- Where are you from (country)?
USA - 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 - What is your current age, height, weight?
32 yos 5’9" and 166 lbs - Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Lifting and Running - What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Everything - Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair loss - For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
1 year, 2 months - How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
30 - How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
32 - How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey - What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
generic finasteride - What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 mg per day - How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
all along, but didn’t connect until the end… - 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
[x ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[x ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[x ] 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)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x ] Muscle Wastage
[x ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[x ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
numbness and tingling in arms and legs
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
none yet - I’ve been off it for 3 weeks and feeling great- but now I’m back and my penis shrunk by 50% overnight. I want to do the right thing, right now and I’m scared sh!tless. -
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)?
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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.
Having been on Propecia since last February, I recently began to connect the dots to how I was feeling (emotionally, sexually, physically) to the drug. I decided to stop taking it temporarily to confirm my suspicions that it was the cause of my lack of drive for sex and life, loss of libido, decrease in size of my penis, low mood, and lack of confidence. When I stopped, over the following 20 days like clockwork, I felt better and better! That was shortlived, because now that cycle has crashed upside down and I feel worse than ever before, in every one of those ways. And I know this isn’t just in my head, because my penis has shrunk 50% overnight. I’m scared to death that this confirms I have PPS and I’ll be like this forever, and I’m mostly worried about my “lust for life” that just isn’t there anymore…
I’d be grateful if anyone has any insight about what this means for the future- Does this initial crash mean I’m afflicted? Or is there hope? What should I be doing right now to stay healthy and stave off the symptoms (or maybe or prevent it from happening)?