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Where are you from (country)?
United States -
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, i think -
What is your current age, height, weight?
38 yrs old, 6’4", 190 lb -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
typically 5-6 days per week in total … 2-3 weight/body resistance (2 upper body P90X and 1 leg at gym) and 3-4 aerobic typically at gym, typically stepper machine for 40 min, occasionally jog for 30 min -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
proud carnivore! … I eat decently to fairly well, health wise -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
To prevent hair loss. -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
2 yrs, 9 months -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
34 yrs old, summer of 2009 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
37 yrs old, April 30, 2012 was last dose -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Tapered off over the last few weeks of April 2012 -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Finpecia -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
For roughly first 6 months 1 mg/day, then 1/2 mg/day until I started tapering off the last 3 weeks I took the medication -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
2011 -
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 - just a little bit of a loss … I still desire sex
[x] Erectile Dysfunction - some improvement, but not back to pre-fin state
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections - some improvement, but not back to pre-fin state
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate - a little improvement, but not back to pre-fin state … see below
[x] Reduced Ejaculate - a little improvement, but not back to pre-fin state … also gunk like/clumpy
[x] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm - pleasure from orgasm, on a scale of 1-10, is between a 1-4 now, versus a 10 pre-fin
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility - don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the case
Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating - i think this is fairly to mostly resolved
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness - i think this is fairly to mostly resolved
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency - other reasons besides finasteride, however … i don’t have a complete lack of motivation or complacency, but I realize that this is an area I need to work on
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled) - in flaccid state looks smaller and more wrinkled than it used to be when flaccid pre-fin … in erect state smaller than when it used to be erect pre-fin
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature - this may have gotten better recently … too early to tell, though
[x] Other (please explain)
Have generally slept better and felt better and less fatigued/lethargic in the mornings since exercising more frequently
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Just eating a bit better and exercising more frequently … recently started taking multivitamin daily, as well as omega-3 fish oil on days I do not eat certain fish (i.e. sardines, salmon) -
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)?
will have to post later -
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
Symptoms came on gradually as opposed to overnight … did not experience the crash that some have had … erection quality and morning erections improved somewhat – not to pre-fin state – about 6 months off of finasteride … I have yet to try viagra or cialis … I will try one or both of them soon … based on the medical literature I have read my understanding is that if they work for me, it will help with erection quality, but not with the quality of the orgasm … but perhaps from a psychogenic point of view the sensitivity during sexual activity and the pleasure from orgasm might be better when on viagra or cialis … anyone have any experience and/or thoughts on this? -
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
going to go eat dinner now, wish me luck! … will have to post later