Quitting Propecia After 9 Years

[tedlin01]

Yeah well.. I hope you can restore your libido. The libido is useful for so much more then just sex. Eg: productivity and creativity on and off-work.

I am certain some people don't see the side-effects but that's probably because they don't have that much of a libido to begin with. I was using it for 12 months and was CERTAIN that I didnt get any sideeffects. I was noticing a change in personality, so did my friends. I thought it was beacuse I was getting older.

Then I lowered the dose on Finasteride, my DHT raised dramatically and for the first time I noticed HOW MUCH the decrease in DHT accually affected me.

To me it completely changed my personality and way of thinking about stuff. I am still suffering a bit of sideeffects, but it's slowly getting better(6 months after quitting)

Damn Finasteride.. Should only be available for people 30-40+.

 

[Mens Rea]

Surprised Wuffer hasn't been in this thread telling you it's probably in your head blah blah blah.

Good luck bro, im glad you've decided to take the plunge.

Finasteride is no joke. In hindsight i cannot believe i took that prostrate shrinking, enzyme inhibiting, hormone altering drug.

I be amazed how so many people find it hard to accept than finasteride can dramatically reduce your sexual functioning. Reducing DHT won't be a well received thing for many men's penis'. It's such an important hormone to have in your body and often what makes you the man you are (warts and all).


Let us know how it goes man. It could take a while to get your functioning back to a good standard, but keep the faith.

Lastly, i would say, just as a precaution, when you go off finasteride, take it very easy for a few weeks. Don't stress your body with difficult workouts, alcohol binges or anything like that. Give yourself a chance to get your body off that drug safely as so men's endocrine systems can crash after sudden cessation.

 

[oldmpber]

This thread is depressing. :shakehead:

Well rather than totally giving up on finasteride, we are trying to see if a small dose at lessor intervals will hold off progression while still avoiding sides. If it doesn't work well at least we tried!

 

[kehcorpz]

Surprised Wuffer hasn't been in this thread telling you it's probably in your head blah blah blah.

Good luck bro, im glad you've decided to take the plunge.

Finasteride is no joke. In hindsight i cannot believe i took that prostrate shrinking, enzyme inhibiting, hormone altering drug.

I be amazed how so many people find it hard to accept than finasteride can dramatically reduce your sexual functioning. Reducing DHT won't be a well received thing for many men's penis'. It's such an important hormone to have in your body and often what makes you the man you are (warts and all).


Let us know how it goes man. It could take a while to get your functioning back to a good standard, but keep the faith.

Lastly, i would say, just as a precaution, when you go off finasteride, take it very easy for a few weeks. Don't stress your body with difficult workouts, alcohol binges or anything like that. Give yourself a chance to get your body off that drug safely as so men's endocrine systems can crash after sudden cessation.

Well after 9 years of being on finasteride and 9 years of dealing with it's side effects, i think I am finally ready to throw in the towel.

See he's been having side effects for all 9 years. It's not something that crept up on him from reading that. I agree that if you get side effects then stop as they are only going to get worse. If you don't, then keep on going. My buddy who has been on it for 11 years had a sexual increase from it, there's no reason why he should quit.

You're assuming that DHT plays a role in everyone's libido, and it does not. What plays a bigger role is bioavailable testosterone. And the __POSSIBLE__ increase in estrogen will only hurt the male in the end(assuming their tissues generate more aromatase as a result of the decreased 5-ar-2). However, the majority of people will not suffer this problem. If 6,000,000 people take finasteride 2% at 120,000 will get side effects. Those 120,000 will be vocal on the internet, believe me I was when I took my first antidepressant but my Doctor switched me and though I see many complaints it's working great for me. Now 120,000 may seem like a lot but it's not in the grand scheme of things. Even if the side effect ratio was 15% it would still not be the majority.

Now, I had horrible luck with Rogaine which caused me insane dark circles and wrinkly skin. Everyone was saying it's not the Rogaine, it's just you aging. Well, after I quit I restored my youthful look. So I don't judge those who have issues with finasteride as I truly believe them and instead of being in denial and continuing to take it like this guy did for 9 years, they should quit.

 

[Bryan]

You're assuming that DHT plays a role in everyone's libido, and it does not. What plays a bigger role is bioavailable testosterone. And the __POSSIBLE__ increase in estrogen will only hurt the male in the end(assuming their tissues generate more aromatase as a result of the decreased 5-ar-2). [snip]

Have you seen any scientific evidence that tissues generate more aromatase as a result of decreased 5a-reductase type 2?

