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)?
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?)
Reddit
What is your current age, height, weight?
30/5’7/170 LBS.
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.)? 1mg/day.
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair loss.
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? About 6 or 7 months.
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 28
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 29 not exactly sure the date when I quit.
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Taper off.
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? I’d say within a couple of hours I felt a sensation coming from the scrotum. Not painful, they felt I guess “heavier” than usual is best I can describe it. Of course, I listened to the people online that said “side effects will go away within a month” and pushed through it instead of listening to my body.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Symptoms of prostatitus. I get bad lower back pain and pain from sitting down for periods over 30 minutes. Never had any back issues or prostate issues before finasteride.
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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] 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
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought (this has gone away after stopping)
[ ] 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
[x] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[x ] 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
[x ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
As stated above, lower back pain and pain while sitting.
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Tried a round of antibiotics from primary doctor, didn’t help. So now I’m just focusing on eating better and working out more.
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)?
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.
So for a more in depth explanation without going into too much detail is I took Fin for about 6 months for hair loss. To be honest, my hair got worse while on Fin so all I had to show for it after 6 months of treatment was terrible lower back pain, and I couldn’t sit for more than 30 minutes without being in pain.
The only other issue I had was when I first started the drug, erections felt harder to get(don’t know if this was in my mind) but one time I also woke up with a painful erection which never happened before.
Everything else seems normal, no difficulty urinating, or ejaculating but the lower back pain has severely damaged my quality of life, I can barely bend over for more than a few seconds now before my lower back pain feels like it’s giving out. I’m in decent shape, I’ve never had any real physical issues until Fin.
Not sure what to do at this point except keep waiting for a miracle and hope I can recover as there doesn’t seem to be much information regarding fin wrecking the prostate.