Skipped the finasteride dose last night. Advice?

[MindoverMPB]

I've used authentic Merck brand Propecia for a total of 26 days. Well aware of the possible sides, I started off by taking half a dose at 0.5mg to ease my body onto the drug and see how I react to it.

Upon taking my first dose, I immediately felt a bit of brain fog and within the first few days I started to have testicular pain. These effects seemed to fade away as fast as they have come, but then again I remember switching my doses from morning to night because then I wouldn't notice any sides. This may have been just "sweeping them under the rug" so-to-speak because eventually these sides would creep back up on me.

I continued on with my 0.5mg dosing scheme as normal and over these few weeks I experienced further sides such as watery semen, difficulty achieving and maintaining erection, and fatigue. The watery semen didn't bother me much, but I did notice that it had a starchy consistency whereas before it was more slick and slippery. More recently it seems as if the semen just oozes out of my penis like watered down, lukewarm pancake batter. The libido situation is a little weird because although it's harder to get erect and it's easy to lose it if you don't keep it stimulated, I've found that I'm able to get off much more than I used to. Basically, I can have sex more often but it's harder to get up and stay up, and I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

The fatigue is what made me skip my last dose. The quality of my sleep since taking Propecia has progressively gotten worse and worse. Over these past few weeks, it's gotten to the point where I need to take a 2 hour nap to make it through my day. Within these past few days, I've been extremely tired throughout the entire day and I've been waking from my naps still tired as hell. I've pinned this on the Propecia because I'm in my early 20's and I eat the healthiest out of everyone I know, so I know it's not some outside factor.

Even this morning after skipping last night's dose, I woke up feeling like I was ready to get back to sleep, but after laying around for a while I sprung out of bed and noticed something. Within an hour of waking I felt a surge of energy throughout my entire body. Everything slightly tingled and I just felt the need to harden my upper body like I was posing for a bodybuilding competition... I felt like the Hulk! Shortly after and even more surprisingly I got a freaking RANDOM BONER.. haven't had one of those in a while. All the while I felt a tingling in the crown of my scalp and as soon as I noticed it, I knew exactly what was going on: the DHT was returning to my system.

Right now as I type this I feel like stepping into a Vegas club with shades on and wrapping my arms around two models in glittery short dresses while breathing in the AC, and thus comes the ultimate dilemma. Should I continue taking Propecia at an even lower dose like 0.25mg, or should I live with DHT and let it take its toll on my scalp? I'm a very early Norwood 1 and was fortunate that I wore my hair short because I caught the male pattern baldness pretty early. Shedding has nearly slowed to a stop and I'm barely one month into using the drug. I have a 3-month supply of Rogaine Foam, but with shedding your hair and never growing it back being a possible side, I'm not sure if it's worth risk. Can anyone give some advice on the situation? My scalp is starting to itch like a mofo, so I probably don't have that much time to waste.

Thanks in advance for any advice and reading this huge wall of text.

 

[Broken]

From what I have gathered from the information available here on Propecia, I don't think missing a single dose can make such a big difference in your DHT levels. There are some studies that show that a single dose of Finasteride can inhibit DHT levels for a week! So it could all be just in your mind. I am not an expert but that could be a possibility.

Does male pattern baldness run in your family? Some people might suffer from male pattern baldness but they are not destined to go bald. Nobody in my family has ever gone bald, but I still have male pattern baldness, so that probably means that it would stop at some point, and from what I am guessing it should probably stop at NW3 (which I probably am right now) and not aggravate more. So I guess you should take a look around & see where you stand. The more learned guys here would be able to tell you much better anyways.

 

[MindoverMPB]

LOL, those ladies in Vegas would've been disappointed because I ate a quick meal, passed TF out, and woke up feeling like it's time to go back asleep again. I feel fine after being up for a few minutes, but who knows how long it'll take before I get super sleepy again? Get ready for the ride guys because I think my system is screwed. More Propecia simply isn't an option right now.

