Sides on finasteride - quit or continue?

[Larrs]

Hey everybody!

Been lurking here around 2 months now, this is my first post. Started 1,25 mg finasteride about a month ago, and just as i started noticing results I also noticed the sides. Low libido and unfortunately a softer erection and problems maintaining my erection. My question to you all is; should I quit right away or is there any chance that my condition could get better with continued use?

Also, if I quit now, is there any point in startin finasteride again in a few months or a year, or will the same sides hit me then aswell?

I've read that if you have sides on finasteride, starting dutasteride will usually give the same sides, can anyone confirm that?

Every serious answer is greatly appreciated!

 

[Rawtashk]

What do you mean by "softer erections"? Honestly...sometimes I find that my have varying differences of hardness, but it all depends on the situation. Am I with a girl? Am I going solo? Am I tired at the time? Am I stressed out? Etc etc etc.

Personally, I feel like people notice "problems" with their erections because they only start to actually pay attention to them once they start finasteride. If you're looking at something intently enough, you can find a flaw in it.

My advice would be to drop it down to .5mg. I was at .5mg for almost 3 years, and I had good regrowth on it. I upped it to 1.25 about a year ago, and got ball ache again when I went to that dose. That tells me that there IS a difference between doses.

There have been several people on here that say the sides went away after a few months or so if they kept on it. I assume that you haven't had a complete loss of libido, or total ED, right? If you had something serious like that, then I'd probably say to get off it for a while and then perhaps restart it at .5mg.

 

[Larrs]

The libido and erection problem is definitely for real, I've been positive and not thinking about sides the whole time I've been on finasteride now. I have a girlfriend so I've noticed theres a pretty big difference from before and now. It's only been two days now that I've had the sides, I'm just worried that if I continue taking finasteride to see if my body will stabilize itself that the sides might get worse and harder to get rid of when I evetually stop taking finasteride. I guess there is no definit answer to that, just interested in hearing other peoples thoughts and experienceses.

I guess I can drop the dosage down to .5 mg and try a week or so, if it doesn't improve I'll probably quit completely and see if the sides dissappear.

Thanks alot for the answer, will update here if anything changes or if I decide to stop taking finasteride.

 

[Larrs]

A little update.

It's now been 8 days since I noticed the sideffects and they're still here. The last 6 days I have only taken about .5 mg finasteride, but it hasn't helped at all.

Is there anyone who has had the same experience and had the sides disappear with continued use? Becaues I am strongly considering dropping finasteride, since the sides are still there even with a reduced dosage.

Also, is the anyone who has had sides on finasteride and tried dutasteride with good results? A little skeptical about trying dutasteride, my impression is that most people experiencing sides on finasteride also get them using dutasteride.

What are my options if I can't use finasteride/dutasteride?

Every answer is greatly appreciated!

 

[proscarred2]

It gives me no pleasure to say this to you man, but I was taking Propecia kind of off and on for about 2 years. I stopped in Dec due to the sides thinking that the sides would stop. Unfortunately I actually feel like they have gotten worse. Pretty much nothing gets me in the mood and I am in a relationship and this is not helping that, and she is a very attractive girl. I literally have been shut off from my sex drive. I am 29 and certainly never had this issue prior to this.

There are also a lot of other side effects that people seem to be reporting. It's really freaking me out.

Sorry, I don't want to say that because I know it's not the answer you're looking for but from one person to another, I'd rather be honest with you. But, this is just my own personal experience.

Good Luck to you man! Hope it all works out.

 

[imlosinit]

Consider tapering off. Don't jump off cold turkey.

 

[stoja]

quit asap. you risk persistent sides if you continue. its just not worth it.

 

[Rawtashk]

quit asap. you risk persistent sides if you continue. its just not worth it.

Don't listen to him. I'm fairly sure that there is nothing that says the longer you take finasteride the more at risk you are for long-term sides. People who report the sides seem to report them in the first month or so.

 

[Wuffer]

quit asap. you risk persistent sides if you continue. its just not worth it.

Since persistent side effects occur after a hypothesized hormonal crash following discontinuation, isn't he putting himself at greater risk stopping the medication?


To the OP: Evidence strongly suggests that side effects will dissipate after the first year. For example, a 5-year placebo controlled study of over 3000 men taking 5mg finasteride showed that sexual side effects only occurred during the first year of treatment. During the second year, there was no difference between the placebo and treatment group.

Of course, this may not be the case in your situation, but current data suggests that staying on finasteride for a longer period of time actually lowers your chance of having sexual problems instead of raising it. However, it's up to you if you want to potentially live with sexual problems for the next year.

If you discontinue and start it up again, chances are you will have the same reaction. However, if you are currently in poor health or have a less than ideal lifestyle, changing these things (exercise, clean up your diet, quit smoking / drinking / drugs) could possibly result in better tolerance next time you start.

 

[antman]

Hello Joe

Yes i am a Idiot i have the Symptomes long ignored
than the side effects worser and worser
Libido is Zero

i hope my Libido comes back

 

[Timi]

for me have minoxidil the same side effects as finasteride
when i apply it ,erectyle Dysfunktion

finasteride and minoxidil for ever in the Dustpin

Foxi