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)? US
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?)
What is your current age, height, weight?
25 / 6ft / 175lbs
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Propecia
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?
Receding hairline
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
23 days
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
25 / June 21 2020
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
25 July 14th 2020
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
After the first week, however I did not contribute it to PFS.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Mental issues, cognitive ability, insomnia, anhedonia.
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
[x ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[ x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] 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
[ x] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ x] 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?
None
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.
Hello Everyone,
I have been a lurker on this forum for roughly the past 6 months. I have read hours worth of posts trying to understand what the fuck is going on with my body. I took Propecia from Hims for roughly 3 weeks. I had a slight receding hairline and I was like you know what, fuckit may as well have a full head of hair too. I read about the side effects but I thought 1-2%? That will never happen to me! Well I was in for good surprise.
After about a week of taking the pills daily, I noticed I was waking up numerous times in the night. I had never had sleep issues my entire life. I was working out later in the day and taking pre-workout so I thought that was the issue. By the 2nd week, my jaw started clenching and the insomnia got worse…I still had not connected the dots yet. The 3rd week my digestion got horrible, and insomnia stayed.
At the end of the 3rd week I went out and partied hard one weekend like I always do and woke up Monday with pretty bad anxiety… I was like hmm maybe I just went too hard? The next day I popped my hims prescription and the anxiety was like no other I have had. I was like what the fuck is going on. I started trying to see if I had taken anything else, and then googled symptoms of propecia. Everything I had been feeling hit me like a ton of bricks. Then after reading about all of the other issues my anxiety only got worse. I posted on here when it originally happened and @Greek sent me a very friendly response and it really quelled my anxiety and I relaxed a bit and was going to let time run its course. Thank you for that my friend.
Without any life changes whatsoever, I made a recovery relatively quickly in about 3 weeks. I forgot everything about PFS to be honest. I went on with my life and thought I would never have to come to this forum again.
About 2 months later - Sept 25th to be exact…I won’t forget this day. Something hit me hard. I was literally standing in my kitchen and it felt like I had massive migraine just hit me like a ton of bricks. Next thing I know my anxiety is through the roof but I did not equate it to PFS because from what I read, “most crashes happened 2 weeks after”. Since I was 2 months off it I thought I was in the clear…
The next day I woke up and couldn’t get it up. I had 0 sexual sides prior and this freaked me the fuck out. It only added to the anxiety. Within 2 days I was able to get it up with a lot of stimulation and jerked off and finished. I would say for about 3 weeks I noticed lack of morning / night erections but they came back and I was able to watch porn and get it up without stimulation in about a month.
On that day Sept 25th, I realized I had “Crashed” and there may be a long road ahead of me. I reopened this forum after 2 months and tried to find a glimpse of hope. There are a lot of negative stories on here… and for good reason. PFS is the hardest thing I have ever dealt with or will deal with and I just want you to know how strong all of you are for going through this. No person should ever have to go through this pain and hardship.
After stopping taking Propecia, I got back to 100%…then 2 months later the PFS hit. The fact that I made a full recoevery before is what keeps me going and gives me hope of a recovery whether its months or years…
It has now been 3 months since my “crash” and almost 6 months since I stopped fin…and all I can say is it has been a fucking rollercoaster. Good weeks, followed by bad days, followed by good weeks and bad weeks. This week being one of the bad.
At this point, 3 months after my crash. The main issues I am dealing with are anxiety, brain fog, anhedonia, forgetfulness, lack of motivation. Sexual sides have cleared up. But I also have this weird tingling feeling in my mouth around my tongue and jaw that seems to come and go along with PFS. Idk if it is related or not.
I work in a sales role that heavily relies on my cognitive ability. I have always been a top performer and been confident. I don’t know what this fucking poison did to me , but it fucked me up and I have not been the same. I try to take it day by day and focus on the good things in life which has helped me a bunch. I will say stress free living is what makes me feel better…but it is still a daily struggle…
After my crash I started working out hard and was able to build muscle and looked pretty good. I started surfing and will say, that was probably one of the most stress relieving things you can do with PFS. Not sure if any of you are near the ocean but I highly recommend to clear your mind.
I felt like the past 2 months I had made some serious progress. I would go weeks without checking the forum, but then I would go back down an anxiety rabbit hole and come back here looking for some type of cure…But the overarching theme is that time is the cure. I am only 3 months post crash and this week for some reason I feel like I took 5 steps back. This thing is very persistent. I go periods feeling like I am cured only to get slammed back down even harder.
Anyways - that was a mouthful and I may have left some stuff out. Long story - short, whenever I come to this forum, I only look for positive posts, which can be hard. Whenever I see negative posts I leave this forum feeling worse.
Looking for any helpful insight from people that have had a similar story to mine. Please no negative comments. I hope this post helps somebody - and that you all make a quick recovery.
