notgood1's story after taking the pill for 5 days.

Member Stories
#1

  1. How did you find this forum?
    Google

  2. What is your current age, height, weight?
    5’ 9", 155lbs, 31

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Yes. Cycling.

  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Mostly Healthy. Drink a beer or two.

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

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    5 days (Sep 8th - Sep 12th, 2010)

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride?
    31

  8. How old were you when you quit?
    31

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

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

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

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    Unsure…but I noticed I couldn’t get an erection so I quit.

  13. 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
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] 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”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] 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?
    Nothing as of yet.

  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)?
    I had a pre blood test before taking the drug. Dr. appt on Friday to talk about these issues.

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    No.

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

Took the drug for 5 days (Sept 8-12th, 2010) Noticed on the 5th day I couldn’t even get remotely hard (completly flaccid). Quit immediately. Hair never quit falling out and still is (obv as it was only 5 days). Have increased acne now when I didn’t have any. I can get some blood flow into penis now, but it still can’t make it hard. Could not get hard for sex last weekend (Sep 17th-18th). Semen not as watery as is was. Still no morning erections, spontanious erections, etc. Penile tissue visibly smaller. Stool is a yellowish color.

Haven’t taken anything yet beyond my standard multi-vitamin. I guess I should kick in some Vit D3, Vit C, Vit E, and Zinc and see what the doctor says on Friday, if anything.

#2

There is a good chance you will recover naturally. Its VERY important to watch yourself carefully the next several months. Take good care of your body. Eat organic and alot of fruits and veges. Do not masturbate too much. Maybe once a week if you can hold off. I’d quit the beer too. Also, I’d quit the cycling and go to running, walking and or light weights. Have your bloodwork done.

For alot of us your symptoms happened AFTER we quit so maybe since it happened while you were taking you could recover. Just conjecture of course.

#3

Blood test and testosterone test today. We’ll see what happens.

#4

Doctor said tests are fine. Wants to give me Viagra. Still can’t get it up.

#5

Get copies of your bloodwork. Many docs dismiss problems from the drug and often tell you your tests are “fine” despite results being in the lower or high end of the ranges.

Please participate in this study if you can: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3497

#6

Well…doctor hardly ordered any tests. Only testosterone which was at 384. Which he said was normal. I argued for a second but he wouldn’t order anything else since this was in range.

Trying to figure my next move. I’m on a PPO so I don’t need a referral…but I’m leaning towards sitting tight and supplementing. He gave me some cards for some urologists but I’m thinking an endo is the right move.

#7

Your 1st round of tests is basically a waste. We all have done that because that is what our GP’s order so dont feel bad. Also, your regular GP is of no use to you anymore. If you have the means try to get yourself to one of the major PFS doctors listed on this site. If you dont need a referral for bloodwork then go have all the recommonded bloodwork done as listed on this site. Its great to make healthy lifestyle changes to give your body the best chance of recovery but this is well beyond that. Unless you are making marked improvements on a consistant basis I dont think I would “sit tight”. Just my .02. gl

#8

Do you have the ranges for your test? That seems pretty low if the range is for example, 300-800.

Here are some optimal Testosterone levels in men: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1954
You could argue with your doc based on the above link if you choose.

#9

It has been only a little over two weeks since I last took the drug, so I’m willing to give this at least under 2-3 weeks before full panic. I will be contacting one of these docs at that point.

#10

240-800 was the range. I asked about other tests but he wouldn’t do them because I was in the range.