FullMetalGear
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Hello good people of the hairlosstalk.com forums,
I recently stopped taking finasteride due to side effects and began having a few new side effects post-quitting. After a little searching I found that there isn't much information out there on how one should quit propecia, or what type of side effects people experience and how long they last. I am creating a log of my experience on here with the hope that others will share their experiences with side effects and quitting so myself and everyone else can get a better understanding of what is normal / not normal.
About me.
I am 26 years old.
I began taking propecia 18 months ago.
I took 1.25mg (1/4 of a proscar tablet daily)
I did not have any side effects until recently.
I used minoxidil two times a day alongside finasteride.
I had favourable results (hair stopped falling out, regrew a little).
I don't believe I fit the norwood-hamilton scale very well. My hair was thinning all over the top of my head (more at the back). It is still thin (looking from above, you can clearly see the vertex of my scalp), but it is definitely less thin than before and I have stopped shedding.
So here's what happened.
I hadn't had sex for about a year, and then in early December 2014 I had a ONS but was unable to get hard. This tipped me off that something was wrong, but I didn't do anything about it.
Mid-december I started seeing another woman and we had sex. The first few times I was able to get hard but I noticed it wasn't as strong as before. Then it was really good a few times. Then finally one night I was unable to perform at all. I also felt like my libido was way lower than before. Normally 20 minutes after orgasming I'd be ready to dive back in, but I just wasn't interested.
After all this, I got scared (because I like this girl) and didn't want this problem to ruin my chances with her. So I stopped taking propecia one week ago (January 7th).
I saw her again 3 days later and my problems were even worse. Couldn't get hard at all. Then if I did, if I didn't get him into her within a few seconds and start thrusting, he'd just give up.
I noticed it was easier for me to get hard in the morning and so I managed to finish (orgasm) with her during sex the morning after (however my erection was not as good as I'm used to).
I logged onto hairlosstalk.com and noticed a few users were saying that you should "taper off" finasteride instead of quit cold turkey. At this point I had already stopped it for 4 days so I decided to stick with cold turkey as to not confuse my brain further (not really a scientific reason, just a gut feeling). If anyone has any input on this (or personal experience), I would be happy to hear it.
In addition, I have been having a few other side effects. The most noticeable is a "pinching" feeling in the lower part of the shaft of my penis that was around all day during days 3,4,5 post-quit (I am not experiencing that feeling today). I also had some mild testicular pain that I would describe as my balls feeling "heavy" and "achy". Also I feel like my penis has gotten smaller in girth. I didn't think that was possible, and I might be imagining it or perhaps it is just due to reduced blood flow, but he definitely feels smaller than usual in my hands.
I do not have any morning erections, and it takes a lot of imagination, or pretty decent pornography to get him up. At that point I can masturbate to orgasm without too much difficulty. But it may not be the same with a partner.
--------- TL;DR -----------
I quit finasteride 6 days ago because I was having erectile dysfunction and decreased libido.
The ED and decreased libido got worse when I attempted sex 3 days after quitting.
I felt a "pinching" pain in the lower shaft of my penis all day on days 3, 4 and 5 post-quitting.
I felt a mild testicular pain that felt "heavy" and "achy" the same days as the pinching pain.
The above two pains are not present on day 6 but I still feel decreased libido, no morning erections, and more difficulty than usual obtaining an erection.
I am wondering if these side effects are normal.
I will continue to update this post as time passes.
I recently stopped taking finasteride due to side effects and began having a few new side effects post-quitting. After a little searching I found that there isn't much information out there on how one should quit propecia, or what type of side effects people experience and how long they last. I am creating a log of my experience on here with the hope that others will share their experiences with side effects and quitting so myself and everyone else can get a better understanding of what is normal / not normal.
About me.
I am 26 years old.
I began taking propecia 18 months ago.
I took 1.25mg (1/4 of a proscar tablet daily)
I did not have any side effects until recently.
I used minoxidil two times a day alongside finasteride.
I had favourable results (hair stopped falling out, regrew a little).
I don't believe I fit the norwood-hamilton scale very well. My hair was thinning all over the top of my head (more at the back). It is still thin (looking from above, you can clearly see the vertex of my scalp), but it is definitely less thin than before and I have stopped shedding.
So here's what happened.
I hadn't had sex for about a year, and then in early December 2014 I had a ONS but was unable to get hard. This tipped me off that something was wrong, but I didn't do anything about it.
Mid-december I started seeing another woman and we had sex. The first few times I was able to get hard but I noticed it wasn't as strong as before. Then it was really good a few times. Then finally one night I was unable to perform at all. I also felt like my libido was way lower than before. Normally 20 minutes after orgasming I'd be ready to dive back in, but I just wasn't interested.
After all this, I got scared (because I like this girl) and didn't want this problem to ruin my chances with her. So I stopped taking propecia one week ago (January 7th).
I saw her again 3 days later and my problems were even worse. Couldn't get hard at all. Then if I did, if I didn't get him into her within a few seconds and start thrusting, he'd just give up.
I noticed it was easier for me to get hard in the morning and so I managed to finish (orgasm) with her during sex the morning after (however my erection was not as good as I'm used to).
I logged onto hairlosstalk.com and noticed a few users were saying that you should "taper off" finasteride instead of quit cold turkey. At this point I had already stopped it for 4 days so I decided to stick with cold turkey as to not confuse my brain further (not really a scientific reason, just a gut feeling). If anyone has any input on this (or personal experience), I would be happy to hear it.
In addition, I have been having a few other side effects. The most noticeable is a "pinching" feeling in the lower part of the shaft of my penis that was around all day during days 3,4,5 post-quit (I am not experiencing that feeling today). I also had some mild testicular pain that I would describe as my balls feeling "heavy" and "achy". Also I feel like my penis has gotten smaller in girth. I didn't think that was possible, and I might be imagining it or perhaps it is just due to reduced blood flow, but he definitely feels smaller than usual in my hands.
I do not have any morning erections, and it takes a lot of imagination, or pretty decent pornography to get him up. At that point I can masturbate to orgasm without too much difficulty. But it may not be the same with a partner.
--------- TL;DR -----------
I quit finasteride 6 days ago because I was having erectile dysfunction and decreased libido.
The ED and decreased libido got worse when I attempted sex 3 days after quitting.
I felt a "pinching" pain in the lower shaft of my penis all day on days 3, 4 and 5 post-quitting.
I felt a mild testicular pain that felt "heavy" and "achy" the same days as the pinching pain.
The above two pains are not present on day 6 but I still feel decreased libido, no morning erections, and more difficulty than usual obtaining an erection.
I am wondering if these side effects are normal.
I will continue to update this post as time passes.