Have sexual sides ever just gone away?

[ateam505]

Hey all,

I started taking propecia, 1 mg per day, about a month ago on April 14th.

Initially I had increased libido, pretty bad brain fog and some breast pain. After a week the bad brain fog went away and the breast pain turned into breast sensitivity. I haven't experienced any breast sensitivity in the last week so I'd like to believe it's gone but who knows. I haven't noticed any increase in breast size but I've always kind of had man boobs even though I'm not very overweight.

However, the one thing that has started is the sexual side effects. Immediately upon starting propecia I had watery semen, but in all honesty I can live with that. For the first two weeks I had no problems getting or maintaining an erection and I continued to get morning wood. Towards the end of week two though, I began to wake up with no morning wood, no more spontaneous erections and it took some extra work to actually get it up - and when it was up it was about 75% strong as before.

I had a random couple of days last weekend when my morning wood returned and I had really no problem getting an erection but that has since passed and I continue to have the same sexual dysfunction.

I am definitely considering quitting but I really want to keep my hair. I know it is just wishful thinking but - has anyone here had sexual side effects that eventually passed by and all returned to normal? (or at least close to normal?)

I'd like to believe that my body is just adjusting but once again, wishful thinking.

I appreciate your help.

 

[Mew]

I'd like to believe that my body is just adjusting but once again, wishful thinking.

Yea, I'd say you've got that right, wishful thinking no doubt.

You can "believe" what you want, but listen to your body because it speaks reality. Loss of morning/spontaneous/nocturnal erections is NOT NORMAL, you NEED those erections to maintain proper penile tissue health and function.

My recommendation is get off and see if things resolve, and consider alternatives to 5AR inhibition if it causes you problems.

 

[Jokerman]

Read this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=53109

Nearly everyone had sexual sides to begin with (including myself), but they eventually went away.

 

[legion00]

the majority of people on finasteride experience sexual side effects at first. they disappear with continued use for most people.

 

[symbolx]

Believe me it's not worth the risk. There are a lot of reported cases of side effects prolonging after discontinued use. Look into alternatives. I have been using this crap for more than a year and I am having dec in volume of sperm, testicle shrinkage, impotence, etc, and it does not go away. I got off it at one point and my hair completely "dumped" so I scrambled to get back on - the side effects remained during the period I quit (several months).

Seriously, if you read that 'most' people don't experience these side effects and there remains a chance that your package and sex drive will go out the window and never come back, would you be willing to take that chance? Stay away, especially if you are not experiencing bad symptoms right now. Don't become a slave to this medicine.

 

[Deathcab]

Mmmmmmm..Dang it. More to think about.

 

[kavorka]

I'm 37, have been diffuse balding for the past 3 years, but am particularly struggling in the crown area (nw4 i think). i tried rogain and i did see results but i found it a pita to apply every morning.....i didnt like the smell and it made my hair look funny during the day when it was applied...ie i got a few weird looks from people. so i decided to switch to Propecia only.

i'm in my 5th month with Propecia and from the first week of use i noticed a definite impact. Have had far fewer erections, no more morning glory and i haven't been able to get a firm erection (60% at most)...it has been like this for 5 months. TBH this didn't bother me as I'm not in a relationship and actually found it a nice break from being sexually frustrated. ie i was prepared to make the sacrifice to have a temporary loss of libido for hair regrowth.

My plan was to go with Propecia for a couple of years until I met a woman and got married then I'd bite the bullet and start shaving my head again...ie mission accomplished. However, reading the comments above you guys are scaring the sh1t out of me....I thought that if i quit the propecia I'd get my libido and return to 100% erections......don't tell me this could do permament damage! I'm now seriously considering quiting Propecia. and the talk about developing man titties is really scaring me too. Apart from the erections problems i dont think ive have any other symptons.

Would like to hear from anyone that had a reduced libido with propecia and what happened after they quit it.

 

[ghg]

I had decreased libido while I was on finasteride (I was on for 1,5 years), and I still do have it 17 months after discontinuation. My case is a lot like yours, no morning wood (or very very rare), weaker erections and orgasms, watery semen etc. I almost never get the random erections anymore, the member needs to be touched to get it hard, which wasn't the case before. I also have weird skin problems.

 

[Nuli]

I was on finasteride for 5-6 months, it took about a month to start noticing improvements in libido/erection frequency, but i really noticed a difference at the 3 month mark(about 100% in the sexual department). At around the same time i noticed a drastic increase in shedding of hair.

