Finasteride User For 3 Years, Quit 3 Weeks Ago

[markitouuu]

Ok so officially 1 month off the meds. Nothing changed. I'm gonna post monthly updates and stop checking the forums and try to forget everything and don't read any more horror stories cause it isn't helping.

Morning erections: back but pretty weak
Normal erections: kinda weak and hard to get and mantain
Semen: normal color and quantity
Libido: 0, don't feel anything
Sensitivity: pretty bad, numb, hope it will come back
Brain fog: almost none
Depression: present, don't know if it is from finasteride but trying to fight it

Things I will try:
-running (started already, made me feel better about my depression but didn't affect libido in any way)
-hitting the gym and lifting weights (i'll probably start in 2 weeks)
-zinc supplements (first I wanna get some blood tests done to see how my T and estrogen are right now, sadly in my country they don't test DHT)
-no fapping (not sure how long I'll go but I haven't fapped for 12 days already and last time I had sex was 5 days ago, also I'm afraid this will kill my dick because of no blood down there so I'm not really sure if I should do it, but seriously I don't feel the need to fap so it won't be hard)
-also gonna go to another urologist to tell him all of this

Any other ideas?

 

[Manochoice]

Ok so officially 1 month off the meds. Nothing changed. I'm gonna post monthly updates and stop checking the forums and try to forget everything and don't read any more horror stories cause it isn't helping.

Morning erections: back but pretty weak
Normal erections: kinda weak and hard to get and mantain
Semen: normal color and quantity
Libido: 0, don't feel anything
Sensitivity: pretty bad, numb, hope it will come back
Brain fog: almost none
Depression: present, don't know if it is from finasteride but trying to fight it

Things I will try:
-running (started already, made me feel better about my depression but didn't affect libido in any way)
-hitting the gym and lifting weights (i'll probably start in 2 weeks)
-zinc supplements (first I wanna get some blood tests done to see how my T and estrogen are right now, sadly in my country they don't test DHT)
-no fapping (not sure how long I'll go but I haven't fapped for 12 days already and last time I had sex was 5 days ago, also I'm afraid this will kill my dick because of no blood down there so I'm not really sure if I should do it, but seriously I don't feel the need to fap so it won't be hard)
-also gonna go to another urologist to tell him all of this

Any other ideas?

Patience, really. If anither month or 2 passes and really no improvements then maybe startvworry. But statistics are on your side

 

[markitouuu]

Patience, really. If anither month or 2 passes and really no improvements then maybe startvworry. But statistics are on your side

I read a lot of stories of people getting better at 3 or 4 month mark, but they were people that took it for 8 months or less. And I took it 3 years so I'm scared as sh*t.
Either way, I'm hopping for a 3 month recovery, also gonna try to aid it by doing all the stuff I mentioned above. But I'm seriously freaking out.
When morning wood came back I felt relieved, but then I realized I haven't had morning wood for who knows how long, and it was pretty weak, I'm scared it won't be normal ever again.

 

[Manochoice]

I read a lot of stories of people getting better at 3 or 4 month mark, but they were people that took it for 8 months or less. And I took it 3 years so I'm scared as sh*t.
Either way, I'm hopping for a 3 month recovery, also gonna try to aid it by doing all the stuff I mentioned above. But I'm seriously freaking out.
When morning wood came back I felt relieved, but then I realized I haven't had morning wood for who knows how long, and it was pretty weak, I'm scared it won't be normal ever again.

Freaking out and being scar e won't help your cause. Really! It varies so much how ppl respond and recover that it's hard to build an opinion based only on others' experiences. Yes, there is a risk for the worse but most people seem to recover. It's why I'm stating statistics are in your favor. Do what you need to do to live a healthy life and rather than being panicked, hope for the best and make good plans for the future! I wish you the best and a smooth recovery! It'll be great if you can update monthly... Hope to hear good news

 

[markitouuu]

So I know I said I was gonna post a monthly report, but I'm at my lowest right now. I promised I was gonna keep away from this forum and propeciahelp but I couldn't help it. It's like a feeling in the back of my mind that creeps upon me and reminds I possibly ruined my life by taking this pill, and it makes me feel miserable. And even if I recover I can never know if I'm back to my old self or I'm different than before.

Anyway feeling pretty low, the thing that worries me the most is anhedonia and 0 libido, all the other stuff I can deal with. I feel different, like I'm not myself anymore, in fact I feel worse than when I was on propecia. I don't know if this is the supposed crash or not, but the only thing that worsened is my mental health. Erections still work (although not as strong as before), and I think penis sensitivity is improving day after day.

But I feel pretty alone, even after telling my family and therapist, it's like I'm trapped in my own mind and nobody understands me or believes me.