 

[Mens Rea]

Surprised Wuffer hasn't been in this thread telling you it's probably in your head blah blah blah.

Good luck bro, im glad you've decided to take the plunge.

Finasteride is no joke. In hindsight i cannot believe i took that prostrate shrinking, enzyme inhibiting, hormone altering drug.

I be amazed how so many people find it hard to accept than finasteride can dramatically reduce your sexual functioning. Reducing DHT won't be a well received thing for many men's penis'. It's such an important hormone to have in your body and often what makes you the man you are (warts and all).


Let us know how it goes man. It could take a while to get your functioning back to a good standard, but keep the faith.

Lastly, i would say, just as a precaution, when you go off finasteride, take it very easy for a few weeks. Don't stress your body with difficult workouts, alcohol binges or anything like that. Give yourself a chance to get your body off that drug safely as so men's endocrine systems can crash after sudden cessation.

Well after 9 years of being on finasteride and 9 years of dealing with it's side effects, i think I am finally ready to throw in the towel.

See he's been having side effects for all 9 years. It's not something that crept up on him from reading that. I agree that if you get side effects then stop as they are only going to get worse. If you don't, then keep on going. My buddy who has been on it for 11 years had a sexual increase from it, there's no reason why he should quit.

You're assuming that DHT plays a role in everyone's libido, and it does not. What plays a bigger role is bioavailable testosterone. And the __POSSIBLE__ increase in estrogen will only hurt the male in the end(assuming their tissues generate more aromatase as a result of the decreased 5-ar-2). However, the majority of people will not suffer this problem. If 6,000,000 people take finasteride 2% at 120,000 will get side effects. Those 120,000 will be vocal on the internet, believe me I was when I took my first antidepressant but my Doctor switched me and though I see many complaints it's working great for me. Now 120,000 may seem like a lot but it's not in the grand scheme of things. Even if the side effect ratio was 15% it would still not be the majority.

Now, I had horrible luck with Rogaine which caused me insane dark circles and wrinkly skin. Everyone was saying it's not the Rogaine, it's just you aging. Well, after I quit I restored my youthful look. So I don't judge those who have issues with finasteride as I truly believe them and instead of being in denial and continuing to take it like this guy did for 9 years, they should quit.

More than 2% get some form of side effect let me tell you that.

And im not sure where you base your authority when you state the "possible" increase in estrogen. Because it's been shown in a MERCK study to increase levels by atleast 15%. Not sure where the debate lies here.

But yes, different people will respond differently.

Some men have reported an increase in sexual functioning and no doubt this is because of the testosterone spike. My concern is when this increase slowly wears off over the years one will end up with normal levels of testestorone, but now much lower levels of DHT and elevated E2. My advice therefore would be for your friend to watch things closely just incase things change, but for now you're right, he's fine.

 

[kehcorpz]

[quote="Mens Rea":3v02e2iu]Surprised Wuffer hasn't been in this thread telling you it's probably in your head blah blah blah.

Good luck bro, im glad you've decided to take the plunge.

Finasteride is no joke. In hindsight i cannot believe i took that prostrate shrinking, enzyme inhibiting, hormone altering drug.

I be amazed how so many people find it hard to accept than finasteride can dramatically reduce your sexual functioning. Reducing DHT won't be a well received thing for many men's penis'. It's such an important hormone to have in your body and often what makes you the man you are (warts and all).


Let us know how it goes man. It could take a while to get your functioning back to a good standard, but keep the faith.

Lastly, i would say, just as a precaution, when you go off finasteride, take it very easy for a few weeks. Don't stress your body with difficult workouts, alcohol binges or anything like that. Give yourself a chance to get your body off that drug safely as so men's endocrine systems can crash after sudden cessation.

Well after 9 years of being on finasteride and 9 years of dealing with it's side effects, i think I am finally ready to throw in the towel.

See he's been having side effects for all 9 years. It's not something that crept up on him from reading that. I agree that if you get side effects then stop as they are only going to get worse. If you don't, then keep on going. My buddy who has been on it for 11 years had a sexual increase from it, there's no reason why he should quit.

