New Member Recently Stopped Taking Finastride - Major Post Side Effects - Advice Appreciated

Member Stories
#1

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)?
USA

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

What is your current age, height, weight?
30, 6’1’’, 166

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.)?
1mg/day

What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hairloss from Keeps (evil company)

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
18 Days

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
30, July 21st, 2018

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
30, August 6th, 2018

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey, unfortunately.

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
16 days into the dosage.

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Brain Fog, Trouble remembering things, ED, penile pain, joint pain in thumbs

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
[ ] 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
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

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

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[x ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[x ] Other (please explain)
Penile pain, but could be from potential Peryonies per my urologist.

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Daily supplements, which I have been taking since before starting Finasteride. Vitamin B stress complex, Men’s daily. Started heavy workout regimen of weights and running. Always been a healthy eater (no soda, candy, processed sugars), but went full organic paleo last week.

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)?

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
I’ve been taking Citalopram (Celexa) for depression and anxiety along with Trazodone for insomia since July 11th, 2018.

Prior to taking Finasteride, I was and still am having malabsorption issues. Blood tests seem to have come back okay, but have an incredible amount of food in my stool at any given time. This is worsened with constipation that I still have. Prior to Finasteride, it was more diarrhea related.

Went to urologist for penile pain, painful ejaculation and minor bending of the penis on August 13th. No plaque for Peryonie’s, just an indent on the side. I am getting a cystoscopy September 6th.

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

I started taking Finasteride after I got back from business travel and only noticed excessive bowel issues while immediately starting the drug. I attributed this to some of my prior bowel issues that I’ve been having, except that rather than diarrhea, it was heavy constipation.

After 16 days, I noticed that I was having trouble doing basic tasks at work. I couldn’t remember what I was doing or where I left things. This has not gone away. At that time I noticed that I was having weaker erections, but my libido was still very high. I haven’t been with a partner in 8 months and I don’t masturbate that often, pre-finasteride, twice a week (long periods of time though, 1-2 hours). So, I thought it may have been from the stress, depression and anxiety I’ve been having due to personal issues in my life.

I decided to quit cold turkey 18 days into the treatment (cold turkey seems like an awful idea, hindsight). The first week after quitting seemed fairly consistent with the side effects, still brain fog and weaker erections. However, after about 7 days, I noticed my libido went through the roof. Every woman I saw, even if they weren’t attractive (obese women walking down the street), I wanted to to hook up with. I had masturbated twice in a day at that point which is really not usual for me. This lasted about three days.

After the spurt of high libido (10 days after quitting), I noticed that I could not get an erection at all during the day. I used to get frequent morning erections, but now when I wake up, my penis just feels longer. Like there should be an erection there, but maybe just 10% of it is there. I still get minor erections (30-40% tops) at night, but they are painful enough to wake me up. Once I wake up, I immediately lose the erection. This has worsened my insomnia because of severe anxiety after waking up. I’ve had insomnia long term, 12 months.

Friday, I went to my general doctor for blood tests on the malabsorption issues I’ve been having and I mentioned to her I had taken Finasteride. She told me that this was not a great idea because it “messes with your testosterone”. This gave me great anxiety.

Since then, my libido is still ridiculously high. All I want is to chase women, but I know I have some serious issues going on with getting hard. I stopped masturbating after that spurt of high libido for a week until yesterday. In the morning I had a decent erection, maybe 50 percent, but I noticed I’m extremely sensitive. Before I was even fully erect, which took much longer than usual, I was already ready to finish. I tried to hold for longer to help with my penile pain, but I didn’t have any control.

I tried again later that night because I had a very flirtatious encounter with an extremely hot girl at the super market. No erection during the encounter, just a couple twitches. When I tried to masturbate, I couldn’t get hard for about 15 minutes, but was so sensitive that I wanted to finish immediately after getting semi-hard (maybe 3 minutes). Same case, couldn’t control it and finished without stimulation after about 5 minutes.

I do want to mention that I don’t look at porn (sometimes chicks in bikinis, but nothing more than that.)

Today, I want to have another go at it, but I’m really hesitant because of all the issues yesterday. I know that I’m still recently getting off the pill, but this is really messing with my mind and greatly increasing my anxiety. I have trouble focusing during the sessions and my mind always go back to the curvature, pain and ED issues.

Lastly and probably most importantly, my memory has gone to shit. Menial tasks that I could do in a couple minutes take me quite a bit longer because I can’t remember what I was doing just a few moments prior. Luckily, I’ve been doing my job (coding) for so long, it’s almost muscle memory at this point, but I haven’t been able to innovate anything new in quite some time (July).

How long does it usually take to recover from short term Finasteride use? Are there any supplements that aren’t dangerous? Is this all in my head?

