Should I still ween off after 1 week cold turkey?

Member Stories
#1

  1. I’m from Portugal

  2. I found this forum on Google

  3. I’m 26, 1,78 cm tall and weigh 73kg

  4. I has phase where i exercised regularly and others where I didn’t. I started exercisin regularly again this week.

  5. Normal average diet ( meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, cereals, wheats. Occ as iona lay I’ll eatfast food.

  6. I took finasteride for hair loss

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? I took 0,5mg daily of topical scalp solution with minoxidil for 13 days

7 & 8) 26 yo. Took it from 8 February 2017- 21 February 2017

  1. I quit cold turkey one week ago

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

  3. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 0,5mg/ day

  4. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? After 10 days.

  5. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Lowered libido, no morning wood or spontaneous erections

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
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] 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
[X ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None

  2. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? I would like to know if 1 week after stopping a 13 day course cold turkey I should still try and ween it off. Or just stop completely.

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

I already knew about the bad sides of finasteride but I thought that if I would take it topically, a low dose like 0,5mg and monitor the side effects I would be safe. The first 9 days I was okay, normal libido and no noticeable side effects, however I started to feel a decreased libido (I could still masturbate to porn and have an orgasm with normal looking semen but just didn’t feel much sex drive) so I decided to quit at day 13. At the time I didn’t know so I stopped cold turkey. After quitting, I continued having the symptoms and started to read more in to this. I started freaking out a bit and panicking which might also by itself be affecting my libido. At this point the symptoms seem to have gotten worse than when I was on the drug, not way worse but worse - for example seems like my penis is more retracted. What should I do now? Should I still try and ween off even though one week has already passed? Is it normal for the symptoms to worsen a bit after stopping? Is it possible that I will recover?

Sorry, please help!

#2

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    Portugakl

  2. 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

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 26, 73kg, 1,78

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?Occasionally Cardio and weight lifting

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? Normal all-round diet (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, bread, cereals, occasionally fast food)

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 13 days

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 26yo, 8 February 2017

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 26yo, 21 February 2017

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

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Scalp Topical Finasteride solution 0,5mg/ml - 1 ml/day

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 0,5mg ed

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? ~9-10 days

  14. 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
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] 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
[x ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? none

  2. 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

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

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    I already knew about the possible side effects of finasteride but decided to start taking a topical solution to apply on the scalp because it had a lower dose (0,5mg) and thought it would have a more localised and less sistemic effect… I started taking it always monitoring the side effects because I knew of it. And the first days I was ok. I took it for 13 days. The last 4 days I noticed I was with lowered libido and I wasn’t having any spontaneous erections, nor morningwood, however I was still able to get erect and masturbate to porn and ejaculate - my semen had normal consistency . I immediately decided to stop. I didn’t know better so I did it cold turkey. It has been a week since I stopped should i still try and ween off or now just let it be?
    A week has passed and I still feel lowered libido, no spontaneous erections, nor morningwood. I’ve been feeling very anxious and afraid and 2 nightts ago I was even panicking. I’m still able to get erect, masturbate and ejaculate to porn - I kind of have been doing it as to test myself, yesterday I was able to do it twice in a 2 hour gap but it still feels like I dont feel the same drive and the erections don’t seem so powerful.I don’t know if my mind may be playing a role in this and itself affecting my libido. I also have been having poo pellets these last days but it’s hard to say because for the last year I have been suffering inconsistent bowel movements which sometimes results in this type of feces, so it can just be coincidence.
    Do you think I will be okay? Does the vast majority of men who usually experience these symptoms then go back to normal once dht levels go back to normal? What should I do in your opinion?

Please help.