26 Yr Old, 2.5 Months On Finasteride

[501Genetics]

Hi all,

Long time lurker here. Been reading threads on this forum on and off for the past 2 years.

Hair started thinning when I was about 23 years old and has progressively gotten worse to the point where people started commenting on it. Mainly the crown and the top. Was worried about sides of Finasteride and didn't want the hassle of Minoxidil so told myself I would just let myself go bald. Come 27 I decided to take the plunge and took Finasteride 0.5mg every day to keep what I had left and hopefully regrow some.

The first 2 weeks or so I noticed a slight pain in my right testicle but that subsided after another week. Also noticed some shoulder pain but not sure if that was due to the drug.

Had no problems with having sex, but definitely lost some libido (wasn't really masturbating at all anymore). Was still able to maintain an erection with ease even after a heavy night of drinking.

Two nights ago I was able to have sex twice with no problem with getting an erection and ejaculating. However yesterday morning I had an erection and then during sex I completely lost it. No idea what happened, it went completely soft and my GF noticed. Straight away my first thought was that this was the infamous erectile dysfunction everyone talks about. Told my GF about it as I didn't want her to think it was her and that I wasn't turned on by her. Later that day we tried again to have sex, with some stimulation I was able to get it back up but once we started having sex I felt like it wasn't as hard as it usually was. It was definitely in my mind and I found myself thinking about it rather than enjoying sex. I was able to ejaculate again. Few hours later tried to go again but was unable to get it up - this previously never used to be a problem for me.

2.5 months on and I seem to be experiencing sexual side effects, I am sure a part of it is mental as well however the initial drop in erection definitely wasn't mental because there was no way I was thinking about it, I had been having sex consistently with 0 problems.. Should I continue taking this drug to see if it tapers off or stop completely?

 

[501Genetics]

Can someone move this to dealing with side effects section

 

[DoctorHouse]

Hi all,

Long time lurker here. Been reading threads on this forum on and off for the past 2 years.

Hair started thinning when I was about 23 years old and has progressively gotten worse to the point where people started commenting on it. Mainly the crown and the top. Was worried about sides of Finasteride and didn't want the hassle of Minoxidil so told myself I would just let myself go bald. Come 27 I decided to take the plunge and took Finasteride 0.5mg every day to keep what I had left and hopefully regrow some.

The first 2 weeks or so I noticed a slight pain in my right testicle but that subsided after another week. Also noticed some shoulder pain but not sure if that was due to the drug.

Had no problems with having sex, but definitely lost some libido (wasn't really masturbating at all anymore). Was still able to maintain an erection with ease even after a heavy night of drinking.

Two nights ago I was able to have sex twice with no problem with getting an erection and ejaculating. However yesterday morning I had an erection and then during sex I completely lost it. No idea what happened, it went completely soft and my GF noticed. Straight away my first thought was that this was the infamous erectile dysfunction everyone talks about. Told my GF about it as I didn't want her to think it was her and that I wasn't turned on by her. Later that day we tried again to have sex, with some stimulation I was able to get it back up but once we started having sex I felt like it wasn't as hard as it usually was. It was definitely in my mind and I found myself thinking about it rather than enjoying sex. I was able to ejaculate again. Few hours later tried to go again but was unable to get it up - this previously never used to be a problem for me.

2.5 months on and I seem to be experiencing sexual side effects, I am sure a part of it is mental as well however the initial drop in erection definitely wasn't mental because there was no way I was thinking about it, I had been having sex consistently with 0 problems.. Should I continue taking this drug to see if it tapers off or stop completely?

Stop the meds for a week and see what happens. Or cut the dose in half.

 

[TONSofBODYHAIR]

I noticed sexual side effects on my 3rd-4th dose, been off 2 months now and i still dont have any kind of erections. Tread carefully

 

[ZenHead]

Hi all,

Long time lurker here. Been reading threads on this forum on and off for the past 2 years.

Hair started thinning when I was about 23 years old and has progressively gotten worse to the point where people started commenting on it. Mainly the crown and the top. Was worried about sides of Finasteride and didn't want the hassle of Minoxidil so told myself I would just let myself go bald. Come 27 I decided to take the plunge and took Finasteride 0.5mg every day to keep what I had left and hopefully regrow some.

The first 2 weeks or so I noticed a slight pain in my right testicle but that subsided after another week. Also noticed some shoulder pain but not sure if that was due to the drug.

Had no problems with having sex, but definitely lost some libido (wasn't really masturbating at all anymore). Was still able to maintain an erection with ease even after a heavy night of drinking.

