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)? USA
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
What is your current age, height, weight? 53, 5’9, 180lbs and dropping
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? .25mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug? hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 20 years
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 30
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 53, 11/8/21
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? Within the first month or so I lost a patch of facial hair. This side effect would continue sporadically during my use, usually it would take a year to grow back. The first time this happened I just lowered the dose from 1mg to .25. Subsequent times I’d stop for a while then restart. The last time I restarted I was hit with full blown PFS.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? hard to say, had some early onset aging issues that at the time I did not associate with fin…graying hair, cataracts, lactose intolerance. can’t tell if I’m still lactose intolerant, I’m everything intolerant now
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
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] 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
[x] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x ] Muscle Wastage
[x ] Muscle Weakness
[x ] Joint Pain
[x ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[x ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[x] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[x] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[x ] Lowered body temperature
[x ] Other (please explain)
no sweat or smell, dry wasted skin, facial hair loss, eyebrows falling out, heart palpitations, nausea, collagen loss everywhere, itchy skin with sores and spots, no sleep, constipation, shitting blood, constant nasal congestion, body/pubic hair loss, dry tired eyes, eyeballs loose in their sockets, bone loss, joint pain, tooth/gum problems, back pain, dry feet, severely cracked heels and toes, age spots on hands and face
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? The side effects of the drug…none, they either cleared up on their own or were treated. PFS is not a side, it’s its own thing that started after stopping the drug.
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)? low free T, Vit D low, BUN high, CO low
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
It sucks
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Started on 1mg doses around the year 2000 and while it reversed my head hair loss it caused patchy facial hair loss. I went down to .5 then .25mg and stayed there for many years. It didn’t grow much hair but it slowed the loss and served as a psychological boost like I was at least doing something. Two years ago a big chunk of facial hair fell out and I stopped entirely for two years…that’s how long it took for the facial hair to grow back at which point I started back on .25mg to stem the heavy hair shedding that had started (I know now that was from Rogaine, wish I’d figured that out before it was too late). It very quickly attacked my facial hair again so I stopped cold. Couple weeks later I developed full blown PFS starting with low body temp then moved on to zero sweat/smell and skin/muscle wastage. I try to exercise but there’s no pump, no blood flow so it seems I’m just hurting myself. Past couple days have had crazy headaches that can’t be good for the brain. Work has become all but impossible.
So a couple questions:
- Is it ok to take Excedrin for the headache? Seems like it might make things worse I’m reading here. The headache was unbearable earlier and I took one excedrin and feel a bit better.
**update: the single excedrin I took for the headache did help the headache and next day I don’t feel any worse at least. The headache I think resulted from jogging earlier in the day or not drinking coffee for the first time in forever, maybe both.
- Can something like cialis help the general blood flow issues? Not even concerned with sex at the moment, there just seems to be no fluid movement in my body and everything is wasting. Would cialis help this or make it worse?