On Propecia for 10 years, quit a few months ago

Member Stories
#1

I got on Propecia to fight against hairloss in 2006 and have been on it for 10 years.
There have been days, sometimes weeks and I think one or two times even a month or so, when I was off it but all in all I have been taking it for 10 years quite consistently.
I think I started in the fall of 2006. I don’t have exact records. Unfortunately I also don’t have blood tests done before taking Propecia. I have semen test after a couple of months on it (done in unrelated reason).

I popped a 1mg each day pill and largely forgot about my hair loss problem.

I don’t know exactly about my possible side effects throughout my regimen. They definitely weren’t bad enough for me to quit taking the medicine and I wasn’t really informed. When I started taking it, nothing like this site did exist and doctors didn’t warn me from anything. I thought I can always quit when anything goes awry. I think when I got on it, I didn’t notice anything serious. Over time I noticed the watery semen. And that I didn’t have morning wood. And smaller volume in ejaculation. I think libido was alright. I wasn’t able to go second rounds in sex, but I didn’t know whether I could be able to go anyway. I was a late bloomer and didn’t have proper sexual intercourses before that. I’ve had depressive periods and I’ve had fatigue and emotional lability/lack of energy from time to time. But that’s a long period of almost 10 years and I couldn’t say whether Finasteride was to blaim. I certainly didn’t think so. I had groin or testicle pain maybe a few times during that whole period of years.

Sometime last summer I found out there’s a generic version, so I jumped onto that.

This summer I also got into a new relationship. Unluckily was a bit one down in the relationship at first, so I had some erection problems. I fought them by taking Viagra and Cialis and everything was fine. I found out I can a still go without that too, so I didn’t worry too much. The problems could have been psychological as well and I even think they were at least to some large extent. In any case, my erections seemed softer or not lasting long enough without taking Viagra or Cialis and to be sure, I went to the doctor to get myself checked.

To my surprise, I was told I had prostatitis. I had no idea how long I’ve had it. I didn’t notice any symptoms that I was able to connect to prostatitis myself. I was put on antibiotics for a month.

I quickly got some symptoms though too. Maybe I caught the disease early?
I needed to go to toilet frequently and even at night, felt the pressure to urinate often, got some pain and pressure in the abdomen and sometimes anus and in the groin and in the back.

I read there might be a connection for taking finasteride as a young man and developing prostatitis later on in life. I also read about other stuff here, so I freaked out a little.
It’s definitely rare to have prostatitis in your early 30s.
When prostate massage was performed to me, I was told it’s swelled and uneven. The massage was very painful. I was told it shouldn’t be.

Now, after 5 months my symptoms are somewhat lessen but they’re still there.
I took antibiotics for a month. Then I took Flosin and Trimetop for some time. I can live with it but my symptoms are still there after 5 months.

When I went to the doctor in the fall, they also did blood tests as I asked.

FSH 6.7 (1.5 … 12.4 U/L)
LH 3.93 (1.70 … 8.60 U/L)
Free androgen index (FAI) > 100.00 ↑ (35.00 … 92.60 %)
S-SHBG 20.90 (18.30 … 54.10 nmol/L)
Testosterone 22.49 (11.40 … 27.90 nmol/L)
Estradiol 121.8 (>223.0 pmol/L)

How do these look? Estradiol is high but overall not really bad?
My sperm quality was really bad though. Not sure whether it was because of the infection in my prostate or because of finasteride or both. Probably both.

Some time after that I went onto 0,5mg daily Propecia and some time after that in December I stopped taking it.
At first it was because I suddenly realised none of the pharmacies in my country carry this any more. It suddenly had become a special medicine that needed a special clearance and with a warning. 5 mg Proscar was still available but I didn’t have prescription for this. Then after becoming more and more aware, I though it would be good idea anyway to stop taking it or at least take a break.

To see what my hairloss will do, what my hormones will do and whether I’ll recover.

A few weeks after stopping I did a new blood and sperm test. Just one week before the sperm test it had been 10 times better. Still bad but now it was totally shit. Semen cells count was from 110 millions (10 years ago) to 16 million just before quitting finasteride to literally 1 million after quitting. And they were all defected in the last test.
Sperm test was total shit. I was pretty much infertile.

