still expericing sides after 1 yr out of propecia.. HELP!

emery

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I have quitted propecia for over a yr now, but the side is not completely gone...
my dick is not as hard when it is erected and i kinda feel that it is 'smaller' then before..
anybody experienced this before and how did you fixed it?
 

ttroy

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Yes. Has not gotten any better at all. Did you get varicose veins on your shaft and did any tissue changes occur?
 

metalheaddude

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emery said:
I have quitted propecia for over a yr now, but the side is not completely gone...
my dick is not as hard when it is erected and i kinda feel that it is 'smaller' then before..
anybody experienced this before and how did you fixed it?

Lol. Sorry I couldnt help but laugh at the shrinking dick thing. But do you seriously still think finasteride is somehow still in your system after a year? I read somewhere that it takes around 1-2 months before it is completely removed from all tissue. But honestly after 12 months all remnants of finasteride should be gone. Perhaps this is related to something else?

Most impodence is actually psychological not physical. Maybe you have a mental block or regular sex just isnt turning you on anymore, who knows. :shock:
 

Mew

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Sorry I couldnt help but laugh at the shrinking dick thing. But do you seriously still think finasteride is somehow still in your system after a year?

It's not a joke, many guys who have come off the drug (self included) who experienced a brief recovery 1-2 weeks after stopping, find their systems crash within 2-4 weeks later and when they get tested, often have Testosterone levels in the toilet. At that point, Finasteride is no longer in the system -- its the process of DHT coming back online that seems to throw hormonal ratios out of whack for whatever reason, and cause the HTPA to drop Testosterone levels for these guys.

One result of this is the penile shrinkage, tissue changes, emergence of varicose veins, numbness etc. Some guys experience this while on finasteride, most after the crash when they quit. Some possibilities for this:


- downregulation or loss of Androgen Receptor function/5AR2 enzyme activity in the penile skin due to finasteride, since genital skin is rife with androgen receptors and abundant in 5AR2.
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1044
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=146
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=512

Only way to know for sure would be to get a genital skin fibroblast culture/assay done to test for 5AR2 activity... this IS possible to do.

- penile fibrosis due to lack of androgen (DHT) thanks to finasteride
http://www.asiaandro.com/1008-682X/5/33.htm

- penile cell apoptosis (cell death) due to destruction of Prostate nerve fibers thanks to finasteride, and drop in T levels
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1007
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=136
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=253

- decrease in number/abundance of nitric oxide containing nerves and NADPH nerves in penile tissues thanks to finasteride's inhibition of DHT (DHT mediates NO).
http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/reprint/136/4/1495.pdf
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1004
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=144
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=65

- decrease in PDE5 enzyme activity in penile tissues due to decreased androgen levels
http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33

- decrease in calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in penile tissues thanks to finasteride
http://www.asiaandro.com/1008-682X/inpress/0503.htm
 

chancer

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Mew...

I was just about to start taking finasteride....

Now your forum has frightened the life out of me

I feel so deflated, i was looking forward to trying the meds
 

Mew

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Your choice to take the drug, just be aware if you are one of Merck's so-called unlucky 2%, and if the side effects do not resolve after quitting, you will be searching for answers.
 

billythekid

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well i have stopped finasteride for more than a year as well. i have the same problem that ttroy has.

chancer, if you are really that concerned, maybe get a hormone test before you take the drug, if you can.

maybe start the pill at half the dosage (buy a pill-cutter at a drug store) and see how you go.

like most users, you may not get any sides at all.

if you do get sides, and they don't disappear within 1-2 weeks of starting, then you may have an issue.

i made the mistake of continuing to take the drug for 4 months thinking my sides will go away during that time.
 

RaginDemon

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I bet half of the people wouldn't be experiencing sides if those sides are not reported at the first place.

I have no doubt the other 50% really had/having sides, but I have difficulty believing that finasteride is the cause of all your problems.
 

ttroy

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Well I think it's hard to imagine completely numb genitals, painfully emerging varicose veins, physical changes to my dick, gyno etc. especially a few weeks after quitting finasteride (was def. NOT expecting that). But libido and erections are largely a mental thing for sure.

As to the original post, check your T-levels, they might be low after finasteride. If not, only time will help if even that- my endo has a patient who has been impotent for three years now after finasteride and had no trouble before that..and it's not looking too good.
 
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