You're assuming that DHT plays a role in everyone's libido, and it does not. What plays a bigger role is bioavailable testosterone. And the __POSSIBLE__ increase in estrogen will only hurt the male in the end(assuming their tissues generate more aromatase as a result of the decreased 5-ar-2). However, the majority of people will not suffer this problem. If 6,000,000 people take finasteride 2% at 120,000 will get side effects. Those 120,000 will be vocal on the internet, believe me I was when I took my first antidepressant but my Doctor switched me and though I see many complaints it's working great for me. Now 120,000 may seem like a lot but it's not in the grand scheme of things. Even if the side effect ratio was 15% it would still not be the majority.

Now, I had horrible luck with Rogaine which caused me insane dark circles and wrinkly skin. Everyone was saying it's not the Rogaine, it's just you aging. Well, after I quit I restored my youthful look. So I don't judge those who have issues with finasteride as I truly believe them and instead of being in denial and continuing to take it like this guy did for 9 years, they should quit.

More than 2% get some form of side effect let me tell you that.

And im not sure where you base your authority when you state the "possible" increase in estrogen. Because it's been shown in a MERCK study to increase levels by atleast 15%. Not sure where the debate lies here.

But yes, different people will respond differently.

Some men have reported an increase in sexual functioning and no doubt this is because of the testosterone spike. My concern is when this increase slowly wears off over the years one will end up with normal levels of testestorone, but now much lower levels of DHT and elevated E2. My advice therefore would be for your friend to watch things closely just incase things change, but for now you're right, he's fine.[/quote:3v02e2iu]


Yes I know that there's a 15% increase in estrogen but that is on par with the testosterone increase so it's not a big deal. What I meant is that there may be an extra increase in estrogen for those experiencing side effects. There are so many possibilities for what could be happening due to the complexity of the endocrine system. One can only speculate until hard data is available.

I get tests done every year so I'll be keeping an eye on everything. We live in a society where so much of our food and environmental factors impact our hormones as it is. Even if down the road I do screw up my hormones I will probably end up using medicine to fix it anyways. I mean the amount of Xenoestrogens that we are exposed to is probably more alarming than something finasteride can do to us. They are in plastic, in cans, in everything.

 

[kehcorpz]

You're assuming that DHT plays a role in everyone's libido, and it does not. What plays a bigger role is bioavailable testosterone. And the __POSSIBLE__ increase in estrogen will only hurt the male in the end(assuming their tissues generate more aromatase as a result of the decreased 5-ar-2). [snip]

Have you seen any scientific evidence that tissues generate more aromatase as a result of decreased 5a-reductase type 2?

No it's merely speculation for what endocrine changes may occur to cause such side effects. There's not really much data available on this, nor have I really tried to research it as my tests have remained normal. I guess if it ever impacted me I would be doing this research. Though I have come across people in bodybuilding forums that have solved their sexual problems with an anti-aromatase. Although the health implications in blocking estrogen too much would not be a good long term solution.

 

[chip.jackson]

finasteride does cause sexual side effects, but I have to wonder how much of it is psychological.

In some drug studies, the people that were given the placebos and were TOLD about side effects DID complain after a few days. Even though they were pretty much swallowing sugar.

Again, side effects are real, and are probably way higher than what the label is, but some of it is mental as well.

If you think and you are convinced your penis is atrophied and can't produce an erection, you probably won't since have are already set yourself up for failure.

The brain is very powerful.

That's my two cents.

 

[sfoch]

I can relate my story. I had been on finasteride for a long time to stop rapid hair loss and destruction of my hairline. The finasteride worked great in dramatically slowing the loss (though it still continued to lose). I also used minoxidil but never really knew if it did anything (other than damage my hair and scalp). I didn't realize that I had been losing my libido over time with the finasteride but hindsight I can see that it was happening. I was quite sexually active and about 3-6 months into finasteride I seemed not to be looking for sex and was blowing girlfriends off. I didn't attribute it to finasteride at the time. My motivation was gradually decreased and I did get some of the brain fog that some report. My seminal volume was miniscule. My erections were soft and short lived. After having a beautiful girlfriend that I had little interest to have sex with I decided that I needed to stop the finasteride and see what happens. I had been on it for years. Within two weeks I developed some libido back but there was very little improvement in the erection department. My brain and penis were somewhat separate. Even kegel contractions were not enough to get an erection. I tried cialis and v**** without success. I continued on my finasteride holiday. At about three months I began losing hair at an alarming rate. I could now see through my scalp and I lost about a 1/2 inch of hairline on the temporal sides and 1/4 inch in front. It was faster than I expected. I continued to use minoxidil. I began to panic because I felt I was losing my hair for good and still l not getting my function or libido back. At four months I suddenly began experiencing morning erections which was a joy but still erections were not adequate. At five months I experienced my first solid erection. My libido was about 70% returned. I suddenly had interest in women again! I also noticed I was more motivated again and my mind was quite sharp. I am terrified of the next 6 months and that it can mean serious balding. I have always been known for my hair. So I too am in the dilemma of going back on finasteride, maybe lower doses, or let it go and hope my hair won't all go. I unfortunately would not look good with a shaved head :-(