 

[ali777]

I'm 37

My plan was to go with Propecia for a couple of years until I met a woman and got married

I thought that if i quit the propecia I'd get my libido and return to 100% erections......don't tell me this could do permament damage! I'm now seriously considering quiting Propecia. and the talk about developing man titties is really scaring me too. Apart from the erections problems i dont think ive have any other symptons.

Would like to hear from anyone that had a reduced libido with propecia and what happened after they quit it.

I was wondering, is there a right time to start a relationship? What if you happen to meet someone tomorrow and she wants to have sex with you?

Anyway, I didn't take finasteride for as long as you have, but I tried it couple times for a month or a month and a half at a time. I quit because I had reduced libido and "my body just didn't feel right". In both instances, my libido and erection were back to normal within a week. Actually around a week mark, I had a spike of very high libido that lasted 2-3 days.

I also thought the decreased libido was a welcome distruction at first, but that feeling of being liberated didn't last too long. I think libido, testosterone, etc are part of my hormonal balance and I just felt like something in my body wasn't right. It just felt wrong all the time.

 

[ateam505]

OP here - I did end up quitting finasteride and I feel that I have been recovering sexually. After quitting finasteride I am able to get and maintain an erection much easier than while I was on finasteride but I don't feel 100% yet. I still don't get morning wood - maybe only once I can recall since quitting 2 weeks ago, my semen is still a little watery but has thickened up a little and I feel my erections aren't 100% strength what they were before propecia - maybe 50-60% while I was on propecia and 90% now.

My initial plans were to continue propecia sometime in the future but at a lower dose but now I'm not too sure...I have heard my fair share of horror stories. Propecia is just one of those drugs that affects different people in different ways, I just happened to be one who was affected adversely.

 

[kavorka]

I was wondering, is there a right time to start a relationship? What if you happen to meet someone tomorrow and she wants to have sex with you?

of course there isn't a right time but i'm not planning on having a relationship this year for financial reasons (ie have almost paid off the mortgage)....and having a girlfriend can be so damn expensive and stressful these days that i dont want to lose aim of my main goal for this year...be debt free and address my baldness problem. but yeah, if met the dream the girl then of course, all bets are off.

but yes, i had the misfortune of meeting a girl at a bar a couple of months back for a one night stand....and so you can guess the result....was unable to perform. have never felt so low since that night.

i was too embarassed to tell her i was on the medication, and so i pretty much never heard from her again

the stress of dealing with going bald and having problems downstairs has really impacted my social life....i've been very withdrawn and staying at home this year. havent had a date for almost a year whereas in the past id be averaging 2/3 a month and was so confident when approaching girls....now all i can think of is if people can see my crown.

i have been lurking this forum for a few weeks and it has raised my stress levels....has made me really consious of my problem whereas in the past i was ambivious to it and tbh, couldnt give a f*.

i have one more month of my six month prescription left...im thinking once i use that up i might stop the treatment.

where is that cure dammit

 

[ali777]

I was wondering, is there a right time to start a relationship? What if you happen to meet someone tomorrow and she wants to have sex with you?

of course there isn't a right time but i'm not planning on having a relationship this year for financial reasons (ie have almost paid off the mortgage)....and having a girlfriend can be so damn expensive and stressful these days that i dont want to lose aim of my main goal for this year...be debt free and address my baldness problem. but yeah, if met the dream the girl then of course, all bets are off.

but yes, i had the misfortune of meeting a girl at a bar a couple of months back for a one night stand....and so you can guess the result....was unable to perform. have never felt so low since that night.

i was too embarassed to tell her i was on the medication, and so i pretty much never heard from her again

the stress of dealing with going bald and having problems downstairs has really impacted my social life....i've been very withdrawn and staying at home this year. havent had a date for almost a year whereas in the past id be averaging 2/3 a month and was so confident when approaching girls....now all i can think of is if people can see my crown.

i have been lurking this forum for a few weeks and it has raised my stress levels....has made me really consious of my problem whereas in the past i was ambivious to it and tbh, couldnt give a f*.

i have one more month of my six month prescription left...im thinking once i use that up i might stop the treatment.

where is that cure dammit

Don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way, I'm not attacking you...

But you are 37, and half the people in their 40s have a degree of balding. So, what you are experiencing is very normal and maybe you should just accept it and move on?

