Been on propecia for 10 days, noticed side effects. Help! Need advice!

[ra91]

Hi everyone,

I recently started propecia, on the 27th of May to be exact, and I believe I am experiencing some side effects already.

First of all, I was EXTREMELY positive going into this. I was so convinced that I would be a good responder and that I would definitely not suffer any side effects. I just had a feeling this would work out great for me. I don't believe the following side effects that I am about to list are psychological, or psychosomatic. I did at first, but I think I know better now.

1. Testicle pain. I have had a mild-moderate ache in my right testicle (sometimes my left, but rarely) on and off for the last few days.

2. I feel my libido has decreased these past couple of days. I had an encounter where I couldn't get hard as easily as usual. I got about 85% of my erection, but it was hard to maintain. I usually have a VERY high sex drive, so this definitely seems very unusual to me.

I have read that with continued use this things go away, and I am wondering how common that is? But seriously, I don't want to run the risk of any long lasting damage, and if this is a sign of worse things to come then I am willing to quit now.

Please lend me some advice! I am probably a Norwood 2, with thinning on the temples and hairline. I still have a very good head of hair still, but I obviously want to do what I can to save it early.

Thanks in advance for any help I receive!

 

[Quantum Cat]

side effects are more common at first and usually go away when your body adjusts to the new DHT level. You sound like you have the right attitude and are aware of concepts such as nocebo and psychosomatic effects.

If I were you I would continue with finasteride, however I am not a doctor and if you have concerns you should consult a doctor for advice.

 

[Rawtashk]

I believe the ball pain is a very common side effect. I can give you an almost 100% promise that the ache will go away. I got the ache when I started a .5mg, but it was gone in a week or so. I got it again when I upped it to 1.25mg. I got it again when I got on REAL Proscar (the previous batch I'd gotten was fakes from overseas), and then I got it again last week when my prescription ran out and I was out of town and I started up again (I was off it for about 7-8 days). In each case the ache went away in about a week or so.

The thing about putting a % on your erection is this....do you REALLY know what your boners were like before? I mean REALLY KNOW? What metric were you using? Were you using a force gauge to test the firmness? Did you use a stopwatch to time how long it to you to get to full mast? If you didn't, then all you're going off of is your memory...and your memory can betray you. Also, 1 time does not a sample size make. There are other factors that can interfere with your sex life and quality of erection. Also, the fact that you're even thinking about it makes it more likely that you'll have issues with your erection. "Wait...did that take longer to get hard? Is it as hard this time? Oh ****...what if I have side effects? What if I have to stop taking propecia and then I get bald? Is it worth it? Should I just not worry about my sex life and have hair...?" And while you're thinking about those things, you're not thinking about the sexytimes, which means Mr Winky is going to get sad and lonely and start to get all droopy.

And, like Grump Cat said, a lot of the times the side effects go away in the first month or 2. And, ask yourself this: "Would you rather have 100% of your sex drive and 0% of your hair, or 85% of your sex drive and 85% of your hair?"

 

[Chipman222]

Seems like most people get the ball ache for a couple of weeks when starting finasteride, personally I had it for about 2 months and thought it would never go away, but it did.

I also had a numbish penis and low libido for a week or 2. I'm now coming up to 3 months on finasteride with no side effects.

 

[cat3appr]

another example of decrease of libido... noted. There is objectively an issue with finasteride and libido, how do people even risk the loss of sexual drive to try saving some hair? I was convinced when I started on finasteride as well but I noted the side effects and I stopped away... imho it's not worth the risk