 

[rwhairlosstalk]

Come on home brother, come on home... I understand what you are going through. I was on finasteride for 5 years and went from testosterone-jacked rabbit sex with my ex girlfriend to hoping that she won't wanna have sex with me. Because most probably I would not wanna have sex and therefore not even get hard. She finally gave up on me due to lack of intimacy, understanding, etc.

I found a new girlfriend, who is pretty much an objective 9/10, and as soon as the novelty wore off I was back to not caring again... Im 25 so this was obviously not acceptable.

I got off the damn thing gradually... but still had the post-finasteride crash which I'm sure you'll get. I was able to somewhat recover by eating clean, getting all my vitamins, and going to the gym 4 times per week. Also stopped paranoia-masturbating.

In regards to hair, I was able to keep all my propecia gains by using a shampoo and conditioner called regenepure, nizoral once or twice per week, one application of rosemary oil on my hairline in the mornings, and one application of Lipogaine minoxidil at night. I also take two "Hairomega 3-1" pills everyday. I shed less now than I did on propecia and slowly getting my libido back.

good luck

" shampoo and conditioner called regenepure, nizoral once or twice per week, one application of rosemary oil on my hairline in the mornings, and one application of Lipogaine minoxidil at night. I also take two "Hairomega 3-1" pills everyday" So this has lowered your shed?

 

[PeleMaradona]

Get on RU58841 and problem solved.

You might get to keep your hair and you get to keep having hots girlfreinds.

It's a mid-range shot, but it's worth it

 

[rwhairlosstalk]

Have you tried 17ap? I'd like to start on that. It's cream based and not drying like RU. Supposedly just as effective.

 

[DZ21]

Hey man go check out pegym dot com, I promise you that this whole thing of libido levels can be solved. It's completely free and it's a forum identical to this one but instead of being about balding it's is entirely about sexual improvement for men. Go check it out I promise you won't be disappointed.

 

[RP3X]

stopped the big 3 (finasteride/minoxidil/nizoral shampoo) for past 6 months and yeah went right perky and horny again, feel like a 25 year old and am almost 35

well almost at least lol

 

[Sparky4444]

Once you suffer from sides on finasteride, you will always have the sides even after you quit and go back....I see no point in living life as a limp, unmotivated, lifeless slug that finasteride caused in me...finasteride diminishes more than DHT. because it doesn't affect DHT solely....You all know that...

So the choice is to live healthy, be happy and have no hair....or stay on the drug that will eventually lose it's effectiveness, but yet will pretty much take away you're motivation to live even though you will be keeping your hair...

..there is more to life than hair....there are also other natural things that will help slow loss....keep in mind that there will be a major breakthrough within the next 5 years....things have been ramping up more than ever so just keep positive!

 

[Rucker]

8 years on and just quit

OP why not try 1mg or 1.25mg if you split your pills every other day or every 3rd day... I had to go from ED to EOD to every 3rd day to really reduce the side effects of loss of desire for sex... at ED dosage of 1mg my sex drive was really low... at EOD it was better but still not as high as it used to be... finally I settled on an every 3rd day dosage...

with the every 3rd day dosage of 1.25mg my sexual desire was maybe 75% of what it once was before finasteride... to me that was acceptable... and almost even better bc sex wasnt on my mind ALL OF THE TIME... just some of the time.... I never had ED issues...just loss of sex drive... was fine solo and erections were always strong...

from my research DHT levels are lowered after a finasteride dosage and do not recover much the day after, still not much the 2nd day after and barely move up the 3rd day after a dosage... its the 4th day after where DHT levels bounce back... so a every 3rd day dosage in theory provide nearly the same hairloss protection/prevention as a daily dosage.... Ive been doing it this way for a few years now and feel it is effective based on my hair loss being pretty much halted...

