Here is my story. I am 30 years old and started taking propecia at the age of around 24. I took propecia for about 4 years. During that time my hair definitely stopped falling out and I noticed obvious regrowth as well. HOWEVER, around about the 2 and 1/2 to 3 year mark I really began to suffer from the sides. I had just started to date my wife and even though we were having plenty of sex, I knew it just wasn’t right. From there, I got to the point where I couldn’t even keep it up long enough to finish. Very embarassing to say the least. I initially wrote it off as nerves or something. But deep down I knew things weren’t right. I also began to notice little changes, such as increased belly fat and a slight case of acne around the lower lip area. I decided to try and come off the drug and immediately noticed an increase in libido and sex drive. But I could not stand to think that I would lose my hair again and went back on. This cycle was repeated a few more times unitl I eventually decided sex was better than no hair. I stopped taking the drug just before my honeymoon and performed well. Bad news is that upon returning home from our honeymoon the sides returned in full force. I couldn’t figure out at the time how I could all of a sudden get worse. I now understand that this is common with users of propecia.
The worse news is that my sides continued to worsen for about the next year. It was like my body was in a tailspin and completely out of whack.
It should be stated here that I have a masters degree in exercise physiology and have a thorough understading of anatomy and physiology. BUT NO ONE can tell me that they truly understand what happens to those of us who suffer from propecia. I tried every approach in the world for the next 6 months to a year, with little to no success. Zero morning wood, littel desire for sex, premature ejaculate, no mind body connection to my penis, shrunken testicles, it all sucked.
This is where the somewhat good news begins. About 3 months ago I decided to try and come off of caffeine. Now I wake up everyday around 5 am and go to bed at 11. Plus I am an avid marathoner and triathlete. So life without caffeine is tough. However, I wanted to see if it was possibly throwing my cortisol levels through the roof and interfering with testosterone production (cortisol can directly affect the action of the Leydig cells). Within days my morning wood was back. I had an increase in sex drive and actually had sex with my wife without having to worry about losing my erection.
BUT, the sides returned about a week later, albeit it to a lesser degree, when I had some major stress come up in my life. This is bad right, NO. I am convinced that we are all able to repair the damage done. THIS TAKES MAJOR TIME. This stuff about gene expression and permanant sides is not true.
I now consistently have morning wood, no longer have premature ejaculate, and have noticed the hair on my legs getting thicker, whereas before it was kind of patchy (another side I forgot to mention). My balls are also firmer and larger, but this is a littel inconsistent still with some days better than others. Do I walk around with a hard on all the time???No not yet. However, I am definitely better than I was a year ago, and six months ago, and getting better everyday, just very slowly.
My message is this…We have all thrown our bodies out of whack big time. But the body is a self-regulating mechanism that is more than capable of fixing itself if given time. People on here who scream that these sides are permanant are just making everyone panic. I have good and bad days, but the good days prove to me that this shit will be better one day, for all of us. Believe that things will get better, dont panic from reading negative posts, and remember that everyday is one step closer to recovery.
Believe me I wish I could “believe” my shrunken penis and testicles into being “big and full” again, would like to “believe” that the lumps behind my pecs will disappear, and that I will someday wake up with a raging libido, spontaneous erections, and nocturnals/morning erections nightly/daily like I had before Finasteride – but thus far no matter how hard I’ve tried to think about making these problems dissappear, or “will” myself into getting better, nothing has changed.