One thing worth nothing and I think it's pretty important. After I had my first retrograde ejaculation, I immediately went on the internet thinking it was the finasteride, that was when I read all horror stories. But then I started looking for other reasons and found about diabetes, and then I was SURE I had diabetes, and forgot about finasteride. So I think I may be a bit hypochondriac and my mind could have a stronger effect on this. And reading horror stories and people never recovering of course isn't helping in any way. But I feel weird and depressed since mid 2018 and just read the horror stories in May 2019, so it's not JUST in my mind. Which in turn makes me more convinced that I'm experiencing PFS and that I will never recover, and what's the point in living like that, what a wasted life.

Anyway, one month and one week of the meds status:

Morning erections: back but pretty weak, and only last for seconds after waking up (however while on fina I had none)
Normal erections: kinda weak and hard to get and mantain
Semen: normal color, poor quantity
Libido: 0, don't feel anything
Sensitivity: numb, I think it's improving somewhat, maybe at 40% or 50% right now
Brain fog: almost none
Depression: pretty bad, at my lowest, however I'm a functional human that does things, I don't stay in bed all day but I just force myself to do stuff, like a robot
Anxiety: last night I felt it for the first time since my panic attack, I think it was from reading and thinking so much about this
Penis size: I think it's the same, and never changed, maybe a bit more wrinkly? but can't remember how it was 3 years ago, although somehow I believe my girth decreased a bit but could just be my imagination from reading all the horror stories

Things I'm doing/going to do:
-running (started already, made me feel better about my depression but didn't affect libido in any way)
-hitting the gym and lifting weights (I'm starting this monday)
-zinc supplements (first I wanna get some blood tests done to see how my T and estrogen are right now, sadly in my country they don't test DHT)
-maca root
-no fapping (went for it like 18 days, on day 15 I felt REALLY good, I had RANDOM erections which I hadn't got in ages, and I was horny, but just physically, I had the urge to get off, but mentally libido was still 0, anyway on day 18 I masturbate because I was just stressed about all this, orgasm felt kinda good, like 70% good, but lasted less than a second, and volume was pretty low, it made me more anxious about all this)
-have an appointment in a month with an urologist that I believe knows PFS is a thing, let's see what he has to say

Anyway I'm praying to God (I'm an atheist lol) that time and exercise will make me feel better, but I'm not a patient guy and each day I feel more miserable.

 

[HLV]

A lot of people have been in your position so understand your anxiety. I didn’t go through all your posts but are you still taking the medication and for how long have you been taking it? How long have you had Zero libido?

HLV

 

[markitouuu]

A lot of people have been in your position so understand your anxiety. I didn’t go through all your posts but are you still taking the medication and for how long have you been taking it? How long have you had Zero libido?

HLV

I took it for 3 years since september 2016, I stopped 1 month and a week ago.

Low libido crept up slowly on me.

I'm gonna give you a good idea with dates:
-always had kinda low libido, at least regarding sex, but I masturbated every day and had a lot of fantasies and got horny by looking at women or thinking about sex
-started dating a girl in july 2016
-started fina in september 2016
-broke up with girl february 2017, felt pretty depressed, it may have been the fina already, but I just think it was the break up, no problems whatsoever during relationship regarding sex and libido, at leas I think so
-rest of 2017 I think I felt normal, I had a one night stand in november 2017 and it went well, although I lost an erection quickly after ejaculation which never happened before, but I got it up again no problems)
-first half of 2018 kinda ok, still looking for girls on tinder and discos, but something felt off
-second half of 2018 got depressed, started therapy, had a panic attack, stoped chatting with girls in social media and apps, stopped going out to discos
-whole 2019 just like before, but kinda worse, but I went dancing with a friend once and met a girl, I didn't chat with her the following days but she did, and I thought maybe going out with this girl could help me get out of my depressive state. So I did and we ended up having sex. Worst sex of my life: almost no feeling, premature ejaculation, weak orgasm, a lot of anxiety, and after first ejaculation I just wanted to go home. But mind you, I was already psyched about all this stuff, so it could have had an impact on me.

Anyway sorry for long post I can't help it, it's like the more detailed I am the better I feel about myself regarding all this.

But here's a tldr if you don't wanna read all that:
-took fina for 3 years (2016-2019)
-stopped 1 month and a week ago
-I have had very low libido approximately since mid 2018, maybe before that, and progressively it got worse until this point in time becoming 0. I don't even feel the need to masturbate anymore. I can still get erect though.

 

[HLV]

I took it for 3 years since september 2016, I stopped 1 month and a week ago.

Low libido crept up slowly on me.

I'm gonna give you a good idea with dates:
-always had kinda low libido, at least regarding sex, but I masturbated every day and had a lot of fantasies and got horny by looking at women or thinking about sex
-started dating a girl in july 2016
-started fina in september 2016
-broke up with girl february 2017, felt pretty depressed, it may have been the fina already, but I just think it was the break up, no problems whatsoever during relationship regarding sex and libido, at leas I think so
-rest of 2017 I think I felt normal, I had a one night stand in november 2017 and it went well, although I lost an erection quickly after ejaculation which never happened before, but I got it up again no problems)
-first half of 2018 kinda ok, still looking for girls on tinder and discos, but something felt off
-second half of 2018 got depressed, started therapy, had a panic attack, stoped chatting with girls in social media and apps, stopped going out to discos
-whole 2019 just like before, but kinda worse, but I went dancing with a friend once and met a girl, I didn't chat with her the following days but she did, and I thought maybe going out with this girl could help me get out of my depressive state. So I did and we ended up having sex. Worst sex of my life: almost no feeling, premature ejaculation, weak orgasm, a lot of anxiety, and after first ejaculation I just wanted to go home. But mind you, I was already psyched about all this stuff, so it could have had an impact on me.

