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?
20, 6ft, 145 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.)?
1mg ed
What condition was being treated with the drug?
hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
6 months
Date when you started the drug?
jan 1
Date when you quit the drug?
around end of july
Age when you quit?
20
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
6 months at the end
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
gut issues i had while on it but i had more symptoms come off of it
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
[y ] 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
[ y] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ y] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ y] 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
[ y] Weight Gain
[ y] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ y] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ y] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ y] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ y] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[y ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[y ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[y ] 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
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.
so i am a male model and was on finasteride for 6 months to prevent further hair loss. in the 6 months i was on finasteride i actually looked and felt better than i ever had in my life. got the most jobs, felt the most confident, life was extremely good. i had no side effects at all. around the 6th
month i started having some gut issues like bloating and digestion problems and i still don’t know if this was caused by finasteride because this was around the time i spammed high intensity cardio and probably under ate to keep lean. i did some research and heard finasteride could potentially cause this but i was hesitant because i had no other symptoms that finasteride typically causes. to be safe , i stopped the medication cold turkey. worst. decision. ever. two weeks later i had a big crash. a surge of overwhelming anxiety because i now looked in the mirror and have gained a rapid amount of weight in my waist and chest as well as a super puffy face with dry skin , breakouts , eyebrows thinning , insomnia , digestion issues got even worse to where i wouldn’t go to the bathroom for days. and since this it’s only gotten worse although its only been about a month. basically i look like an unhealthy gamer kid when 3 weeks ago i was planning on moving to new york. completely fucked. i know this sounds vain but it feels like my entire identity just rapidly got taken away from me as well as my mental health and i am seveeely depressed can’t even look into the mirror. now i have a couple questions because i need help and refuse to do nothing. i was perfectly fine on finasteride it wasn’t till i quit all this fucked shit started happening. can i taper on it like .25 eod to just get it back in my system since the reason shit probably happened was cause i stoped cold turkey and my hormones went crazy ??? like i need a fix this is my literal job that i do for a living it’s how i make money and i look completely fucked now. what do i do because i am genuinely having constant panic attacks.
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:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- 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 [ ]
- 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 [ ]