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?)
Google
What is your current age, height, weight?
25, 6ft, 150 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.)?
1 mg every other day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Every other day for 3 weeks
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
25, March 5th 2020
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
25, March 25th 2020
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Some time in the first week
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Erectile dysfunction and low libido
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
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] 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
[x] 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?
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.
Started taking fin for hair loss after speaking with a pharmacist, urologist, and dermatologist about it, all of whom said it was a relatively harmless drug and that side effects while rare, always go away after discontinuation. I ultimately decided the risk was worth it (it’s not!) and began taking 1 mg every other day. I was on the drug for about 3 weeks and during that time I began noticing some mild side effects. There was less interest in sex, masturbating was feeling different, like more of a chore than something I actually wanted to do and my penis was beginning to feel different. The first side I noticed was a mild pain in my testicles.
I have no idea why but at the time the side effects hit I wasn’t too concerned. I continued on the drug for about another week or so before finally deciding it wasn’t worth the risk. 3 days after my last dose is when I crashed. That period was the scariest time of my life. I could not get an erection, there was absolutely no feeling in my dick, i couldn’t even focus on sexual thoughts for more than like 3 seconds.
Thankfully I have improved significantly since that initial crash. After ten days erections started coming back and things seemed to be back to normal! I started masturbating again daily, sometimes twice a day. I must have gone too hard too fast though because now here I am.
I want to stay positive because I AM improving and my case seems very mild compared to most. I don’t have any of the other mental or physical sides and have no trouble sleeping. Everything I’m experiencing is sexual. Since that initial crash nearly two months ago, testicle pain has gone away, I regularly get erections at night and in the morning, and the strength of those erections can be anywhere from 60-90%. I’ve even managed to have sex a couple weeks ago! My penis doesn’t feel as different in texture as it did before and it’s no longer curved or rotated like it was at the start of all this. So basically my recovery has been a bit up and down, almost like a zig zag as some on here have described it. Basically I think I will recover from this but man is it scary.
The reason I am posting now is because yesterday I hit a real low. I was hooking up with the person I’ve been seeing for a few months now and I could not get hard at all. It was during the day when my erections are typically their weakest. I also know I was in my own head about it which didn’t help I’m sure. Later that night and the next morning I was able to get hard enough to where it probably wasn’t noticeable and we were able to mess around a bit but man was it awkward when I couldn’t get it up.
I will continue updating as my symptoms change and hopefully improve. For now I just wanted to share my story and hopefully get and give some support from people going through similar experiences.
