New to Finasteride question about sides.

[blunt]

Hello everyone I am on day two taking finasteride, I am 25 years old and noticed tonight after spending time with my girlfriend maintaining my erection was proving to be a challenge. I did manage but things were definitely different then I have ever experienced before.

Now I clearly have read all of the side effects of the drug but I am wondering if its just my body getting use to the changes?

I have read a lot of horror stories but what I am looking for is people who have been taking the drug and are willing to give input. I am strongly considering stopping the drug as of today.

 

[Agahi]

Day two I'm doubting it. You are likely just getting nervous ect from all the horror stories. May want to lay off the stories and calm down, in 2 weeks or so I'd say then decide.

 

[Wuffer]

It's clear you are aware finasteride can cause side effects, and you've been reading the horror stories. I would be willing to bet your problems are due to the nocebo effect (psychosomatic), but it's definitely possible the drug itself may be to blame.

Initally when starting finasteride is usually when most people see side effects. After a few weeks your body should normalize again and chances are you will be back to normal again. Don't freak out about it.

When you were fooling around with your girlfriend, were you thinking "crap I hope finasteride didn't mess with my erection!" or something along those lines? Even having that thought cross your mind can be enough to take the crack out of your whip. Then after you see you aren't performing well enough, you continue to worry more and more. Worry does NOT play well with enjoyable sex! I went through this very thing when I started finasteride.. It went on for weeks. Then when my girlfriend and I got away from town, she put on some sexy lingerie and we had some of the best sex of my life for hours on end with absolutely no problems. Ever since then I realized it's mind over matter (for me anyway).

Just something to mull over.

 

[lorre]

Your issue may be psychological at this point.

Nonetheless, I would encourage you to stop taking finasteride. I truly wish I could go back in time to my second day on finasteride and stop taking it right then. Instead, I tried to ignore the side effects which steadily got worse. I noticed my erections were weaker and harder to sustain, and I had some testicular pain. After a month and a half, I finally decided the sides weren't worth it, and quit.

It is now 4 months later. My side effects still persist and I'm currently seeking medical treatment. I envy you for having the foresight to post your concern so early on. I wish I had done that, and I wish someone had told me exactly what I'm telling you now: it isn't worth the risk. Your sexuality is worth infinitely more than your hair; unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way, by messing up my sexuality.

Of course, this is just my opinion. I'm not a scientist or a doctor. Some people will disagree with me. But if you haven't already, I would urge you to listen to what this doctor has to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAZ3-t7v ... re=related

As Wuffer said, sexual dysfunction is often at least partly psychological. If you do choose to stay on finasteride, I would urge you to stay positive, be open with your partner about what might happen, treat your body well (exercise plenty, sleep plenty, eat well, take a multi vitamin), and try not to get caught in a downward spiral of sexual anxiety.

All that being said, though, I honestly do think that you should just quit.

Best of luck! I would be happy to try and answer any other questions you might have.

 

[Joe-1991]

Blunt

I was like you and suffered side effects days after i began taking finasteride and i had not read into any horror stories. I had some kid on here telling me that it made him infertile but that was it. I wrote about my concerns over the side effects and i was told that i was being paranoid, it was all in my head etc just like you are now.

Almost 2 years later and i am dealing with terrible sexual and cognitive problems from the few months that i went on to use finasteride. You DO NOT want to end up like me. Going bald doesn't even compare to the mental torture of having your penis go numb, going days/ weeks without erections, not being able to keep up with conversations with your own family and friends. It is f*****g weird and it makes life very difficult.

If this sort of thing hasn't happened to you before then it probably isn't in your head. Before i took finasteride i never even gave erections a second thought and certainly never consciously thought about my 'sex drive'. As far as i knew, i loved sex and would perform at any time, any place. I am sure you are the same? young, healthy men very rarely have these issues, especially with a familiar partner. If you have read into side effects then there is a chance it is psychological. You need to try and think carefully about this yourself, although there should be plenty of clues if you are to stay on the drug. Morning erections, spontaneous erections, sexual thoughts etc - if these become absent then you know what is happening and should quit the drug immediately.

Regardless, i would quit finasteride and get off these forums now. If i did this years ago i wouldn't be in this position today. If my personal story isn't enough to convince you then visit propeciahelp - 5 new members today with two new horror stories. That's 2048 members in total. You should check out the videos below too:

Dr John Crisler - speaking on permanent side effects

"Too often they have very good testosterone levels but have all the symptoms of hypogonadism and that is a very serious problem. These guys are seriously screwed up from taking that drug. I have never prescribed it an never will"

That is coming from a world leading anti aging specialist, considered as the very best in testosterone replacement therapy, who has seen thousand of men in all sorts of trouble with hormones, sexual issues etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEGCTMtlgoc

Suicide linked to finasteride and dutasteride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXxUpiExMtQ

Please remember that you are receiving a number of opinions from men that are taking finasteride themselves. When i returned to this forum with my new sexual problems and a lack of concern for my hair, some members that were encouraging me to stay on finasteride as they were also taking it had also quit after experiencing severe side effects themselves and now had a negative view of the drug. Which, pretty much says it all.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

If it's only day two, you're probably fine. A lot of people experience a minor drop in libido the first week or two, and then it gets better. Some people have even had these types of sides for a month to two months before it improves. I would honestly give it at least that long to try it. If you're not showing signs of improvement then get off.

