Help! finasteride has made me impotent.

[reckless]

Hi all,

I've been taking finasteride for one and a half weeks now. Everything was functioning normally until yesterday.

I am now unable to get an erection and my libido has completely gone.
You could put a naked Megan Fox on my lap right now and I wouldn't care less.

Will this go away after a little while, or should I stop my finasteride immediately?

If I do have to stop the finasteride, how long before my Libido returns to normal?

Just to let you know, I am taking 1.25mg a day.

This sucks big time.

 

[dougfunny]

may go away, may not.

usually it will take a few weeks for things to get back to normal.

 

[reckless]

So shall I continue or stop?

 

[Cassin]

Go see a doctor. Don't wait.

 

[reckless]

Well the doctor who gave me the finasteride has told me to stop taking it for the time being and reintroducing it when I feel better.

The other effect I'm getting is that I'm not sleeping well and don't seem to care about much, like I can't be bothered about anything. Is this a common side effect of finasteride?

 

[G k]

Well the doctor who gave me the finasteride has told me to stop taking it for the time being and reintroducing it when I feel better.

The other effect I'm getting is that I'm not sleeping well and don't seem to care about much, like I can't be bothered about anything. Is this a common side effect of finasteride?

Yes it is more common than you think. I just quit finasteride cause I go every side in the book. Not at first, and not all at once...but eventually. DHT depletion is a horrible, horrible feeling. I know what you mean, you care about nothing, you are emotionally blunted, and you dont really "feel" like yourself anymore. Hell you feel like no one!

These effects in some people have been permanent. Be careful with this drug.

You are obviously sensitive to it. It took me 5 months before I saw sides.

propeciahelp.com has all the info on sides. Its not the only drug with similar sides to this either. Accutane, and ssri's have the similar sides.

 

[reckless]

Well the doctor who gave me the finasteride has told me to stop taking it for the time being and reintroducing it when I feel better.

The other effect I'm getting is that I'm not sleeping well and don't seem to care about much, like I can't be bothered about anything. Is this a common side effect of finasteride?

Yes it is more common than you think. I just quit finasteride cause I go every side in the book. Not at first, and not all at once...but eventually. DHT depletion is a horrible, horrible feeling. I know what you mean, you care about nothing, you are emotionally blunted, and you dont really "feel" like yourself anymore. Hell you feel like no one!

These effects in some people have been permanent. Be careful with this drug.

You are obviously sensitive to it. It took me 5 months before I saw sides.

propeciahelp.com has all the info on sides. Its not the only drug with similar sides to this either. Accutane, and ssri's have the similar sides.

Yes this is how I feel. The world could end right now and I wouldn't be bothered. I'm in a zombie state and also irritable.

Hopefully a few days off finasteride and some good sleep should get me back to normal.

Do you know how long finasteride stays inside your body? I've only been using it for 12 days. The effects kicked in on day 11.

 

[Ende]

Don't continue. It'll only get worse. Altered testosterone/estrogen ratio is probably the reason for your loss of libido and erectile dysfunction. Your penile muscles will atrophy very fast with low testosterone level, which means that you eventually will have a very serious problem.

Get off and stay away from the drug until you're normal. Then you could try once more with a low dose of a AI drug like arimidex, but remember that low estrogen level causes problems too, so it's important not to take too much. Clicking joints is the first sign of low estrogen level.

 

[Timi]

that goes away
that is the first weeks heavy

after few Month all get away

take it first all 2Days

Timi

 

[eth0]

I had the same thing after the first week. Panicing about it and reading this site made it worse.

I carried on and taking it, stopped visiting these forums and calmed myself down. a week or 2 later everything was ok again.

1 year on I've never had any sides since then, it's something I just don't think about anymore.

 

[reckless]

Are you sure you had the same thing?

Right now, my penis feels numb, my scrotum is loose and my balls are hanging low. Is that what you had?

Just watched some p**rn, managed to get it up but not as good as before.

 

[Hoppi]

Aw don't scare the poor dude - yes it's relatively common with finasteride and yes chances are you'll be fine again, just come off it for a bit!

I tend to get this sometimes when I take finasteride for a while, takes a few days then I feel much better again..

I dunno man try not to worry and just give your body a chance to stabilize again. Additionally, there are supplements that apparently can help with the recovery if needed.

 

[Mew]

Well the doctor who gave me the finasteride has told me to stop taking it

Listen to your doctor, he is looking out for your health. Take a break from the medication for a few weeks and see if things improve. If so, you'll have your answer.

I have to say though, that much of what you describe I personally went through, as well as many other guys with issues from the medication. Since Finasteride interferes with metabolism of Testosterone to DHT, neurosteroid production (Allopregnanolone, THDOC) and GABA-A receptors in brain, the side effects of mood changes, depression, cognitive impairment etc can be the result.

There are studies about this, as noted here (2009):

Finasteride treatment and neuroactive steroid formation
http://www.lf1.cuni.cz/Data/Files/Pragu ... 9a0025.pdf


"Finasteride is the 5alpha-reductase inhibitor that received clinical approval for the treatment of human benign prostate hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia. The 5alpha-reductase is enzyme responsible for the reduction of testosterone to dihydrostestosterone, progesterone to dihydroprogesterone and deoxycorticosterone to dihydrodeoxycorticosterone, steroids modulating the action of gamma-aminobutyric acid on GABA receptors.

