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)? France
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? 47, 182cm, 77kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? topical finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 0.025% 1ml 3x/week
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 4 months
Date when you started the drug? septembre 2022
Date when you quit the drug? january 2023
Age when you quit? 47
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 4 months
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? prostatis symtoms
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
[X ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[X ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ X] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[X] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] 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? Permixon, Pergabalin + natural supplement: Quercetin, PEA
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.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance: Pergabalin
- Dosage: 25mg
- How often you took it: When needed
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Status
- Still using [X]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms []
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [4] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ X]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [X ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
Hello,
I am a 47 year old man. Allow me to write to you about symptoms I am experiencing that seem to come from the pudendal nerve.
I have been suffering from “prostate” disorders for about a year now. These disorders occurred four months after starting treatment with topical finasteride 0.025% 3x/week to combat hair loss. For the moment, however, only a doctor has confirmed a possible link with finasteride.
My symptoms appeared in chronological order as follows: sharp tingling between the anus and scrotum that strongly resembles a urinary tract infection, numbness in the glans, cold sensation in the penis, burning in the urethra without urinating but much more frequent after urinating, tingling and tingling under my feet.
Then, the previous symptoms mixed and alternated with sensations of numbness between the anus and the scrotum, sensations of burning in the anus, sensations of more frequent urination that do not pass even after going to the toilet, sensations of being more bloated in the lower abdomen, sensations of being more bloated in the lower abdomen, sensations of tingling in the lower abdomen.
I did not have libido problems or erection problems.
I first consulted my general practitioner who diagnosed balanitis because he saw a small red spot on my glans, then a dermatologist who also referred me in this direction.
Then, a urologist gave me a cytoscopy which revealed nothing wrong. He told me that it was not a balanitis but an inflammation of the prostate. After taking natural treatment for some time, I felt that the symptoms were getting worse and so I stopped the treatment and made an appointment with my GP again.
My GP also had me do an MRI + PSA assay + prostate ultrasound which did not give me anything problematic. He invited me to see another urologist to get a second opinion. The latter then referred to the pudendal nerve track.
So I did an pudendal injection and started taking Pergabalin about 3 months ago now.
Since then I have been much better.
I only take Pergabalin from time to time when needed (about once a week only) to ease my symptoms when they annoy me too much. This medication seems to “put them to sleep” for a few days. I have never taken an extended dose longer than a week.
A doctor who specializes in hair transplantation and is a former urologist told me that finasteride had caused my prostate to shrink, and since my prostate is small compared to the average for my age, this caused my “prostatic” symptoms. He then advised me to take Proviron by going to Morocco to look for it because it became forbidden in France and to regularly monitor the size of my prostate. However, I preferred not to follow this advice because it seemed complicated… but I don’t know if the trace of a prostate that is too small could explain my problems… apparently no other doctor or specialist made this thought to me when I saw the results of my MRI and my ultrasounds.
Today, my disorders persist but on a smaller scale and still revolve around the first symptoms I had: burning sensations in the penis/urethra, sensations of wanting to urinate/tingling in the lower abdomen and sensation of urinary infection (sharp tingling between the anus and the scrotum).
My symptoms are prostatic types which could be linked to damage to the pudendal nerve. Perhaps these damages has been induced by finasteride by modifying steroid levels in my brain ?
Since 15 days I am also now taking PEA (Palmitoyléthanolamide) 3x-4x 400mg.day because I ween it can increase level of allopregnanolone.
I would like to get an advide about this question please :
My utologist had initially prescribed me pergabalin for a long period of time but I am a little afraid of taking it for a long period of time because it can upset me a bit and could cause weight gain.
He’s okay with me just taking it from time to time when I really need it.
But on the other hand, I tell myself that since this medication calms my symptoms very well, perhaps taking it for a long time would allow my muscles to relax more and that ultimately it would be much better for me than taking it. just take it from time to time…
What do you think ?
Thanks you !