Are we really THIS fucked over? I mean I can only take so many blows to my confidence and self esteem here. Wtf im 25. I have no self esteem left. My body looks rediculous. Pot belly, scrawny arms, deathly face, shrunk dick, pale skin, the list goes on!! Every struggle seems to have its own silver lining so to speak. Some saving grace that people can find some peace in. I have no peace in this. I really for the first time in all this absolutelt gave up my will to live this afternoon. There has always been a little voice in my head that says keep fighting. When I looked in the mirror, my face looked horrible. Dont recognize myself. Proceed to shower. Dick is shrunk into foreskin up to my pelvis. Belly sticks out dramatically. Arms dangling by my side. What happened to the man I was? 9 pills could really do this much damage? My mind says no way. But 2 years later, here I am. Evidence in my face. Life is over. No way to fix it no way to undo the worst decision I ever made in my life.
scaredoutofmymind -
I think that you definitely should keep fighting. Although there is a definite crossover in our collective experiences, we don’t all have exactly matching side effects, so you can’t with any accuracy say that this or that will develop, or get worse. Despite the similarities and possible similar mechanisms of action at play, or bodies have reacted somewhat idiosyncratically to propecia, both whilst on it, and then on stopping. The skin damage I’ve experienced appears rare, and there may be other factors at play, like my having also taken an SSRI anti-depressant whilst taking propecia which I read somewhere is also a 5-ar inhibitor, so there are all these little variants and possible contributory factors. I believe that most of the skin damage occurred for me whilst taking propecia over a course of 10+ years. It was only the subcutaneous fat loss I experienced after stopping the drug which makes it appear a lot worse as I’ve lost a lot of the underlying support. I don’t know if guys have experienced quite as much damage post-finasteride whilst having good skin whilst on the drug. All I’m saying is no one knows how this will play out. One thing that has helped me cope is getting back on anti-depressants. Although it may further contribute to my sexual sides, at least I’m not feeling panicky/anxious and actively considering suicide. It really has taken the edge off all that. I think that probably managing your low mood and depressive symptoms (which are understandable considering what has happened) is a really good first step. Hang in there.
Scotsman i have thinning skin all over my body, veins emerges including penis. Before pfs my skin is very healthy but now its garbage. Also i have unhealing wounds which i am believing due to skin thinning. Skin changes happened to me within 1 month. I think some molecular things such as collagen sebum and the other things stopped to synthesis. I read gaba problems can cause skin aging and damage, some skin care docs are even advicing gaba drugs for skin.
I also have the same problem as Scottish but more serious because I have thin and dry hands, have you solved your problem? I am a Spanish user, can you send me a Scottish message?
Hi there poroman,
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve also experienced this. I appreciate that for many guys English isn’t their first language and I can only imagine how much more difficult it must be for you with this extra barrier. I’m afraid that I’m monolingual so this is the language I’m stuck with.
After reading your post I have a few questions for you.
Did you experience the thinning/aging of your skin whilst taking propecia or after stopping?
This occurred for me whilst on the drug.
Have you also experienced subcutaneous fat loss to your face?
The skin on my hands has also thinned, although I don’t suffer from particularly dry skin. When I was taking propecia I was diagnosed with seborrhoeic dermatitis on my face and I used to get little patches of eczema. I believe that there may be an auto-immune element. A test for auto-immunity (ana) came back weak positive for me, although this may mean nothing.
Have you had your hormones tested?
What are your finger/toe nails like?
Would you consider posting anonymised photographs of your skin like I’ve done? I feel that the more photographs out there the better, both as a deterrent and also as a means to reach out to other sufferers. It also acts as evidence.
Other guys have experienced both dry skin and wrinkled hands so you are not alone.
Unfortunately I haven’t seen any improvement, although to be honest I don’t check as it just depresses me.
Would you post your story in the members section?
Sorry about all the questions fired at you there.
Take care.
Hi scotsman I noticed the physical deterioration during the use of propecia and even when I am not taking the drug I still have problems. I have not tested for hormones and the nails are soft and brittle hair.This photo is of the hand…
Hi there Poroman
Thanks for your reply, and for posting the photo of your hand. My skin also does this, not just the skin on my face and hands unfortunately 
Chronically dry, thinning skin is one of the symptoms listed in the pfsfoundation website. I would personally like to see subcutaneous fat loss mentioned as well, as although it is one of the less common symptoms, it is still very much real and effecting quite a few men. I’m sorry that I’m not able to offer any immediate comfort, although at the same time I can’t also say that these particular side effects will not improve as we are still currently working out why these things happened, so there could theoretically be a way to reverse this damage hopefully. Have you discussed your side effects with your doctor? I would also urge you to report your side effects to your country’s relevant body. One other thing to say is that although I have experienced this damage, I don’t believe that it has worsened any more than the initial damage so for me at any rate it isn’t progressively degenerative.
