side effects after taking 0,5mg fin

Member Stories
#1

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)?

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?)

What is your current age, height, weight?
21
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.)?
0,5mg
What condition was being treated with the drug?
hairloss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Once
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
21 , 08/27/2021
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
21, 08/28/2021
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Few hours
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

  • pelvic/ testicular pain
    -insomnia
  • Penile pain/numbness
    -nausea
    -Muscle pain
    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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] 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
[ X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

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

Misc
[ X] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X ] 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)?
no
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.

I decided three days ago to give a try to finasteride.
As I wanted to escape side effects, I thought beginning with 0,5mg was a good option. I’m hating my old self now. After I took the drug, I woke up with a prostate pain and an increase in urine flows. The prostate and testicular pain was not very hard (more like a discomfort) so I wasn’t worried but I decided to quit the drug instantly .
I’ve noticed the same day , a slight pain at the right nipple area and a liitle bump on the right nipple. It freaked me out but I knew that was because fin increase the level of estrogen. I did not have ED but a slight decrease in libido.
The next day, I had the same side effects and the prostate pain went diffuse in all the abdominal area. In the evening, I was anxious (I am naturally anxious) and I went to bed, but it was impossible to sleep. I don’t know if it is because I was looking on propeciahelp to see all the members stories but I think it has a role. I didn’t sleep at all and I had a lot of muscle pain going on. the muscle pain was so hard that I coulnd’t sleep. I also had nausea this morning and puked a bit. Now, I am on day 3 quitting the drug and I know that the sides effects can dissapear and certainly will but I’m worried about my nausea and my muscle pain. Will it go away ? I’m afraid to have the FPS and I regret so much taking this drug. I need advice on what to do the next days.

Thank you

#2

best thing you can do is stay away from Finasteride and just keep rolling on. You should improve and get back to normal over time. As of right now, there are zero treatments anybody here can recommend other than taking care of yourself (movement, diet, stress management). Definitely don’t take another dose.

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#3

Yes, I will never taking this drug again, it litteraly poison. thank you for you advice, I know I will get better, I will keep you updated.

#4

Do you know why one side effect is penile and prostate pain ? Is it because the system tries hard to fight the 5AR inhibitors or is it because it is inflammed from antiandrogens from finasteride ?

#5

Penile and prostate are two tissues who is dependent on DHT for proliferation.

At least in rats you get adioptis and/or calcification/fibrosis in those tissues when using a 5ARI.

#6

Hi @ector

It looks like you are very early days and have only been off the drug several days. It’s highly probable you’ll stop experiencing side effects in the next few days to weeks, as most people who take the drug do. Drop the drug, and any 5ARIs you may otherwise be taking, such as topical 5ARIs or supplements like Saw Palmetto, take a breath and just try go about your day as you normally would. If you’re not feeling better in a few weeks, please check back in then.

I mean this in the best possible way, but I sincerely hope we don’t see you back here!

Take care.

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#7

Thank you for your response SugarHouse, I will try to chill. The main problem is that I feel constantly nauseous (vomiting a lot) and I can’t eat much as I have few appetite (and I puke everything I eat). I try to be positive but I don’t have a lot of energy right (+ I can’t sleep). I don’t know if these symptoms come from a microbe that I have catched or from the finasteride itself (Low cortisol). I will see if symptoms improve tomorrow.

#8

I will be the first to tell you that staying on this forum and looking at other horror stories and wondering if you’re screwed for the rest of your life is the WORST thing you can possibly do. because most guys (like myself) don’t just browse it periodically. You browse it every single day for a couple of years. Trust me when I say that nobody on this forum has the answer to this issue. I don’t think it has hindered my ability to recover because my body seems sort of “stuck” in this chronic state. Nothing really affects it. You should get better over time.

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#10

I not only browse this forum, it’s my new social community. Oha my muscles going weak, strange hot/ cold tingling feeling over the limps, just checking the story’s, nothing uncommon! As normal people outside talk about their love affairs and jobs we talk about our symptoms.
Ohh I’m afraid never come out of my bed again, just check the stories, some other guys are totally bedbound. This new horror apears, No Problem tennother users already gone through.

We all are our new family.

#11

Without ED and Shrinkage there is much hope to recover. I think ED, Shrinkage, Libido loss, fatigue and muscle atrophy are the long remaining issues. Others developing often with the time.

#12

Thank you for your response. I try to not freaking but today ( days 6 after quitting), I feel very bad. My worst side effects that persists are :

  • severe insomnia ( I sleep only 2 to 4h each night since three night) strong
  • bad muscle pain (specially at night) strong (strong)
  • bad nausea and loss of appetite (even if nausea seems to improve today) (mild-strong)
  • penile numbness/lack of feeling and testicular pain (mild)
  • fever (mild)
  • anxiety/ ahnedhonia ( mild)
  • left chest tenderness (mild)
    The only symptoms that improved is prostate/ pelvic pain and burning sensation after peeing => nearly gone.

I hope to recover but I’m so afraid and I know it’s a bad idea to check this forum a lot. I know finasteride is still in my tissue body and maybe I will heal after several weeks or months. I will make a break and go back in a week for updates.
Do you think it is a good idea to go to the doctor to get some sleeping pills, or do I have to take only melatonin ?

#13

It’s only been 6 days so you are still well and truly within the timeframe where on-drug side effects should resolve. If you’re not feeling well after 14 days, check back in, but for now I would just take some time off work and do nothing. No drugs, just rest.

You should be fine in a few days.

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#14

I can tell you from experience that the nausea/loss of appetite, anxiety/anhedonia, and chest pain are likely linked to your worries about this problem. Anxiety and depression are strong drivers of these symptoms.

