Finasteride, Stress and the Psychological Component

[multiplier]

Sorry in advance for the personal and NSFW nature of this post. It's kind of complicated and I hope some of you guys might have some insight.

 

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Profile:

I'm a 36 year old male who has been on finasteride for 12 years. By nature I am very high-stress and high-anxiety, but have always had a strong sex drive. This past year, my personal life began to come apart and I began to experience symptoms commonly associated with finasteride use. No one, including me or my various doctors, can determine if the cause is psychological or because of meds, but the problems have persisted on and off for the last 10 months.

 

History:

I began taking finasteride in 1998 at age 23 after noticing some genetic hairloss. For the next decade, it helped retain my hair so I stayed on it. I have experienced zero side effects from finasteride. My sex drive and erections have been as strong as they were in my college days. Doctors' exams and bloodwork have always shown me to be in perfect health.

 

In 2009 I got married to someone I loved very much on an emotional level, but we did not have an active sexual relationship. I never cheated on her, but was always strongly sexually attracted to other women, which I felt guilty about.

 

Soon after we got married, we moved to NYC so she could pursue grad school. I worked 7 days a week at a high-stress job in Manhattan to support us. My anxieties skyrocketed. Our relationship became strained. I was in a huge city of beautiful women. I began to fixate on other women, sexually, as an escape from stress.

 

After 4 months in NYC, my wife's father died unexpectedly, sending her into a terrible depression for the better part of a year in which we were hardly intimate. We spent a lot of time separately. Meanwhile my fixation on sex and other women became more intense and I felt terribly guilty. I slept only 4-5 hours a night. I would go to bed and wake up thinking about sex. I masturbated 2-3 times a day when possible.

 

Everything changed around Christmas last year. I'd been noticing more hairloss, possibly from increased stress, so a doctor recommended increasing my finasteride from 1mg/day to 1.5mg/day. After a week on this new dosage, I woke up for the first time in many years without a morning erection. For a few days, I noticed even with masturbation my body just felt strangely numb. My penis felt weak. It was like my body had collapsed from the stress. I didn't take it very seriously. But for the first time ever, I also questioned the meds. I immediately backed my dose down to 1mg, assuming things would return to normal.

 

Weeks later, the symptoms persisted. To make things worse, I did some internet research and stumbled on sites with horror stories like PropeciaHelp.com. I panicked and began fixating on the idea I'd damaged my body. For about a week, I didn't sleep and had testicular ache and numbness below the waist — both supposed side-effects of the meds, but also both commonly associated with extreme stress and anxiety.

 

Right after Christmas my wife and I agreed to a trial separation. She moved out. Within a month, I realized it was a terrible mistake. I feel into a deeper depression. Not only did I feel guilty for how things ended, my libido had disappeared and I began to fixate on the idea that finasteride had done it. There was tremendous buildup to the idea of having sex with other women after separation -- which was now impossible.

 

So I stopped the drug altogether and consulted a top internist and a top urologist in Manhattan. Both took one look at my situation and said it was all stress-related and highly unlikely that side-effects would surface about 12 years of taking a drug, or that upping my dose by .5mg would tip the balance. They said it was not abnormal for someone my age experiencing so many stressors and life changes. They were worried about my mental state. Prostate exams, bloodwork for testosterone, prolactin, thyroid, DHT levels etc, returned totally baseline normal results. I was prescribed Viagra and Klonopin, but neither addressed the issue.

 

This spring was miserable. On stressful days, my penis either felt like it was being "squeezed" and sore, or just numb. Every day I fixated on the idea of finasteride damaging me, but I was also in limbo with my wife. One day she wanted to work things out, the other day she wanted to date other people. Meanwhile I was still holding down a very stressful job. I was barely making it through the day. Occasionally my wife and I would have dinner. We'd hug goodbye and that was the only spontaneous beginnings of an erection I'd have.

 

One night on my birthday, my wife came over for drinks and she ended up spending the night. That night I had zero problem with ED. I had a good, maintained erection and libido the entire time.

 

The only other time my problems subsided was when I decided to escape NYC and come down to Virginia for a 3-week vacation. I stayed in a friend's empty house and had my first good night's sleep in months. That next morning, I had my first morning erection. My body felt relaxed. It stayed that way for 3 weeks. I noticed women again. I masturbated regularly. During that time, my wife would call and suggest she wanted to work things out.

 

But then I went back to NYC and began low-dose finasteride again because I worried about more hairloss. But then the problems came back. I really should not have combined those 2 things, because once again, I couldn't tell whether it was the stress/environment or the meds.

