Wiscoman's Story

Member Stories
#1
  1. Where are you from (country)?
    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
  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    33 6"2, 180
  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    no
  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    variable - all over the map
  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    hairloss
  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    6 months
  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    30
  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    33
  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?
    rx propecia
  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    .25 - .50 eod
  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    very quick
  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
[ ] 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
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[x ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] 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
[ ] 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?
    vitamins

  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)?
    none

  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.
    here is my weird story. back in feb of 2010 i started to take this drug. i took about 5 pills and noticed the sexual sides. I quit and my buddy adjusted fine - i was back to normal. i started to think this was all mental and months later i jumped back on the drug. this time lowering my dose to .25 - .50 eod or daily at times. I probably took 50 total pills over the course of 4 - 5 months. everything was going fine - no changes and was feeling good. i ran out of the drug sometime in september of 2011 and had my prescription renewed. i took the drug very eratic over the course of two months until i ran out of my 30 day supply with no effects. i underwent major shoulder repair sugrery in december of 2011 and while recovering at home decided to start taking the drug again - I took probably 4 total pills over the course of two weeks. during this time my wife and i started trying for our second child, and i could not perform at all. leaving me where i am today. the last pill i took was on 1/3/12.

#2

Hello guys: I just posted my member story but it has not been approved yet. That said, I don’t want to wait until it is approved to ask a few questions. So here goes…and THANK YOU in advance for any light you can shed on my situation.

I took this drug very inconsistently over the course of 2 years. The first stint was short lived - I took it for 5 days and immediately had sexual side effects - no errections and reduced libido. i stopped and everything returned to normal within a week. i chalked it up to be a mental thing and a few months later went back on the drug at a reduced dose and every other day. i was doing very well this time and started taking the reduced dose daily for about 3 months. In september of this year I ran out and stopped for a few months - this time nothing happened and i was fine. In early december of 2011 (recently) I picked some up and took about three or four pills total.

Which leads me to my recent events: Last Monday - (1/2/12) the wife and I had great sex and everything was going good - this was during the time I was taking the 4 pills - I was rock hard and libido was no issue. The next day (1/3 Tuesday) I took .50 in the morning. On 1/4 and 1/5 my wife and I tried to have sex with no luck - my penis was non existent - looked dead. So I stopped taking the drug. Since then my problems have not improved - I have NO libido and can’t get an erection - I have had some nocturnal erections but during the day my penis looks dead. very thin at the base and my scrotum is tucked tight to my buddy - penis also looks very short when flacid - almost points straight out in front of me. I have seen no improvement during the last 8 days at all. I’m scared to death that I have ruined my life. I did today - try to masterbate - i can get it up somewhat but have the urge to cum before my penis is fully erect, which scares me. my penis also is starting to form a little curvature after cumming. Here are my questions:

  1. is it normal with PFS to see the base of your penis very thin when flacid?

  2. does your penis react different in the shower? when I get warm water on it, it starts to look better.

  3. since the first time I took the drug and got off I recoverd in about 5 days, does that mean I should have recoverd this time in those 5 days?

Thanks in advance - I could just kick myself for getting back on this crap. Never, ever, again. I pray to God that I didn’t permanently destory myself. I wish all of you the best and will keep everyone up to date on my progress. I know I’m only a few days (8 days) removed from taking my last pill and most here have been suffering a long time. I dont want this post to be offensive to any of those people. I wish all of you the best.

#3

The way you have described your penis sounds like trademark finasteride damage. I am 21 years old, have been off the drug for 2 years and my penis is a mess. It takes on all sorts of shapes and sizes but primarily it is very thin at the base and pretty much shrunken all round. I would also describe the appearance and feel as ‘dead’.

It is early days for you and so nobody can tell you whether you are likely to recover or not. The best thing you can do is to remain optimistic and get yourself to a doctor and get some blood tests done. If things don’t go away then there is nothing you can do apart from doctor visits, your own treatments and staying as optimistic as possible while also bracing yourself for the worst.

PFS is a monster but everyone on this forum just has to keep fighting. There are new victims everyday, Merck are now officially being taken to court and scientific research is underway.

#4

oh shit…i know its fucked up, sorry to hear, i have that too …only time will tell.

#5

Thanks guys. I feel for each and every one of you.

Is 8-9 days off to early to draw any conclusions? I will have my blood tests done this week…but after reading this site it sure seems useless to go see a local doctor.

I love my wife and family and I’m worried this will ruin my life. I have no other side effects at all other than sexual.

I have read about crashes on here but I have yet to find a description of how long they last. Earlier this week I had a period where I was very tired all day…that lasted two days…was that a crash?

Thanks!

#6

Absolutely yes. With time, many do find their symptoms tend to improve, however this is variable for each person.

Review the main propeciahelp.com site (POST-FINASTERIDE SYNDROME section) to better understand things. Those that experience an “endocrine system crash” within weeks of quitting often end up with hypogonadal or very low levels of Testosterone, LH, FSH often along with elevated Estrogen/sometimes elevated Prolactin and TSH. Additionally, many member have below range 3a-diol G, an important marker of androgenicity and DHT metabolism.

Try and relax however, as it is early days for you. Once you get bloodwork you’ll be in a better position to understand where you’re at hormonally.

#7

@Mew, thank you, sir! I feel better now after hearing your response. I probably needed to hear that so I could sleep tonight. What you have created here is an amazing place…as I stated earlier, I feel for each and everyone of you.

I’m going to clock out for a while and let things settle over the coming weeks before doing anything. I have a great wife who is in this with me…I’m going to rely on her for support in the interim. That said, I promise to come back and post updates.

I hope this did not insult any of you that have been fighting the fight for some time now, as I’m in the very early stages and odds are in my favor for recovery.

My best goes out to all of you.

#8

I would still advise to get the proper hormonal bloodwork at this stage (ie, soon, not in weeks) so you have something to compare against down the line if things don’t improve.

There’s a list here and a recommended “short list”:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=92

#9

Wanted to update everyone on my status. I didn’t want to be one of those that posted and never followed up with how things went.

Yesterday was a breakthrough day for me. The wife and I had great sex twice - both times I had full erections and everything worked like it did pre-fin. I hate to say this, but I think I may be one of the lucky ones that made it through this. I feel bad writting that knowing what some of you are going thru. Today was another good day - I was looking at women the way I used to and felt that urge men feel. I was so excited.

I know many of you are suffering - becasue of my (albeit short) experience I will not forget about you guys and keep you in my prayers. What this drug has done to people is mind blowing - I hope to God they pull this medication before it can affect others.

I wish all of you the best and hope each and everyone of you return to normal at some point. Thanks for being a support group while going thru these tough days.

All the best,
John