Side effect question

[AZJ]

I've been taking 1/4 of Proscar for over 3 years and have had a couple experiences inbetween where I would lose my libido and amount of ejaculate. It usually took a week and then went away.

Last week, for some reason I broke the pills into pieces of 3 instead of 4 and took that instead. Well, bad idea I guess. I've had a lot of impotency problems, decrease in ejaculate and low libido.

The problem has to be me increasing the amount, even though it's such a low amount, right? Or is just the fact I've taken this medicine for so long finally catching up?

Every time you have something like this you obviously worry that it's a longterm thing. I'm skipping a dose tonight but any help would be appreciated. Even if it's just reassurance that I should get back on the pill at 1.25 and weather the storm.

Thanks guys.

 

[westcovinajoe]

I would say the biggest side effect of Propecia seems to be worrying too much about the side effects.

Frankly I have no idea what my ejaculate was like before or now.

My libido?

Hell, sometimes I WISH it would go away.

At the end of the day all meds have side effects, if they are worse than losing your hair, quit taking Propecia.

Sorry if I made my point too bluntly.

Joe.

 

[AZJ]

Well I'd rather be able to get it up than have hair. I'm really just looking for advice on my situation but I guess it's best to ask the doctor.

 

[damnthis]

what did the doctor say or did the episode pass again?

 

[joseph49853]

I would say the biggest side effect of Propecia seems to be worrying too much about the side effects.

Frankly I have no idea what my ejaculate was like before or now.

My libido?

Hell, sometimes I WISH it would go away.

At the end of the day all meds have side effects, if they are worse than losing your hair, quit taking Propecia.

Sorry if I made my point too bluntly.

Joe.

If you're much older, maybe there's less need for your libido. Or maybe some people are just less sensitive to these things, I don't know.

But youth is definitely your prime for sexual activity. And at a young age, it's not difficult to notice a loss of libido or the ability to maintain an erection... especially when you're having sex, or masturbating, more than a few times daily.

For me, my sexual desire remained static, while my erections and sensations were impaired to the point that sex wasn't nearly as enjoyable... period. I may not have been studying my ejaculate, but finasteride definitely had an affect on my sexual function. It can be a very frightening proposition at first, especially without any additional support or information, to allay any fears.

Although, after 3.5 years on finasteride, I'm almost starting to believe that 1mg is far too much a dosage for average hairloss. Between my body adapting to finasteride, and my lowering the dosage, I now experience very little of those side effects. I've even had several people PM me about experiencing far less side effects on half the dosage, after my heartily recommending it. It makes my sticking around here worthwhile, no matter what is said to the contrary.

 

[Britannia]

Well I'd rather be able to get it up than have hair. I'm really just looking for advice on my situation but I guess it's best to ask the doctor.

Good luck with that. You might aswell ask your cat.

 

[rkim]

If you're experiencing sides, will continuing to ejaculate keep things from returning to normal? Is it better to just leave it alone untill it gets better? I know this is impossible anyway, but I just would like to know. I'm at 4 months and it's not getting better. Although I did cut down from 1 to .5 mg at 2.5 months. Could this be the problem? Isn't 3 months the recommended amount of time to wait?

 

[joseph49853]

If you're experiencing sides, will continuing to ejaculate keep things from returning to normal? Is it better to just leave it alone untill it gets better? I know this is impossible anyway, but I just would like to know. I'm at 4 months and it's not getting better. Although I did cut down from 1 to .5 mg at 2.5 months. Could this be the problem? Isn't 3 months the recommended amount of time to wait?

I actually, lowered my dosage to .2mg after a complete first year on finasteride, and then back up to .5mg at 2.5 years.

It's impossible to tell what's the right solution for your particular situation. But maybe you could try to find a proper dosage... a happy medium between optimal results and any negative side effects. And, at some point, you could always up your dosage back to 1mg at any time you choose.

 

[rkim]

Thanks.

Did you experience the same same types of things after the decrease as when you started? Like, increase in sides, shed (again), etc? How long after the decrease did your sides get better?