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)?
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
What is your current age, height, weight?
37 years old, 6’, 160 lbs
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 daily
What condition was being treated with the drug?
hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
~1 year
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
31 years old in 2014
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
32 years old in 2015
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
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
[ ] 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
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[x ] Slurring of Speech
[x ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] 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
[x ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] 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?
TRT for hypogonadism and Levothyroxine for Hypothyroidism
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 have been a member of this site for a while but never introduced myself. I’m in my 30s and was on Finasteride for about a year from 2014 to 2015. I felt fine for the most part while on it. Then one night, I kissed a girl. The next day, I felt like I had the flu and a hangover. I felt extremely fatigued and had horrible tinnitus. I assumed it would pass, but it never did. A couple weeks later I got pain in my testicles, which lasted for a couple weeks. The symptoms only got progressively worse over the next few months. I went to several doctors to try to figure out the cause. Eventually, I found out from my PCP that I had EBV. I’m guessing that EBV triggered the PFS that I currently have based on the posts I’ve read here. She told me that EBV did not account for the severity of my symptoms though. I later went to an endocrinologist and found out that I had hypogonadism. Shortly after that, I found out I had hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s). I went on Levothyroxine and testosterone replacement therapy. Neither one resulted in any kind of improvement. My muscle fatigue and exercise intolerance has only gotten worse over the years to where I now spend most of my day in bed. In addition, I developed eczema and have that telltale eczema rash on the side of my face that many others here have.
The following is a more detailed list of my symptoms/conditions. I will probably edit this post with more information later.
Medical Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, hypogonadism, tinnitus, hyperacusis, attention deficit disorder
-Severe, persistent muscle fatigue/exhaustion that makes it extremely difficult to get out of bed in the morning. I must lie in bed for 1-2 hours before I feel well enough to get up to brush teeth. I don’t feel well enough to sit at computer desk for another 2 to 3 hours.
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Muscle fatigue becomes abruptly worse whenever I face small amounts of psychological stress.
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I have severe exercise intolerance, particularly while engaged in simple household chores. I have to rest my arms for a couple minutes after just 60 to 120 seconds of using them during activities like washing dishes and folding clothes or they start to tremble and become extremely fatigued. It makes daily life very hard. I really struggle with food preparation because of my arms. I try to make easy things that can be microwaved.
-If I overexert myself – do much more than basic hygiene, cook, and another activity like laundry or walk to the grocery store, regardless of how much I rest in between, I’m almost completely wiped out the next day and am too sick to leave bed.
-I have difficulty doing precision movements with my hands for extended periods of time (greater than 2 minutes). I can only write with a pen continuously for a minute or so before I have to rest arm. At times I’m not even able to type on keyboard or hold mouse for very long. My arms just start to get a trembling feeling and feel very fatigued.
-It’s difficult to sit in my computer chair for long periods of time. My muscles get so fatigued, and I have to lie down. I feel like my whole body has to be supported all the time.
-Hot temperatures exacerbate the muscle fatigue. Also, whenever I get slightly warm, I get a painful prickly feeling on my head, back, and chest (feels like being stabbed with tiny needles). If the water in the shower gets too warm, the same thing happens. I can’t even handle going outside when it’s over 70 or so degrees.
-Extreme constant brain fog. Severe memory and concentration problems. I zone in and out all day. I get confused easily when people are talking to me. It’s hard to even focus on watching a tv show. I have a hard time understanding what I read now too. I have to reread something multiple times for me to process it.
-Extreme sound sensitivity that’s gotten progressively worse. I’ve always had sound sensitivities due to asperger’s syndrome, but it’s never been this severe. It constantly causes me anxiety. I’m especially sensitive to noises caused by car engines, footsteps from landlord upstairs, lawn mowers, birds, and phone sounds. It causes extreme pain/discomfort in my ears. I don’t even want to ride public transport anymore or sit in waiting rooms at doctors.
-I have constant tinnitus that causes painful ringing in ears and constant anxiety. Ringing and pain increases when I listen to a white noise like a fan or the humming of a machine. This is the most difficult symptom I have. It definitely gets worse whenever I experience a bad energy crash.
-Increasing sensitivity to most food. Eating anything with fructose, sucrose, or sorbitol causes intense fatigue/weakness, and I break out in eczema. I’ve always had a sensitivity to high fructose foods, but nowhere near this. I’ve had to eat a diet of just clean meat (chicken) and fructose free vegetables like turnip greens and water chestnuts and white pasta.
-Itchy dry skin everywhere with eczema flare-ups in addition to a constant red rash on side of face
-I often get lightheaded/dizzy when I stand up and always feel kind of unsteady when I’m standing/walking.