Debating On Stopping Finasteride Due To Sides, What Should I Brace For?

[catch21]

Hey all, so about a year ago I took the plunge with Finasteride as my lines of defense up to that point were not helping. Initially I had no real issues with the drug outside of a headache and some 'brain fog' which subsided, however after maybe 8 months or so I noticed my sex drive had a significant drop and I had gained about 10-15 pounds. I figured a lot of this might be related to transitioning to a new job and the stress of it, however having settled in I find that my body seems to be suffering pretty severely and my doctor suggested it is most likely the drug itself. The news was pretty devastating as this was my last line of defense.

At this point, i'm tired, have no sexual desire, can barely maintain an erection at the best of times, and this all happened after having a nice vacation the month prior to starting where I had some of the best sex of my life. I am aware most people do not suffer these sides and am not here to down on the drug.. To make matters worse, my hair is still falling out with recession at the hairline and thinning of the crown, which makes me assume if I stop taking the medication it's just going to increase more rapidly.

I feel that I am having to face a choice now that either I can live in a sexless low energy method with some hair, or lose all my hair and hopefully regain my normal energy levels and sex drive. Either option is really devastating and I am just trying to emotionally prepare myself for the decision I am debating. Feeling really overwhelmed and a bit scared at this point. I have no idea what else I could do about my hair that wouldn't end up making me socially hated like a hair piece, and knowing that the best method we have for hair loss is something that just isn't working for me has me feeling crushed.

I recently began trying a couple other drugs to try and counter the sides of this medication, and unfortunately have been reacting very poorly to one of them as well, making me feel it might just be best to let nature do its thing and become an ugly fella. If I do decide to stop taking this medication, should I expect the sides to fade, or will things get worse? Any insight would be great in helping me get through this, I hope for those of you who are on the drug or decide to go on it that it goes well for you all, just sucks to be 'one of the few'

 

[dr75]

I've been there. I quit finasteride because of sexual side effects. I tried finasteride the second time around but had to stop due to sides again. I quit and sides went away within two weeks. I chose having an erection over having more hair, i don't regret it.

 

[Btg]

You really dont have an option except quitting . But if i were you i d try topical finasteride on a low dose like 0.5 mg / day or maybe less to see if the sides diminish before giving up on it , it is supposed to not reduce that much dht systemically .
Other than that u can try RU or seti if you got the budget for it

 

[MoBishop]

I'm sorry that you're having this experience. If it's not too personal for me to ask, have you tried tadalafil (Cialis, Viargra, Levitra, Ceebis, etc.)? Is it possible that maybe your test levels are low due to other factors? I've haven't heard about a correlation between finasteride and low energy/weight gain, but I'm far from an expert.

 

[Obesecat]

How old are you? The problems you are describing can be attributed to age and are common for men over 30

 

[catch21]

I have not tried v****, I did try a drug called Cabergoline and another called Alchemy which well, the first has caused me to feel horrible and I just began that a week ago, the other made me feel a bit better. The running idea was that if finasteride was causing my estrogen and prolactin to perhaps go too high these may help, unfortunately nothing has really worked. I didn't really want to go the v**** route because my understanding is that doesn't fix an issue, but rather just kind of forces it to work and doesn't help the problem otherwise. I wanted to give the Cabergoline a chance for awhile but it makes me feel like i'm going to die. I haven't gotten testing done for my levels just yet, as my doctor doesn't really see a point until I cease the medication, but she did leave it in my hands.

What I should say is that, it's not just an issue getting an erection, I went from a person who would get distracted with sex thoughts while watching something entirely neutral, to a person who if you surround me with 10 models in bikinis, i'll barely feel anything. In a sense it's actually kind of interesting to see what it's like to not think about sex much, but I also miss having it. As for my age, I am 32, was 31 when I began finasteride. While obviously anything is possible, I don't think my sex drive would go from an 80 to a 5 in a year just because, but who knows?

