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?)
Google search - "finasteride side effects"
What is your current age, height, weight?
5’10" 168lbs (lost 20 lbs post-stoppage of finasteride)
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 mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
28 days (took 25 doses during that span)
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
35
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
36, took it during my birthday month. Ironically, I called it a birthday present for myself.
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
about a week, but I felt the initial side effects felt minor
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Most side effects occurred after stopping.
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
[ X] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ X] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
X[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[X ] Muscle Wastage
[X ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X ] Prostate pain
[X ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[X] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ X] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X ] 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, Vitamin E, multivitamin
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?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
First Crash
I took Finasteride for 28 days (25 doses) ending December 1, 2020 after feeling like the loss of libido was growing stronger. While on the medication I was also orgasming when my penis was beginning to soften instead of at its firmest. Early into taking the medication I had fleeting testicular pain (about 24 hours) and a headache that was resolved with ibuprofen (also about 24 hours).
I crashed after masturbating 18 days after stopping. My penis was getting very soft at climax during this “crash” event. Set off a chain of side effects for the next 4 days:
- Burning sensation in prostate
- Frequent urination
- Insomnia (sleeping for 2 hours at a time)
- Painful bowel movement
- Felt “hormonal” for 4 days
- Brain fog/slow processing
- Complete loss of appetite
- Tenseness in shoulders/neck followed by massive muscle loss primarily to abdomen & back
- Small changes to penis (slightly smaller)
- Little to no arousal and no nocturnal/morning erections
Sudden Resolving of Many Symptoms
Then, suddenly, beginning on the night of December 22, the mental symptoms were lifted entirely almost overnight. I slept over 7 hours after not getting past 3-4 consecutive hours the previous days. I had a much improved appetite for food. My muscle mass was coming back fast, too. I felt like myself that day and was willing to be patient to wait for the sexual side effects to fade away. I did still have prostate pain and constipation at that point, but they were improving.
That night December 23, I had a second crash after doing a bunch of push ups. I thought this might help with regaining muscle mass. This was a mistake. It resulted in:
- Much greater shrinking of penis
- Intense anxiety and panic attacks lasting for two days
- Intense insomnia
- Headache at the temples that eventually radiated to above the ears.
Christmas Eve with my family was awful. I have children who I love so much, and I could not enjoy the gift opening that happened on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. I did my best to “gut through” the mental anxiety for my wife and kids and the two close relatives we had with us.
Second Crash
Gradually, however, I began to improve again. Noctural erections were getting slightly stronger day-by-day. This often would wake me up. However, there were many days I just had extreme exhaustion leading up to January 13 (6 weeks out from stopping). But that went away to the point that I was staying up until 10-11pm without too much issue.
- Outside of my penis still not feeling “normal” I was beginning to have harder nighttime erections, though still not completely “normal”
- Nighttime/morning erections woke me up most days between 3-6am.
- My libido came back strong on the morning of January 13
So, I tried to ejaculate. This was the second time since December 19 that I masturbated. However, the first time I did not get fully hard. This time, it was almost like pre-Finasteride. But, there was a tinge of blood, too. I think I pushed it too much.The blood seemed to stay in the penis for hours afterward in the flaccid state. Since the 13th, my penis has gradually become similar to what others describe as “hard flaccid.” I also have some numbness and coldness in my testicles as well as my penis.
At this point, I am glad I have no anxiety/brain fog sypmtoms, but I am concerned that this recent development in my genitals. I am also getting a little bit of strange pressure in my upper inner thighs connecting to my pelvis and a little bit of tightness in my lower abdomen (just started tonight).
Conclusion
Any glimmer of hope anyone can give is much appreciated. I have noticed a worsening of symptoms the more I talk about all this. But right now my genitalia feels so out of whack I wonder how much it matters.
Diet: I have been eating, primarily, a plant-based diet. Until recently, I thought that was helping my symptom, including a high glucose reading. I have lost 20 lbs in 29 days
Labs:
- Testosterone is low but it’s often low as symptom of hypothyroidism (which I have).
- My liver enzymes were high (no explanation from PC Physician or Endo, but nurse surmised this could be from Finasteride)
- glucose was in prediabetes range, but my diet has been clean since way before this all happened, and I have never tested in that range, before, though I have been relatively close.
- I was it a ketosis state, likely due to no appetite and plant-based diet or prediabetes
- DHT was in low-end normal range
December 22
January 2
January 9
