Propecia, The Good and the Ugly

[joer1212]

I have been taking 1 mg. brand-name Propecia for 3 years and 1 mg. generic finasteride for nearly 2 years. As a result, I have not had further hair loss.

My 2-part question is:

(1) If I decide to take a break from taking finasteride, how long will it take for my hair to start falling out again. 1 day? 1 week? 1 month? In other words, how long is it safe to stop finasteride before visible hair loss recurs?
How often can this be done. For example, if I can take a break from taking finasteride for 3 days, how often can I take this 3 day break without hair loss consequences?

(2) The reason I want to take a break from finasteride from time to time is because I have recently noticed the infamous sexual side effects that have been so widely reported with finasteride. There is a numbness in my penis, like it has lost a lot of sensitivity. Even my ejaculations are not as pleasurable as they were before.
I don't recall if I started getting these side effects when I first started on Propecia almost 5 years ago and didn't notice, or if it is a recent onset, but it's starting to become an issue.
I also fear that these side effects may be permanent (as reported), even if I should stop taking finasteride in the future.
Has anyone else noticed these side effects?