Stopping Finasteride After Incredible 3 Month Results (Needing Advice)

[2Young4This]

Hi All,

Yesterday, after 90 days on Finasteride, I made the unfortunate decision to stop taking it. First off, it truly did regrow my hair at an unbelievable rate, that I cannot deny. My hair now is stronger than ever. In fact, it is so strong and thick that I actually struggle to comb it due to the comb getting caught and tangled in the hair. PICS here: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/97614-First-90-Days-of-Finasteride-(PICS)

However, as astonishing as the results are, I ran into extremely noticeable and frustrating side effects over the last 15 days of treatment, despite experiencing 0 side effects during the first 75 days. The side effects boil down to reduced sex drive, slightly weak erections, and reduction of penis sensitivity.

Side effects breakdown

• REDUCED SEX DRIVE: I essentially have no sex drive when I am away from my girl (up to a couple days at a time). No erections throughout the day whatsoever, not even in the morning. I also find myself not thinking about women or sex, and don't feel particularly excited to hang out with my girl.
• SLIGHTLY WEAK ERECTIONS: Took me two weeks to notice it, but my penis has not been getting fully erect. When I am with my girl, I have no issues getting an erection, but it is only about 80% hard and tends to soften more quickly if we take a small break or slow down.
• REDUCTION OF PENIS SENSITIVITY: By far the most noticeable and frustrating side effect. I am normally an incredibly sensitive guy. If I am not with a girl for a couple days and we go at it, I would finish fast, at least on the first round (; . However, now I find myself lasting an incredible amount of time, virtually forever if I wanted to, and I have to concentrate more and more in order to be able to ejaculate. This is completely inconsistent with the way I am and totally unacceptable.

Yesterday I had an embarrassing hic-up with my girl when I could not finish, despite her tremendous efforts, and I had to come clean about everything. Luckily she was very cool and understanding about it. These three side effects have made me conclude that the cons outweigh the pros for me. My biggest priority right now is getting my sex drive back, so I am stopping Finasteride entirely at this time. It is likely that I will return to finasteride in the future under a different regimen.

Have any of you experienced similar side effects and found any solutions? Any modifications to your regimen that improved your situation? Any help is much appreciated! If you feel more comfortable, feel free to reach me via PM.

Saludos,

Henry

 

[buckthorn]

Sorry to hear about this Henry. I will say that most of the people I have encountered with these issues, usually conclude that they resolve after a few months. Given your awesome results, it may be worth it to reduce dosage and stay on it and see how you respond. It's your decision obviously and a tough one. Based on how well your responding to one anti androgen, are you considering trying RU?

 

[TD500]

the sides you are experiencing are pretty common you can either continue to see if the sides vanish or discontinue and lose anything you gained from it.

 

[KO21]

very respectable to make that decision especially when you know it's working for you.

I'm 3 months in with little to no results. Libido is like a roller coaster.

After hearing about all the placebo guys reporting lower libido as well, I have decided to stick on it and just try to forget that I'm taking the pill.

 

[2Young4This]

Sorry to hear about this Henry. I will say that most of the people I have encountered with these issues, usually conclude that they resolve after a few months. Given your awesome results, it may be worth it to reduce dosage and stay on it and see how you respond. It's your decision obviously and a tough one. Based on how well your responding to one anti androgen, are you considering trying RU?

Buckthorn, thank you for the response and suggestion. A friend of mine experienced the exact same side effects and told me they went away two weeks after quitting finasteride; that is what I'm hoping for, will post an update. I have been speaking to another forum member, Anthony, who takes finasteride 4-5 times a week, and says that his side effects are better. I've also been reading on that reducing the dosage doesn't do much for side effects, unfortunately. I have not read much on RU, will definitely look into it!

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the sides you are experiencing are pretty common you can either continue to see if the sides vanish or discontinue and lose anything you gained from it.

At this time, I will definitely take a break. I need to get my sex drive back first before making any decisions. Definitely cannot continue...

- - - Updated - - -

very respectable to make that decision especially when you know it's working for you.

I'm 3 months in with little to no results. Libido is like a roller coaster.

After hearing about all the placebo guys reporting lower libido as well, I have decided to stick on it and just try to forget that I'm taking the pill.

KO21, I appreciate the kind words. It is true that sexual side effects can be manifested by anxiety and stress, however, always listen to your body. While on finasteride I was incredibly optimistic and positive about the treatment, even successfully ignored the initial signs of side effects. However, it got to a point when they were unfortunately very noticeable and undeniable..

Best of luck; stay strong.

 

[br1]

Interesting. I can tell I had a different story.. I was on finasteride for 13+yrs, then I decided to quit (for a while at least). around 2 weeks after I quit, I would get myself thinking about sex almost 100% of the time, horny all the time.. sensitivity increased a lot too.. being on the drug for so long, these feelings were not normal to me (not anymore..). To the point I could not have proper sex.. I would come just a few minutes after starting.. While before I could last for a long time...

libido too high was also interfering with my day to day routine..

Im back on finasteride now, and the only thing I really miss is the increased sensation on the orgasm.. but.. 39yo, 1 kid,... it's not like I`m having sex everyday if you know what i mean... :|

 

[Norwood One]

I'm on 0.25mg EOD for the past few weeks. Definitely experienced some sides. No morning wood, which I like having. That was sort of troubling so I'm going to try and reduce it further.

 

[2Young4This]

Interesting. I can tell I had a different story.. I was on finasteride for 13+yrs, then I decided to quit (for a while at least). around 2 weeks after I quit, I would get myself thinking about sex almost 100% of the time, horny all the time.. sensitivity increased a lot too.. being on the drug for so long, these feelings were not normal to me (not anymore..). To the point I could not have proper sex.. I would come just a few minutes after starting.. While before I could last for a long time...

libido too high was also interfering with my day to day routine..

