New Member Story

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? USA

  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

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 35, 5’9’’, 180lbs

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Yes. Cardio and weight training 3-5 times per week.

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Organic/healthy

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair loss.

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 9 years

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 22. September 1999.

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 32. Spring 2009.

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

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Propecia.

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1 mg/day.

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? About 1 year.

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Low libido, ED, brain fog, low energy, sleepiness, and weight gain.

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
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[X] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Depression / Melancholy

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

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[X] 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.

  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)? N/A.

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? Regarding the feeling of an endocrine system crash after quitting the drug and about the “rebound effect” after quitting the drug initially: I experienced both. After quitting the drug, for a period of about 6-9 months, I was fine. All of the symptoms and side effects went away. Then slowly…about 9 months after quitting the drug, everything went downhill. All of the symptoms indicated above got progressively worse. They have not improved since.

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug. In addition to the above, I wanted to add that the symptoms have been getting progressively worse…there isn’t a feeling of steady state. This is extremely concerning…especially considering that I stopped the drug 3 years ago.

#2

welcome Lockie, you are like me, took the drug 9 years with no side effects until stopping. Nothing has gotten better? I have to say the first 6 months were terrible, but I am starting to get better erections, some sex dreams, my sensitivity has improved etc. Also brain fog has improved…Nothing for you since the crash?

#3

Very sorry to hear about your situation. I am almost two years removed from the drug and the first year and some change seemed far more manageable for me in hindsight. It is definitely worrisome that I could be getting worse, but it really feels that way to me sometimes. I am getting desperate again. I had some luck with Wellbutrin, and I’m considering giving it another go. There are definitely things that trigger better days or better points for me, but for the life of me I cannot pinpoint what they are. Generally masturbation makes me feel worse, but sometimes if it is satisfying (if I have abstained for a few days or a week), the next day can be pretty good. Sometimes weightlifting/cardio bring me delayed benefits, but I’m not sure that it is always true. Occasionally sweet foods up dopamine levels and get me feeling better, but once again, not always true (in fact, many times it’s the opposite). I just wish there were more clear-cut patterns to all of this… like more reliable ways of feeling better. Or maybe there are, and I just give up on them too soon when they begin to help me. Are there just daily/weekly/monthly hormonal shifts that happen in our bodies that dictate how we feel, no matter how hard we try to counter them? It’s beginning to feel like the stars must all align perfectly for me to have a better day. If you would ever like to talk, PM me. Maybe we could video chat on skype or something. It can be therapeutic. Hang in there man. I will do the same.

#4

Thanks guys for the welcome.

@finatruth: Nothing has gotten better since the crash. The crash, if I were to call it one, was gradual…but noticeable. It probably took place over the course of 6 months. Right now, things seem to be getting progressively worse. I have been off the drug for 3 years. On a related note: I do remember what the rebound effect felt like. It was amazing…for a period of about 6-9 months, right after quitting the drug, I was on top of the world in all respects. This “top of the world” feeling could have been my normal baseline, but since I took the drug for 9 years, it was hard for me to fully remember how I felt almost a decade earlier.

@donkeyboy: I am realizing that there are dozens of factors that affect how I feel now…that is to say, all the stars have to be in alignment. I’m not sure if it is a combination of hormonal shifts, timing, the surrounding environment, etc. For a period of about 2 months I did some crazy/intense cardio and weight training exersizes…I’m talking 3+ hours per day, 6 days a week. I noticed a difference during the second month of that regimen (maybe 50% better). However, I was unable to commit that much time to it and I scaled it back…and with it, my symptoms reverted back.

#5

Lockie, very interesting that it was gradual. I got all the sides within 2 weeks of stopping the drug. For the first 6 months off I couldn’t feel any pleasure from an orgasm other than 2 or 3 times a month. That and sensitivity have greatly improved

When u say intense exercise made you 50% better, what exactly did you feel got better?

#6

Many things were gradual for me too Lockie. My penis shrunk a few weeks after stopping (which I guess I considered my definitive “crash” because it was also accompanied by horrible anxiety and muscle spasms), but the head of the penis was still a normal size (that didn’t shrink until a couple months after quitting). Muscle wastage and joint popping didn’t become apparent until about a year after quitting as well.

#7

The intense exercise helped all of my symptoms get about 50% better. This included: libido, erection quality, nocturnal erections, energy, mental clarity, mood, and an overall zest for life I guess.