Wellshoot's Member Story

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)?
US
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?
21, 5’10”
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 for a couple weeks, noticed sides.
Then like an idiot double dipped a few months later on a .25mg dose, but reduced that after a few days to .125 mg a day, and did that for about a month.
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Just over a month
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
21
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
21, around March 20th 2020
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
I noticed mild brain fog and decreased libido pretty early, within the first few days.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Little-no libido, erectile dysfunction, insomnia, weak and watery ejaculate
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
[ ] 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
[x ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
I smoked marijuana and drank while on Finasteride
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I took Propecia for a little over a month, taking 1/8 of a pill at night. I started to notice that my libido was reduced, like there was some sort of disconnect between my brain and my penis. I could still get it up if I wanted and everything worked ok except for maybe a weaker ejaculation. But I decided it wasn’t worth it so I quit. I felt better upon quitting for a day or two. My libido was back. But that was short lived. I got soft while masturbating and freaked out a little. I prayed it was just a fluke but then had two of the most embarrassing sexual encounters ever. I could get like 80% erect but as soon as my penis stopped getting physical stimulation it would go soft. I apologized profusely and they were nice about it but I was so stressed. I couldn’t sleep through the night anymore. A couple weeks after stopping, I had one day where I got fully prefin erect and it lasted! The ejaculate was still dribbly baby puke but I was ecstatic. I thought I was on the way to being cured. But the next day I was back to square one. (I should note at this point I’m eating a raw whole food diet and on a round of antibiotics for an unrelated dental thing).
Now my brain fog seems to have been greatly reduced, but sexual sides persist. My penis seems to cycle from very numb (I can have morning wood and not know until I touch it) to slightly less numb (I can get itches on it). I can’t get erect from porn alone anymore. There needs to be physical stimulation and it takes a long time.
I’ve been weighing my options in my head obsessively. Do I wait to see if it blows over (does that happen often?) or hop on a protocol from this forum? I’ve just been trying to eat healthier and exercise more but haven’t committed fully to a regiment yet. I figure it’s still early and things can still turn around. Knock on wood. (I would if I had any amirite guys?) but in all seriousness any advice is welcome. Are there things I should be doing right now to heal? Is there a high probability that I’ll get worse? Better? My heart goes out to all you long time sufferers with much worse symptoms than mine. Thanks for reading.

#2

I can tell you from being on this forum that the best thing to do is to not take any supplements, do not drink or smoke, and get your rest. DO NOT stress about this. In all likelihood, based off your description, you will get better it may just take time. Also, stay off this forum for awhile, trust me it does nobody any good for their sanity at this point in ur recovery

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#3

I agree with @Bigpoppa10040 , don’t take anything right now. Live as healthy as you can. Avoid drinking, smoking, anything “extra.” There is no evidence that taking supplements or random forum “protocols” will help you. People’s experiences vary with regard to each protocol.

Since you’re only one month out, there is hope for you. Many people get much better or even completely cured in the first months to a year after they’ve been impacted. This is natural improvement over time and I think of this as a transitive state of side effects that go away after some time. Many members like yourself post on here, and are “cured” within months just by waiting.

Try to actively fight stress, exercise lightly if you can, eat healthy, and be well.

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#4

I appreciate the responses. I’ve been avoiding drugs/alcohol and doing my best to remain positive. (Slept about 7hrs last night without waking. I’ll count that as a small victory). I’ve been taking a daily multivitamin since long before fin. I don’t know if this can hinder progress, but I’ll certainly refrain from adding supplements. I think taking time away from the forum sounds like a good call. It’s consumed too much of my free time the past few weeks. Can’t be good on my psyche. I’ll check back with updates as they happen. Thank you again!

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#5

I think I might be one of the lucky ones. My symptoms have made pretty rapid progress over the past few days. I’ve consistently gotten 5-10 hours of sleep. My head feels clearer, though not 100%, sexual sides are much better, though not 100%. Still some residual shit going on for sure but if this is as good as I get, I’ll still have dodged an enormous bullet and am so grateful for this progress, hoping it’ll stay this time. I suppose it may not have been PFS at all, but my body withdrawing from the drug and leaving my hormones all out of whack, but I don’t know. I hope this post gives hope to people who may be freaking out in the first months off this poison. I know I was feeling fucked a few weeks ago and seeing that people recover, and sometimes quite quickly, was my only consolation. Thank you to everyone who has offered advice and support and positivity. I’ll be donating to the PFS foundation and I’ll still be checking in, though I don’t know if I have much to offer seeing as I didn’t do anything; I’m just letting time heal me as @Jaime and @Bigpoppa10040 advised. You guys know what’s up, thank you again! I might’ve taken some hasty, costly, unnecessary measures in my panicked state if it wasn’t for you.

