- How did you find this forum?
- Internet search
- What is your current age, height, weight?
- 27yo, 175cm, 80kilo’s
- Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
- No, I used to but now any more.
- What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
- Mainly fish and meat
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
- Hair loss
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
- About 4 years
- How old were you when you started Finasteride?
- 23
- How old were you when you quit?
- 27
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
- Cold turkey
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
- Proscar (cut into quaters_
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
- 1.25mg/day
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
- Maybe a few weeks? I can’t really remember.
- What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
- Watery semen, slight erectile dysfunction.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] 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
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[X] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X] Weight Gain
[X] 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
[ ] 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 so far
- 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)?
- None taken.
-
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
-
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
OK My Story:
My hair loss started quite early (around 19 years old), by 23 years of age it has gotten quite bad so I was desperate to try anything. I found propecia/proscar through the internet and persuaded my doctor to write me a description. I must say I move around a lot and see many doctors. All of them were clueless about proscar/propecia being used to fight hair loss. I’d wager a guess that most doctors don’t have any idea about the benefits and risks associated with this drug.
Anyway, I believe the drug had a moderately positive effect on retaining my hair which was why I stayed on the drug for so long. There were side effects certainly, but since I was single I didn’t mind too much at the time. Mental side effects were minimal to non-existent. The real problem was watery semen and erectile dysfunction.
This year while having sex, my girlfriend commented on how watery my semen was. It was pretty much clear like water. This prompted me to stop taking the medicine to see if the side effects would go away.
Thankfully, after a few weeks of quitting the drug, I was finding it much easier to get and maintain erections but my semen was still quite watery. It has now been about 3-4 months since I quit the drug and while I’ve gotten back most of my sexual function, there has only been a minimal change in my semen. It’s a little whiter now but still very watery. This would suggest to me the drug is still in my system and/or it has caused long-term, possibly irreversible, damage to my body. I’m also worried about my liver as I have gildert’s syndrome.
I’m interested in hearing from other posters who have had a similar situation to mine, and whether or not this problems fixes itself in time. Also, I’d like to know if there have been any studies linking watery semen with difficulties in conceiving children and birth-defects and so on, as I’m interested in having children within the next 5 years. Thanks for listening to my story!