I'm 31, and my hair annoys me but not as much as it used to. The last time I got lucky, I was like a stud and she's been seeing me for 2 months now. It's not a serious relationship, but it's better than nothing.

Also, you are right about the forums. Reading some posts is depressing.

 

[kavorka]

what your saying is right and no i havent taken it the wrong way....the thing is alot of people said i looked really cool with a shaved head...luckily i have a good shaped head for it....so i think this weekend ill buzz it back to a number 2, continue with the propecia, not worry about it and grow it back again in 6 months to see if there has been any progress.

if i was married, had kids or was in a serious relationship then i really couldnt give a toss about it. but yeah, i do consider myself lucky in that i had a full head right up until i was 33. the balding started when i was in a period of extreme stress (ie had lost job, broke up with girlfriend and parents had divorced all at the same time in 2005), was very difficult for me and it seems to have had the affect of accelerating my mbp.

To my surprise i've noticed the average age of this forum is very young (early 20's)....i guess thats due to a higher percentage of younger people being online. i real feel for you guys as its just not fair to begin losing your hair in your early 20's.

personally i just wish i found this forum 3 years back.....i didnt even know there was a treatment for halting baldness (ie finesteride)....i thought the only solution was to wear a rug.

 

[Deathcab]

Take a quick look at the last 5 posts of my story. It goes with what you guys are saying. My girl would much rather I have a high libido/hard/bald than to have a full head of hair, but soft and withdrawn. My sexual confidence far out weighs how I think I look.

But it took 5 days on Fincar for me to find that out. I got off it quickly and still have not gone back to normal.

 

[kavorka]

But it took 5 days on Fincar for me to find that out. I got off it quickly and still have not gone back to normal.

tbh with your situation i'd say 99.99% that finasteride is not the cause of this. i find it highly improbable that just popping 5 pills would permanently cause this. if you took it for 5 months, then maybe you'd have a point.

i'm not sure how much you know about sexual dysfunction, but with men 90% of erectile dysfunction is psychological....let me repeat, 90% of all cases are psychological. all men in their lifetimes (20's included) will experience performance problems.

if its stressing you that much then go and see a uroligist. what he will do is take some blood tests and give you a physical examination, hence this will determine if the problem is psychogical or physical (such as a hormone problem) once and for all. then once you know if its physical or mental then you can take the appropriate action.

to me it sounds like your stressing about tackling baldness, you've taken the fincar and the possible symptoms of lower performance have been at the back of your mind and now you've lost confidence and blaming the medication. believe me i've been where you are.

if the physical aspects are ruled out and it's psychological....then give the sex and wanking a break and even try some cialis to get you back into action.

don't stress!

 

[kavorka]

one more point, if your a big drinker or smoker then i'd also give that a break for a little while as it definitely does not help with alot of guys out there, myself included. as you get older you'll realise you aint superman

 

[Deathcab]

You make some good points. It was just so sudden from getting spontaneous erections to getting none. It is possible that my body will balance out over the next month while on Fincar, but it is also possible that the issues will continue and the longer Im on the drug, the more damage will be done.

 

[ali777]

one more point, if your a big drinker or smoker then i'd also give that a break for a little while as it definitely does not help with alot of guys out there, myself included. as you get older you'll realise you aint superman

Good points... I smoke and I'm totally aware of its long term effects. However, the effects of alcohol are somewhat understated. I mean there are so many anti-smoking campaigns but when it comes to alcohol, all we hear is "drink responsibly", etc.

I used to be a bit of a party animal in my youth, now I drink only once in a blue moon. I'll be the first to admit that I was probably drinking more than I should have done, but I know how much my body and mind changed after quitting drinking, especially my mind. People don't realise how damaging alcohol is to their nervous system, after a good sleep we think we are sober and back to normal. There is no such thing as back to normal with alcohol. There are lots of studies that show regular alcohol consumption f**ks the brain up. Alcohol is a poison and should not be taken in large quantities.

I've probably reveresed most of the negative effects of alcohol in my body, now it's time to do the same with smoking :dunno:.

Kids, if you are reading this, stay away from cigarettes and drink moderately!!!!!!

 

[Fanjeera]

I just got 18 and started taking this pill. It's been six days now: I always have a hard-on, my urine is brown and I feel my brain isn't working properly. The brain fog has been there for 2 years now, since I started minoxidil. I also think my penis has gone smaller.