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#6

Hi bro. I’d recommend stopping with the multivitamin if it contains b12, as b12 is methyl donor.

Like others have said stay clean (including vitamins)

Good luck

1 Like
#7

That’s awesome. I’m glad you’re recovering, and I’m sure more resolution is on its way. Yes, Finasteride can cause hormones to change, and adding in more drugs right away will only make hormones change even more. To me, homeostasis by letting your body do its thing on its own is the safest bet during the initial immediate crash. Until we nail down the pathophysiology of this condition, playing it conservatively is smart.

Thanks for updating us, and please continue to do so!

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#8

My multivitamin does have a ton of B12 in it, like 10,000% DV. I mostly take it for the B12 actually, to compensate for the lack of B12 in my diet. Isn’t this a necessary vitamin for brain function? Disclaimer: I’m very ignorant about the physiology of this. Could you explain/point me toward a source that says methyl donors—or at least in supplement form— are bad new bears?

#9
#10

Thanks for the warning. I skipped the supplement yesterday and seem to have regressed in the sexual side effect department after several days of improvement. Can’t say if cessation of the multivitamin is the cause or if it was more me just getting too comfortable with where I was at and eating anything and everything I wanted, and neglecting to exercise, or a combination of things.

#11

Hi Wellshoot

This post has helped me a lot as i have bad symptoms similar to yourself. I took two pills of 1mg fin spaced a day apart and felt horrible anxiety next day and insomnia as well as Ed, struggle to get it up and not as strong as before. Felt better the next week sleep improved to 7 hours a night then Saturday I had the anxiety attack and now symptoms are worse. Doing a water fast for 2 days and I can now sleep for 4 hours, Ed still there and also chest burn and heart palpitations, but water fast has helped in terms of reducing anxiety and helping at least fall asleep.

Like yourself I’m wondering if I should jump on some supplements, I am a newb when it comes to all this, heard about magnesium zinc fish oil etc. But also hearing you guys speak about waiting at least 3 months to see if your body can beat this naturally I believe is the right thing to do as panicking can make you do irrational things although really difficult not to panic

Great to hear your on the road to recovery and I really hope the same for everybody here

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#12

Glad to hear my post helped somebody :slight_smile: I hope you continue getting better after that setback. I personally respond poorly to water fasts, but I know lots of people on here say they’ve helped them. I tried one because it felt like I was regressing and wanted to reset. I went 20 hours a few days ago and felt anxious, had this incessant low humming sound in my ears, and was constipated the next day. I seem to feel my best when my tum is full.
I haven’t been very restrictive of my diet at all otherwise. I just make sure I eat a lot of vegetables, but I still eat junk. I cut out peaut butter because I suspect that my body isn’t responding well to it. I ate mostly vegan until this mess, but have given in to eating animal products for the sake of kicking my multivitamin. I run/bike every other day and do yoga on off days. Still getting adequate sleep (6-10 hours). Spells of brain fog and anxiety are fewer and farther between. Yesterday felt pretty spacey and depressed.

I’ve recovered to about where I was at last week as far as sexual function. i.e erections are 90% and last, though are still not as quick to rise as prefin; sensitivity is probably 60-70%, orgasm is pleasurable, but not prefin; ejaculate is of a higher viscosity than when I crashed and more explosive, but still lower than usual volume and viscosity; libido is still minimal. Today I got a little horny thinking about a girl so that was cool.

Other symptoms that come and go: weird momentary resonating sensation in my right temple, like someone sent a low electric current through it; a pressure in the front of my brain where I imagine my prefrontal cortex would be; eating to excess (my brain will demand more food even when I’m all bloated and uncomfortably full(I’ve put on a few pounds))

I feel like a pubescent boy in some regards. I can’t stop eating, I think I have minor gyno and my voice is different. I’m just not horny all the time.
But I’m confident that we’ll continue to improve with time. Keep us updated on where you’re at! Best of luck!

#13

Here’s hoping my Friend. Had a slight panic attack last night that i felt coming on since about 5 in the evening. To be honest it was quite minor compare to previous ones the only issue being I literally woke up at 2 in the morning and then the heart rate just went up and up for about 12 seconds then calmed down but the annoying thing was I couldn’t get back to sleep after. I’ve heard people mentioned that sometimes you do get worse before it gets better so still hanging onto hope. But let’s think positive as it still early days my friend. Likewise keep us updated and all the best

When you mentioned the weird momentary sensation in your temple I can completely relate and you’re the only person I’ve heard mention that as a symptom, it seems to go away temporarily if I raise my eyebrows or tap my massage my forehead which is fine indoors I guess lol.

