Hey everyone,
I’ve been browsing this forum silently for a long time, so I thought it was time I share my tortured story to go along with everyone else’s.
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How did you find this forum?
Google search -
What is your current age, height, weight?
24, 6’ tall, 170 lbs -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
Yes I lift weights 3 times a week and jog occasionally -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
Regular diet with plenty of meat, milk, fruits and some vegetables -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
receding hair line -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
4 months -
How old were you when you started Finasteride?
23 -
How old were you when you quit?
23 -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey. -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
propecia -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/day -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
took it for 3 1/2 months and then started to getting testicular pain, when it did not disappear after like a week I quit -
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
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[x] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] 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
[x] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[x] Other (please explain)
Bad sleep
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
1 multivitamin, fish oil, 50 mg zing, resumed working out -
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)?
have not gotten blood tests yet -
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Well I started Propecia in October 2006 and then in March I started to get testicular pain. I decide to wait for a week to see if it went away. It only intensified, so after a week I stopped taking the drug. I started to get a few other side effects… weaker erections, watery ejaculate, and occasionally no orgasm when i ejaculated… my whole sexual system felt very “off” at times.
Here’s something you guys might find interesting:
After 2 months I had gotten back to about 90%. I wasn’t completely sure if what had happened to me was from Propecia. So to test it, I still had a few pills left, I wanted to see if anything would happen.
Well I took one pill, and almost immediately all the side effects came rushing back. I kid you not, after like 10 minutes I got all the old feelings in my sexual center… everything just felt terrible and off. My sexual side effects resumed. I threw those wretched pills in the trash can.
I’d say about 2 months later I had once again recovered to about 90%. Never quite as good as pre-Propecia, but close. I lived a normal life for a while. Then around October 2007 - about 6 months after quitting and 4 months since I had taken the one other pill - my life started to go downhill. My penis started to getting more shriveled up throughout the day, libido faded, erections grew weaker… you guys pretty much know the drill.
Then finally in late November it happened - I hit rock bottom. I was with an incredibly hot girl making out on my couch, she put her hand down my pants and it turns out I was completely soft. I didn’t even realize it until it was too late, I had been focused on her and didn’t even realize my lack of erection. She tried to stimulate me to no avail, and then asked if she was doing anything wrong.
I was so confused, I couldn’t believe it. I excused myself and went into the bathroom and tried to jerk myself desperately but realized it was hopeless.
I realized I was 24 years old and had erectile dysfunction. It had happened 40 years ealier than I ever would have imagined.
Ever since then guys, it’s been pretty flat-line… I seemingly started to get a little better after that when I cut alcohol completely from my diet, but then I quicly plunged right back down to rock-bottom and have stayed there for the past 2 months.
In the past 2 months, I’ve experienced other sides such as penile changes, sexual exhaustion, mental and emotional dullness, poor sleep, anxiety, and poor concentration.
All in all, life is hell. And I have Propecia to thank for it.
So far my regimen of 1 multivitamin, 2 capsules of fish oil, and 50 mg of Zinc a day has not been helping.
I of course welcome your comments if you have any. I am seeing a uroligist on Friday and hope to get blood tests taken, I’m also going to schedule with an endocrinoligist.