 

[Obesecat]

I have not tried v****, I did try a drug called Cabergoline and another called Alchemy which well, the first has caused me to feel horrible and I just began that a week ago, the other made me feel a bit better. The running idea was that if finasteride was causing my estrogen and prolactin to perhaps go too high these may help, unfortunately nothing has really worked. I didn't really want to go the v**** route because my understanding is that doesn't fix an issue, but rather just kind of forces it to work and doesn't help the problem otherwise. I wanted to give the Cabergoline a chance for awhile but it makes me feel like i'm going to die. I haven't gotten testing done for my levels just yet, as my doctor doesn't really see a point until I cease the medication, but she did leave it in my hands.

What I should say is that, it's not just an issue getting an erection, I went from a person who would get distracted with sex thoughts while watching something entirely neutral, to a person who if you surround me with 10 models in bikinis, i'll barely feel anything. In a sense it's actually kind of interesting to see what it's like to not think about sex much, but I also miss having it. As for my age, I am 32, was 31 when I began finasteride. While obviously anything is possible, I don't think my sex drive would go from an 80 to a 5 in a year just because, but who knows?

Testosterone begins to rapidly drop after 25. I don’t think ED is a gradual process, you just find you can’t get it up on day. Your body is just changing because of age. You are not a horny teenager anymore

 

[dr75]

What I should say is that, it's not just an issue getting an erection, I went from a person who would get distracted with sex thoughts while watching something entirely neutral, to a person who if you surround me with 10 models in bikinis, i'll barely feel anything.

This is exactly how i felt. I don't think this has anything to do with aging. I suggest you stop finasteride for a while and see what happens.

 

[catch21]

I skipped my first dose in a year last night, nervous but also trying not to think about it.

 

[catch21]

Figured i'd throw out an update, it's been about a week since I stopped using finasteride. I noticed no real changes in the first couple days, but noticed when I returned to work I felt irritable and kind of angry, very tired and somewhat... Confused? I feel more normal mentally the last few days with a 'really happy' feeling kicking in on Wednesday for some reason, but I feel more or less normal there. However the first real sign I noticed of my sex drive returning happened in the morning yesterday. Got my first morning wood in I can't say how long, with no struggle to maintain the erection, being able to give it to the lady friend without a challenge felt really inspiring lol.

While I know i'll be in for a rough ride with hair loss over time, I suppose the moral is to just try and be really aware of how your body and mind are before starting the med and try to pay attention to anything that might be going wrong. I know people say that going off finasteride can be an up and down experience, so I don't feel I am out of the woods just yet, but an increase in drive and erection quality and length have been observed within a week.

I suppose now the scary loss of hair must resume, not really sure if any other options exist.

 

[dr75]

Figured i'd throw out an update, it's been about a week since I stopped using finasteride. I noticed no real changes in the first couple days, but noticed when I returned to work I felt irritable and kind of angry, very tired and somewhat... Confused? I feel more normal mentally the last few days with a 'really happy' feeling kicking in on Wednesday for some reason, but I feel more or less normal there. However the first real sign I noticed of my sex drive returning happened in the morning yesterday. Got my first morning wood in I can't say how long, with no struggle to maintain the erection, being able to give it to the lady friend without a challenge felt really inspiring lol.

While I know i'll be in for a rough ride with hair loss over time, I suppose the moral is to just try and be really aware of how your body and mind are before starting the med and try to pay attention to anything that might be going wrong. I know people say that going off finasteride can be an up and down experience, so I don't feel I am out of the woods just yet, but an increase in drive and erection quality and length have been observed within a week.

I suppose now the scary loss of hair must resume, not really sure if any other options exist.

I know that feeling...

You will feel a lot better after 2 weeks.

 

[catch21]

So I have some kind of distressing news, after a strong Friday and Saturday, I felt kind of crumby yesterday and couldn't get a strong erection, and I also had an unusual issue with being unable to sleep and having really depressed feelings. I feel emotionally destroyed today and really irritable, is this something to be expected?