I don’t know if I will have a kid with my current girl but I still would like to have children maybe at some point.

Blood tests as follows. Testosterone had plummeted. My testosterone was like a 50 years old or worse. Correct?
How it all seems to you? And other changes as well. This test is some weeks after quitting finasteride.

FSH 8.2 (1.4 – 18.1 lU/l)
LH 3.78 (1.5 – 9.3) lU/l)
Free androgen index (FAI) 15 – 95 (71.47)
S-SHBG 24 (17 – 66 nmol/l)
Testosterone 17.1 (8.4 – 28.7 nmol/L)
Estradiol 125.2 (>146.0 pmol/L)

This blood and sperm test is from 9 weeks ago. I will be making a new one tomorrow and with some more measurements like it’s recommended here.

Actually, even though I’v become more and more paranoid. I’ve had my morning and spontaneous erections returning for some time now. I haven’t had these for years.
Sure hope my measurements in Testosterone and others have turned to the better. Fingers crossed.
I still feel fatigue and have problems with my prostate. Also feel more and more depressed now with these problems.

I also have a chronic back problem with two discs that cause me pain 24/7 so it all adds up.

I’ll have my next doctors appointments next week. Both with the same andrologist I went to this fall and with a new endocrinologist.

I just hope I’ll recover and get my hormones back in order.

Also will probably start to take Zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6 for my Testosterone after my doctors appointments.

Any other recommendations?

#2

0) Where are you from (country)?
Estonia

1) 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. Search about side effects.

2) What is your current age, height, weight?
34, 182cm, 80kg

3) Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Aerobic (running, skiing, cycling), yoga/pilates and weights. Have not exercised or have done it less the last few months because of back problems.

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

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

6) For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
8 years

7) How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
26

8) How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
34

9) How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Went from 1mg to 0,5mg for a few months and then quit cold turkey.

10) What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia for most part, generic the last 6 months

11) What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg every day, 0,5mg the last 3-4 months

12) How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
I didn’t really notice them.

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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[X] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] 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
[ ] 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
[X] Joint Pain
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[X] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)


14) What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
no treatments so far

15) 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)?

2 months before quitting

FSH 6.7 (1.5 … 12.4 U/L)
LH 3.93 (1.70 … 8.60 U/L)
Free androgen index (FAI) > 100.00 ↑ (35.00 … 92.60 %)
S-SHBG 20.90 (18.30 … 54.10 nmol/L)
Testosterone 22.49 (11.40 … 27.90 nmol/L)
Estradiol 121.8 (>223.0 pmol/L)

a few weeks after

FSH 8.2 (1.4 – 18.1 lU/l)
LH 3.78 (1.5 – 9.3) lU/l)
Free androgen index (FAI) 15 – 95 (71.47)
S-SHBG 24 (17 – 66 nmol/l)
Testosterone 17.1 (8.4 – 28.7 nmol/L)
Estradiol 125.2 (>146.0 pmol/L)

New one with more measurements will be done tomorrow!

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

I got on Propecia to fight against hairloss in 2006 and have been on it for 10 years.
There have been days, sometimes weeks and I think one or two times even a month or so, when I was off it but all in all I have been taking it for 10 years quite consistently.
I think I started in the fall of 2006. I don’t have exact records. Unfortunately I also don’t have blood tests done before taking Propecia. I have semen test after a couple of months on it (done in unrelated reason).

I popped a 1mg each day pill and largely forgot about my hair loss problem.

I don’t know exactly about my possible side effects throughout my regimen. They definitely weren’t bad enough for me to quit taking the medicine and I wasn’t really informed. When I started taking it, nothing like this site did exist and doctors didn’t warn me from anything. I thought I can always quit when anything goes awry. I think when I got on it, I didn’t notice anything serious. Over time I noticed the watery semen. And that I didn’t have morning wood. And smaller volume in ejaculation. I think libido was alright. I wasn’t able to go second rounds in sex, but I didn’t know whether I could be able to go anyway. I was a late bloomer and didn’t have proper sexual intercourses before that. I’ve had depressive periods and I’ve had fatigue and emotional lability/lack of energy from time to time. But that’s a long period of almost 10 years and I couldn’t say whether Finasteride was to blaim. I certainly didn’t think so. I had groin or testicle pain maybe a few times during that whole period of years.

