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Member Stories
#1

I have posted my info below but my basic story is this took propecia for hair loss experienced problems straight away thought this would pass but has stayed long after ive stopped taking, i’ve seen as many doctors/specialists that i can tried all the basic ED drugs, had blood tests all fine. Best they can tell me its a mental issue. I have been searching these boards and there is a little bit to much info im not to sure what step to take next. Im hopeing someone could point me in the right direction of which step to take next !

  1. Where are you from (country)? Australia

  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 . propecia side effects help

  3. What is your current age, height, weight? 29, 194cm, 104kg

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? weight training 4-5 days a week

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? A bit of everything

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

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? atleast 2 years

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 21 - 2003

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 23 - 2005

  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 and proscar

  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? Almost instant

  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
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
    Viagra,levitra,cialis,tribulus

  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)?
    All testosterone levels were normal

  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. Experienced Erection problems almost instantly but did not take it seriously enought to stop
    have seen every doctor specialist i can, tried every drug had every test the only resolution that i can be given now is that it is a mental issue. i really need some help.

#2

Well welcome to the forum, tren10.

The whole belief that it’s “all in your head” is just an easy excuse to fall back on as it doesn’t hold anyone accountable except for yourself. As I imagine a small part of it is indeed the worry/concern you are having from the issues you’re dealing with, that is not likely the great majority of what’s going on within your body.

I see you’ve tried a good deal of drugs that deal with e.d. You said your levels are “normal”…do you have a copy of your lab results? If not, that’s a good first place to start. I myself still have to get a blood test with all the points of interest that this forum is interested in to see where I stand. Every value you need to get checked out is located somewhere on this site. I apologize for not knowing them but there exists a very extensive list that (I believe) was posted by Mew. Get your blood drawn, request those values to be checked and post your results. Once we get them, I believe we’ll have a better idea of what could possibly help you. I’m still pretty new at the research portion of pfs but I’m getting better and know that a lot of other members here can be of more help.

Keep your head up high though tren because it’ll go a long way on your way to recovery. Good luck and keep us posted.

#3

tren10,

Welcome to the forum, sorry you have to join us.

You should leave a more detailed story. The more specifics and details you can provide about the sides you are experiencing now, which ones started while you were on the drug. Do you have a loss of sensation in your unit when having sex? Did you have other sides that occurred once you discontinued use of the medicine. The more information you can provide the betteer.

I would dig up your test results and post them on the forum, including ranges provided by the lab. Many of us are told by doctor’s our results are fine, simply because they are in, “the range”. The don’t bother to tell you, that you are in the absolute bottom of the range.

A 29 yo male shouldn’t have a similar blood panel as a 65 yo male.