trabosky's profile

  1. How did you find this forum?
    google

  2. What is your current age, height, weight?
    24, 6’6", 195

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Yes, aerobic several times a week. Road bike, jogging, soccer, hiking.

  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    As little fast food as possible. Other than that, anything goes.

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    Hair loss

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    Just under 3 months.

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride?
    23

  8. How old were you when you quit?
    23

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    cold turkey

  10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    propecia

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    1 mg/day

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    About a month.

  13. 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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

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
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[x] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature

[x] Other (please explain)
I seem to be the only one to have experienced this, but I developed a strong, offensive body odor (not sure when it started because of anosmia - the anosmia has since cleared). I realize it’s a symptom of something else, I just don’t know what exactly. I only know it wasn’t a problem before the fin. This has been by far the most disruptive side effect to hang around; affects my work, social life, etc for obvious reasons. Any theories on this one?

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    Currently on an anti-fungal diet. Intend to try whey protein cycle.

  2. 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)?

propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1788

  1. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  2. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

I had few problems with the sexual side of things while on the drug. I only noticed that I had trouble getting erections at the very end of my 3 months on the drug, and by that time, I had already resolved to quit. I don’t doubt that a longer period of time on the drug would have fostered many of the sexual side effects seen elsewhere. Since quitting, I have noticed a slight loss of libido and fewer morning erections.

My problems were mostly mental. I was depressed, lost interest in hobbies, had trouble with short-term memory, lost ability to concentrate, and just generally didn’t feel like myself. These have passed, I believe, though I now seem to have anxiety troubles. Tense/nervous situations send my heart rate sky high, and I have trouble functioning. I stumble over words, get jittery, and it takes a long time to settle back down. There’s also a disconnect between my brain and body: I’m unable to play the piano in front of people now; as soon as I get nervous, I lose the ability to communicate with my hands.

Other random things hang around, too. I have no tolerance for caffeine; one cup of coffee in the morning keeps me up for 24 hours straight. Too much alcohol solicits intense migraines, and I’m unable to get drunk. My body seems unable to retain water, and I urinate very frequently.

I’ve been off the drug for 11.5 months.