Story from a 26 year old and 2 year propecia user

Member Stories
#1

Hello everyone, first off let me say I am relieved to come to a site like this after the struggles Ive been having from this horrible drug propecia. It makes me feel better knowing Im not alone in this situation, although it sucks people like you have to go through this BS too.

Well first off, as you can see by the subject line, I am 26 years old and I took propecia for about 2 years. I noticed a lower libido as time passed on and the fact that I would hardly ever get morning erections. I was worried but at the same time noticed that hair was getting thicker on top of my head more towards the back. Along with the fact that no new hair was falling out except for around my hairline. This gave me a lot of satisfaction with the drug but in the back of my mind I kept worrying about the changes in my libido and ED.

I wasnt getting laid around the time I first started. I figured if the low libido and ED symptoms continued when I eventually got back in a relationship that I would just quit the drug and deal with the fact Im going bald and find an alternative like a hair transplant. After about a year on propecia I called this girl that I worked with several years earlier. Long story short: I knew I needed to get laid so I called her up because I knew she liked me in the past. I just acted like I wanted to catch up but really I just wanted to get laid by her. Yea I know not very nice, but I need to prove to myself I could still perform in bed and get my mojo back.

We hung out a few times and eventually decided it was time to do the nasty. The first time we tried to do it I had problems getting it up and I ended up pleasuring her with my fingers until she was satisfied. We tried again the same night. I was able to get it up after watching her pleasuring herself(her idea BTW) for a while. Normally I wouldve had a boner after watching a girl masterbate after a few minutes but it seemed like forever until I could finally get it up. Eventually we had sex but I knew something was definitely wrong.

I didnt call the girl back until about a week later because I felt guilty. She was so pissed off by then and we havent spoken since. So even though I knew this drug was causing me problems I began to keep taking it because I figured the low libido and ED would go away if I decided to quit. I was so obsessed with going bald that even though I wasnt getting laid anymore I kept taking it. It took me another year on the drug until I knew enough was enough. Not only the sexual side effects but I had no confidence in getting a girl again and the damn pills were getting expensive.

Well here I am today. It has been 5 months since Ive been off the drug and I still hardly ever get morning erections(about twice a month) and my libido is still very low. I have been so worried and distraught. Eventually I began doing research on the internet because this is too embarrasing to tell people that I know. I came across this site and now here I am. It gives me comfort coming here and I hope we can all get through this together.

A few questions to all of you before I begin exploring the rest of the site please:
Do any of you get morning erections after quitting fin, and if so about how often?

Can you guys still get an erection and have orgasms from watching porn or looking at a nude magazine just about as easy as before taking fin?

Is there any general time frame of when some people recover from this?

I heard the side effects can be permanent so that is my biggest fear and the biggest reason Im on this site. Do you guys actually believe it can be permanent or do you have a realistic hope it can be cured?

Do you have penis shrinkage sometimes or does your penis seem smaller if it is not hard?

Thanks and may God bless you all.

#2

Get to an endocrinologist and explain your situation. Most mainstream endos and urologists do not yet realize Finasteride can cause permenant hypogondism. There is plenty of info here you can cite to prove your case. If you can, get to a doctor who treats PFS. Personally, I’d recommend Dr. Alan Jacobs. You need full panel hormone labs. Get this done sooner than later.

There is no cure or set time frame for recovery. Recoveries seem rare, even after many years. Hopefully with all the PFS press lately we will get the attention of a research lab(s) to determine the root cause of PFS. That is the main focus for us now.

Would be a good idea to begin to supplement vit D, at least 5000-6000 IU’s daily. (Maybe start that after you’ve tested your vit D levels.) Also, go to a more raw food, paleo style diet. Stay away from processed foods. Avoid chocolate and tomatoes. You just can’t eat whatever you want like you did Pre-Fin.

I have shrinkage too, bad. Both when flaccid and erect. It’s definately the worst side effect for me and causes me the most distress. Those of us with that physical manifestation of sexual dysfunction seem to be the worst off.

GL

ps- Get to an attorney ASAP and get on board with the US class action suit.

#3

get blood test. if you have no shrinkage and blood tests are normal chances are you will go normal. What you have written it looks like you don’t had any crash. DONT DRINK, For EVER.

#4

Thanks boston and spstriken for your responses. Unfortunately Im not in a position right now where I can afford to get an attorney or even go to the doctor for a blood test. I am a full time student and I only work part time right now. I just dont have enough money to see an attoney or any health insurance to see a doctor yet. Im gonna keep being a little more patient and hope I improve because it has only been about 5 months off propecia so far. I have noticed the shrinkage has been not as prevalent as before and I have even had a few morning erections in the past month. I dont know if it is actually starting to improve or if it is just in my head.

In my little bit of reading on this site, Ive noticed that people have been eating raw brocoli. Does that actually do anything? Also I am very curious if most of you can still get an erection from watching porn? I have to use some manual stimualtion while watching porn to achieve a full erection but I wonder if some of you cant even get an erection while watching porn? If thats the case I feel more sorry for you guys than I do for myself.

I really want to get involved in that class action suit but like I said I just cant afford an attorney and I just dont know if im comfortable enough right now telling my story to someone face to face. I keep holding on to hope that this will just go away because it seems to be getting better. But like I said, I dont know if that is the reality or if it is just in my head that im getting better. I almost wonder if Im gonna have to get viagra of cialis eventually because I cant keep going through life not having a girlfriend or not having sex. Im only 26 years old, I have so much of my life ahead of me. I just pray some doctors take this seriously and if we all bring this to light maybe more will be done about it. If we can put a man on the moon I have to think we can solve this problem as well.

#5

You dont any money to get onboard with a class action suit. They take the cases on contingency agreements.

Soon as you can save up and/or borrow around $2k get to Dr. Jacobs.

Would be helpful if you could copy/paste the profile template into this thread.

ps- Wouldnt hurt to add a few servers of spinach to your daily diet too.