 

On Sept 1, I realized I could not deal with limbo with my wife any longer. I bailed on NYC and moved back down to Virginia to try and sort my life out. I stopped the finasteride again. Within the first few days here, I felt relaxed and thought I felt my libido returning. I got morning erections. The stress of the city was gone.

 

But within a few weeks, I realized my libido simply wasn't what it was a year ago. I don't fantasize when I go to bed, or wake up in the morning. My penis either feels numb or "strained" some days, like a overstressed muscle. I also thought I noticed a slight feeling of inflammation in the prostate area, so I saw another urologist who did yet another unpleasant prostate exam which turned up nothing. He gave me antibiotics which have done nothing. I have used a High Island massager for the past week, but don't feel any differently.

 

I also saw an internal medicine doc here. She said it's highly unlikely to have zero side-effects from a drug for 12 years only to have them surface one day and last for 10 months. She agreed that upping the dose by .5mg for 1 week would cause a difference. She said the limbo of my marriage and other stressors have caused my body to "close up" a bit to protect itself. She did another bloodwork panel. Everything from testosterone to DHT to prolactin to thyroid was 100% normal.

 

Currently:

So that's where I am now. Especially since I got an HT in late September, I worry about not going back on finasteride to preserve my native hair. But I worry going back on it might exacerbate the symptoms I'm having.

 

I don't notice pretty women much now, not like I did a year ago. I don't look forward to seeing porn. If I masturbate, it's compulsory. Only half the time are my erections strong. I have noticed when I sit in a hot bath and my body is relaxed, it's easier to feel aroused or get a "normal" erection. But overall, I do feel depressed and am not exercising or socializing much.

 

I hesitate to go on sites like PropeciaHelp because so much of what they're describing either seems alarmist or unrelated to Propecia altogether. I do believe there is a psychological effect where people's worries spiral and began to manifest in psychosomatic ways. I don't want to read a bunch of horror stories and subconsciously convince my body it's broken.

 

So I'm in limbo with the wife and limbo with my libido. My wife will move back down here in a month or so and we may try to work things out.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this, or if you have any encouraging words.

[aaron1234]

Multiplier - hope to chat more but I'll give you a few thoughts.

 

1) If you were fine for 12 years on 1MG fin then I really doubt an extra .5MG's would cause side effects.

 

2) Given the amount of stress you've gone through I think it would be totally conceivable that the ED problems stem from that rather than Fin. Of course, I'm not a doctor so I'm making an educated guess.

 

3) You are just pass one month after your transplant. I don't care who you have the surgery with you are going to have to stay mentally strong through the doldrums. Doubts always creep up but try to stay positive. I'm generally optimistic but I still dealt with anxious thoughts around 1-2 months post-op. Either way, I think you are in the tough part now. So hang tough.

 

4) Don't be too hard on yourself for looking (thinking) about other women. I think it's totally normal. I really hope that you and your wife can work things out.

 

It just seems you have so much on your mind - be strong, stay positive. If you think the Fin is the cause of your ED problems then try using .5MG's daily - or 1MG every other day. Something is better than nothing.

[Levrais]

Multiplier,

Something happens to the brain immediately after getting a ht where anxiety increases for most of us. I was on propecia for around 7 years also and stopped. It's difficult to know for sure if it's the meds or just life but as Aaron said, stay tough.

[aaron1234]

Something happens to the brain immediately after getting a ht where anxiety increases for most of us.

 

So true. Sure, getting a HT is a physical experience but it's also a mental/emotional one as well. They don't call it the doldrums or the ugly-duckling stage for nothing. But it does seem that multiplier's stress stems from even before the HT and it just built up. Pressing through and taking it one day at a time is all one can do. Better days are ahead!

[wildflowerwildflower]

Sorry to hear about your struggles Multiplier. You seem like a good guy, I appreciate your honesty and candor.

 

I wonder if anyone could speak more to the post-HT anxiety/doldrums? I don't recall reading/hearing about this...I'd like to know more about this as I have my 1st HT scheduled for December.

[TakingThePlunge]

multiplier,

 

While not exactly what you are describing, I had a similar situation. Three years ago today, I moved out of my house when an 8 year relationship came to an end. This snowballed into a foreclosure and an incredible amount of stress. At that time, I had never taken finasteride. I had also had a raging libido that continued to rage for about a week or so after the move. Then, I noticed an abrupt change.

 

Keep in mind that I was not taking fin at this time. I felt right away that it was due to my stress and depression over the breakup and subsequent snowball effect it had on other aspects of my life. Before I could recover, I started finasteride about three months later and never fully regained the erections and sex drive I had before. But, it was all good enough that I didn't see the need to quit the drug.

