Well, new sufferer from France... 6 weeks update

Member Stories
#1

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)? France

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 search

What is your current age, height, weight?178cm 75 kg

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.)? 1mg

What condition was being treated with the drug? MPB

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 1 year approx

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 42. May 2018

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 43. June 2019

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? No specific sides until recently, a month ago.

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Penile shrinking, ball shrinking, no sweat, ball pains…

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
[ x] 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
[*] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[*] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[*] 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
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[x ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] 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
[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?
Nope.

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

Well, classic stuff here. I was not ready to lose my hair even at “my age”. I got vain… I got the Fin prescription, hesitated, searched the net ( not enough…). Thought I would give it a go for a future ht… Gave myself a year… Didn’t notice extreme sides… Balls ached but it went away. Feared the sex sides mostly but everything was fine so carried on… More recently I felt my erections were not as hard as they used to… Result with hair was ok, not tremendous, ok… 9th June I was at a festival. Did not take the pill, thought it would be great to drop it…On Wednesday I tried to jerk off… No way to get erected but most terrible not into it… Penis looked like I was 8 yrs old… Freaked out and came across this site and a French association created by a mom who lost her son to PFS ( it was kinda publicised here on media)… Found some resources and identified some similarities with symptoms I had… I just feel a life sentence has just been given to me and I don’t quite understand…
Tonite was terrible as I woke up with the feeling that my head would explode : tinnitus, head was about to explode… terrible… That is a hell of a start and I see myself dead within a couple of months… My GF is mad at me, my dick looks like a child’s one and terrible discovery: I lost my body odour. I don’t sweat anymore… WTF??? I filed for a complaint to report the medication to the French authorities and contacted an association a mother created after her son’s suicide… Scared to death of losing my job, my friends… Been estranged with my parents for a while but will have to tell them about this if anything bad happens to me ( and it will). Want to punch me in the face for having taken it… Always had been reluctant and the prospect of a hair transplant made me take this shit… Worse of all is terrible sleep quality and the feeling I am in the middle of nowhere. WAS FUCKIN FINE while on it… I don’t understand what happened. Luckily for me, I understand English and this forum helped a lot…
I am sorry to sound like a sissy but what will become of me? I have seen very interesting but somehow confusing stuff on the forum so dunno how to cope with this shit… Even scared of going to the doctors and read HORRIBLE SUICIDE stories…Worse thing is that I really weighed the pros but not the cons enough… Appreciate anyone who can bring some support!

3 Likes
#2

Very sorry to hear, thank you for sharing your story. I hope to god finasteride will be removed soon!

The crash can happen very slowly for some including myself, I took a topical dht inhibitor and sides slowly creeped up on me. Some people use it for years before they crash others take just 1 pill and that’s enough to mess them up.

Your very early into your crash, you may see improvements in the following months, hang in there!!

1 Like
#3

Hello, @frenchfries.

The most important thing to know is that most people get better naturally and you haven’t been off the drug very long.

We say that 3 months is when we consider that you are having persistent problems. At this point you may well see gradual or even sudden improvement.

If you don’t see improvement after 3 months, you may well find that you recover anyway.

I am almost a year off where you are now and am in a much, much better place than I was. I too was suicidal for a while. All my symptoms have gradually improved.

This may be tough for you for a while but you can handle it and will have to. Try to rest and take some time off work at the moment if you can. Don’t take any more hormone altering drugs. Remember that you have a good chance of recovery but reckless use of other drugs now could worsen your situation.

2 Likes
#4

Hey thanks guys! Noticed my body hair was falling… Feels like my body is back to when I was a kid… Scary as shit…

#5

Yes, it is very scary, I know.

As I said, try to take things easy. It’s very early to say how things will go (not very comforting, I know) but the vast majority will get better.

#6

What to expect for a visit at my doctor’s? Will think I am fucking nuts…

#7

Hey greek anyways we can chat live?

#8

Hey guys really looking for support here… Ruminating my life is over and shit… Pls send feedback…

#9

Likely a lack of awareness of the issue, I’m afraid.

Sorry, I am not going to be available to do that. I have a very busy work day today.

Please read my previous reply to you. It’s far, far, far too early to say if this is a long term thing for you.

Other people who do end up with longer lasting symptoms regularly report improvements with time.

1 Like
#10

Hi Frenchfries,

I and really sorry that your going through this and I hope you can get some support, it maybe worth contacting the foundation and they can connect you with people who live close by.

Please see the post yesterday by @Northern_Star, it was really helpful:

2 Likes
#11

Thanks for support!
I had really bad thoughts this afternoon…
Seem unable to find the coping mechanisms with this stuff…
Worse is my GF who will think I am waco…

#12

Hi frenchfries

What you have described is what many here have gone through and believe me, I personally know how harrowing and extreme the crashing phase can be. Looking back on it, not much helped other than posts that offered hope in the way of the possibility of some kind of recovery. For many months, I didn’t believe any kind of recovery was possible for me, my brain felt so damaged and my body had experienced so many changes.

I can tell you that since then, my mental symptoms have improved to a point I never thought possible. There’s a lot more I could write but I just need you to know that the despicable state that you are currently in WILL improve but it may take some time. Please keep it in your mind that you can improve and, in the mean time, do NOT take any other drugs, herbs or whatever other substances might be recommended here or on other sites centred on pfs.

Take care and be honest with those who care for you with what has happened. We’re all on this forum here for you, we know what you’re going through.

5 Likes
#13

Thank u so much…

1 Like
#14

Was on the phone with a French responsible for fps association…
Will have some blood tests and see doctors…

#15

Hello frenchfries,
Your story is very similar to most on here.
I took the drug for 20 years and have all of the sides and morr. It took me a longtime to find the underlying cause of my ever increasing health issues. During my many crashes I have contemplated the unthinkable but pulled back thanks in the main to the support and hope offered from other sufferers. I’ve been off fin for over 1 year now during which time I’ve developed additional sides and had some terrible lows. Over the years I’ve taken many supplements to try to combat the symptoms. I’ve always had an extremely good diet and healthy lifestyle. My diet has changed to try to reduce the effects, often with limited success. Recently I have experienced the odd bounce where my old self appeared without any symptoms. Once for a day and as recently as last week but only for a few hours. This starts with muscle strength, spontaneous erections, recession of symptoms and an improvement in mood. Unfortunately all of the symptoms return however these small windows do give me some hope as while on fin I never once experienced this. Some of the more recent symptoms like profuse sweating, pins and needles have started to fall away more and more frequently. So hang in there you will improve. The long lasting ones are very stubborn. Exercise and distraction techniques are key for me, no matter what stick with it and as others have said do not interfere with your hormones. Hope this helps.

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#16

Thank for this honest post…
Thank for support…

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#17

Help needed !
GF wants to take a break and I can’t really calm down…
Considering bad stuff.
Support appreciated lads.

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#18

We’ve all been here frenchfries, it’s unbelievabley tough, no one outside of PFS understands or can appreciate what were going through Hang on to the fact that it will pass and overtime things have improved for many. Tell yourself it will pass! Think of the positives in your life like your loved ones. Don’t do anything silly or regrettable. We all need each other. As said try exercise, distraction strategies, therapy to help and they really do! Try fasting too that has helped me

3 Likes
#19

What’s the point…

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#20

What’s next? Unable to work? Oh God…

1 Like