 

[Joe-1991]

If it's only day two, you're probably fine. A lot of people experience a minor drop in libido the first week or two, and then it gets better. Some people have even had these types of sides for a month to two months before it improves. I would honestly give it at least that long to try it. If you're not showing signs of improvement then get off.

I seriously cannot even believe someone could do this. I know i am bias because finasteride bit me pretty bad but even before, when i thought finasteride was a safe drug i would have been shocked by this advice.

"Yeah that's right, the drug your on is giving you sexual problems but if you stay on it long enough then everything should be fine. Don't worry about the long term effects of taking something that just completely changed the normal functioning of your penis that you have been used to for x amount of years."

:dunno:

This is assuming that the person being given the advice cares about there sexual functioning. TheGrayMan may place having good hair above normal sexual functioning, in which case if he's happy, fair enough.

 

[blunt]

Hello and thanks for reply's.

I only found out about the horror stories after the impotence issue of yesterday. I can say with confidence it's not in my head, I am just one of the unlucky 18% that gets impotence as a side effect. Gaining the erection proves to be a challenge and if I stop the act of sex once erect I go soft instantly.

I have now stopped taking finasteride and will comment over the next few days if I continue to have a problem.

I by no means am one of these doomsayers. I just haven't found a single case where a person in my position with this medication had a diminish of side effects over time.

 

[Joe-1991]

Good choice. Everything should return to normal in good time.

 

[blunt]

Still feeling the effects. Things have improved a little, and I did wake up this morning semi hard.

I have also decided to take a week off of sex to give my body some time to recover.

To anyone and everyone who stumbles across this post, first I would like to address the people who say they don't have any sides but will admit to not being as hard or ball pain at moments etc.
Now by no means am I trying to say everyone feels sides but its pretty clear a lot more people do then report the effects.

The problem is people are willing to accept these sides, but do nothing to report it to a doctor. So people like me see the rare and 2% of men have issues and take the medication. If more people like me spoke up as soon as a problem arises we would have more accurate numbers, which could save people the trouble of even risking taking it in the first place.

If I had known more I would have never even taking the stuff in the first place. I am not worried and since I only took it for 2 days I am pretty confident I will get back to normal. But this time in limbo by no means something I wanted to deal with.

 

[amalgamated]

I hope you fully recover from the Propecia Symptoms. I suspect you will...

I suggest you read David DeAngelo's books about female attraction.

Women care how a guy ACTS, not about his looks.

Forget this website. Forget Rogaine or any other Rx treatment.

I happened to work in marketing at Bosley Medical back in '98 - '00 before I stupidly took Propecia. It was a high paying 'bridge' job. Kind of the Rolls Royce of 'telemarketing'... the top of the 'bottom of the heap'. Anyway, I learned a few things about hair loss, but obviously not enough about Propecia before I stupidly took it.

Bosley generally does great work, but the thing with Transplantation is it doesn't prevent non transplanted hair from falling out. Male Pattern Hair loss is genetic, period. Everything else topical is B.S.

Rogaine had some effect for me... I started using that back in '84 or so. The pharmacy had to mix it... there was no 'brand Rogaine' it was just Minoxidil.

I would have paid someone millions to tell me all this back before I destroyed my life with Propecia in '98.

You get ONE endocrine system. Don't risk destroying it pumping a FEMALE HORMONE derivative into it.

Now that you've discontinued the propecia... stop reading this site (and the other one) for a few weeks and go about your life. I'm no M.D. but odds are I believe the side effects will dissipate.

 

[blunt]

Hello everyone,

I am happy to say that after six weeks my system returned to normal. That's right six whole weeks for two days use, now I know a lot of people seem to think the effects I faced were self contrived. My response to that is, in the last lets say 10 years of my life not once pre or post recovery have I ever experienced such drastic reaction to any sort of medication.

finasteride is by no means the first drug in those 10 years that had potential sides that would cause a persons psyche to become strained. Yet it is the only one that had any sort of lingering effect, the fact that so many people seem to ignore all negative things that happen to the male body when taking finasteride is beyond me.

By no means am I trying to scare, bash, etc... just trying to shine light on what my experience was.

 

[Timi]

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