PROPECIAHELP: Persistent Finasteride Propecia Proscar side effects info & discussion forum

Hi, I'm 20 years old and I have been on fin for six weeks, and recently I experienced some heavy side effects. I have no libido and get no erections throughout the day. I stopped the treatment immediately after, and this is my third day not on finasteride. However should I take a some doses over a few weeks to wean off? What are your suggestions? I read this was possible in the FAQ, but it didn't mention how long you would have to be on it in the first place.

Thanks for any advice

Hi,

I'm new to the forum.

I'm urgently seeking some advice, as i'm in a similar position to posters on this thread but slightly further down the line in terms of quitting finasteride cold turkey (its been 10-14 days today) but wondering after reading through the website, would it be beneficial to try and go back and wean / ween myself off it? Or would this do more harm than good considering the length of time i have not taken finasteride? I couldn't put an exact day when is stopped but it's probably been 10 days.

I realize i am just looking for people's opinions and there is no definate answer to my question or indeed whether quitting finasteride cold turkey or by weaning yourself off is best in terms of avoiding a "crash" or ongoing proplematic post finasteride side effects.

I took finasteride 1mg for 7 months and experienced all the usual sexual adverse effects, mainly ED and ability to gain erections in the morning etc.

I should also add i am two days in to a 7 day raw food/smoothie detox which obviously gives its own side effcets - hedaches, lack of energy etc. I did the detox to try and take my mind off the information i have been reading lately about post finasteride syndrome. I'm not sure if the detox is the right idea as it it is an extra pressure for my body and after only TODAY reading about the possible benefit of weaning off finasteride rather than cold turkey. The proposed ideal scenario for coming off finasteride seems to be to wean off sowly from the drug together with a healthy and stress free lifestyle including no alcohol or tobacco.

Just to recap, my main issue is whether to start taking finasteride again as part off a process to wean myself off or am i too far down the line of cold turkey? Should i also stop this detox that may be adding another "shock" to my body.

I also need to say i don't think i have crashed yet or had any sort of recovery from the negative side effects.

It's been an unpleasant last 10 days since i took my last pill but i couldn't say if the symptoms have got much worse or better as i have been worried so much as to the possible long term damage and fearing the worst after reading over the research findings on this website and propeciasideeffects. I have been feeling shocked and depressed and that combined with the detox side effects could be covering over things. My libido has dropped over the last couple of days but my penis seems to have grown back to it's pre-fin size. Nothing is clear to me at the moment.

Would appreciate any advice as soon as possible?

Thanks
Robb

As you can read here, 5AR remains inhibited by a single dose for more than a week, DHT takes 7-10 days minimum to start coming back towarsd baseline: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1170

If you decide to ween, keep in mind the longer you take the medication, the more damage you are probably doing by re-inhibiting 5AR/DHT/neurosteroids etc each time you take it. As such, there is no clear answer and you must make a decision for yourself. Personally, I tried weening off over a few weeks and it made no difference.

In contrast to the graph above, the FDA Propecia Clinical Trials notes the drug has a near flat dose response such that 0.2mg, 1mg and 5mg inhibit nearly same amount of DHT: http://www.physics.upenn.edu/facultyinf ... peciafda2/

Depending on which graph you choose to reference, the bottom line is each time you take Finasteride you re-inhibit 5AR.




Some people have had bad side effects from short bouts of inhibiting 5AR with Finasteride, and others only after longterm use (months, years). Each individual's body, genetics and hormone profile is different and thus response/recovery after quitting the medication will be unique to them as well.

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I would advise not to overly stress your body and introduce extra variables when stopping a pharmaceutical medication. My suggestion would be to eat as healthy as possible, get plenty of sleep, and stay away from stressful situations and activities. That said, if you are destined to have issues from the drug, it will have nothing to do with wether you detoxed or not.

In the meantime you should consider getting bloodwork per the FAQ so you can see what effect the drug was having on your hormones should you have longterm issues, which hopefully you will not (odds are probably in your favor).

