poor oral health is a side effect? I thought I seen it posted before.

#13

search.php?keywords=dental&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

#14

This is crazy. My oral health went form normal to horrible. It’s not normal I can clean my teeth all day…

#15

tolstoy, you said you used finasteride for 5 years and dutasteride for 3 years. When did the side effects kick in? Were they worse with dutasteride?

A Paleo diet is more androgenic, and can also improve oral health.

#16

It’s tough to say.

But I know the sides on Duta were alot more powerful. I mean I changed my appearance drastically (looked more feminate

Is it crazy (maybe a mental thing) but I’ve been off for about a week and I’m noticing some of the sides getting better?

#17

You should sue the doctor who prescribed you finasteride at 17, that was grosse misconduct. Did a doctor prescribe you dutasteride or did you get that yourself?

I don’t know how much help a psychiatrist is going to be, most likely they won’t believe you and write you off as a hypochondriac with sexual anxiety issues. I guess if you just need them to help you deal with depression it might be useful but don’t them them try to just give you SSRIs as those will likely make your situation worse. You will likely be giving a lot of money to someone who is just going to tell you that “sex starts in the mind” or something like that because they’ve never even heard of 5alpha-reductase in their whole life. I think you’d be better off seeing one of the other doctors who are actively treating patients dealing with these issues.

1 Like
#18

I’ve had inmprovements with oral health after switching to an aloe-based organic toothpaste that DOES NOT HAVE FLOURIDE. It took a few weeks to adjust but my mouth stays much cleaner and fresher now and my teeth have whitened. It’s been a year since they were cleaned and I no longer have dark streaks between them like I usually do.

#19

this might sound silly, but avodart/ proscar had destroyed my oral health. im officially screwed…