Reporting on Finasteride usage. 3 months on 0.2-0.3 mg every 5 days
I'll make a quick (but accurate) report on my experience, as promised time ago. I hope my thoughts aren't too confusing.
My objective was to use the least effective dose of finasteride to avoid an unnecessary overdose of a dangerous substance. After researching user experiences and trying minimal doses of it, i have stabilized to taking 0.20-0.25mg every 5 days.
I was using clinical trial data and the oiliness of my scalp as an indicator of its efficacy.
For all doses between 0.2mg to 0.635mg the oiliness of my scalp unfailingly disappeared entirely for 5 days, appearing slightly the fifth day and causing acne by the seventh practically without fail.
This way, for about three months, i have taken less than 0.5mg of finasteride once every 5 days, tapering off the usage at start and end of my "trial", albeit doses under 0.2mg showed no effectiveness at all.
-Side effects appeared at day 2. Non-restorative sleep. I never imagined such a bland name could describe the worst physical feeling i had ever experienced to that point in my life. It however progressively disappeared in around a week.
-After 2 weeks i started noticing sexual side effects. After taking a new dose my libido and penis sensitivity increased mildly. At the same time, after 2-3 days since taking the dose they received a noticeable decrease instead.
-Around two weeks i started experiencing the effects of estrogen excess, joint clicking (but no soreness) and stray pains in the chest. I also experienced ulnar nerve entrapment despite doing the barest physical exercise, which i had done for years before. It took 4 months to heal.
-Around one month in, after reducing my carb intake, i started experiencing strong symptoms of adrenal insufficiency (adrenal fatigue), like difficulty getting out of bed and constant fatigue. It resolved after discontinuation of finasteride and raising carb intake. It's unclear whether finasteride played a role in this, but i read of many others experiencing the same. Low carbing isn't supposed to cause disabling adrenal insufficiency, even when adopted suddenly, which is something i did not do.
After discontinuation of finasteride i experienced a period of 2 weeks of high libido and excellent sexual performance, after which everything seemingly normalized, then my "emotionality" and penis sensitivity suffered a tumble. No visual change occurred in body composition, size or even function. While emotionality seems to have recovered after one more week, penis sensitivity has not. I'll wait until the two months mark since discontinuation to call it a "permanent" side effect.
Finally, what i mean by "emotionality" is the emotional response to stimulus. For a good week no song, social exchange or activity could get me "excited", "pleased" or "satisfied", yet i can't call it depression. Just a form of emotional bluntness without apparent cause.
09-02-2012 03:20 AM
MrBlonde
Thanks for this well documented account of your experiences with Fin. I was considering gettng on fin but hearing all these different accounts of the sides people are experiencing has made me think twice.
I know Spex says he had no sides with fin and managed to father twins whilst on the drug so I am still not rulling it out as I am shedding quite badly now.
The only thing I would say about your post is that 3 months would be considered a short lenght of time to be on Fin. Did you ever consider that as your body is readjusting to the drug it will need to balance itself accordingly, hence the sides, and that if you stayed on it longer that things may have stabalised?
Or where the physical and mental sides so bad that you couldn't go on any longer?
09-02-2012 05:44 PM
clandestine
Good to see you back, Aston. You're update is appreciated; you've had a valuable experience. Perhaps link to your old thread, for those who missed it.
09-03-2012 11:31 AM
2020
ah he's back... so how did your thyroid/cortisol/progesterone experiment go?
09-20-2012 04:20 AM
Aston
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBlonde
The only thing I would say about your post is that 3 months would be considered a short lenght of time to be on Fin. Did you ever consider that as your body is readjusting to the drug it will need to balance itself accordingly, hence the sides, and that if you stayed on it longer that things may have stabalised?
Or where the physical and mental sides so bad that you couldn't go on any longer?
The sides weren't that terrible for me, however the moment i noticed a worsening trend for them, i quit. My whole body was experiencing negative changes, none of which gave the impression of subsiding.
Considering that after two months after discontinuing i have some lasting side effects which many men would despair about, i am satisfied with my decision. People who can safely use the drug don't report such extended side effects.
Lastly, fathering children wasn't impossible while on the drug for me, but that's really not the issue, is it. As someone who used it, my ultimate recommendation is to never use it. It is too dangerous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clandestine
Good to see you back, Aston. You're update is appreciated; you've had a valuable experience. Perhaps link to your old thread, for those who missed it.
My finasteride experience was just a way to try the most touted treatment available, something i did to see whether my hair loss could be halted while i researched it. We already know lowering DHT slows or stops hair loss, so i don't really want to relate the two things. I will eventually make a new thread about my findings in controlling DHT metabolism and will link the old thread there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2020
ah he's back... so how did your thyroid/cortisol/progesterone experiment go?
I haven't begun yet. I have only stopped finasteride not even two months ago and i'm not foolhardy enough to try different hormonal treatments at once. I still have to fully assess the permanent changes it seems to have made to my body.
I have instead been observing a nutritional and physical regime to increase my resting metabolic rate. It seems to be going well (as far as increasing the metabolic rate is concerned), but i'm far from being ready to report any results on the hair loss side.
09-20-2012 01:27 PM
blackhairdude
Dude! Man up. Take it once a day like it says on the packet. A full pill. You'll be fine. Watery semen, but fine. All the sides are in your head. Its like taking paracetemol.
09-20-2012 02:02 PM
Aston
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackhairdude
Dude! Man up. Take it once a day like it says on the packet. A full pill. You'll be fine. Watery semen, but fine. All the sides are in your head. Its like taking paracetemol.
Consistently watery semen implies a lowered rate of activity of your testes, therefore also implying a hormonal change in your body. Since you admit the presence of watery semen, you admit the presence of a side effect.
Thanks for the recommendation, but I am pretty sure hearing *all* my joints clicking horribly (also confirmed by others) and waking up at night because of pain in the chest wasn't just my imagination, as both started and stopped with my finasteride usage.
09-20-2012 02:25 PM
dex89
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aston
but I am pretty sure hearing *all* my joints clicking horribly (also confirmed by others) and waking up at night because of pain in the chest wasn't just my imagination, as both started and stopped with my finasteride usage.
explain your self please. is it maybe that your joints are clicking because of lake of vitamin D?
09-21-2012 04:19 AM
chrisis
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBlonde
I know Spex says he had no sides with fin and managed to father twins whilst on the drug so I am still not rulling it out as I am shedding quite badly now.
I'm not sure why fathering twins is seen as evidence that finasteride is safe? Does anyone seriously believe that finasteride, rather than, ya know, genetics, enabled him to have twins? I'm not criticising spex here, I just think it's a weak and entirely unscientific argument.
09-21-2012 04:20 AM
chrisis
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackhairdude
Dude! Man up. Take it once a day like it says on the packet. A full pill. You'll be fine. Watery semen, but fine. All the sides are in your head. Its like taking paracetemol.
Yeah, well I did this and still got sides which are persisting 6 months later. Your advice isn't helpful.