Remember, we are in the minority here (of guys who got sides), and there are probably many many men who quit the drug and had no issues afterwards. If you have not experienced any terrible new side effects in coming weeks and find things improve, take it as a good sign. Needlessly worrying is not going to help, and will probably cause you undue anxiety.

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Mew,

Thanks for the prompt reply, i really do appreciate it. I think i'll just do as you say and eat healthily rather than detoxing. I'll look in to the blood tests on monday.

Could you tell me whether you think i should try going back on finasteride before any crash happens - and then slowly wean off it? Or do you think it wouldn't be worth it at this stage - its now pushing 2 weeks since i last took a pill?

I've read your similar posts regarding the cold turkey/weaning off issue and you don't seem to put as much premise on this issue as others?

Thanks again

Truely mate get the hell out of this forum. You havent crashed and being here is just going to make you think about it more.
Sure if you crash come back, until then live your life as you would.
Possibly 1 million people use fin, propeciahelp = 1500 you will be alright, now take your mind off it......now!

Honestly, I can't say one way or the other.

If you're already pushing 2 weeks then DHT should be starting to come back, so to re-inhibit it again will just prolong the issues, and yo-yo your hormones again.

On the other hand I can understand your desire to "ween off" if possible. The info I provided in the links above should help you make a decision. I think the fact that even if you ween by spacing out dosage/reducing dosage, the fact is you are essentially re-inhibiting 5AR/DHT etc each time you take the pill... eventually, you will just have to stop taking it, at which point you will have gone "cold turkey" at that stage.



I don't have the answers... nobody does. There hasn't been a study about how to quit the drug, or if spacing out dosage vs just stopping makes any difference in recovering from its effects. All we can do is make a best guess based on ancedotal evidence and our own experiences. As mentioned, in my case I tried cuting dosage and spacing out the days over weeks, but after my last dose, I still ended up with problems after quitting. Others have had the same after quitting cold turkey. So, nobody can say for certain wether one way or the other makes any difference.

As mentioned previously, each person's response to the inhibition/return of 5AR/DHT will vary. Aside from http://www.hairdx.com testing for Androgen Receptor CAG repeats to determine Finasteride response (which should be done before you start), to my knowledge there is no commercially available test to assess how people will respond to the drug. That said, scientists are now recommending men's 5AR enzymes be genotyped prior to usage to determine wether they should be given Finasteride or Dutasteride, due to differences in inhibition kinetics. My point is, this is all very complicated and likely mediated by the individual's genetics, hormone profile, drug metabolism rates and other factors which determine how we respond to medications, vs others.

There have been a few guys here who have tried going back on Fin many weeks/months after quitting to see if it would somehow "help" but they ended up worse off in the end, return of all side effects etc. In your case, you will need to assess how you currently feel now vs when you were on the drug, and wether you are experiencing improvements. If yes, you might consider staying off it rather than re-introducing it 2-3 weeks later to "ween off".

That's the best advice I can give you. -- the bottom line is, its likely the vast majority of guys do not have longterm issues from this drug, so odds are in your favor. We are in the minority. Most likely, your issues should resolve. If you find they do not, or worsen in coming weeks, THEN you might want to consider posting here. In the meantime try not to worry and live life as you normally would. Visiting this site may cause you more anxiety than it's worth at this stage.

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Tim, that was completely uncalled for and unnecessarily rude. While I understand your point that he isn't at the point most of us are at, that is no way to talk to others seeking advice given they are concerned about the issues we are experiencing. Take that as my final warning regarding your behaviour on this site.

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My point is he comes here in perfectly good health, people start saying do this do that, he starts sufferering axiety, for no reason, next time his erection goes down or something, he thinks, oh no omg ive crashed and he gets really stressed out and that can cause problems all on its own.
I was trying to encourage him not to hang around and read all the horror stories, because if he comes here and sees your comment he thinks oh thats ok, i might just read a couple of stories while im here, and he gets freaked out, if he sees my post, i tell him to get the hell out of here and dont look back, so he does leave here and doesnt look back and never thinks of it again and has a normal life........a normal life, sigh.