PS - I’m thinking about quitting Celexa and Trazodone to see if this helps me recover, but I can tell they have been working for my depression and insomnia. I used to wake up 3 or 4 times for an hour a piece each night (even prior to finasteride) and now it’s only once for several minutes or to move to the couch to sleep.

#2

The good news is, if you have to ask if it’s all in your head, you probably don’t have post finasteride syndrome. When I crashed, the experience was so profoundly and suddenly jolting that there could be no doubt that some terrible paradigm shift had taken place, first in my brain, and then my body in the following weeks.

I’ve seen guys on hairloss forums say they felt stupid whilst on finasteride but then recovered back to normal soon after stopping the drug. You have only recently quit so it’s very likely that, if any of your issues are due to finasteride, they will resolve within a few weeks or months of discontinuation. The other two drugs you are taking will blur the picture as to what is causing you your problems.

4 Likes
#3

Thanks for sharing your experience with this, @Tzinkman.

I can’t say I’ve experienced the crash that you have, just a general issue downstairs along with the memory issues. The crash sounds pretty miserable and I’m sorry you dealt with it.

Quitting cold turkey seems to have triggered something as well after the past week. I’m juist on so many meds, I can’t figure out what’s causing it.

Do you have any suggestions for relief?

#4

Re: relief suggestions -

For anxiety, remember that it’s just a chemical that is flowing in your system at that moment and that it will subside. Until it passes, concentrate on slowing your breathing down, take deep breaths.

Do the kind of breathing they prescribe for mediation or yoga. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Most people suggest diet improvement - go for fresh, unprocessed foods.

You might want to exercise too, you might respond differently but most people seem to say that weights are helpful.

2 Likes
#5

Thanks for the suggestions @Greek. They definitely helped me out last night.

I do some light weights but primarily cardio which helps with my anxiety as well, but I can’t over do it.

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#6

Your anti-depressant pills can cause PFS and can worsen your symptoms. Take unisom to sleep instead.

#7

I’m looking to both Citalopram and Trazodone ASAP. I’m a little too nervous to quit cold turkey due to the withdrawal symptoms that come along with it.

I did take unisom prior to these prescriptions and it didn’t help at all. Was like taking a placebo.

Update: Issues are still persistent after 3 weeks.

#8

Damn your sleep problems are really severe then. You could look to other options like belsomra (one member here takes it) but it’s expensive and I’m not sure of its safety.

1 Like
#9

I’ve always had some minor sleep issues, but they got pretty bad in the last 12 months.

Thanks for the suggestion, might be worth looking into.

But frankly, I’m pretty done with prescriptions, some of the side effects out there aren’t worth it.

I’d rather go back to 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night than have the sides I have right now.

#10

Just an update, I’m still having issues after 4 weeks. My memory seems to have come back a bit, but I am still struggling with erections.

I still frequently get night erections, but my PCP mentioned this could be from the Trazodone.

I have a cystoscopy next week to see what’s going on.

I’ll be weening off Citalopram starting next Friday.

I’ve been seeing a uro for potential Peyronie’s disease that seemed to have developed when I started taking Finasteride.

EDIT: I’ve confirmed that my penile pain and curvature started two days after starting. This is likely what triggered my Peyronie’s after 18 days of Finasteride use.

#11

Hey guys,

I hope it’s okay if I start using this as a journal of sorts. If I should make a new thread, just let me know.

8/26

  1. Last night was the first night in months that I got a full nights sleep (7 hours), relatively uninterrupted. I still get pain from my nocturnal erections that wake me up, but it was only briefly. Pain is probably due to the Peyronie’s.

  2. I noticed my joint pain has also decreased significantly in the last two days. It does appear to pop up immediately after doing weights, but is better after showering. The joint pain is primarily in my thumbs, knees and ankles.

  3. Unfortunately, my tinnitus does seem to have gotten worse. It’s almost deafening at times, but white noise is a great remedy when trying to sleep. Maybe I’m just noticing this now?

  4. Libido is still extremely high, but unable to get daytime erections at all.

#12

Can you get an erection if you physically stimulate yourself?

I think keeping a blog is a good idea, but you might want to think about what is potentially influencing your symptoms. Maybe record sleep, diet and exercise daily as well as notes on your physical and mental well being. Do you do better after social events? I don’t know if it’s likely but you might spot a pattern.

Have you consulted anyone about the Peyronie’s? I’m under the impression that it can both be treated and that you can do things yourself to improve your condition.

My sleep has improved from as little as zero hours a night to (new record as of yesterday) 6 hours unbroken sleep and then a further 2 hours sleep before getting up. I think anxiety plays a big role. I would suggest staying away from here in the evening, if you’re stressed about getting enough sleep you’re less likely to get the sleep, etc. Best to try and forget your condition if at all possible.

