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)?
Spain
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 - persistent side effects dutasteride/finasteride
What is your current age, height, weight?
24,181cm,84kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Oral Dutasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
0,5mg every other day/3 pills a week/2 pills a week
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Around 10 months and a half,almost 11
Date when you started the drug?
Mid of February 2021
Date when you quit the drug?
Beginning of January 2022
Age when you quit?
23
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
5-6 month
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Low libido,long refractory period,bad erection quality,brain fog,problems to concentrate,fatigue,vision problems,bad quality of sleep,problems in my skin.
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 - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X] Loss of Morning Erections - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[X] Watery Ejaculate - RECOVERED
[X] Reduced Ejaculate - RECOVERED
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain - RECOVERED
[X ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[X] Weight Gain
[X ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[X ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems - PARTIALLY RECOVERED
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[X] Increased hair loss
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[X] Other (please explain)
Burning sensation in my skin,changes in my body odor,dry skin and eyes,bad quality of sleep,heart palpitations,wounds heals very slowly,skin rush.
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
-Tamoxifen 10 mg (helped with some symptoms,discontinued due to eye floaters)
-Zma complex/zinc,magnesium,Vit B6 (made my current symptoms worse last month)
-L-Tyrosine (helps a bit with the fatigue)
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)?
I have done several blood test,most of my hormones are in range,and the ones that are a bit out of it are not enough to be a problem according to several endocrinologist and other doctors.
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
I made the mistake of restarting the drug with a lower dose(2 pills a week),my symptoms got much worse.
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Hi all,i have been reading this forum for some time now,this is my story:
I took oral dutasteride in 2021,it was prescribed by a private dermatologist,he told me that the drug was very effective and safe,side effects were rare and temporary… I trusted him because i was already taking oral minoxidil and topical in 2020 with zero side effects,both prescribed by the same doctor.
My first months taking the drug were fine,i didnt notice nothing until the 5 month(watery semen,testicular aches and some burning sensation in my left nipple)but i continue to take the drug,then more symptoms started to appear(dry skin,lower libido,bad quality of sleep,fatigue),month by month things were getting worse,so after talking with the dermatologist he told me to lower the dose to 3 pills a week,this didnt help so i decided to stop the drug by the end of November,two weeks later all the symptoms disappeared,i was feeling great but i was worried about the hair so i decided to try one last time with only 2 pills a week,huge mistake…all my previus symptoms came back and new ones started to appear(brain fog,problems to concentrate,zero libido,no spontaneus erections,ED,dry and cold genitals,frequent urination,blurriness in my vision)it was horrible,i never felt that bad in my life.
I stopped the drug in the first week of 2022,and by the end of the month all my symptoms improve a lot,i was almost normal for 3/4 weeks and then i crashed very hard,i couldnt belive it,all my symptoms were coming back after i had stopped the drug.
Its been a year and a half and i continue to have a lot of problems,luckily some things have improved and i have windows of recovery,but then i crash,my symptoms fluctuate a lot…which gives me hope of someday being normal again.
I have seen many doctors(gps,urologists,endocrinologists,andrologist)most of them dont have a clue about this problem,and the ones that know about it dont have a solution…also the dermatologist that prescribed me the drug know about my situation and told me that im his first patient with persistent side effects from a 5ar inhibitor drug.
Thanks for reading and sorry for my english.
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 [ ]