Finastride sides

[Bob Chylan]

I began taking finastride about a month ago. The only side effects i have noticed thus far have been occasional ball ache and occasional twitching around where i think my prostate is. I have been reading all of these horror stories about permanent side effects.

Does it cause penis shrinkage? It seems like this is the case for some people once they stop taking the drug...I am worried that I have gotten myself into something that I shouldn't have. Is that side effect very rare for users?

 

[Mestys]

It seems like the case for most hypochondriacs on propeciahelp. I don't see how finasteride can shrink your penis. It can definitely affect your erections which could make your penis look smaller but to it actually changing it physically, I find it hard to believe.

 

[Rawtashk]

Been on it for almost 4 years. No shrinkage that I know of....or that my wife has commented on

Also, ball ache is the most commonly reported side effect. Don't worry too much about it. Pretty soon it'll be gone and one day you'll realized "Hmm...I don't remember the last time my balls ached". I got ball ache when I started at .5mg, and then again when I upped the dose to 1.25mg.

 

[Ende]

In cases of PFS, changes to the penis have been observed. I lost some girth after using Propecia, and I saw it with my own eyes how Andractim (large amounts rubbed on the penis) increased the girth again - WHILE using Propecia, so DHT does definitely maintain the penis.

Other common problems that have been reported are fibrosis (symptom of peyronie's disease), soft glans syndrome, changes in shape - the most common description seems to be "hour glass", that the penis doesn't retract when exposed to cold water, loss of sensitivity, persistent erectile dysfunction and impotence.

Good luck playing russian roulette with your dick.

 

[Bob Chylan]

But how common is it for people to have pfs? And how common is it for people with pfs to develop problems like that?

 

[Ende]

No one knows how common PFS really is. Propecia has obviously not been studied properly. Propeciahelp has more than 380 members with more than 10 posts, and more than 2000 members in total. That excludes everyone else who doesn't know about the community. I think everyone with PFS and sexual problems have noticed some sort of changes to their penis.

All I can say is quit the drug immediately if you notice any sexual side effects. DO NOT continue the treatment like Merck encourages you to. That should lower the risk of developing PFS significantly, but keep in mind that there are people who have been fucked after only a couple of pills or so.

 

[Wuffer]

Bob, nobody knows actual incidence rates of PFS or any persistent symptoms. It's unanimously agreed upon to be "rare" but that could mean 1 in 100, 1 in 10,000 or anywhere inbetween. I believe I read that the FDA is taking a closer look at these types of persistent symptoms resulting from Finasteride. Hopefully this leads to some more in-depth studies of the subject and some more tangible answers, including real world risk.

You are taking a risk continuing to use Finasteride, but it is likely very small. If you are not comfortable with this, I recommend you talk to your doctor and consider discontinuing treatment. I have been on it for over a year and have experienced no side effects except for testicular ache which went away at the end of the first month. My penis in its flaccid state *may* be, on average, slightly shorter than it was before, but I can't say for certain as I’ve never really paid attention. Sometimes it seems shorter, but most of the time it is its regular length. Erect length is exactly the same to the cm, and I haven't experienced any curvature whatsoever.

 

[Bob Chylan]

The only thing is, symptoms such as ones people have experienced in pfs occur once one discontinues the treatment. So am i right to assume that if you have never stopped the drug, you would not know if you are effected by it? I do not think I am experience horrible side effects, and they happen very infrequently. I did find the twitching rather weird, it wasn't uncomfortable or very common, but i also did not see anyone else speaking of this as a side effect.

Does anyone know what the side effects of people with pfs were when they were on the drug still?

Do you think that you have a higher chance of developing pfs the longer you are on the treatment?

Right now I am doing 1.25mg a day (mainly due to the ease of splitting the pill into fourths). If I decide to stay on it I would like to lower my dose to conserve money as well as limit long term side effects. Anyone have an recommendations for ideal mg and ways to split the pill into pieces?

 

[ben760]

In cases of PFS, changes to the penis have been observed. I lost some girth after using Propecia, and I saw it with my own eyes how Andractim (large amounts rubbed on the penis) increased the girth again - WHILE using Propecia, so DHT does definitely maintain the penis.

enden, did you keep the girth gained by andractim? does it help with wrinkling?

my experience with finasteride was mixed. used it for almost 4yrs without issue got good result then quit(w/out issue) because i think i've reached my tolerance. now my hair loss and thinning speed up thats when i panic and i took finasteride again. got severe sides. noticed it only on the 7th day. now still miserable after one and a half month. still waiting..