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)? USA
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?) Medium.com post
What is your current age, height, weight? 27, 6’, 193
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/day
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 6 years
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 21 - July 2013
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 27 - today (7/22/19
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? tapering to .5mg/day for 1 week, then .25/day for 1 week
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 4 months
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? n/a
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
[ ] 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
[*] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[*] Confusion
[*] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[*] 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
[ ] 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”
[ ] 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)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
I recently began seeing a functional medicine doctor based out of Florida (I live in NYC). I started noticing my symptoms shortly after taking Propecia, but it wasn’t until recently that I was able to pinpoint their start date to around the time I began taking Propecia. I saw dozens of specialists ranging from cardiologists to sleep doctors and everything in between to better understand what was happening. No one could offer any reasonable advice until recently when I had comprehensive bloodwork done.
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)?
Blood tests below: (optimal ranges were provided by the physician/clinic that did the draws)
Homocysteine: 11.9 (optimal range 6-8)
Progesterone: <0.5 - undetectable (optimal range 0.4-1.4)
Free Test - 79.7 (optimal range 20-35)
Bioavailable Test - 184.8 (optimal range 400-500)
LH - 2.6 (optimal range 3.5-12.4)
Cortisol (AM - having a saliva test done in the next few days) - 4.3 (optimal range 8.5 - 14.5)
IGF-1 - 138 (optimal range 185-220)
DHEA-S - 299 (optimal range 300-400)
Vitamin D - 30 (optimal range 55-80)
Free T3 - 3.0 (optimal range 3.5 - 4.2)
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.
I started noticing a lot of shedding early in my 20s which is when I was prescribed Propecia. Prior to being on the drug, I slept beautifully, managed stress well, had minimal anxiety, and was fit/healthy. Fast forward a few months and the first thing I notice is full-blown insomnia that seemed to have manifested out of nowhere. A psychiatrist prescribed me Xanax, which I quickly became dependent on, and then proceeded to prescribe me adderall as I began to feel so physically and mentally exhausted during the day that I was barely able to perform at work.
I saw specialist after specialist, each one prescribed me a drug to help me sleep, another drug to combat the anxiety, another to keep me awake etc etc. This went on for YEARS and no one had the bright idea to say, “hey, maybe we should run some blood tests”…
Finally a few months back, I gave up on covering up my symptoms with prescriptions. Mind you, these prescriptions weren’t doing much for me. I was, and still am SO unbelievably exhausted during the day that staying on task is nearly impossible. I struggle holding a sentence, keeping eye contact with someone, or merely functioning as a human being. I can’t begin to describe how anxious I am all of the time. I have a client-facing job in tech and in all honesty, have no idea how I’ve made it to this point… The last 6 years have been a blur. I’m recently engaged and my fiancé is the most compassionate and patient person I’ve had the pleasure of being with. I’m scared my symptoms will push her away, so I’m doing everything in my power to get better.
I’d love some feedback on the supplement regimen my doctor prescribed, as well as other alternatives that have helped some of you. I’ve been reading a bit about TRT, but know little about it as a whole.
Recommended supplement regimen:
Delta Sleep Inducing Peptide
Vitamin D3
Progesterone (25mg/nightly)
Homocysteine Support
Thank you all in advance for reading this far. Many of your recovery stories give me hope and I feel comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in this battle.