Propecia ruined my life - age 23 male

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? united states

  2. 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?) propecia side effects

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 23, 5’10, 190

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Yes play basketball every day for 1 - 2 hours.

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Organic healthy

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? hair loss

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 1 month about

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 19

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 19 03/30/2007

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? fincar

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1.25mg/day

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? day after

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? low libido, fatigue, muscle weakness, soft erections, dry mouth, blurred vision, watery semen

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[x ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ x] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    None at this time. Thought I was diabetic or had a vitamin deficiency for a while but blood results came back negative. So did more research into it and here I am.

  2. If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    It has ruined my life basically. I never have the energy or motivation to pursue anything in life. I always want to sleep or lay down rather than do anything. It has affected my school grades and ended up making me lose my job.

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    Started the drug after experiencing hair loss when I was 19. I started at 1.25mg but I started to get brain fog and watery semen so I cut down to .25mg a day. The sides still didn’t go away so I stopped taking the drug. I started experiencing more sides after I stopped the drug. Extreme fatigue, blurred vision, muscle weakness, weight gain and trouble concentrating. My parents told me I shouldn’t take the drug and I disobeyed them. I guess this is what I get for not listening to them. I don’t know were to go from here. I might get a referral to a endocrinologist and get a hormone profile done. I am currently unemployed and have no medical insurance. Any guidance would be helpful.

I can't do this anymore
#2

So how long have you been suffering now/ since you quit the drug?

  1. The very best thing you can do now is adopt a diet and lifestyle which will be as close to ideal for your body to recover as possible, this link should help:

antiaging-systems.com/articles/128-men-8-steps-to-health-fitness

  1. Yes, see a doctor and get a referral to an endocrinologist. You may want to look at some of the recommended doctors on this website, or ask members that are in an area close to you whether they know a good doctor. If your going to tell a doctor about Propecia be prepared with resources to show them because it is likely they won’t believe you.

  2. You may want to look into the following:

. Pregnenolone

. Thyroid (T3 and Armour)

antiaging-systems.com/articles/234-thyroid-an-important-yet-underutilized-antiaging-hormone

. Royal Jelly

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=165&p=37638&hilit=royal+jelly#p37638

. Spinach diet

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4892&p=37627&hilit=dolichol#p37627

#3

UK20, you really have came of age.

Excellent, truly helpful, post!

#4

I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live a life in this condition. My whole life seems fucking ruined because of finasteride. I feel so stupid for not researching and wanting to keep my hair so much. I only took fin for maybe 1 month max and my symptoms are ruining my life day by day. I’m unemployed, getting no were in life and i might end up as a homeless guy at this rate. Thanks to fin, I ended up losing my job because 8 hours of sleep didn’t do anything for me. I overslept and got fired. It was difficult to even get out of bed. I’m also doing really bad at uni and i keep dropping classes because I always feel exhausted, fatigued to do the homework. I can’t even concentrate enough to study and all my motivation is gone. I’m still living at home at the age of 23 and I’m just sucking up all the resources. I don’t pay any rent or pay for food. I’m basically a freeloader. My family doesn’t even know im suffering which is the hard part. My symptoms are as follows:

  • zero libido
  • erectile dysfunction
  • loss of muscle
  • weight gain around stomach
  • blurred vision
  • chronic fatigue/exhaustion
  • loss of confidence
  • nervousness
  • insomnia
  • depression
  • joint pain

I’m just so angry that something like this could exist on the market. Isn’t the government supposed to look out for us? Isn’t that what we entrusted into our government. This drug ruined my life. I don’t know if I will recover but it looks dim. I’m on county health insurance so I don’t have access to good doctors. It’s like a month wait for a appointment. The doctor did blood work but nothing came back negative. They said it might be a mental problem or im just exaggerating it but its not. I just wish i could go back to normal. I feel so lost right now and need guidance.

#5

Hey,
I did not research the drug either, i am having side effects.
and i did not want to quit the drug because of my hair.
but it got worse and i got worried so i just recently stopped to take the drug.
my side effects are the same as yours except joint pains.
ive no motivation and the stuff i done before the drug i
have lost interest in. i was on the drug for 15 months.
i am just going to go healthy now and research how to get
pass this. and pray!
so have you improved a little since you wrote your experience?
im only off it 2 days!

#6

I have all your symptoms except the blurred vision. The muscle waste, stomach weigh gain, fatigue, loss of ambition, of course sexual decimation. Right now we are light years ahead of where we were when I landed here over a year ago. We have a shot at making some real progress. Hang on.

I can’t believe you cannot tell your family. This is almost impossible to get through without some sort of support system.

#7

I’m feeling a little better but nothing like I was before the drug. I’m taking some fish oil, zinc and magnesium which has helped with the fatigue and exhaustion. I still have no morning wood or any erections whatsoever day or night. Libido is still at zero.

#8

First step…blood tests. tell your doctor that you want all of these done

Total testosterone
free testosterone
e2 -sensitive
shbg
prolactin
progesterone
dht
dhea
3a-diol-g
free t3
reverse t3

24 hour urinary cortisol
24 hour urinary nuerotransmitters

are you having any prostate or pelvic pain?

-weakened urine flow
-have to piss more often
-dull ache or shooting pains
-etc

#9

i know how you feel. i am struggling at work, my wife of 13 years is about to leave me as i am unable to have sex. maybe twice in the last year and i hated it. but we must hang on and hope for a cure. i have started to find interests on my own like long walks etc. there is other things in life other than sex i enjoy and trying to focus on these. maybe i will even find someone who doesnt neef sex in their relationship - who knows. good luck

#10

3 other things that might make you feel better in yourself.

  1. I wasnt even loosing my hair when i took it, My local Phamacy (Boots) advertised it as a way to keep your hair even if its not falling out. My twin brother still has all his hair and so do i - so imagine how many times a day i kick myself for being so sttupid.

  2. Diet and stoping alchol and coffee seems to make no difference. So my advise if to NOT cut out the things you enjoy to make yourself better. I have been suffering for almost 1.5 years now. If i want a drink or fatty foods I will from now on. Life is passing me by

  3. I have most of your sides. Plus i have lost all feeling in my penis. At least you still have that. To me this is the worst side of all. It is very hard for me and freaks me out when it feels that the centre part of my body is missing. It has litterly drove me crazzy. I am on a high does of anti depressents and have attempted suiside. Luckily i failed. I am nowgoing to beat it. I just hope its soon

#11

thanks annon and i’m sorry about how it has ruined your relationship. I don’t have any pelvic pains or anything like that. I took propecia in 08 which makes it about 3 years I have been off the drug. The symptoms have gotten progressively worse over time and new symptoms pop up from the initial symptoms.