Sometime last summer I found out there’s a generic version, so I jumped onto that.

This summer I also got into a new relationship. Unluckily was a bit one down in the relationship at first, so I had some erection problems. I fought them by taking Viagra and Cialis and everything was fine. I found out I can a still go without that too, so I didn’t worry too much. The problems could have been psychological as well and I even think they were at least to some large extent. In any case, my erections seemed softer or not lasting long enough without taking Viagra or Cialis and to be sure, I went to the doctor to get myself checked.

To my surprise, I was told I had prostatitis. I had no idea how long I’ve had it. I didn’t notice any symptoms that I was able to connect to prostatitis myself. I was put on antibiotics for a month.

I quickly got some symptoms though too. Maybe I caught the disease early?
I needed to go to toilet frequently and even at night, felt the pressure to urinate often, got some pain and pressure in the abdomen and sometimes anus and in the groin and in the back.

I read there might be a connection for taking finasteride as a young man and developing prostatitis later on in life. I also read about other stuff here, so I freaked out a little.
It’s definitely rare to have prostatitis in your early 30s.
When prostate massage was performed to me, I was told it’s swelled and uneven. The massage was very painful. I was told it shouldn’t be.

Now, after 5 months my symptoms are somewhat lessen but they’re still there.
I took antibiotics for a month. Then I took Flosin and Trimetop for some time. I can live with it but my symptoms are still there after 5 months.

When I went to the doctor in the fall, they also did blood tests as I asked.

FSH 6.7 (1.5 … 12.4 U/L)
LH 3.93 (1.70 … 8.60 U/L)
Free androgen index (FAI) > 100.00 ↑ (35.00 … 92.60 %)
S-SHBG 20.90 (18.30 … 54.10 nmol/L)
Testosterone 22.49 (11.40 … 27.90 nmol/L)
Estradiol 121.8 (>223.0 pmol/L)

How do these look? Estradiol is high but overall not really bad?
My sperm quality was really bad though. Not sure whether it was because of the infection in my prostate or because of finasteride or both. Probably both.

Some time after that I went onto 0,5mg daily Propecia and some time after that in December I stopped taking it.
At first it was because I suddenly realised none of the pharmacies in my country carry this any more. It suddenly had become a special medicine that needed a special clearance and with a warning. 5 mg Proscar was still available but I didn’t have prescription for this. Then after becoming more and more aware, I though it would be good idea anyway to stop taking it or at least take a break.

To see what my hairloss will do, what my hormones will do and whether I’ll recover.

A few weeks after stopping I did a new blood and sperm test. Just one week before the sperm test it had been 10 times better. Still bad but now it was totally shit. Semen cells count was from 110 millions (10 years ago) to 16 million just before quitting finasteride to literally 1 million after quitting. And they were all defected in the last test.
Sperm test was total shit. I was pretty much infertile.

I don’t know if I will have a kid with my current girl but I still would like to have children maybe at some point.

Blood tests as follows. Testosterone had plummeted. My testosterone was like a 50 years old or worse. Correct?
How it all seems to you? And other changes as well. This test is some weeks after quitting finasteride.

FSH 8.2 (1.4 – 18.1 lU/l)
LH 3.78 (1.5 – 9.3) lU/l)
Free androgen index (FAI) 15 – 95 (71.47)
S-SHBG 24 (17 – 66 nmol/l)
Testosterone 17.1 (8.4 – 28.7 nmol/L)
Estradiol 125.2 (>146.0 pmol/L)

This blood and sperm test is from 9 weeks ago. I will be making a new one tomorrow and with some more measurements like it’s recommended here.

Actually, even though I’v become more and more paranoid. I’ve had my morning and spontaneous erections returning for some time now. I haven’t had these for years.
Sure hope my measurements in Testosterone and others have turned to the better. Fingers crossed.
I still feel fatigue and have problems with my prostate. Also feel more and more depressed now with these problems.

I also have a chronic back problem with two discs that cause me pain 24/7 so it all adds up.

I’ll have my next doctors appointments next week. Both with the same andrologist I went to this fall and with a new endocrinologist.

I just hope I’ll recover and get my hormones back in order.

Also will probably start to take Zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6 for my Testosterone after my doctors appointments.

Any other recommendations?