These neuroactive steroids possess anticonvulsant, antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of finasteride therapy on a broad steroid spectrum in men with benign prostate hyperplasia.

A group of 20 men with benign prostate hyperplasia was involved in the present study. Finasteride in the daily dose of 5 mg/day was administrated for 4 months. In all individuals, their hormonal profile of steroid hormones was determined before and after 4 months lasting finasteride treatment. Finasteride treatment resulted in a significant decrease all alpha-reduced and increase of most 5beta-reduced metabolites of testosterone and progesterone as well as in an increase of 7alpha-hydoxyderivatives, which are known as neuroactive steroids acting by modulation of GABAA and NMAD receptors in the brain.

In the course of finasteride treatment the decrease of the concentration of circulating steroids with known inhibitory activity on GABA-ergic excitation in the brain is very probably an important factors contributing to the development of the symptoms of depression seen in some isolated cases of finasteride administration. "

Another, with 1mg per day (Propecia):

The influence of low dose finasteride, a type II 5?-reductase inhibitor, on circulating neuroactive steroids
http://www.reference-global.com/doi/abs ... I.2010.010

Background: Finasteride is a 5?-reductase inhibitor that has received clinical approval for the treatment of human benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia. The treatment is practically without side effects, although some occasional cases of depression syndrome have been reported. 5?-Reductase is an enzyme responsible for the reduction of testosterone, progesterone or deoxycorticosterone to their 5?-reduced derivatives possessing anticonvulsant, antidepressant, and anxiolytic activity. Therefore, the formation of GABAergic neuroactive steroids is likely to be impacted by finasteride.

Objective: The objective of the study was to show how the treatment of premature androgenetic alopecia with low doses (1 mg/day) of finasteride influences the broad spectrum of steroids with potential neuroactivity.

Methods: A group of 12 men with premature androgenetic alopecia participated in the present study. The steroid hormone profile was determined for all individuals. Finasteride was administered for 4 months at a daily dose of 1 mg. After the treatment, the same hormonal profile was determined again.

Results: 5?-Reduced steroids, e.g., 5?-dihydrotestosterone, androsterone, epiandrosterone, 5?-androstene-3?,17?-diol, allopregnanolone, isopregnaolone, and some 5-ene steroids, such as dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone, decreased gradually during treatment.

Conclusions: The decrease of 5?-reduced steroids, especially of allopregnanediol, dihydrotestosterone, and pregnenolone, is probably one of the factors responsible for the increased occurrence of depression in men treated with finasteride, even at low doses.

 

[dougfunny]

I can't believe I am saying this think past week I think I've noticed that things are a little, uh.. softer than they used to be.

This is probably in my head but nonetheless I think I may finally be throwing in the finasteride/dutasteride towel.

 

[reckless]

Thanks for all your support guys. I do feel a hell of a lot better this morning.

Most of the numbness is gone.

I think I'll reintroduce the finasteride in a couple of days.

 

[Hoppi]

Thanks for all your support guys. I do feel a hell of a lot better this morning.

Most of the numbness is gone.

I think I'll reintroduce the finasteride in a couple of days.

You could do if you want but I would give it a little longer, I wouldn't advise pushing your luck at this point!

 

[reckless]

Ok, I'll take my next dosage on Monday.

I think I panicked a bit too early.

As I said, I haven't been sleeping too well recently, more due to bad sleeping habits than finasteride, ie going to sleep late on the weekends and then feeling really tired during the weekdays. That's one thing I definitely need to change, as good sleep is needed for libido.

Also due to knee and groin injuries from squatting I haven't been able to exercise.

From what I have read, what I experienced isn't uncommon and usually the effects go away after continued use.

I think I'll cut the pill into 5 1mg pieces from now on.

 

[Hoppi]

Bear in mind you can go down to very low doses with finasteride and it still has SOME effect.

0.5mg seems to be as good as 1mg, at least for most people. 0.25mg seems less effective but still pretty strong (I cap my dose at this). 0.12mg has some effect but any lower than that and I would imagine it is fairly negligible at least in terms of observed results.

 

[eth0]

Are you sure you had the same thing?

Right now, my penis feels numb, my scrotum is loose and my balls are hanging low. Is that what you had?

Yep. I sh*t myself the first time and stopped. I then tried again about 6 months later with the determination to see it through.

It was probably about a month before my sides completely disappeared.

Now I'm the same as before. Sometimes I feel like it, sometimes I don't.
If you assess how often you feel up for it you'll probably come to the conclusion that your sex drive has diminished. Once I forgot about it though and got on with life I realised it was because I'd never analyzed my sex drive before finasteride, you only remember the times you're horny and come to the conclusion that it must have diminished when in actual fact it's just because you're thinking about it more now.


Anyway, if you'd feel safer coming off it, then you should do. There's always a risk no matter how small the percentage.

 

[Nene]

You said you couldn't achieve an erection. Are you serious? You mean if you watched some p**rn you couldn't even get a little hard? If thats the case you need to quit asap.