I think I will not try to wean off, and just stay off fin for good. I will update on how it's going. I really hope I will recover to how I have been before, but you'll never know. I am so stressed out and depressed right now about this, it is not fair that I as a 20-year old should be dealing with these issues. I will be crossing my fingers for recovering and not crashing. My sympathies to all you guys out there dealing with permanent side effects of this drug.

Thanks again for your input Mew. After seeing all the information that is available at present on the issue of going cold turkey or weaning off, i must say i'm still 50/50. I have read crashes can occur at the 6 weeks occur which makes me think to go back on the fin again for weaning off over the course of a couple of months. In addition, i think i have missed doses on a few occasions varying in length from a couple of days to a week. After reading the posts, that could possibly complicate matters along with me gone nearly 2 weeks cold turkey this time.

I think i'll see how i feel tomorrow and make a decision. I definately not in perfect health - low libido, cant get an erection, hard to masterbate, some brain fog, depression etc. - i just can't really say if it is much different from when i was taking propecia and also how much i can attribute to the shock of recently becoming more informed on possible long term side effects.

However, i am glad i found this site, and seeing as i am no longer taking propecia and have still not got rid of any of the negative side effects, it seems a sensible place for me to be posting. Especially, if i can increase my chances of avoiding any "crash" or these negative effects lasting indefinately.

I do really appreciate any one helping me at this point, especially those who have been more unfortunate after quitting propecia.

Has anyone else had any experience of going cold turkey on propecia and then going back on it soon after in order to ween / wean off it gradually? It seems to me its like a 50/50 decision so i would appreciate any new thoughts?

Mew, after considering your suggestion to see how i have felt since coming off propecia - through the night i could feel various strange feelings/sensations. My balls felt like they are burning slightly (they still are at the moment in the morning) and there was infrequent 'pinching' pains in my balls and penis. This was similar to a few days ago. As was a very slight back/spins pain when i wake up. I have had some substantial shooting back pains since quitting. I've has some shooting head pains and for the first time this morning, some eye pain and abdominal pain. In contrast my penis seems to have grown back to its normal size and my i am getting more frequent 'half erections' from when i was on propecia. My libido was fine on propecia, but has probably decreased since coming off it but that could be due to just shock.

Does any one feel these side effects would merit going back on propecia to wean off? Are these side effects common for everyone or more specific to those that may 'crash'?

This is my dilemma.

I can only speak about my experience, but after I quit, within 7-10 days I experienced same. I took it as a sign that my testes were reacting to 5AR2/DHT no longer being inhibited. Shortly thereafter (within another 5-7 days), the pain subsided and I experienced what felt like a surge of androgen (DHT) flowing through my body -- extremely horny, aggressive, full of energy, blood felt like it was boiling and bubbly running through my veins -- how I used to be before taking Finasteride, which was a very good sign.

Note: I'm not saying this is a reason for why I experienced longterm issues -- this androgen surge and feelings of blood boiling etc is likely the natural reaction my body felt after being deprived of DHT for so long; however each person's case is unique, so my experience and description may not apply to all, or even occur for some.



Take this as a good sign that things are starting to come back online.




If you want to yo-yo your hormones some more, and re-inhibit all the processes you just stopped inhibiting, you'll need to make that decision. As mentioned previously we do not know if "weening" or quitting makes any difference. It's really your body that will determine how things go, and thus far the fact you are getting semi-erections and increased penile size is a good sign.



Nobody can answer that because as mentioned, there has been no study on this problem yet. Again we are in the minority of men who got side effects, and whose issues did not resolve after stopping.