 

Now it's been a month since I stopped and I feel that things are slowly returning to how they were before. Of course, I'm 43 now and understand that some guys will see a natural decrease in libido, etc. with age.

 

Thus, I do believe that what you are experiencing may be due to your stress and not due to finasteride. Maybe finasteride can magnify or prolong those effects. I don't know but give it time. You are dealing with a lot right now.

 

I wish you all the best.

[zenmunk]

I think most of the problems you've described are probably age and stress/anxiety/depression related. You're approaching 40. Not saying that's old (hell, I'm 39), but you're not 25 anymore, and that's something we all have to come to terms with as we age.

 

Stress/anxiety is a killer. It creates a lot of symptoms in the body that are often mistakenly attributed to other ailments. It also exacerbates symptoms from legitimate illnesses. It's something to be taken very seriously.

 

Some things that work to reduce stress:

 

- exercise (anaerobic and aerobic)

 

- meditation/yoga

 

- engaging in enjoyable activities which get your mind off of your problems (another form of meditation, really)

 

- psychological counseling which will hopefully help you identify and deal with the root causes of the stress/anxiety/depression.

 

- maintaining a healthy diet - watch your fat and sugar intake.

 

- Anxiety meds should be a last resort, but shouldn't be taken completely off the table.

 

It sounds like you're depressed in large part because of the troubles in your marriage. If I were you I would try my best to resolve the problems and make it work with my wife, but I wouldn't force things. After my best effort, if things were still strained, I'd seriously consider moving on. I believe in commitment, but life is too short to stay in hopeless situations.

 

By the way, I agree with others who have said that finasteride is probably not causing any of your symptoms. 12 years with no sides is pretty strong evidence.

 

All the best.

[Spanker]

I believe it is definitely stress related, the pressure of your wife and your job and your new HT.

 

I think you should diet right, hit the gym, and accept being you. If your drive is low, so what. I think if you concentrated on it less you will be happier.

 

I think that many people blame fin for things they would experience anyway. It's called age.

 

I think you are putting too much pressure on yourself.

 

I am a little suprised that the Viagra had no effect.

 

Good luck.

[multiplier]

Can't thank you guys enough for your feedback - seriously. It's just not the kind of thing I can really delve into with friends, most of whom have young kids and busy with lives of their own. 2011 has really been a drag of a year all the way around. I've kind of been at war within my own head.

 

I'm going to try to focus on what you guys and all my doctors have said, which is that stress seems to have taken hold in my body in strange ways and it's hopefully just incidental to my finasteride use. It sucks that the lines became blurred between finasteride's side effects and the effects of stress, because the symptoms are so similar. I have not been getting exercise or sleeping particularly well. I'm not getting any younger and need to re-evaluate all that stuff.

 

I wonder if anyone could speak more to the post-HT anxiety/doldrums? I don't recall reading/hearing about this

 

It's worth mentioning that getting the HT with Shapiro was actually one of the least stressful issues of 2011, even though wearing hats, etc, afterward has been a pain. But the surgery was 9 months after my symptoms I can't say it's contributed to any of the stress.

 

Three years ago today, I moved out of my house when an 8 year relationship came to an end. This snowballed into a foreclosure and an incredible amount of stress. At that time, I had never taken finasteride. I had also had a raging libido that continued to rage for about a week or so after the move. Then, I noticed an abrupt change.

 

Thanks David - I'm sorry to hear about that situation yet somewhat glad to hear it's not uncommon. With a little Googling, I did find another anecdote from a middle-aged guy whose wife left him and he immediately experienced 'numbness' and some ED for the following year. There must be so many levels of the subconscious that store those feelings that just aren't accessible to us most of the time.

 

It sounds like you're depressed in large part because of the troubles in your marriage. If I were you I would try my best to resolve the problems and make it work with my wife, but I wouldn't force things. After my best effort, if things were still strained, I'd seriously consider moving on. I believe in commitment, but life is too short to stay in hopeless situations.

 

Yeah -- when she moves back down here in a month, I'm hoping it clarifies whether or not we have a future together, and if it's not clear, we need to be ready to move forward. I'm just so hesitant to do anything rash since we barely got a chance to experience being married - we immediately moved to a huge city, changed careers, experienced a death and then drifted apart in the course of a year. But I guess if there's no way forward, we may have no choice but to move on.

 

I think that many people blame fin for things they would experience anyway. It's called age. I think you are putting too much pressure on yourself.

 

Both very true. I'm a pretty intense perfectionist and put a ton of pressure on myself. I'm also becoming aware that I'm not a 25-year old anymore.

 

I am a little suprised that the Viagra had no effect.

