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)?
Australia
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?)
What is your current age, height, weight?
19, 6ft, 73kg
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 3x per week
What condition was being treated with the drug?
MPB
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
5 days (2 doses)
Date when you started the drug?
1/12/2022
Date when you quit the drug?
6/12/2022
Age when you quit?
19
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
On the morning of the 6th day
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Mental Sides
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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] 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
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
Visual snow/floaters, Disassociation
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
None
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.
I took finasteride at the start of this year as my hair was thinner. I was following a 1mg 3x a week schedule as I had heard it was good to mitigate side effects, how ironic.
I took a pill the day I got them (1/12/2022) had my second pill on the (5/12/2022) and then woke up experiencing side effects on the (6/12/2022). I woke up in the morning feeling as if i had smoked a ton of weed the night before, a nasty spaced out feeling that just didnt fade no matter what I tried. Over the next few days I was hit with hellish symptoms, complete ED, zero libido, crippling brainfog, weightloss, fatigue/weakness, no appetite, thoughts of suicide, and extreme anxiety and depression. I was crying everyday and literally had to lay with my mum at night as I was too scared to be alone, it was the darkest week of my entire life. With sleep being my only escape from this hell I made sure to do it multiple times a day, if i can count myself lucky, sleep has been the one thing i have had no problem with during my fin sides.
Thankfully with some reassurance from doctors as well as diazepam for the anxiety i felt back to normal within 7 days of my initial symptoms. I had a five day window where I went out, seshed, drank etc. as a celebration ig for the fact that i felt like I had escaped death.
However on the 16/12/2022 I woke up with this same foggy feeling, while it wasn’t as severe as it was initially, it was still very noticeable and concerning. It is the hardest symptom I’m dealing with as it makes life less fun and pleasurable due to feeling disconnected from reality.
Its now the (26/2/2023), nearly 2.5 months in and I’m in a strange position. While over the last few weeks I have been feeling more mental clarity, with certain parts of my day having me question whether I’m back to normal, i have had other symptoms pop up. The first to appear was visual snow/ eye floaters and they occurred about one month into this “crash” everything has this grainy texture to it, especially if i look into the sky or in the dark, and eye floaters and other junk have been polluting my vision and are most noticeable outside.
Next is my dick, about 1.5 months in i noticed a dark blue vein on the left side of my penis was quite prominent in colour, even when i was soft. This has progressed to very thin spider web like veins being noticeable when I’m hard.
As for my penis itself it does still work well however erection quality fluctuates. Some days i can get an erection purely off thoughts alone, while others i need stimulation. I always typically achieve 70-90% erections, with the occasional 100% about twice a week. I do feel as if the sensitivity has lessened slightly, but dont know whether to attribute that to lowered libido or physicality. Orgasms are always pleasurable.
Physically I am fine. I have put on some strength at the gym despite having a sizeable break and have not lost any weight. Too early to tell if putting on muscle is an issue.
Also important to note that my hairfall started again about 2 weeks after initial symptoms as apparently some pfs people dont experience this. Body hair has been easy to pull out strangely enough.
It is important to note that there have been periods where my symptoms have worsened. I think anxiety and emotions are a factor as when I accidentally hurt my dad I had a massive increase in symptom severity and couldn’t get erect for a few days. The next was COVID, which left me feeling really spacey and with ED for a few days as well.
Overall i don’t know what to think about my recovery so far. I feel as if in the mental department I am clearing up gradually, but these new symptoms that have progressively occurred do worry me. I didnt have erection or penis issues at the beginning of my crash so the fact that they are a slight issue now, albeit fluctuating, does concern me.
Regardless I am still in the relatively early stages so i dont know if i can call it pfs just yet. I know that 3 months is the recovery window however i have talked to people who have taken 4-5 months recovery which gives me hope. As long as my cognitive issues are fixed and i can at least get an erection with stimulation i am happy, i can live with visual snow and a veiny dick.
Overall despite the stress of these last few months feeling like my life is over I have had some positives. While I believe i have some anhedonia i can laugh with friends and family and enjoy life. I recently went on my first overseas trip without parents to Japan with a few friends, and while i was scared fin sides would ruin it, i still had a good time and look back on it fondly.
I used Nizoral yesterday stupidly which has angered my symptoms a little, but overall believe I am on the track to recovery within the next few months. I think hearing some advice from other users as well as some encouraging stories would help lessen my anxiety about PFS and maybe speed up my recovery. So if you have any input would love to hear it.