All the best.
Hello again I have not said anything about it with my doctor, I am alone in this subject. One thing that I have noticed in these last months is that the skin of my face is more oily that is a good sign? sorry for my English
How many years have you been taking finasteride scotsman?
I think that the oily skin can only be a good sign as it is indicative of androgenic activity. I was on finasteride for just over 10 years approximately, although at the time there was occasionally periods when I wasn’t on it if I ran out and hadn’t gotten around to ordering more.
I also took it for ten years and I left it a year ago and I am experiencing acne weight gain on my back and shoulders and chest.
What are you drinking? They say that taking sorghum is good for spf.
You have marks on the skin of the sheets or clothes that do not go a long time, sorry for my English I do not know if you understood me?
I am currently taking paroxetine and lormetazepam to avoid suicide my body loses muscle for more that I exercise and gain fat
I have experienced mild acne for most of my adult life so can’t really blame finasteride for that. In fact it’s better now than it’s ever been, although I do use topical Dalacin T which is an antibiotic (although I can’t put it clearing up down to that as I’ve applied it for years. Maybe its just because I’m now well and truly middle aged and both that and my taking such things as finasteride has dried me up like a Californian raisin). I’m not drinking anything specific,although I’ve read about sorghum. Have you tried it yourself? Apologies, but I’m not sure if I understand your last comment about marks on clothes or sheets. Would you consider posting photographs of the skin on your face at all?
f I take sorghum and it is very good to activate the 5AR and my hands, arms and legs have small cracks and dry like a Californian raisin too. I currently have to take paroxetine and lormetazepam to sleep.I can not make a photo of my face because I want anonymity maybe by private?
I’m glad that the medication is helping with your sleep and suicidal thoughts. Medication definitely helped me with anxiety and suicidal thoughts. I’ve just started to lower my dose of venlafaxine with my Doctor’s input as my mood has been stable now for a long time and I want to see if lowering the dose or successfully coming off it will help at all with some of my sexual dysfunction, and if not to rule that out.
I’m afraid that it looks like the skin covering every part of my body has been compromised with collagen synthesis likely negatively impacted. It’s just that my face is the most visible part and with the subcutaneous fat loss and muscle contractions when I smile etc. it is more evident.
With regards to sharing a photo of your face on-line, you could always do what I did and take photos then crop them to anonymise them, so as you are only showing the skin. It is just a thought and obviously don’t do anything if you are not comfortable doing it.
Hi every one
I ‘m a woman
I have experienced the same issues with propecia
I certainly can say the only way to reduce facial changes due to finasteride is using corticosteroids
Like prednisolone
I got subacute thyroiditis and had to take prednisolone
After using prednisolone I noticed that my facial changes due to finasteride disappeared and evey thing became even better than before finasteride
Mmm interesting. Did you use it for female pattern hair loss?
There have been no female PFS victims reported in the literature according to this study. You might be one of the very first. Have you heard of any other women?
It’d be interesting to know whether women can develop a similar syndrome from 5ARI’s in particular.
With regards to the prednison, I’m afraid the mechanism of regaining facial features has another mechanism which is widely known in prednison use.
Interesting. How long have it been since you quit prednisone?
Glucocorticoids increase expression of PNMT, which fin has shown to downregulate and it’s found in the skin.
Fin induced vitiligo have been found to be due to this.
I thought that I would update this thread after glimpsing my reflection in a mirror I was dusting. Although my skin superficially doesn’t look any worse I am now aware of my skin all over my body having been prematurely aged/thinned/collagen effed, particularly evident on the backs of my hands. Again, although I don’t believe that I have lost any more subcutaneous fat after the initial loss, the fast track aging of my skin (which I contest may never have happened as it has if I never had taken finasteride as no one in my family has experienced such) continues to age “naturally” as well, and as such I now have no definition around my neck area. The skin should cling to the underside of the jaw and tight to the neck in a right angle in profile. Mine now hangs like a pelmet from my jaw to the base of my neck. If I stretch my neck up it’s a diagonal rather than the desired right angle, and if I bend my head down at all, whether looking at my phone or whatever, loose, fatty deposits of skin bunches up like that of a much older person. I’ve included a few cropped photos as despite the brave souls here who show their faces, putting all of me out there would have a negative impact on my well being as I try and ignore this as much as possible, despite everything.
I should add that both photos are me looking down.