I would try this out for about 3-6 months... going 1.25mg E3D and see how that works...

if at about 3-4 months you dont notice a big improvement on your sexual desire, erections etc... then I would set up an appt with your dr and see about getting on a low dose HRT shot or patch.... OR maybe an antiestrogen... your general physican might not go for either of these...or you may just want to get a referral to an endocrinologist who knows their stuff on this kinda of stuff and you both can work out the right course of action to increase your sexual stuff while still trying to keep your hair...

you might find that you get the best of both worlds with doing the HRT and finasteride....

I have been on finasteride for 8 years and decided to quit. I am 40 now and I had never experienced any side effects. BUT after quitting (3 months off) I didn't realize what I had been missing while on it: Morning erections/rock hard erections. about a week or 2 after I quit my erections have been harder and more frequent. I literally have more feeling in the grown area (lower abs) and more feeling in the penis. It's as if the finasteride had numbed my grown area a bit. I never experienced impotence or low libido but the feeling now makes me want to stay of completely!
Now what am I going to expect with my hairloss? How has you every 3rd day working? I am 3 months off and do not want to experience a major hairloss, BUT my erections is clearly more important...

Is there a happy medium??? does this every 3rd day with 1mg finasteride keep the hairloss to a minimum and keep the sides away?

 

[RP3X]

Well had a hair cut and well 6 months without the big 3, it pretty bad. I felt I had lost very little but nope it seems I have lost quite a fair amount especially at the front which is a major surprise to me.

Ive decided to jump right back onto the big 3, finasteride + minoxidil am back !

I think I will have no choice but to add toppik also....

 

[hairwish]

I quit finasteride after 13 years. I stopped taking it in January 2012 after starting it in 98 when I was 25. I had already lost most of my crown area by the time I started it and managed to regrow a decent amount of peach fuzz and maintained the fuzz with finasteride and minoxidil. The hope was that I didn't lose anymore hair and succeeded in doing so. Since I stopped it in January the fuzz in the crown -as you would guess it- has shed greatly. The rest of my hair is hanging in there so far! My libido has increased and I find that my erections stay harder for longer although I never had trouble getting it up while on finasteride. Ejaculations/orgasms feelings are improving slowly...before it felt weak. I also feel my hormones release pleasurable feeling throughout my body after orgasm as before it was very weak to none. Sexually, I feel better overall and now wished I never started it because I missed out on better sex. I'm grateful I don't have severe sexual sides so far. It was very difficult to tell if I truly had sexual sides or not as it happens/or seems like it happened, very slowly. Now that I'm off I know for sure I was having sides. I'm done with taking systemic treatments/pills. I'm willing to experiment with topicals, in fact I have 20 grams of RUM sitting in my freezer since march and haven't touched it till my family member gives birth. I was afraid to use it during her pregnancy as we live in the same house. Not even sure if RUM is legitimate or not but I took the chance when it was being sold. I'm open to using RU as well. If any sexual sides are felt with RUM/RU I will be dropping it.

 

[Quantum Cat]

To me it completely changed my personality and way of thinking about stuff. I am still suffering a bit of sideeffects, but it's slowly getting better(6 months after quitting)

Damn Finasteride.. Should only be available for people 30-40+.

Finasteride changed your personality?!

:ermm:

Finasteride is no joke. In hindsight i cannot believe i took that prostrate shrinking, enzyme inhibiting, hormone altering drug.

I be amazed how so many people find it hard to accept than finasteride can dramatically reduce your sexual functioning. Reducing DHT won't be a well received thing for many men's penis'. It's such an important hormone to have in your body and often what makes you the man you are (warts and all).

.

DHT is an important hormone for grown men? how so?

finasteride does cause sexual side effects, but I have to wonder how much of it is psychological.

In some drug studies, the people that were given the placebos and were TOLD about side effects DID complain after a few days. Even though they were pretty much swallowing sugar.

Again, side effects are real, and are probably way higher than what the label is, but some of it is mental as well.

If you think and you are convinced your penis is atrophied and can't produce an erection, you probably won't since have are already set yourself up for failure.

The brain is very powerful.

That's my two cents.

I'm convinced this is the case for 99% of people who take Finasteride. They're so obsessed with worrying about getting side effects that they convince themselves they actually are experiencing them.

Not feeling horny one day? 'It must be the Finasteride destroying my penis!!!'

Feeling a bit down one day? 'The Finasteride is irreversably altering my personality!!!'

Then you start worrying even more which in turn causes you to 'experience' more side effects and so on... it's vicious circle