when do side effects from propecia start setting in?

[darkcamelot]

long time lurker, first time poster:

I just got back from the derm yesterday - who confirmed that I was losing hair & put me on propecia. I was pretty paranoid w/ the onset of side effects as I've read this forum and propeciahelp.com for a while. however, I still decided to take the chance.

now, ever since I've suspected that I was losing my hair (about a week ago), I've been pretty down. and I guess that's part of the reason for my low libido. I haven't had sex or masturbated in over 2 weeks.

but after popping my first pill yesterday, I thought I'd pop in some p**rn and try it out to shake my paranoia away. and wouldn't you know it, I couldn't get hard to save my life. it didn't stay completely flaccid. but it wouldn't get erect either.

now I don't usually get morning wood anyway. my penis would be gorged in the morning, but not fully erect. I never thought it a problem since it never interfered w/ me actually getting an erection. and this morning was no different: gorged, but not erect.

of course, when I tried to get it erect, it didn't do that either.

so my question is: how long does propecia take in displaying the side effects? the common sense in me is saying that I'm paranoid and that's causing me to not have an erection, as an onset of such drastic side effects after one dose seems unlikely.

regardless, I'm going to stop taking the pill for a bit and just stay on Nizoral until I can get hard again.

ps - I'm just beginning to date a new girl. I would really hate to have to end it b/c of this.

 

[MrBastard]

They can happend from anywhere the first week till after many years or even when you finally quit the drug... If i where you id certanly make sure i dont have any erection problems BEFORE adding a drug who can cause erection problems.

Maybe you are low on zinc? Get bloodtests to see if everything is OK, or just add a zinc supplement if your lazy

 

[Ende]

It takes time to develop erectile dysfunction. It's not something which happens over the night. With that said, I noticed changes within the first week, and it just got worse in my case. You obviously already had an issue before using propecia, if you don't get solid morning erections. Did the Doctor check your hormone levels before he gave you the drug? If not, I would do that as soon as possible, and stay off the drug in the meantime.

 

[darkcamelot]

well, like I said, I'm going to stop taking propecia for now. I'll definitely get the zinc supplements and also try to set up an appointment with a doctor (btw, my dermatologist didn't mention any blood test. which doctor do I need to consult for that? an endocrinologist?)

I'm more or less satisfied with what I have now. so really, the name of the game is maintenance. if I can do that with any other regimen, I'll be happy. after reading the growth stimulants section, I'm discouraged that rogaine and Nizoral alone can do this though...am I wishfully thinking?

 

[Ende]

I would say propecia is the best bet for maintenance, but what do I know. Any GP can do the blood test. Make sure LH, FSH, testosterone, estrogen, prolactin and SHBG are tested.

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

I had ball ache for the first week, I had no real reduction in sex drive but it was annoying me to have an erection when your balls are kind of aching

Then that went away and I just had this minor groin ache until the beginning of August, I thought my sides were getting worse as my sex drive seemed to drop a little and I made a post explaining my other seemingly rare problem (testicles "ascended for just over two weeks) then all at once all my problems went away.

I've even increased my finasteride doseage a little bit and I have had no side effects. 100% normal!

A lot of people, including the Merck papers that come with propecia, say to try to ride out the sides. The trick is knowing when to quit if the sides aren't gonna disappear.

Most people don't have anything after the first two weeks so I'd just take it and ride it out.

 

[Ende]

Yeah, but with no experience, you don't know where you should quit. I would say, if your libido drops and stay down, then something is up, and you should do proper adjustments to your regimen, or quit. Pushing further is dangerous. What Merck concluded with at the time the drug was released doesn't matter, only post marketing experience does at times like this.

 

[darkcamelot]

so I stopped taking propecia yesterday. and this morning, I had a pretty good morning wood.

of course, I don't know if it's the zinc supplement I took yesterday either....or whether it's all psychological.

either way, I'm holding off on resuming propecia until I get the bloodwork done.

 

[rint]

I took finasteride for 6 months with near-perfect sexual function (a little less horny). 1-2 months AFTER I stopped I developed severe ED which went away about 2 months after that.