Im back on finasteride now, and the only thing I really miss is the increased sensation on the orgasm.. but.. 39yo, 1 kid,... it's not like I`m having sex everyday if you know what i mean... :|

Wow, that's very impressive that you were on it for that long. I'm hoping I get that rush of sex drive you speak of very soon. Now that I'm not single I can actually put it to good use! :turned:

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I'm on 0.25mg EOD for the past few weeks. Definitely experienced some sides. No morning wood, which I like having. That was sort of troubling so I'm going to try and reduce it further.

Side effects seem to happen regardless of dosage, people seem to have better luck reducing the frequency. Besides, can you reduce from 0.25 mg? Going to get a pill cutter and cut it into 0.125 mg's?

 

[Norwood One]

Don't know if it makes a difference going to 0.125mg. There were threads on here in the past showing 0.07mg of finasteride has a 60% DHT inhibition effect. (Don't want to paraphrase and muddle up facts, so if anyone knows which study i'm talking about, please post it). It was from an awesome poster named Bryan. Heard he passed away, sadly.

 

[tellersquill]

Don't know if it makes a difference going to 0.125mg. There were threads on here in the past showing 0.07mg of finasteride has a 60% DHT inhibition effect. (Don't want to paraphrase and muddle up facts, so if anyone knows which study i'm talking about, please post it). It was from an awesome poster named Bryan. Heard he passed away, sadly.

This makes sense. I'd recommend trying the reduced dose and seeing how you get on.

 

[Jonny Craig]

I'm on 0.25mg EOD for the past few weeks. Definitely experienced some sides. No morning wood, which I like having. That was sort of troubling so I'm going to try and reduce it further.

Sides on 0.25mg EOD? Damnit..

 

[2Young4This]

Sides on 0.25mg EOD? Damnit..

It's a wild, wild drug... :wacko:

 

[jh94]

I didn't notice any difference in sides from 1mg to 0.1mg. 6 weeks off finasteride now and feeling worlds better.

 

[2Young4This]

I didn't notice any difference in sides from 1mg to 0.1mg. 6 weeks off finasteride now and feeling worlds better.

That's what I've been reading a lot, it doesn't seem to matter what dosage you're on, the sides are the same. I'm only a few days off of finasteride and I'm starting to feel a bit better. Hoping to get that full sex drive back soon!

 

[Jonny Craig]

That's what I've been reading a lot, it doesn't seem to matter what dosage you're on, the sides are the same. I'm only a few days off of finasteride and I'm starting to feel a bit better. Hoping to get that full sex drive back soon!

Please keep us posted.

 

[cuprous]

Keep in mind you can cut dosing down to whatever you want by dissolving a tablet of finasteride in a 10ml dropper bottle of vodka. I have *not* done this myself but am considering giving finasteride a try and intend to "dose in" by using this method.

1mg in 10ml with a 1ml dropper = .1mg per dropper or obviously less per fraction of the dropper. I'm going to start with something like twodroplets. That would be like 0.02mg of finasteride. Believe it or not that was one of the test doses in an early study and it still had a mild but definite impact on DHT.

Kudos on deciding to quit, keep us posted on how things go regardless of what regimen you do or do not decide to pursue.

 

[Devop911]

As you dont have an aggressive Hair Loss. I wouldnt f*** with treatments. A HAT with 2k -3k Grafts should do the Trick!

 

[Norwoodcemetary]

Hi All,

Yesterday, after 90 days on Finasteride, I made the unfortunate decision to stop taking it. First off, it truly did regrow my hair at an unbelievable rate, that I cannot deny. My hair now is stronger than ever. In fact, it is so strong and thick that I actually struggle to comb it due to the comb getting caught and tangled in the hair. PICS here: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/97614-First-90-Days-of-Finasteride-(PICS)

However, as astonishing as the results are, I ran into extremely noticeable and frustrating side effects over the last 15 days of treatment, despite experiencing 0 side effects during the first 75 days. The side effects boil down to reduced sex drive, slightly weak erections, and reduction of penis sensitivity.

Side effects breakdown

• REDUCED SEX DRIVE: I essentially have no sex drive when I am away from my girl (up to a couple days at a time). No erections throughout the day whatsoever, not even in the morning. I also find myself not thinking about women or sex, and don't feel particularly excited to hang out with my girl.
• SLIGHTLY WEAK ERECTIONS: Took me two weeks to notice it, but my penis has not been getting fully erect. When I am with my girl, I have no issues getting an erection, but it is only about 80% hard and tends to soften more quickly if we take a small break or slow down.
• REDUCTION OF PENIS SENSITIVITY: By far the most noticeable and frustrating side effect. I am normally an incredibly sensitive guy. If I am not with a girl for a couple days and we go at it, I would finish fast, at least on the first round (; . However, now I find myself lasting an incredible amount of time, virtually forever if I wanted to, and I have to concentrate more and more in order to be able to ejaculate. This is completely inconsistent with the way I am and totally unacceptable.

Yesterday I had an embarrassing hic-up with my girl when I could not finish, despite her tremendous efforts, and I had to come clean about everything. Luckily she was very cool and understanding about it. These three side effects have made me conclude that the cons outweigh the pros for me. My biggest priority right now is getting my sex drive back, so I am stopping Finasteride entirely at this time. It is likely that I will return to finasteride in the future under a different regimen.

Have any of you experienced similar side effects and found any solutions? Any modifications to your regimen that improved your situation? Any help is much appreciated! If you feel more comfortable, feel free to reach me via PM.

Saludos,

Henry

I have same sides for 13months now..they dont go away...u just have good n bad days...my hair still shedding n still on finasteride