I stopped looking at screens before bed, and try to wind down for a couple of hours which seems to help. I suggest you try the same. If I woke in the night I used to do breathing or meditation exercises to help me relax again and get back to sleep but that seems less necessary now. Do not look at your phone in bed if you wake up, this makes it hard even for people without sleep issues to get back to sleep.

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#13

Hey @Greek,

Yes, I can get semi-erect with stimulation, however, my curve currently causes some severe pain. The deformity causes distress and I lose focus, then shortly after I lose the erection. Nocturnal erections appear to be full or mostly full erections but when I wake, again, I quickly lose the erection.

Thanks for the tip! I’ve been using FitBit to track my sleep and have been trying to keep my diet consistent to keep things in scope. Although, you’re correct, I should log this and exercise as well.

It seems I do a little better after social events, but if I work or work out too late (especially cardio), I’m up all night.

I’ve gone to a recommended Uro from my PCP and he said that I’m in the very early stages or it’s something else. This is because he did not detect plaque, so he had schedule me for a Cystoscopy (How could this help?). I’m going to a Peyronie’s specialist later this week on top of a couple other doctor visits.

Other things I’ve been taking for Peyronies:

  • L-Cartitine 1000 mg / day
  • Ubiquinol 300 mg / day (very expensive)
  • Vitamin E 600 IU / day

I’ve been taking a variety of other supplements with Tylenol in hopes that it takes the pain away at night.

Congratulations on the step forward, I firmly believe that getting enough sleep is essential to any recover. Yes, I have frequent panic attacks at night which is the primary cause of my insomnia, but this has been for several months (months prior to me taking Finasteride).

I’ve been trying some CBD topicals to try to cope with the anxiety. Do you have the opportunity to try CBD? It seems to be fairly effective for the early part of the night.

While this forum is a great deal of help, I think you’re right, some of the negative stories on here run through my head throughout the night. I feel like a complete victim to not only the drug but to advertising.

I can’t help but feel that I won’t recover from this even after such a short spurt of Fin. I’m a lot more positive about things in the daytime though when I have a bunch of distractions.

Great tip on the screens, I always fall asleep with the TV on (I have tinnitus which drives me insane in total silence). Maybe, I’ll try an audio book or something and see if this helps.

#14

I think you need to sort your mind out a little. Talking yourself into a depressed outlook will make things harder for you.

It’s possible that you do better after social situations because you haven’t spent your time thinking about your situation and thinking the worst.

Occupy yourself with positive things and try and enjoy your time. You just might sleep better if your mind isn’t racing theough worst case scenarios. It is possible to get better, it is possible to have a happy life again.

Sorry to hear about your tinnitus, people struggle with it under the best of circumstances. Perhaps try an audiobook, or guided meditation. Or you can get relaxing “spa” music playlists. You might feel silly listening to it, but the reason that music is such a cliche is because it works!

This is a terrible hand to have been dealt but you’re still very early on in your recovery. Hold tight and give yourself some time. Don’t take anything that could hurt you - supplement or medicine. Be careful whose advice you’re taking.

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#15

Absolutely, my outlook has been pretty negative prior to all of this. Unfortunately, my career has me pretty socially isolated (there are 48-72 hour spurts where I don’t talk to anyone) and I think this plays a major role.

The last two nights have had tremendously improved sleep!! After using some basic meditation techniques, I’ve had a much better time falling asleep as it seems to help my mind stop racing. I even slept through the night without waking up once. I have been waking up a lot earlier though (10 - 5 AM), but I feel a lot more recharged.

Audiobook can be great, but I lose place in the book from falling asleep. I’m going to give a few of these relaxing playlists a go tonight. Definitely helps with the tinnitus.

Unfortunately, I’m waking up early from painful erections, but the fact is I’m actually getting erections that seem pretty filled out, unassisted.

I’m going to continue to abstain from any sort of sexual activity (even erection checking) to see if this helps.

Other updates:

  • Appears to be same condition on daytime erections although my my libido is through the roof lately. A lot of twitches when speaking to basically any woman and sexual lucid dreams as well. Lucid dreaming is from the Citalopram per my PCP.
  • Doctor’s appointment on Friday to convince her to discontinue Citalopram and maybe Trazodone (Trazodone feels very effective lately though).
  • Peyronie’s Specialist next Friday to determine specific treatments that can help reduce the pain (7/10 most days)
  • Change of diet to organic paleo seems to be working well, increased my weight training to three days a week, with heavy cardio (5Ks) two days a week.

Need to find ways to gain weight, I’ve lost a little under 30 lbs in the last 9 weeks.

#16

The painful erections might be due to the Trazodone