so these libido side effects...

[mr_sparkle]

..so this is my third day on propecia. I've been trying to get onto the stuff for ages but my inital derm wouldn't give me a proscription and so sent me to another and that took ages etc etc but I'm finally there.

He explained to me all the stuff I already knew about finasteride and the side effects. He said no-one he has given finasteride to has ever experienced sides from them and I'd be even less likely than most seeing as I'm 21, so nice and young, and in good health/shape. He said in some cases libido can be increased (and there's been cases on this forum I do believe) so I was positive. And that's important cos lots of side effects probably result from the FEAR of sides.

So with the first day I felt myself urinating a lot more than usual. That was okay. Still feeling horny. But onto day two and three (i.e today and yesterday) and I'm getting slightly concerned. My boners are softer and less frequent. Having a long lie in I'm not pitching as strong a tent at all and they're much less frequent. I used to get the odd freak boner which could be embarrassing but hasn't happened in the last couple of days which is worrying.

Is it normal to experience sides this early? I'm gutted if these are sides - maybe it's too early to tell and I'm just being paranoid OR having an off day.. if it's not normal to have them this early maybe they're not actual sides and I'm deluded?

The problem is I feel I'm well learned enough about finasteride and sides to know they're probably not in my head cos I wasn't really expecting them. If I was certain I'd get sides my mind probs would have created them...it's hard to explain. But I knew that a lot of sides could be from paranoia, and I never went into this regimen feeling paranoid.


Thankfully I'm not like totally impotent. I managed to jack off but again it wasn't rock hard and took more effort. And watching Neighbours and Hollyoaks I still felt the urge to give it to all the fitties on the show, but no stiffy really.

Obviously I'm gonna stick it out - so I'm wondering for most ppl when do sides usually kick in? Many say they go away as the body adjusts to the finasteride - how long should I expect my usual sex drive to return (with continued use of finasteride)?

This is sh*t. But I'm not gonna panic just yet. Hopefully it's just the body adjusting. Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow feeling as horny as ever. Hopefully it's all in my head - it's just so hard to tell

Oh another thing - I'm on other medication too - to treat achne (which I could probably quit now as my skin is fine) and Ibruprofin as I injured my leg recently. Could these have any influence at all? Especially as my leg is in pain which may affect finasteride and the libido? Or am I being ridiculous.

I'd really appreciate any help

 

[Uni Student]

Dear god man,theres more to life then your dick. You've been on it a matter of days. I've been on it just over 3 weeks. I may be suffering similar effects as you but give it time,these will go away.

Go out and focus on something else.

 

[mr_sparkle]

yeah the issue is that it's so early - not that they may or may not be happening but more the timing of it.

I didn't feel so bad today so it's hard to tell! Maybe it's all in my mind but maybe not. That's all, I'm not getting all OMGZ WOTZ HAPPENING11!! :freaked2:

YEah I'm just focusing on other things. I just needed a bit of advice

 

[Chorizo]

I'm 6 weeks into propecia.. Week 3-5 I had the much talked about nutache going on. Not a very pleasant experience, luckily it was gone about mid 5th week.. Now I'm having decresed libido, my girlfriend commented the other night on how it's not as hard and "big" as it used to be.. I was like wtf?? I don't need this worry in addition to my hairloss worries..
I'm considering taking L-arginine as a supplement as many others on here seem to think highly of in regards to increasing libido again.
I'm really hoping these side-effects will disappear once my body gets adjusted to propecia.

 

[lithebod]

my experience is almost identical to yours - not a drop in libido but there is definetly a difference in the trouser department - Im not one to talk at lengths about my member - in fact I think its downright weird but in the interests of informing other forum members here is my summary:

First weeks of finasteride

1) Noticable reduction in volume of ejaculate and an oozing rather then full on explosion as I was used to before
2) A sort of numb feeling "down there" when erect
3) No morning boners at all -

2.3 months of finasteride

1) The oozing has gone and the volume seems to have returned a bit but definetly not as explosive as in the pre-propecia era
2) The numb feeling still lingers -sensivity wise sort of feels like permantently wearing condom
3) Morning boners are still a rarity - in fact I would say I could count 2 or 3 since propecia - whereas pre finasteride it was an almost daily occurence

I expect at this point someone is going to chime in with a comment like "its all in your mind" or " stop freaking people out sides are rare" well save it because whilst I think it sucks that things arent functioning on top of their game I think that

a) For me its a reasonable trade off if I get to keep my hair as I havent lost my libido and am still able to "get it up" when it counts
b) As I mentioned the ejaculate volume scenario was the main worry and that seems to be getting back to normal
c) As long as I dont get gyno Im cool with it

Others may be inclined to feel different and if so best o luck to you all.