Two nights ago I was able to have sex twice with no problem with getting an erection and ejaculating. However yesterday morning I had an erection and then during sex I completely lost it. No idea what happened, it went completely soft and my GF noticed. Straight away my first thought was that this was the infamous erectile dysfunction everyone talks about. Told my GF about it as I didn't want her to think it was her and that I wasn't turned on by her. Later that day we tried again to have sex, with some stimulation I was able to get it back up but once we started having sex I felt like it wasn't as hard as it usually was. It was definitely in my mind and I found myself thinking about it rather than enjoying sex. I was able to ejaculate again. Few hours later tried to go again but was unable to get it up - this previously never used to be a problem for me.

2.5 months on and I seem to be experiencing sexual side effects, I am sure a part of it is mental as well however the initial drop in erection definitely wasn't mental because there was no way I was thinking about it, I had been having sex consistently with 0 problems.. Should I continue taking this drug to see if it tapers off or stop completely?

I’m 24, your story is exactly like mine. Tried finasteride (twice) and got sides at 2.5 months in both times. Crazy. If I were you I’d probably stop taking it, not even trying to fear monger or anything. My sides resolved after 2 months of stopping finasteride. You might want to look into liposomal finasteride, that’s what I’m getting ready to start - supposedly same (or better) results, no / greatly reduced side effects from what I hear.

 

[501Genetics]

I’m 24, your story is exactly like mine. Tried finasteride (twice) and got sides at 2.5 months in both times. Crazy. If I were you I’d probably stop taking it, not even trying to fear monger or anything. My sides resolved after 2 months of stopping finasteride. You might want to look into liposomal finasteride, that’s what I’m getting ready to start - supposedly same (or better) results, no / greatly reduced side effects from what I hear.

Thanks for the insight ZenHead. Did you take anything once stopping to help reduce the sides or did you just let it run its course naturally?

I'm going to taper off over the next 2 weeks. 0.5mg every other day for 4 more times, then 0.25mg every other day another 4 times, taper off over around 2 weeks. Will see if I notice an increase in libido. Should I expect a shed?

 

[ZenHead]

Thanks for the insight ZenHead. Did you take anything once stopping to help reduce the sides or did you just let it run its course naturally?

I'm going to taper off over the next 2 weeks. 0.5mg every other day for 4 more times, then 0.25mg every other day another 4 times, taper off over around 2 weeks. Will see if I notice an increase in libido. Should I expect a shed?

Unfortunately I don’t think taking supplements can’t help get rid of side effects, finasteride is a powerful drug. Your body has to reach its balance again on its own. You can try zinc or I3C which may help, but it’s not proven. And you should expect to return to the state you were before starting finasteride.

 

[501Genetics]

Unfortunately I don’t think taking supplements can’t help get rid of side effects, finasteride is a powerful drug. Your body has to reach its balance again on its own. You can try zinc or I3C which may help, but it’s not proven. And you should expect to return to the state you were before starting finasteride.

What sides did you experience and how bad were they? Have you recovered 100% to your previous state?

 

[ZenHead]

Zero libido, ED, all the sexual sides pretty much. And yes, I recovered both times. First time I took propecia for 3 months, took a week to recover. Second time I took propecia for 5 months, took 3 months to recover. If youre experiencing sides, do not try to "push through" like I did - it took me much longer to recover that way. I'd suggest tapering off within a week before the effects "stack" and it takes you longer to recover. Also i found weight training / exercise to help aid the recovery. This is just my advice and I'm sure other people have different methods.

 

[501Genetics]

Zero libido, ED, all the sexual sides pretty much. And yes, I recovered both times. First time I took propecia for 3 months, took a week to recover. Second time I took propecia for 5 months, took 3 months to recover. If youre experiencing sides, do not try to "push through" like I did - it took me much longer to recover that way. I'd suggest tapering off within a week before the effects "stack" and it takes you longer to recover. Also i found weight training / exercise to help aid the recovery. This is just my advice and I'm sure other people have different methods.

Appreciate the advice. Good to hear you recovered.

 

[501Genetics]

Wanted to provide an update here for anyone in the future reading this. I took 0.5 EOD for about a week and then went cold turkey. After a week off my libido had returned. It's been just over 3 weeks now and I can feel a definite change in my body. Randomly horny now which stopped happening as soon as I took the medication, more energy and feeling stronger at the gym. My shoulder was giving my pain while I was taking it and that's also subsided. Definitely feeling better, I think I am shedding now though as my hair is getting thinner at the top, but I'd rather be bald and be able to get an erection than not. Might give Rogaine a shot.

Looks like unfortunately it didn't work for me. Maybe if I kept at it my body would of got used to it, wasn't worth the risk though.