(0) Where are you from (country)?
Canada
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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
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What is your current age, height, weight?
22, 6 feet, 190lbs.
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Lots of Cardio - still play team sports actively
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
All Foods
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair Loss
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
August 2005 - March 2009
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
18
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
21
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey - experimented going on and off the drug until finding information on the internet about dangers.
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Propecia
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg/day
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
About 8 - 10 months in
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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
[ ] 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
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] 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
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
I started Daily Use Cialis (5 mg / day) to help erectile function.
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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)?
I will post these results in the correct section asap
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
My story is extremely difficult and I have neglected to update my original post hoping that I would recover in due time…however like many others there doesn’t seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel. I started losing my hair at a very young age and my gp offered propecia right after I graduated from high-school. I jumped on the bandwagon and didn’t think twice about my decision. My doctor told me it was risk-free and that he had seen very good success with others who had taken the drug. Needless to say, medical professionals prescribing this drug to an 18 year old are neglecting obvious risks. It’s difficult to accept the predicament this has put me in because if I had even the slightest idea about the dangers I would have never touched the stuff.
In terms of side-effects my pattern was somewhat unique in that I didn’t have issues at the beginning. I had a girlfriend in first year university and enjoyed healthy sex for the first 6 months. However around the 8 month mark on the drug I started having sudden bouts in ED that gradually turned into severe impotence by about the 1 year mark. At that time I still had no idea that it could be propecia and continued treatment. At the 1 and a half year mark I finally had the courage to go talk to a doctor about the situation and he told me that if I stopped propecia for 2 weeks and nothing changed than I could rule out the possibility of the drug having these effects. Once I did that and saw no improvement I was told to get tested for prostitites…the test was negative and my doctor told me it was all in my head and too relax. Another year of ED went by and I went back to my doctor and started losing my mind – I felt so lost. He prescribed me anti-depressants and sent me to counseling. It was difficult because I knew there was something going on besides depression. Finally I started looking on the internet and found the information I really didn’t want to see…since then I’ve been in the same battle as everyone else here and I’ts very difficult.
In terms of side effects my sex-drive seems to be ok – perhaps lower but considering I started this process when I was 18 it’s hard to remember how I once was….
Erection problems are still very bad…I went to a top sexual clinic and they have me on daily use cialis…It seems to have helped but still a far cry from where I once was.
I think the most troubling thing is the permanent changes to my penile tissue…once full and think now thin and rubbery. I really believe that inhibiting DHT has a major major effect on penile tissue (as proven by data within this form) and the restriction of NO is devastating to healthy sexual functions. I really don’t see how these physical changes will ever be restored.
I have been working with a sexual counselor focusing on optimizing what I have and might resort to injection therapy. I find erections have improved but often I have to try so hard that once I’m ready I ejaculate in seconds. Not surprisingly I have not experienced a nocturnal (been tested on that front for erection function during REM) or spontaneous erection in years which has probably cause enough damage on it’s own – let alone the core effects of finasteride.
Anyways this is getting too long but I am trying to maintain hope and attempting to live as normal a life as possible despite this unfortunate situation.