Anyway sorry for long post I can't help it, it's like the more detailed I am the better I feel about myself regarding all this.

But here's a tldr if you don't wanna read all that:
-took fina for 3 years (2016-2019)
-stopped 1 month and a week ago
-I have had very low libido approximately since mid 2018, maybe before that, and progressively it got worse until this point in time becoming 0. I don't even feel the need to masturbate anymore. I can still get erect though.

Ok. good news is that you’re only a month off. Your sex drive still has plenty of time to improve naturally on its own so you’re still in the early day. you can also get an erection which is a very good sign.

Obviously you’re so stressed so that can have an impact as well. my advice is try to worry less for now because you’re still in the early days and there’s plenty of time to improve the libido issue.

HLV

 

[markitouuu]

So, this friday will be 2 months since stopping the medication. No improvements whatsoever, maybe slight more sensation in penis but it could be my imagination. Libido is still tanked.
I'm making this post today because I visited a local urologist listed in the pfs foundation, and he basically told me I might be fucked, which made me even more depressed. He explained to me the stuff about methylation. And if I'm one of those it's basically game over. And now I can't stop thinking I AM one of those, why wouldn't I be, otherwise all symtoms should have already resolved after stopping.
Anyway this is a super f*****g dark day for me.

 

[Tick-Tock]

When you guys talk about being able to get erections, are you including masturbation? Or do you mean spontaneous erections when getting intimate with a sexual partner? And is there any truth to the theory that stopping masturbation restores the latter? Thanks for any thoughts on this.

 

[markitouuu]

When you guys talk about being able to get erections, are you including masturbation? Or do you mean spontaneous erections when getting intimate with a sexual partner? And is there any truth to the theory that stopping masturbation restores the latter? Thanks for any thoughts on this.

My erections are fine altough they aren't what they use to be. Can get normal erections via manual stimulation during masturbation. Also the only time I had sex since my nightmare began, I could get it up just by anticipation, I don't know if I could do that every single time cause I only did it once. Erections just by tought alone or random boners are starting to appear, altough not frequently. Also started to have morning wood but I'm not sure if it's real morning wood or "fake" (just to hold urine). But on finasteride I didn't even get fake morning wood.

 

[Tick-Tock]

My erections are fine altough they aren't what they use to be. Can get normal erections via manual stimulation during masturbation. Also the only time I had sex since my nightmare began, I could get it up just by anticipation, I don't know if I could do that every single time cause I only did it once. Erections just by tought alone or random boners are starting to appear, altough not frequently. Also started to have morning wood but I'm not sure if it's real morning wood or "fake" (just to hold urine). But on finasteride I didn't even get fake morning wood.

Thanks for your thoughts Markitouuu. Are you a believer in the whole stopping masturbating bringing back spontaneous erections thing?

 

[markitouuu]

Thanks for your thoughts Markitouuu. Are you a believer in the whole stopping masturbating bringing back spontaneous erections thing?

Well it dependes on WHAT affected you. If it was finasteride then I believe no amount of nofap will make things better.
TBH I haven't masturbated in a month (because of no libido) and spontaneous erections are getting better slowly. But I think it's because of stopping finasteride, not from nofap. But maybe I need to try to masturbate again and see if recovery mantains or I lose progress.

 

[jh94]

The feeling of indifference towards people and becoming less intuned to my emotions/less motivated is something I can relate to very hard. Also had brainfog too.

This x1000, been on finasteride for the 5th or so time for a year now.. fighting apathy, low energy, depression, brain fog / harder thinking and constant crawly anxiety feeling in my chest. Feels bad man, as I was quite depressed after shaving my head too. I'm getting older though 5 years on, so maybe it'll become easier to accept.

I came off for a week or two recently and felt great. More purpose, confidence and energy. Still considering ditching it

 

[derk]

Hi,@markitouuu any updates on your journey. I can feel you after reading this entire thread and I really want to know. Thanks

 

[losingbattle88]

This x1000, been on finasteride for the 5th or so time for a year now.. fighting apathy, low energy, depression, brain fog / harder thinking and constant crawly anxiety feeling in my chest. Feels bad man, as I was quite depressed after shaving my head too. I'm getting older though 5 years on, so maybe it'll become easier to accept.

I came off for a week or two recently and felt great. More purpose, confidence and energy. Still considering ditching it

Good you take duta instead of that evil fina