 

Truthfully I only tried it twice, while I was by myself, so I really don't know the extent which it can help me.I guess in my mind, I thought "I'm too young for this drug", but if it helps kickstart things, it's worth trying again.

[orlhair1]

I agree that if you can proactively take measures to reduce your stress you will be much better off. If you don't excersize regularly, start right away. It is a tried and true method to reduce stress and depression. Find a way to make it enjoyable and work it into your life. I think if you can be proactive and make some positive changes, many of these symptoms will get better and/or go away.

[aaron1234]

Exercise is great and you should do it (as should I) but you are still only 5 weeks post-op. Start with some light walks and weights. Nothing too aggressive yet.

[ziggy00]

I read a post on the Gabel blog recently about finasteride. It cited a 10-year study that said finasteride was really reliably safe. Coming from personal experience, I instead think depression is playing a major role here. In any case, the libido is something that comes and goes. Think of this as a period where you really don't have to worry about sex and can focus on other things.

[multiplier]

Since it's been awhile and I've been deliberately taking a break from hairloss forums, I figured I'd update everyone on this ongoing issue.

 

When Iast posted, it was November 2011 and I recently gotten an HT with Dr. Shapiro. To offset any shock loss, I'd gone back on taking .5mg Propecia every day. Since I'd already been experiencing decreased libido, I didn't notice any real change, nor did I feel any more or less confident that it was the drug causing my issues.

 

At the first of December, my wife moved back to town and I'd thought we would work things out. I had been tense and depressed since moving back to my hometown. I wasn't working much, just a bit of freelance. I slept a lot and felt down in the dumps. I had been hanging in the balance of the separation for almost a year at that point. But, when she moved back, she said she didn't want to be married anymore, which just heightened my depression.

 

Throughout December and January, I felt pretty helpless. Toward the end of my marriage, I'd had an extremely high-sex drive, coupled with extreme guilt for wanting every woman I saw, except for my wife. When she moved out, I actually thought I would then be free to get laid all the time. But as you read in my previous post, it was right around that time my libido went away.

 

Toward the end of January '12, I began getting morning erections again. No real explanation. Nothing had changed with my wife. But getting one morning erection changed my mood. That's all it took. It happened again the next day. I wasn't sure what it meant, but ever day it gave me confidence, and that confidence seemed to help me have a libido, or at least 80% of the libido I used to have.

 

Late January, I went away to Asia for a couple weeks on a work trip. At the end of the trip, I had 2-3 spare days to essentially sit by the pool and relax. Suddenly, I began having the urge to masturbate 2-3 times a day. I don't know if it was the relaxation or the distance from home or what. Something felt different.

 

When I came back to the States, I felt confident. I got up early. I got morning erections again and started noticing women. My erections felt 80% as strong as they'd been before my wife left, but then again, that period of time was fraught with so much temptation and sexual urges... it'd be a pretty high libido to match. Meanwhile, I visited my wife a couple times and I finally felt like I didn't miss her anymore. I suddenly felt like I wanted to meet new women.

 

Believing my problem to be mental, not meds, I began taking 1mg Propecia daily again.

 

After 3-4 weeks of feeling good, one day, I thought I noticed my erection was less strong. I thought about it all day. I probably obsessed about it. Could it be happening again? Within a week, not only did I slowly start missing my wife again, I started losing my sex drive again. I don't know which happened first, or which caused the other. But I got really depressed all over again, often spending the day in bed.

 

Once again, I had screwed up the Propecia "test." What I should have done is returned to the US, felt good, and not introduced Propecia into it for another few months, to really decouple the issue of stress vs. meds.

 

So I went off meds again. A few weeks later, I visited New York and saw a bunch of old friends. I was drinking a lot and having fun. One female friend I had dreaded seeing because I knew she liked me and it might test my sex drive. But then I found myself in her bed. I was amazed that we rolled around half-naked together for about 3 hours after many drinks and I had an erection the entire time. I felt no "tightness" in the prostate or perineum as I had for months. At some point she seemed to act like she wanted to have sex and I quickly got nervous and lost my erection. But I was able to get it back later, even though we never ended up having sex.

 

Coming back from that New York trip, I felt great. My attitude had changed, I felt this surge of confidence. Once again, this lasted maybe 2-3 weeks. But out of nowhere, I began longing for my wife, feeling terrible that our marriage had failed. I begin feeling tremendously guilty that she had loved and cared for me so much, and I was never able to return it because she was mentally unstable and because I'd lost my attraction to her somewhere down the line. Every day I beat myself up over that.

