I want to report my terrible story of finasteride.
I had definitely unusual side effects from this med which I started taking about 15 years ago.
Within 1.5 years of starting finasteride I had weakness symptoms across the whole body, which I didn’t associate with finasteride because they were not mentioned as side effects anywhere. I have taken the thing very stupidly for 10 years, when the weakness of my body was so evident that I started associating all my problems to it. I am 3 years out of it now, and improvements have begun.
Within about 2 years from starting it I had:
- Incredibly strong outburst of allergy to dust mites. I though I would die. Now I still can’t stay in places with carpets.
- Weakness of all parts of the body, and in particular: penile fracture
- Strong tinnitus for 9 months that made me almost suicide; originarily attributed to NSAIDs + club dancing, but now I re-attribute it to finasteride weakness
- Less muscular strength and endurance than usual
- Tactile allergy to every hand soap on earth after a few uses of the same soap. Skin would open up as in dermatitis. I had to revert to basically washing my hands with warm water only.
Then in the later years:
- thinner skin
- serious weakness to NSAIDs gastric side effects
- sensitivity to pain much increased, in particular I had serious problems withstanding gastroscopy, I thought I had to quit.
- finally: GERD (one doctor said due to Hiatal Hernia after a very quick gastroscopy): I had to raise the head of my bed 10cm forever to be able to withstand the GERD.
Too bad I didn’t recognize these symptoms early!!! Too bad they were not in the leaflet!!!
After 3 years of stopping finasteride some strength is back:
- More tolerance to NSAIDs gastric side effects, and quicker recovery
- Thicker skin
- No more allergic to many hand soaps.
- GERD was gone after 2.5 years of quitting finasteride.
Frankly I am also taking many supplements now, in particular Creatine, Selenium, Vitamin D and PeakATP which I was not taking 3 years ago (and many others which I was taking also before), so I cannot be 100% sure that the improvement of symptoms is due to quitting finasteride, nor I can be sure that such side effects were from finasteride in the first place, however the suspect is VERY HIGH due to time coincidence at least for the first 2 years.
Beware!! Do not take finasteride!!! Lose your hair!!!
Deadman