#14

I definitely did get worse before I started improving. Up until a few weeks ago, I was also waking in the middle of the night multiple times in a panic. It totally sucked. I’d spiral into negative feelings of intense regret and dread. I’d give up on sleep and go for a run and take a cold shower because a guy on here named Chi said so lol. Luckily my sleep issue seemed to resolve itself with time. You’re totally right, it’s still early and I think the best course of action is to follow the advice given above by some folks. Being in quarantine is somewhat of a blessing because I don’t have the normal stressors on top of this one and I can really focus on wellness. Stay positive my man!

PS Those temple spasms are so strange. I think I saw one dude on here mention them before, but yeah not many people do.

#15

Thought I’d give an update to monitor progress, if nothing else:

Up to this point I had been mostly waiting, hoping it would blow over. I’ve been working out on and off (jogging, hill sprints, rarely weights). Yoga most days. Eating mostly healthy, but still eating junk. Weirdly enough, days when I would eat whatever I wanted, I’d feel better and have higher sexual function but this would last a few days before another crash. Maybe because dopamine is heightened?

  • Brain fog is pretty gone.
  • Andhedonia too.
  • Tinnitus comes and goes.
  • Sensations in the temple are fewer and farther between. Still get at least one fit of forehead pressure a day.
  • Appetite and weight have more or less regulated themselves. Maybe my thyroid is functioning better?
  • Gyno is still there, doesn’t hurt and isn’t visible, but I’ve noticed more lumps beyond the ones that are just behind the nipple. Probably not new, but just didn’t think to feel way over there.
  • Sexual function is variable. I consistently have nocturnal erections (these never went away, but they’re fuller than they were when I crashed, as are my regular erections more times than not (I can have days where I masturbate 2-3 times in a few hours while 85-100% erect and days where my dick feels useless.)) Libido fluctuates too but is always low. I almost always need physical stimulation to get it going, but once it’s going I can count on it staying solid 9/10 times. But if I stop giving it stimulation it still softens fairly easily and can be difficult to rally. For this reason, I wouldn’t be totally confident having sex at the moment, but my baseline has improved undoubtedly.
    Sensitivity hasn’t really improved.
    The three V’s of semen (volume, viscosity, and velocity) have improved too.
    Flaccid, the tip often still feels cold and fullness varies.
  • I’ve been cycling between paranoia/anxiety and relative calm pretty quickly. It’s unpredictable and I don’t know if it’s physiological or just me being terrified that I’ll be stuck like this or get worse. Probably both.
  • Sleep: I get between 5 and 6 hours a night. Bed around 10pm, up around 3:30am consistently. Suicidal ideation upon waking. Trying to fall back asleep is futile; as soon as I get relaxed and start drifting my body says nope! and sends a signal to snap me our of it. So I often feel tired and shitty and anxious and irritable throughout the day, which I attribute to inadequate sleep. Not even being able to escape a bad day with sleep is so shitty but hopefully this will improve.
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#16

thanks for your update wellshoot.

Good to hear you do make some progress on some sides.

Did your tinnitus diminish over time? or did it come and go from the start? My tinnitus (left ear) is almost at a constant pace.

#17

It diminished over time. It always came and went, but I noticed it more often earlier on. Now the only time I hear it really is while lying in bed sometimes, but some nights not even then.

I wonder is yours a high pitched ring? Mine is a low hum. It sounds kind of like a clothes dryer is running a floor down from me or something.

#18

Thanks for you reply brother. I am currently almost one month off.

Mine is indeed a high pitched ring (kind of like a computer sound) almost continuously, however sometimes in becomes more like a low hissing kind of sound and it is barely noticeable. Very weird but the tone switches during the day/night. It is only in my left ear also very weird.

I am hoping that this symptom will diminish over time, since its the symptom that currently bothers me the most. :fearful:

#19

Weird. I hope so too my man. One month off is still very early so hopefully that will resolve itself with time.

#20

Hi, wellshoot.

I know what you mean when you say your body stops you from falling asleep after waking up. I had this issue for several weeks. Whenever I tried to fall back asleep, my body would snap me back up and my heart would start racing.
This eventually went away. Hang in there, man.