... it could be because I slept horribly practically all week (4-6 hours), but only time will tell. My dong still works so at worst I'm gonna be one tired *** dude with a boner.

Oh, and to the above poster, male pattern baldness runs on both my mother and father's side. I have noticeable hair loss in my crown and progress on my temples. It's not super obvious as it's in its early stages, but it's been progressing ever so slowly over the past year or so.

 

[reckless]

On my 11th day of taking finasteride my penis basically went numb, it shrivelled up. I no longer had any interest in women.

So I skipped one dose, which did seem to improve things. I was taking 1.25mg a day, but now I'm reducing that to 1mg.

I've decided to continue with the drug and have noticed some improvement on the side effects. I think you should carry on for a month at least. And try not to think about the side effects too much, your mind can play tricks!!!

On the leaflet it does say that lower sex drive\impotence is a very common side effect and that it goes away after continued usage. I've certainly seen an improvement in the last few days but still not back at 100%. I'm gonna give it another 3 weeks.

 

[MindoverMPB]

On my 11th day of taking finasteride my penis basically went numb, it shrivelled up. I no longer had any interest in women.

So I skipped one dose, which did seem to improve things. I was taking 1.25mg a day, but now I'm reducing that to 1mg.

I've decided to continue with the drug and have noticed some improvement on the side effects. I think you should carry on for a month at least. And try not to think about the side effects too much, your mind can play tricks!!!

On the leaflet it does say that lower sex drive\impotence is a very common side effect and that it goes away after continued usage. I've certainly seen an improvement in the last few days but still not back at 100%. I'm gonna give it another 3 weeks.

In that huge wall of text that I like to call my first post, I explained that the sexual sides didn't bother me as much as the fatigue. I haven't taken Propecia for two days now and I'm feeling very much the better man. I clocked in a good 9 hours of revitalizing deep sleep last night and woke to some morning wood.

I guess that since I'm feeling better I could do a restart, but I'll have to quit if I turn into a brain dead zombie again. I highly doubt I can trick my mind into being tired as f***.

 

[reckless]

I'm more concerned about the sexual effects. Even the brain fog/tiredness you are experiencing might go away after continued usage.

Give it a month if you can.

 

[MindoverMPB]

I started noticing fatigue after 26 days... should I give it another month?

 

[reckless]

Well I haven't taken it for 26 days. Only 16 so far. Maybe have a word with the doctor who prescribed it to you.

 

[MindoverMPB]

I doubt a doctor would be able to tell me exactly what needs to be done. I'm sure ultimately it's going to be my decision to continue taking it.

Ugh... such is the life of a male predisposed for hairloss...

Have scientists not looked at both hair follicles that fall out and those that are immune to DHT, and figure out what the difference between them is? Surely it should be easy, especially when they can tell the difference between a proton and electron.

 

[Mew]

MindoverMPB:

The symptoms you describe, and 99.9% reason you are experiencing the problems you are, is because you are undergoing ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY by taking Finasteride, by reducing DHT (the most potent androgen) levels by 70%.

The attached screenshots are what happens when you reduce both Testosterone and DHT -- or in our cases, many (but not all) side effects by inhibiting ONLY DHT (ie, osteoporosis does not occur as DHT does not mediate bone mineral density, but Testosterone does).

Side effects of androgen deprivation therapy:

https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/200808/200808kabir.pdf
http://www.supportiveoncology.net/journ ... 402097.pdf

While these symptoms are often related to androgen deprivation therapy via complete androgen blockade (ie, via anti-androgens such as bicalutamide and LHRH analogues), Finasteride is often added as an adjunct to such therapies to reduce DHT during prostate cancer treatment and during the "off-phase" of complete androgen blockade.

Thus, while Testosterone gets upregulated on Finasteride, the loss of DHT (most potent androgen) can still cause serious problems for some men due to the aforementioned facts.

It is clear your body, mind, and DHT-dependant organs do not do well when DHT, a key androgenic hormone, is significantly inhibited. The symptoms you describe correlate with those of androgen deprivation therapy, for which Finasteride is listed as one of many prescribed agents.