 

[Hawaii male]

I'm 6 weeks into propecia.. Week 3-5 I had the much talked about nutache going on. Not a very pleasant experience, luckily it was gone about mid 5th week.. Now I'm having decresed libido, my girlfriend commented the other night on how it's not as hard and "big" as it used to be.. I was like wtf?? I don't need this worry in addition to my hairloss worries..
I'm considering taking L-arginine as a supplement as many others on here seem to think highly of in regards to increasing libido again.
I'm really hoping these side-effects will disappear once my body gets adjusted to propecia.

Get on the L-arginine. It works.

 

[Def]

Just ride it out. I’m over 3 years on the stuff and at 28, still morning wood everyday and banging the beJesus out of my girl every time I see her.

I seem to recall a bit of a flat patch shortly after starting – it will subside.

Def

 

[powersam]

the first month was all up and down for me libido wise

 

[rkim]

It's over five months and still soft erections. At the half way point I cut to .5mg and no change at all. Maybe some days it's better, but when it's bad it's BAD. It's not coming back. Hair seems to be getting better though. But still, not worth it. Sorry lithebod, but it's not a good trade off. I assume your sides are much less than mine.

Has anyone experienced sides for more than 5 months and had them subside? My Doctor says no way.

 

[powersam]

rkim get some exercise. go running every other day at least, maybe do some weight work. if your libido isn't up after a month of that then i'd drop propecia. no use having hair if you cant use your wang

 

[Guest]

ok ok ok, but have you guys had any positive results in your HAIR ???

 

[mr_sparkle]

exercise sounds like a good idea. It's certainly not a FLAT patch cos...y''know I can get boners and jack off....but it's certainly softer and less frequent.

my libido still seems lower than usual 3 days after posting, but again it's been only 6 days overall and may change.

It's not too bad. It's just lower.. sadly without a girlfriend atm I can't tell what it'll be like in that kind of a situation. It could be okay but it may not. Maybe a little supplement may help but I'd rather wait and see if things go back to normal.

 

[Sean_John]

Drop in Libido too

I have been on Propecia for a lil over a week. The first couple days, I felt okay. But now, I have noticed a drop in libido. Can this only be temporary as my body get used to finasteride or should I be concerned for the long run? I thought this side effect only occured in like 4-6% of people.

 

[Aplunk1]

In 2% of people, actually. And yes, it will go away.

 

[powersam]

when you start propecia, for the first month or so expect your libido to swing up and down. this is just your body adapting to the hormonal changes. the odds are heavily on your side that any loss of potency will be a temporary one.

 

[Bash]

freakin hell, had a hot chick this last weekend and could only perform once, no seconds here....thinkin of gettin on v**** generics or something. It's like some days I'm horny as hell, and others I'm not interested at all. I have no problem getting it up, but it's the staying up that's the issue, it's like I get distracted for a split second and down we go. It's also like I need a longer foreplay than the chick :roll: .

 

[mr_sparkle]

when you start propecia, for the first month or so expect your libido to swing up and down. this is just your body adapting to the hormonal changes. the odds are heavily on your side that any loss of potency will be a temporary one.

my libido hasn't really swung. It just declined and has remained so. I've been on 3 1/2 weeks now. It's not a massive decline, but it's noticeable. However, I can still jack off every night if need be, but it's more just to check it's still working rather than feeling the need to! It's a bit better than it was after a week though

How long until I should worry that it's not going to stabilize? The problem is without having a gf at the moment it's hard to tell the exact extend of the side effect!

 

[Hawaii male]

its all in the mind.. think soft and you will have soft!

 

[science-jay]

its all in the mind.. think soft and you will have soft!

damn right it isn't!

I really didn't expected any side effects from propecia...and great, i had an increase in libido, after three weeks it became worse without any expectation, after 8 months i was totally impotent...
no imagenation here...
there VERY real to me
and those 2%...

 

[Aplunk1]

There are ways to incrase libido. (L-Arginine, Ginko Balboa, Enzyte, v****, Cialis, etc. etc.)

The side effects disappear if you stick to the treatment.