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)?
Netherlands
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 search
What is your current age, height, weight?
23/1.80cm/63kg
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.)?
1 mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Male pattern baldness
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
If I remember correctly 3-4 months
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
Around 19 at the time and I think around 04-04-2018
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
Still 19 and I think around 07-04-2018
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey after developing severe side effects
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
1-2 months
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Emotional blunting/low libido/sexual side effects
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
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] 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
[ ] 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?
Taken some zinc supplements
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)?
Not available
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
No
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I took the drugs for 3-4 months to treat male pattern baldness. After a while I developed some severe side effects like emotional blunting. At the time I didn’t had any sexual side effects. I noticed that after I stopped taking the drug I felt way better mentally then before. One day I forgot to take my dose and took 1 dose the next day and another dose at the usual time and the day after that I’ve crashed and developed what is called PFS. That’s when I also had sexual side effects, I remember having a low libido but after taking citalopram that completely vanished and now I have no libido at all. With the emotional blunting I’ve also noticed that I couldn’t fall in love, or enjoy simple things in life like a nice mountain view. It’s something that you take for granted until you don’t have it anymore. I have pfs for 3 years right now and hope that we ever find a cure. I’ve accepted my condition as that is the best way to deal with my situation unfortunately. I’m also trying to avoid negative thoughts and just try to stay positive, try to live my best life. Sometimes you just can’t help but think about life before having PFS. Since I’m a muslim and believe in a god I still have hope that we will find a cure and live a happy life after all just like we used to do. I live in the Netherlands and had been a long lurker on this forum before I decided to post this topic. I’ve also seen a lot of negative thoughts on this forum, and self experimentation. I will try my best to contribute to productive ways of beating this condition by raising awareness or raising funds. I have tried a couple of attempts already, and there was an admin of a huge reddit community who was willing to raise funds for us. His only condition was that he wanted to speak with someone trustworthy. After that he was willing to promote fundraising for research. I think I have to make another topic about this, to see if something useful can still be achieved as this happened like 3-4 months ago. This was my story and I thank you for taking the time to read my story.