Been on Propecia for almost two months now...my observations

[MJT82]

Me:
23 years old Male
~5'8-5'9
145lbs

I got my prescription about a week before Christmas and have been taking it ever since. Here's my "story" with it.

I initially started by splitting each pill in halves to get roughly .5mg per day. For the first few days I didn't really notice any changes, except my semen seemed much more watery, libido seemed the same. Then maybe nearly a week into it I noticed tenderness in my pectorials (male breasts) that bothered me. It is very noticable and always there throughout the day. It feels like they are getting more fatty and trying to grow. This was very noticable as I have a very fit, muscular and lean body and I work out fairly regularly. I wouldn't consider myself a true bodybuilder, but pretty close to it. If I workout my chest at the gym I may not notice this side effect for a couple days as it just gets lost amongst the other sensations of soreness I feel for a day or two after chest day.

So I then tried skipping a day in between each dose of .5mg propecia and
within a few days the same side effects came back in the breast area. This feeling just drives me crazy, it feels like growing pains of some sort. So then I took probably 4-5 days off any propecia until the side effect was completely gone. I then resumed taking .25mg (1/4 cut pills) once per day and everything was fine...for a while. Within a week or two I noticed the same sensation back again in my pecs. So I took a couple days off and then resume with .25mg every other day and have been doing this for at least a couple weeks. And again, the same side effect is back and with me as I type this post.

So now I am going to stop taking propecia however many days it takes until this sideeffect is again, gone, and then resume at .25mg and try it once every 3 days. I suppose if going this route still results in the same side effects I may need to question if its worth it anylonger to even take it.

Now to my observations:

1. Propecia/Finasteride DEFINITELY has an accumulatory effect. Each time you take it, even skipping a day in between, you are building a stockpile of the stuff in your system. This is proven by the fact that even by lowering my dosage and frequency, I may be able to go a week without the side effects, but it will come back in time.

2. Mentally/emotionally I have felt more irritable, lethargic/slower thinking, and depressed at times. I think the irritability is definitely due to the spike in testosterone that happens because of our bodies trying to compensate for the lack of DHT. The other mental symptoms I have noticed as others here have.

3. I don't think its possible within any amount of accuracy to divide a propecia pill into any smaller than 1/4's.

Just wanted to share. Comments and input welcome

 

[Uni Student]

Ok first off you need to give it time for the side effects to go away. Switching about your dosage is not a good thing! Let your body adjust to it and after a longer period of time if your still suffering from the side effects,consider changing your regimen then.

 

[MJT82]

Unfortunately I didn't document the specific timeline on exactly how long I tried what dosages, etc, so it probably looked like I skipped around more frequently than I really did. But I would say I gave most dosage schedules at least 2-3 weeks trial before changing it up. No signs of improvement or adaptation in my side effects in 2-3 weeks doesn't look like anything will change. I'd say I gave it long enough to adapt. I'm just certainly not willing to accept living with feeling like my breasts are growing day in and day out in order to potentially save a little bit of hair.

 

[hellohello]

Yeh I had similar pain as you did for a few months but it seemed to go away. Sometimes it would get really worrying and I probably should have stopped taking it, but I tried to convice myself it was partially in my mind.

 

[Britannia]

There is no wonder you are getting side effects. Youve been changing your finasteride dosages like you do your pants. Messing around like this is asking for trouble. You need to find a dosage you are comfortable with (1mg is best) and STICK WITH IT. You may have sides initially as your body adapts to the new hormonal levels. But these sides fade as your body finds a new acceptable hormonal balance.

 

[Aplunk1]

Consistency--

Seriously, Propecia's side effects go away over the course of time. Treatment isn't always easy at first, not just with Propecia alone. When I started taking a medication called Strattera, you wouldn't believe all the awful side effects I went through... Now it's doing me wonders.

 

[MJT82]

I'm giving it a shot at .25mg per day now (everyday) and I'll try to "ride out" these side effects as you suggest. I'll let everyone know how it goes...

 

[science-jay]

Consistency--

Seriously, Propecia's side effects go away over the course of time. Treatment isn't always easy at first, not just with Propecia alone. When I started taking a medication called Strattera, you wouldn't believe all the awful side effects I went through... Now it's doing me wonders.

btw Aplunk, Can you describe you l''arginine use, How much? when? and do you have periods where you're off it, to combat tolerance?

 

[Aplunk1]

I consistently use it. 2g a day, right after a meal, usually with a soda, or something.

I use Jarrow pharmaceutical grade. I'm not sure the body can develop a tolerance to L-Arginine.

 

[Bryan]

I use Jarrow pharmaceutical grade. I'm not sure the body can develop a tolerance to L-Arginine.

Are you talking about its libido-enhancing effects? From my own extensive experience with it many years ago, I'd give you 100-to-1 odds that you WILL develop a tolerance to it pretty quickly. I strongly recommend that you do NOT use it every day for that purpose.

Bryan