Really unsure what's happened need some advice?

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)?
UK

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?) Forum

What is your current age, height, weight? 20 6ft 1 180lbs

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 1

What condition was being treated with the drug?
Diffuse thinning hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? One day

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 20 took it around the first two weeks in december

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did 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? Stopped wafter paranoia didn’t want to take this drug still had full erectile function as morning wood was solid, had brain fog and eye was twitching decided to discontinue

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? My sexual health and everything were fine after stopping the drug

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
[X ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections -don’t have them but never got them anyway as am a heavy porn user and was suffering from pied but definitely
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ x] 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)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain slight pain now and again
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)
Feel like I have insomnia although I’m currently doing exams and am very stressed out so that could be it.
Also my vision does seem to be more blurry.
Seem to be sweating a lot more
Also do feel the slightest but of testicular pain and penis sometimes is in just got out a cold shower mode however when lying in bed it’s definitely at its correct size flaccid which is four fingers and a bit.
Also I have noticed the opposite of muscle wastage all my muscle has gotten bigger out of nowhere its fucking weird.

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)?no

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.

Ok so basically I took one finasteride pill at the start of December initially. Initially i had some brain fog and my left eye kept twitching a lot for me this was enough to discontinue the drug.

In the evening I tried to masturbate but could not get it up this couldve been because of paranoia and anxiety as the next morning i woke with a hard erection that was full tried to masturbate but it went down completely l haven’t taken a fin pill since. I stopped and everything had returned to normal until I went home for christmas since i got back i became quite depressed but I’m not sure if this was due to depression from more hair loss as it has been getting me down.
I then awoke with a morning erection around 1.5 to 2 weeks ago that was softer and not as full. Since then in have been struggling with erections I can still get them but it takes a decent amount of physical stimulation when soft. I have had times where it was at a decent level when masturbating but my orgasms haven’t been as enjoyable.
I still achieve morning erections but they are soft too.
In terms of my libido finding think about sex that much but I constantly find myself checking out girls and thinking damn shes hot as fuck but feel like my anxiety is coming into play massively as the second i think about this stuff and am like am I normal, is this what it should be like etc.
Anyone have any advice?

Also i would like to give some context to other things, in 2018 summer I did an accutane course for four months which did seem to cause bad side effects including problems with erectile function, excessive sweating and being unable to drink. However after roughly one year these sides just went away it was literally like clockwork and i was in the clear with full erections and all. This condition kind of reminds me of that.

Next I have been addicted to porn for some time and whilst still being able to get erection i suffer from a form of pied where i am desensitized to some stimuli. I’m not sure if this has worsened or if the fin has caused these effects but there is definitely a difference.

Overall I’m getting worried and not sure what to do this has only been for a week or so. I am quite an anxious person so this may be contributing but I have noticed a definite difference. I was wondering if anyone could help with calming me down and if anyone has had similar experiences?

Try not to worry. It’s easier said than done but it’s likely finasteride just disturbed your hormonal balance a bit and it’ll take a while to settle down (based on the severity of side effects you’ve described).

While it is possible you have PFS, many cases such as yours tend to get better over time.

I would recommend seeing a therapist to manage your anxiety as it appears this is a problem you have independent of PFS and is something you need to deal with before it gets out of control.

I wish you the best and hope you feel better soon.

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Alright thanks

Tbh if i can still acheive morning wood and masturbate to some degree. However the erection strength is definitely lower and i haven’t had a really strong and hard erection for a while.

My plan is to not take any supplements at all, eat very healthily, stick to a strict exercise regiment, completely cut out masturbation and porn and after my exams are finished get the proper blood work done.
Deleted the other comment as it wasn’t a reply

Would you say that this is the right way to start off for someone in a very early stage?
Also what would you recommend for alcohol consumption?

Some patients get worse after orgasms, while others don’t. You should be able to find out which group you are in fairly easily, and you should plan your lifestyle accordingly.

Don’t make any drastic changes to your diet. Eat relatively healthy (get enough protein, carbs, etc.) and hit your calorific goal. A big diet change is similar to taking supplements in terms of how your hormones etc. are affected imo, and I would refrain from doing that (at least at this stage).

Try to manage the anxiety, I would strongly recommend therapy if you’ve had anxiety prior to finasteride use, because as I mentioned earlier, on it’s own, anxiety is something you need to deal with. Make this a priority.

I’d avoid alcohol as much as possible, personally I don’t drink. Whether it’s ok for you or not, depends on your situation. Everyone is different. Why risk it though?

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Would you suggest staying away from this forum for the forseeable future then to help with the anxiety?

That’s a very good idea since you’re not even sure you have PFS.

sides have came about after stopping, so thats why im worried.
Do you think that I will likely recover?

I can’t say for sure but things are looking better for you than most people, so I’d just try not to worry and hopefully things will be good soon.

Hey man

Libidos improved since yesterday got the urge to masturbate and woke up in middle of the night with a boner was full but not fully hard, also feel that mental sides may have cleared a tiny bit not stumbling over words as much in conversation been to see a counsellor as well and discussed my situation, overall feeling positive!

Also hair has been starting to shed a little like it was (not as much but still something)

Update

Feel like shit, brain fog is bad and struggling to read white text on black background
Penis is no longer in swimming mode except when smoking, ball ache has disappeared.
Still really struggling to sleep and erectile function is there, still have an ok libido but not as good.
Ruined for my exams going to have to defer my course for a year and redo third year studies so that sucks.

exercise and Diet has helped some people get better.

I personally fealt better on carnivore diet only animal protean and fat.
exercises: Pushups Sit-ups and Pull-ups rotate them one a day. see if it works for you, be care full with vitamins and other supplementations.

Do yoga I recommend Pranayama yoga.

With PFS you have to see what works for you. People have gotten better using one thing and when others tried they got worst.
Be carful when you try new things.
Over time you have very good chance to get better

Cheers man this shit sucks I’m still only a month in so that’s all ok in terms of timeline

I’ve been taking sleeping tablets to help me out

Just the worst timing due to my exams

my suggestion is avoid medication unless it is necessary. If you want to take medication or supplements just search in our forum we have users who have tried, all sorts of medications and they shared there experiences.

search the forums and see what others did for sleep. Just to see what meds/supplements can mess you up or help you

Yeah thats probably best after these exams are over im going to go all natural and see how that works for the next few months.
Heavy lifting meditation, healthy diet no caffeine smoking weed, only little intake of alchohol, no porn or masturbation, kegel exercises and therapy
Overall the odds are in my favour to recover i feel like im in the worst of it now though and since i only took one pill as well I think my system will bounce back
this will be my last post here and I will post in a few months to update the gang
Wish me luck!

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