Wobblywilly's Profile

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    UK

  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?)
    HairLossHelp forum

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    35, 5’7, 66kg

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    Yes. Cardio & Strength

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

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

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

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    29yo

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    35yo. Dec - 12

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    Tapered. 1.25mg -> 0.625mg daily, 0.625mg every two days, end

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    Proscar

  12. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    1.25mg daily. Then reduced after sides became noticable to 0.625mg daily.

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    Approx 2-3 years.

  14. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
    Perineum pain, watery semen, lack of ejaculate, erection issues (hardness), libido.

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
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] 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
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[x] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[x] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[x] Other (please explain)
Lack of sensation/intensity during orgasm.

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    None.

  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)?
    I got blood tests, but they came back in range. I’ll try to find out values from GP.

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    Orgasms when they happen lack the intensity prior to semen problems.

  4. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
    Taken for hair loss. Whilst on it I did not notice anything for first 2 - 3 years then noticed tham seminal fluid was quite watery. At same time the fluid/ejaculate was becoming more clear and less cloudy. I after looking about, I decided to reduce dose to 0.625mg daily. Then reduced to 6 days per week. At end I was taking 0.625mg every second day until my supply ran out.
    I tried previously to go cold turkey, but all hell broke loose down below so I decided to restart and taper off it.

    Currently still got watery semen, lack of semen, problems obtaining and holding an erection and orgasm intensity issues.

Been off it for a few days now. Not feeling any different. Before quitting I got my doctor to take a blood test.

I got the following checked and they were all within range:

Male hormones
Testosterone Level
Free Thyroxin Index
Haemoglobin
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate
C-reactive protein

Docotor also examined my prostate with a digital examination and said it was fine.

Is there anythign esle I should do?

In you want my two cents, your next step should honestly be to get away from this forum for at least three months. You have to understand that this board comprises those who have been most harshly affected by finasteride. You also should understand that your body is in a very sensitive state right now after quitting, and that reading this board and consequently having on your mind all the possible symptoms you might experience is only going to stress you out further and possibly impair your body’s ability to recover on its own. Most guys experience natural recoveries within a few weeks/months; I certainly hope that occurs with you. But to give yourself the best chance at a natural recovery, you have to do your best to relax, not stress out about your symptoms, and live normally in your everyday life. And I really believe it’s hard to do any of those things when frequenting this board on a regular or semi-regular basis. If you still have symptoms after three months, by all means, come back, as you’re more than likely in this for the long haul, along with the rest of us. But I really do believe the best thing you can do right now is check out of this corner of web space. Doing so will give your body the best chance to recover.