Wether you wish to continue doing this to yourself to save some hair, is up to you.

 

[MindoverMPB]

Thank you for letting me know what's going on with my body. At this point I don't think it's worth the risk to mess around with my hormones any longer. I feel so much more alive and my mind's been so much sharper since quitting.

Maybe I'll give Rogaine a whirl, and if that doesn't work then I'll just let nature run its course. snif

 

[MindoverMPB]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to give a quick update to my situation since quitting. It's now been 2 weeks since stopping the drug and I've made somewhat of a recovery. The fatigued feeling is all but gone, but libido is not the same. Just days after quitting I experienced one of the scariest moments of my life, and my libido gradually reduced until completely dying for two full days. Luckily, it has somewhat recovered but it is not the same. I can still get up through manual stimulation, but it looks like I can no longer use my mind to achieve an erection.

In other words, if I imagine anything sexual or even if I'm around sexy women, I get no response from my penis. I guess that's what people mean by losing the "mind/penis connection". I'm also a lot less horny and have next to no desire for sex... it seems like I only do it for routine whereas before it was like I was relieving myself. Also, my erections are hard but flat, whereas before I'd have a plump and throbbing erection, and I'd be able to feel the skin stretching. It's only been 2 weeks so I still may be recovering, and hopefully I return to my normal self one day.

I don't care if I lose my hair, I just want to be me again.

 

[Mew]

Welcome to the club. I recommend you participate in the following study if you want to get this problem the attention it needs, to start research on a cure.

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=58504

 

[bigjohnson]

SCAREMONGER ALERT!!!! :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit: :jackit:

 

[MindoverMPB]

I have the utmost gratitude for anyone working to reverse any damage caused by taking this drug, but for right now I don't want to dwell on the problem and I'd rather just move on with my life. I'll continue to give periodic updates from time to time, and maybe if it makes a serious impact I'll reconsider participating.

 

[Mew]

for right now I don't want to dwell on the problem and I'd rather just move on with my life.

Ok, well hope you can get past your issues and get better with time.

I'll continue to give periodic updates from time to time, and maybe if it makes a serious impact I'll reconsider participating.

ED and losing your libido is a pretty serious thing... if you find things don't improve in the next few weeks, I would hope you reconsider. Good luck either way.

 

[barcafan]

Remember, AR2 doesn't just assist metabolization for DHT, it affects OTHER hormones as well. Oh, and contrary to what alot of idiot know it alls think: You do need DHT, its not "useless". lol.

 

[Bryan]

Have scientists not looked at both hair follicles that fall out and those that are immune to DHT, and figure out what the difference between them is? Surely it should be easy, especially when they can tell the difference between a proton and electron.

No, scientists haven't yet figured out why hair follicles can have opposite responses to androgens, depending on their body location (scalp hair versus beard hair, for example). It's not an easy thing to figure out.

 

[MindoverMPB]

Alright guys, this might be my final update. It's been like a full month since I quit and I think it's safe to say that my libido is back 100%. It may be a tinge below normal, but it's not really that noticeable. Now before anyone tries to convince me that it was all in my head, I've masturbated/had sex practically everyday of my life for the past 10 years, so if a few days go by where I can't get up, I'm going to notice and it will be a big deal. I've always had a super high libido and I view that as one of my good traits, so there's no way I'm going to risk effecting it. I mean now that I think about it, it makes completely no sense to me how you can inhibit the most powerful male hormone in the body and continue to function as normal. I guess I'm more DHT dependent than others or something...

As for my hair, it looks like crap. Definitely worse than when I started and I'm guessing it's from the DHT rebound of quitting Propecia cold turkey. I just ordered some 2% nizoral and I have some Rogaine foam on hand, so I guess I'll try those out for now. If it all fails and I continue to lose my hair, I'll just go down as another out of the millions of men with hair loss. At least I tried...

Time to get me some sleep :jackit: