Rinauldi Story. Looking for help.

  1. How did you find this forum? Google

  2. What is your current age, height, weight? 51, 5’7", 165

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Not much. Mainly walking

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

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

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 14 months

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride? 47

  8. How old were you when you quit? 49

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey

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

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 5mg/day

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 months

  13. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

Put an X beside all that apply:

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

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

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

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

[X] Other (please explain) Possible Kidney damage

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

Viagra (completely ineffective), and various SSRI’s for memory,sleep,depression (completely ineffective)

  1. 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)?

  2. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  3. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

I was suffering from NASH Liver Failure and fluid retention and sweeling was a huge issue. This included urination issues from the swelling. My doctor perscribed Proscar for presumed BPH. I took it up until the day of receiving a liver transplant. Post transplant, they told me I did not have BPH and stopped the Proscar cold turkey. As sick as I was, my concern wasn’t with the Proscar side affects. My health has improved drastically over the two years post transplant. My liver numbers are excellent. My CBC is not great because of anti rejection meds (Prograf and Cellcept.) However, the symptoms listed above are in full force and make parts of life miserable. My Dr tried treating the sleep/memory/depression issues with SSRIs, but they did not help. Viagra does nothing for the other issues. I’ve studied the side effects of the anti rejection meds, and they do not account for the PFS symptoms. My doctor has the “just be glad you are alive” attitude and blames everything on the rejection meds. I’m looking for help!