I know all of the horror stories of what happens after quitting finasteride. But has anyone on here quit finasteride and been just fine in a relatively short amount of time? I quit finasteride a few days ago after taking 1mg/day for about 3 weeks. I just couldn't live with the anxiety about whether the sides would come. Now all I want is to go back to my old DHT production, I don't even care about going bald!
Quit finasteride and go back to normal?
- Thread starter longgone
- Start date
You quit just because you were nervous about side effects possibly happening? You are reading too much into things and psyching yourself out! Side effects happen in less than 2% of men; if you are unlucky enough to get them, then you should consider alternatives.
Look, I realize that moving this thread to the side effect part of the forum hasn't helped my cause, but surely there must be SOMEONE who report on quitting finasteride without incident. And I'm not talking exclusively about those who had side effects that went away, I mean also those who had no side effects that quit finasteride without any sort of post-medication onset.
The vast majority of people seem to quit finasteride without incident. The 2% side effect profile is bunk though. If you're one of the unlucky ones, it doesn't really matter how long you took it... your system will crash within a few days to weeks, and you'll be in permanent hell. My advice would be to stop taking it ASAP.
I definitely believe that the 2% number is wrong, however it remains unknown how many users suffer from side effects even after cessation. Even assuming this has occurred to thousands of patients, it is still likely less than 1%, and even less who will suffer permanently (even on propeciahelp, there are patients reporting that although side effects persisted, they were eventually resolved in months/years).
In sum, I'm obviously concerned, I wish I never took the drug for even a brief time and I have stopped it. On the other hand, fear can take over rationality very easily (I've been dead certain that I've had all sorts of things, only to be eventually proven wrong). There are doctors all over the world (including my own) who have prescribed the drug for thousands and thousands of patients and have never seen anything approaching PFS, whether treating with Proscar or Propecia or Avodart (would be PDS, I guess). This doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, but it does support its rarity.
Finally, I literally demanded an extended discussion with my doctor yesterday, and he actually brought in the head of the department (this is at a large research hospital) to have the discussion with me. They appeared knowledgeable about how the drug worked, what DHT is/does, and how often finasteride is prescribed. In their medical opinion, which must at least count for something, a healthy male (I'm 28 with no other health problems) will be fine after stopping the drug, even if side effects are experienced. They essentially said (1) the body will re-start producing DHT at its previous rate (this is no surprise and I think even most people on here accept it) and (2) the body will be able to handle that transition back to normal DHT, particularly when the levels have been lowered for only less than a month. They said that DHT levels should be back to normal in 2-4 weeks, and any side effects will subside at that point, if not before as the body returns to normalcy during this time.
Going forward, I've only been off the drug for 4 days and I know I'm not out of the woods. I had no morning erection today, but this wouldn't be the first time that I freaked myself into a period of low libido/loss of erections. This time I didn't notice any side effects until I basically decided that I would be freaked out by this drug. So my plan is to eat healthy, exercise and lift weights, take 50mg of zinc/day, and focus on the fact that, statistically speaking, I probably have a bigger chance getting killed on my walk home from work than having permanent problems from finasteride.
In sum, I'm obviously concerned, I wish I never took the drug for even a brief time and I have stopped it. On the other hand, fear can take over rationality very easily (I've been dead certain that I've had all sorts of things, only to be eventually proven wrong). There are doctors all over the world (including my own) who have prescribed the drug for thousands and thousands of patients and have never seen anything approaching PFS, whether treating with Proscar or Propecia or Avodart (would be PDS, I guess). This doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, but it does support its rarity.
Finally, I literally demanded an extended discussion with my doctor yesterday, and he actually brought in the head of the department (this is at a large research hospital) to have the discussion with me. They appeared knowledgeable about how the drug worked, what DHT is/does, and how often finasteride is prescribed. In their medical opinion, which must at least count for something, a healthy male (I'm 28 with no other health problems) will be fine after stopping the drug, even if side effects are experienced. They essentially said (1) the body will re-start producing DHT at its previous rate (this is no surprise and I think even most people on here accept it) and (2) the body will be able to handle that transition back to normal DHT, particularly when the levels have been lowered for only less than a month. They said that DHT levels should be back to normal in 2-4 weeks, and any side effects will subside at that point, if not before as the body returns to normalcy during this time.
Going forward, I've only been off the drug for 4 days and I know I'm not out of the woods. I had no morning erection today, but this wouldn't be the first time that I freaked myself into a period of low libido/loss of erections. This time I didn't notice any side effects until I basically decided that I would be freaked out by this drug. So my plan is to eat healthy, exercise and lift weights, take 50mg of zinc/day, and focus on the fact that, statistically speaking, I probably have a bigger chance getting killed on my walk home from work than having permanent problems from finasteride.
You made an extremely wise decision quitting.
I was a perfectly healthy 28 year old too... doesn't really matter how healthy or young you are. If you're predisposed to PFS you're going to get it. I only took the drug 15 days and my crash didn't happen until I was 6 weeks off, so take that for what it's worth. The sides I had while on the drug weren't that bad either-- mostly sleep problems and mild libido issues.
As for recoveries on the propecia help site, they are extremely rare. Most of the "recoveries" in that site's recoveries section are of people who never had PFS to begin with(recovered within 2 months). I hadn't visited the site for 3.5 months and checked back there a few days ago, and there hadn't been a single new recovery story posted that entire time. It is the most depressing portion of that site for a finasteride victim.
I would stop worrying though. You will very likely come through unscathed. Go out and enjoy your life and forget about hair loss and these damn drugs.
I was a perfectly healthy 28 year old too... doesn't really matter how healthy or young you are. If you're predisposed to PFS you're going to get it. I only took the drug 15 days and my crash didn't happen until I was 6 weeks off, so take that for what it's worth. The sides I had while on the drug weren't that bad either-- mostly sleep problems and mild libido issues.
As for recoveries on the propecia help site, they are extremely rare. Most of the "recoveries" in that site's recoveries section are of people who never had PFS to begin with(recovered within 2 months). I hadn't visited the site for 3.5 months and checked back there a few days ago, and there hadn't been a single new recovery story posted that entire time. It is the most depressing portion of that site for a finasteride victim.
I would stop worrying though. You will very likely come through unscathed. Go out and enjoy your life and forget about hair loss and these damn drugs.