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?)
Google search for post Finasteride syndrome I think, can’t remember for sure
What is your current age, height, weight?
30, 190cm, 69kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Shampoo + conditioner with saw palmetto
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
0.5% saw palmetto shampoo and conditioner roughly twice a week
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair thinning
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
16 months
Date when you started the drug?
November 2023
Date when you quit the drug?
March 2025
Age when you quit?
29
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Switched to a different shampoo/conditioner
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Maybe about 6 months, but due to having severe ME and being sexually inactive except for rare masturbation it took things getting worse for it to click (I didn’t know saw palmetto shampoo was risky)
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Lower libido, reduced nocturnal erections, PE, mild erectile dysfunction, lower mood, anxiety, dissociation, temperature dysregulation, dry eyes. Some symptoms only present during crashes and not at baseline
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
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ X] Watery Ejaculate
[X ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ X] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] 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
[X ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ X] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
None apart from avoiding known triggers
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)?
No tests
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Already had very severe ME/CFS before PFS started
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I already have ME/CFS, since 2016 which became severe/very severe (I’m 99% bedbound now) in early 2022 after a covid infection. I also had pre existing pelvic floor related pelvic pain since 2020 (mostly under control from learning to relax the muscles).
I was prescribed Finasteride in mid 2023 but never used it, as I’d seen a few mentions of PFS in chronic illness communities. So I thought, this sounds bad, I’ll avoid Finasteride then. However I did not look as far as to realise that topical saw palmetto could potentially pose similar issues. I used a natural hair growth shampoo without much thought, just figured I might as well try something and had seen nothing suggesting it was risky. I used a shampoo and conditioner with 0.5% saw palmetto roughly twice a week from November 2023 to March 2025. At some point in 2024 I started to notice lower semen volume and premature ejaculation, but it didn’t register much since due to my ME I was basically fully sexually inactive apart from rare masturbation. I’d also sometimes experience testicular pain but couldn’t attribute it to anything. It probably was affecting my libido too in retrospect but with severe ME already that really didn’t stand out to me.
In early March 2025, one of my carers washed my hair (I have carers wash my hair from an inflatable basin from bed). They used too much and didn’t fully rinse it off. That was when my symptoms started. Started with markedly lower libido, genital/pelvic pain, and flared anxiety. Joined the dots that it must’ve been the saw palmetto (as the unrinsed shampoo was a clear trigger). Did some research and cut out any supplements I was taking that could inhibit 5AR, and switched shampoo/conditioner. Slowly improved over a few months with a few hiccups in between. Actually had an okay baseline by late May. In June tried a shampoo with zinc pyrithione for my seborrheic dermatitis which caused a crash. Libido very low again, plus some genital numbness.
Again started to improve slowly but crashed badly in mid September from taking one 250mg paracetamol tablet. New symptoms of dissociation and temperature dysregulation (coldness), dry eyes plus worse mood/anxiety issues which previously were only an occasional feature. Now also much more intolerant of anything remotely 5ar inhibiting, I can’t eat turmeric, rosemary or fennel seed. Might be very slowly improving again but still nowhere near back to pre Paracetamol levels, and I now crash much more easily from even small accidental food triggers. At baseline my main symptoms are lower libido & low semen volume (possibly more extensive sexual symptoms, with very severe ME it’s hard for me to gauge, sex is completely absent from my life anyway). But my baseline is very fragile, and crashes bring on a wave of other symptoms for days to weeks depending on severity.
Other things that have crashed me or that I avoid preemptively:
Chlorhexidine mouthwash (crashed)
Rosemary (crashed)
Turmeric (crashed)
Cured meats (crashed)
Fennel seed (preemptive, possible accidental exposure crashed)
High sources of soy isoflavones (preemptive)
Capers (preemptive)
I’ve also had flares of genital/pelvic pain and/or numbness & shrinkage plus autonomic symptoms from various topicals for fungal issues I have including amorolfine, urea cream, ciclopirox, selenium sulfide, and even from not rinsing a regulae conditioner fully. Must be a nervous system overactivity thing as I know all or most of those are not androgen/hormone affecting.
Currently at baseline I don’t feel that awful (as in not more awful than I already do with severe ME) aside from sexual issues which yeah, due to my severe ME are not currently relevant. But my baseline is extremely fragile.