Very Nervous -- Symptoms Come and Go

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)? Atlanta, GA USA

  2. 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?) Google searched: Propecia side effects

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 26, 5’9", 160

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? lift weights 2x/week; run 1-2x/week

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? No specific diet; try to stay healthy, but not overly healthy

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? approximately 1 year

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? started when 25 approximately February 2010

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? quit when 26 approximately February 2011

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

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

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

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? noticed minor side effects 3 or 4 months in and major ones around 1 year mark

  14. 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
[X] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[X] 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
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[X] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

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

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None

  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)?

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

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

I took Propecia on and off (maybe 3 or 4 pills a month from age 23 - 24. I decided to get serious about it in February 2010 and started taking it everyday. I began to notice that my penis and testicles were becoming slightly smaller, but brushed it off and the change was so gradual that I don’t think I realized the magnitude of it. At about the 1 year mark I began to notice that I would not wake up with an erection and rarely thought about sex or girls.

I used to hardly be able to get out of the bed in the morning or go to sleep at night or go to the bathroom during the middle of the day without fighting the urge to masturbate because sex was always on my mind. I decided then to stop taking Propecia.

For about a week things were ok, some days were better than others, but then about a week after I stopped taking it, I fell apart. I became completely unable to get an erection no matter the stimulus, I was feeling incoherent, tired, began experiencing muscle twitches, could not sleep and had very bad night sweats. This terrified me and I began to do research, and this is how I found this website.

I went to the doctor when experiencing the impotence and he just told me it was psychological and there was no connection with Propecia. I had no blood or semen tests performed.

Approximately 1 month after my appointment my symptoms slowly began to improve. I have done nothing to try to cure the symptoms. I currently have ups and downs. Some days I’ll wake up with very hard erections and occasionally get them during the day as well. Some days I don’t wake up with an erection and have trouble sleeping or feel groggy and feel weak (especially in my upper arms).

I have been able to perform when my fiancee and I are intimate, but I still just have very little desire. I can mechanically perform, but I don’t crave it the way I used to and want to.

Today is one of my bad days where I have absolutely no desire for sex and feel weak and out of it and feel as if my testicles are empty and that is why I decided to join the forum.

I have also decided to go see another doctor next weak to get Testosterone readings.

#2

I would very much appreciate hearing if anyone has experienced the same ups and downs. Also, any advice on how to get through it or mitigate any symptoms would be great. I’ve yet to broach the subject with my fiancée but feel that I have to tell her that I don’t crave sex or get as turned on as I should and I may not always be able to perform for her. Any advice on having this talk? I’m sure many of you have faced similar situations. Thank you.

#3

Yes many men experience these ups and downs post-Fin, especially in the initial months after quitting as the body likely tries to find its equilibrium hormonally. Thankfully as time goes on, things seem to stabilize for most and the good days tend to outweigh the bad days.

Regarding having a convo with your fiancee, that is something you will need to decide. If you are finding your issues are preventing you from being intimate with each other or she is questioning your performance in certain areas etc, it may be a good idea to have the talk. Most women tend to be very supportive and realize that sex isn’t the only/most important thing in a relationship, compared to how most men look at sex.

If anything, telling someone can be a huge relief off your shoulders, but I can understand the concern of appearing vulnerable or “less of a man” to your significant other as a result. Nonetheless I’m guessing she will be supportive and stand by you, especially as there is much more medical and media awareness about the problem, and pending lawsuits about it.

#4

I am 27 years old and have my honeymoon coming up in 2 months. I’m not sleeping well, my sex drive is still non-existent, and I’m nervous about being able to perform as I should on my 2 week honeymoon. I used to be able to go several times a day with no problem, now i’m lucky if I can go once a week. I would love to hear of anything I can try to boost my libido, even if it is just temporary. I am very healthy, workout often, but have not tried any supplements to remedy the sexual side effects. I recently had blood work done and would appreciate any feedback on the results, as I’m not sure how to interpret them. My doctor just said I’m normal but the Testosterone levels seemed low for a healthy 27 year old male. The test was taken at 3:30 in the afternoon:

Testosterone, Serum: 404 ng/dL
Testosterone, Free 12.24 ng/dL
% Free Testosterone: 3.03%
FSH: 4.88 mIU/mL
LH 2.49 mIU/mL
Prolactin 11.0 ng/mL

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

#5

Pls post ranges beside the blood tests.

Short of trying drugs like Clomid or hCG, there are natural supplements like Tribulus and Tongkat Ali which may help increase Testosterone levels.

For ED issues, try Horny Goat Weed (natural PDE5 inhibitor like Viagra).

Libido-wise you might look into Maca supplements. Pls review the Natural Supplements section for more info, there are sticky posts on these topics.

#6

Try and get your hands on Cialis for your honeymoon. You might get some sides of it like shakes or sweats but It will be good to have. Stay away from this forum until after your honeymoon, then come back and begin reading about the madness that is PFS.

#7

Cialis is only good for erections though, wont help with libido.
I also advise that you give a try to the other PDE5 inhibitors, levitra (vardenafil) and viagra (sildenafil), cialis being tadalafil.
You get get indian generics that work perfectly for cheap at alldaychemist.com and other websites
For libido you should try dopaminergic agents.
A good non pharmaceutical one is mucuna extract (contains L-dopa), you can get it from iherb.com (NOW dopa mucuna is good, experiment with various dosage). Try popping a couple of these pills a few hours before sex. Dont use it every day though.
If not enough you can try pharmaceutical dopaminergics also, like bromocriptine, ropinirole, the strongest, with longest half-life being cabergoline. If I were you I would use 0.25 or 0.5mg cabergoline before sex during my honeymoon. Dont use more than 2 times 0.5mg cabergoline per week, its potent with a long half life. Educate yourself about these drugs. But you should really try mucuna extracts at least. Also investigate melanotan II and PT-141, these have dopaminergic AND blood flow increasing properties (give boner AND libido).
These are only crutches but until you can get a cure, they will probably work. Thanks to these product I can have good sex a few times a week. Dopaminergics + PDE5 inhibitors never fail for me. 500mg PT-141 5 hours before sex is amazing, too (its an injectable product, I can recommend a reliable source by PM if you ask)

EDIT
Dont use the dopaminergics before you do a prolactin blood test (it will lower prolactin. If your blood test report high prolactin, I guarantee they will be very effective for libido)

#8

Thank you for the suggestions. I think I will try some of the natural supplements mentioned to see if it can boost my libido. Also, I went to an endocrinologist today for additional bloodwork and he suggested I try Clomid. I’m a little nervous as medication is what got me into this mess in the first place, but I will read through this site and see how I feel about it after I learn a little more. Also, here are my original test results with the ranges:

Testosterone, Serum: 404 ng/dL (348 - 1197)
Testosterone, Free 12.24 ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00)
% Free Testosterone: 3.03% (1.50 - 4.20)
FSH: 4.88 mIU/mL (0.7 - 11.1)
LH 2.49 mIU/mL (0.8 - 7.6)
Prolactin 11.0 ng/mL (1.9 - 17)

Thank you for any additional advice or feedback.