The first couple months may be rough for you, but we are all here to check up on your mental health. If after the 14 day mark and you’re still having problems, I would get some blood work done – Testosterone, Prolactin, Estradiol, etc. There’s a list somewhere on this forum that you can look up, but be mindful it can be rather expensive.

I wish you the best and believe you will be all alright. It’s very, very difficult to process in the early phases, but chances of improvement are pretty astronomical.

#15

update on 15 days after taking the pill :
my ed and libido are back. They are not at 100% as before covid but I would says 80% and I can now easily get an erection. The brest tenderness/ penile pain subsided but I still have some pain in the balls after masturbating.
Appetite came back and nausea are sometimes there but not as much as before. Insomnia almost gone
Still a lot of fatigue.
The sides that still remains are :
tinnitus ; all sound are amplified and It gives me headache sometimes

  • strong headache but it seems to subside day by day.
  • dry eyes

apart from these, I still have a big problem but I think it’s not linked to the drug. Indeed, I constantly think that the drug has affected my brain and that I am now numb. This affects me everyday beacause each time I read something or I listen to someone, I think of my brain and I try to « see » if I am more. focus and if I have the same ability to understand and memorize things as before. These thoughts are tricky because they paradoxally affects my capacity to listen and understand because I constantly think about that. I try to think about others things but it’s very difficult and the fear that finasteride affected my mental condition goes back constantly in my head.
I know that it seems psychotic but do you know some tips in order to stop overthinking about that. Do you think finasteride really affected my cognitive issues or Is it only in my head ? Thank you for your support

#16

I think I made a little crash today. My symptoms that worsened are the pain in the balls, headache, tinnitus, insomnia, and nausea. These are not as horrible as in the first days but pretty intense. I made a mistake by smoking some cigs thinking I was pratically recover. I will not smoke againfor a long time event if it’s hard for me. The headache are pretty intense and it effects my ability to articulate words. I will beat this disease but the mood i s very low today.
I will put some news in two weeks but I will stop browsing this forum in that time as you recomended? I just need some advice on how I should handle these crashs and if I will fully revover ont time.
Still having sides after two weeks means I’m on the road to FPS right ?
Thanks for being here

#17

quick update :
It’s been 3 weeks.
some symptoms subsided and some got worse.

I have less anxiety and no more nausea. concerning insomnia, it’s getting better and I can now sleep some days full night but I still wake up a lot in the nights. I’m happy because the first week was horrible.

Sexual sides : I still have some ED issues but it’s not dramatic and I think it will resolve i’m sure. still some numness in the testiculs and penis after masturbating. I will try to not masturbate for a while to see if it helps.
I have libido but it’s nowhere like prefin. like 50% But I can live with that.

physical sides : I still have some tinnitus and ringing but improved a lot, as well as my dry eyes issues.
A big new issue that freaks me out is that I have sometimes fecal incontinence (it happened 2 times and it’s very annoying). Is it from stress? will it subside ?hope it can dissapear because it’s very embarrassing when it happens.

Mental sides:
My anxiety improved and I no more feel as ancious as the first week. I have sometimes some panic attacks but it is no more all the time.
My biggest issue now that freaks me out is the cognitive problems : It’s hard to concentrate on stories and things and I feel like my brain takes more time to understand things. Its a big handicap and I’m so anxious about dealing with this permanently. Does the mental and cognition sides takes times to go away ? I’m afraid I fucked up my brain forever

I need some advice, as I am approaching the one month mark, do I have ro take blood tests ?

What I’m doing for my recovery process :
running 2 times a week
avoiding cigs
yoga/relaxation
should I avoid alcohol ?

I will stop going to read the stories of this site because it causes me anxiety and it doesn’t help as you said but I will keep you update because it enables me to talk to someone about this.
Thank for being here

#18

you like me.

#19

Hi @ector just reading your latest update. It’s very promising that you’ve made improvements already, which is a good indication you’ll (hopefully) be feeling better soon.

I understand your reluctance to come to the forum, but thank you for reporting, it all helps.

Please, if you haven’t already, report your symptoms to your regulator. This is extremely important and often overlooked, but it is a very helpful and simple action.

If you would like to connect for a call, please let me know, I’d be happy to just listen to what’s going on with you.

Take care.

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#20

just an update :
it’s like a rollercoaster, and I hope I recover but I have less and less hope day by day. anymays, some side effects dissapeared so I am hopefull.

The last symptoms I have are the remaining ones :

  • brain fog ( difficulty focusing and comprehension issue, I think my brain is slower and it bothers me). Harder to follow my university courses. I’m afraid it won’t go away.
  • headache and neck pain ( the pain can even go to the teeth)
  • insomnia ( some days i sleep very less and bad sleep (2-3h) but some other days are good but I can manage to sleep a reasonable amount of time in general (6-7h)
    -low libido ( but It’s okay I would say 80 % and I can live with that)
  • sometimes pain in the left nipple but it don’t bother me a lot anymore
    -tinnitus ( It goes away many times but went back)

Symptoms that went away :
penile pain
prostate pain
nausea
anxiety/panic attacks
dry eyes

My main issue is the brain fog. It’s harder to keep a long conversation and to understand long texts which I was good at before. Do you think I have good chance to recover from this issue ?

Thank you all for your support

#21

I will come back in a month because looking a this forum can be reassuring but also frightening for me. I’ll update in a month ( when I will approach the 3 month mark) and If I don’t, it’s because I’m recovered and I forgot to come back. I need to stop thinking FPS daily bc I think it’s worsening my mental symptoms. Good luck guys

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