Rather than fretting and posting here incessantly, if I were you I'd try not to worry and consider that odds are likely in your favor that you will be just fine. I'd recommend you get bloodwork in meantime, consider stepping away from this site over next few weeks, and evaluate how things are going. If you continue to feel good and symptoms improve over coming weeks, take that as a good sign.

Cheers.

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Thanks Mew, you have been a big help to me and i'll take heed of your advice which i agree is sensible.

Off topic but Mew, I thought you quit cold?

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From what I recall, I dropped my dosage from 1.25 to .625, to .312 by quartering the 5mg pill, then splitting each piece further as best I could, over 2 weeks or so (which was probably too short considering the surpression half-life of DHT from Fin -- 7-10 days after single dose-- but I didn't know anything back then).

Eventually though with little improvement in that time I stopped completely.

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All of this info is helpful, but my situation/question is a bit different.
I am 57 years old, generally healthy and have been taking Propecia for about 7 years, and I am still on it.
My question is whether or not I should just stay on Propecia. If I'm not sure that my issues are Propecia related, and I don't know (of course) whether I am one of those who might be adversly effected by discontinuance, my question is whether or not I should take a chance at kicking a sleeping dog.
Even if my issues are partially related to Propecia, might my continued use of Propecia be better than the possible adverse effects of it discontinuance?
I know that there is no way to know for sure. Everyone is different, but some feedback and opinions on this might help me decide.
I am experiencing many of the PFS symptoms, but as mentioned, I am not sure if they are Propecia related or just my age catching up with me. I suffer from fairly serious insomnia, general fatigue and very slow muscle recovery after exercising. I still have a brain/penis connection but not nearly as strong as it used to be. I have been to various MD's and Naturopaths trying to determine auto-immune or chronic fatigue, etc. It wasn't until I stumbled upon PFS that I am now trying to decide to stay the course and accept whatever effects it may be having on me, or run the risk of falling off a cliff by discontinue.
From reading this forum, it seems as thought the biggest problems happen not so much when on the drug, but after discontinuing.
Thanks for a great forum and for any response.

Personally I would stay on until you're in a position to optimise your health and symptoms through clean diet, exercise and vitamin supplemantation. You should be taking zinc, omega 3s, green tea etc. Zinc is an effective anti-estrogen if you take say 50mg per day. Unfortunately the drug not only increases estrogen but works in other ways that pass the blood brain barrier, affecting Gaba and allepregnonelone etc. It's very difficult to optimise everything while you take the drug for sure.

You're right for most of us it gets far worse after stopping. The most damaging thing you can do is quit immediately in a panic when sides get intolerable.

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Hi everybody,

If someone asks you how to quit Finasteride gradually, what advice would you give?
I ve heard different approaches on hair loss forums and other sites:
1. Take 1mg on alternate days for some time and then stop taking it
2. Cut the pill in four, and take 0.75mg for a week, then 0.5mg, then 0.25mg the last week.
3. Cut the pill in four, take 0.75mg on alternate days for a week , then 0.5mg on alternate days the second week, then 0.25mg

The second one makes more sense to me.

Hi there. I would recommend weaning off for any one who hasn't stopped cold turkey.

When I was using propecia I sometimes ran short on the drugs and had to take only 1 pill every other day. I noticed that after a few days of doing this my sex drive would shoot up. I assumed that the same would happen when I quit cold turkey, but it hasn't. I've been waiting 5 months now for my sex drive to come back.

I remember hearing a docmentary on Public Television about gene expression. A study found that people whose body's were subjected to great trauma would sometime have certain genes turn "off" or "on" due to the trauma. The example used was people starving in Sweden whose children were more likely to be fat.

I wonder if propecia doesn't cause a similar strain on a man's hormon system? Could quitting propecia cold turkey cause a "traumatic" experience that forces a gene related to testosterone production or sexual arouse to switch off?

I really wish I had weened my self off while in consultation with a doctor instead of quitting on my own. Thought my GP did say it was fine to quit.

Just my two cents. Ask your doctor if weening can harm you at all. Ask him before doing anything.