 

And so, in the last few weeks, my wife and I have been in contact regarding a divorce. I have continued to have catastrophic thoughts and difficulty sleeping. I can still masturbate when I want, for the most part, which is good, but it does feel half-hearted. There isn't the effortless, fully-erect feeling I'd had up until last year. In fact, it's been over a year since I've really gotten "spontaneous" erections during the day, unless I'm looking at porn or something. I guess the good news is that the only 2 times I've been with a woman in the last year, I have been able to get it up. Yet not so much when I'm alone. The whole thing has become baffling.

 

So right now, I'm taking no Propecia, but feeling pretty depressed with life. I've lost a lot of money, bailed from my old city and old job, had libido problems, had an HT, and lost my wife. I do have a therapist who is great, and I just started Trazodone for sleeping. One thing I realized the other day—whenever I've seen my wife to talk about divorce, I can feel pain in my penis almost like a throbbing headache. It's almost like an extreme fight-or-flight reflex.

 

So, I do realize there are vocal sufferers of long-term Propecia side effects, and I cannot say what the real truth is. Obviously I would like to think that I'm not one of them. I have been to a lot of doctors in the last year (a couple family docs, 2 urologists, 2 psychologists) and all of them dismiss the idea that I'm suffering because of Propecia, but instead because of extreme stress, depression and loss. Of course, none of them has done much research about Propecia either.

 

The reasons I think & hope that this is all stress-related:

 

• I was on Propecia for 12 years before any of this started, and never experienced a single side effect. Always had a strong libido.

 

• I even took Dutasteride in 2003-2004 and never had side effects

 

• Upping my meds after 12 years from 1mg to 1.5mg for only a week does not seem like it would trigger side effects suddenly. Doctors agree.

 

• I have read a fair amount of articles about how trauma and depression can cause loss of libido. There seem to be more of these articles documented than Propecia studies.

 

• As a teenager I experienced a lot of anxiety about sex that led to occasional impotence. It was sort of like the fight-or-flight thing. If I was with a woman who wanted to have sex and was forward about it, I would not be able to get an erection and was very stressed about it. It wasn't until college that I figured out how to relax. But I think something deep in my subconscious is telling my body something that my brain doesn't understand, back then, and maybe now.

 

 

I hope some of this might be able to help someone, or maybe shed some light. Maybe when we're actually divorced next month I will feel better. I am happy at least I could hook up with someone and not have this issue get in the way. At the same time, I have been experiencing this for over a year, and the timing of a) upping my meds, and b) my wife leaving has led to a lot of conflict and confusion within me, since the side-effects of Propecia and depression can be so similar. I may never know what's caused this, but I can only hope it doesn't go on indefinitely.

Edited May 10, 2012 by multiplier

[aaron1234]

Thanks for the update bro. I've been wondering how you've been doing. It does sound like one hell of a mess you've been through with the divorce/move/etc this year. I think having those feelings for your wife turn on and off is completely normal. I'll still get upset occasionally over a relationship that didn't pan out 5 years ago - and we weren't even married. C'est la vie.

 

Glad you are seeing a therapist and I hope that aids you in your recovery.

 

I say if it puts your mind at ease then stop the Propecia altogether - or significantly lower the dosage indefinitely (which would be my preference). You do have some native hair left but keeping your sanity is more important.

 

All the best dude and take it day by day. Thanks for keeping us posted.

[multiplier]

Thanks again, Aaron. And thanks to folks who've been supportive on this board.

 

One thing I struggle to understand - are people experiencing ongoing effects from finasteride actually able to see this verified in blood tests? I've gotten 2 blood/hormone panels in the past year, and stuff like testosterone, prolactin, DHT, etc, are all totally normal.

[blowdry]

If its a mechanical issue, there would be no traces in the blood test.......

[multiplier]

I have one other question - prior to last year, did you hear much about the long-term effects people suffered after discontinuing the pill? I've lurked on a lot of hair forums since around 2001, and I never heard of anyone have symptoms that weren't fixed after discontinuing. It was only in the past year or two people started speaking up.

 

Does that mean, a) people weren't comfortable speaking up before, or 2) the people who did speak up stoked peoples' fears and caused psychosomatic symptoms in others?

 

Or is it 3) people have been discussing this for 10 years, I just haven't noticed?

[multiplier]

If its a mechanical issue, there would be no traces in the blood test.......

 

But what is it, specifically, about the drug that causes a 'mechanical' issue?

[michaeljames]

Sorry in advance for the personal and NSFW nature of this post. It's kind of complicated and I hope some of you guys might have some insight.

 

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Profile:

I'm a 36 year old male who has been on finasteride for 12 years. By nature I am very high-stress and high-anxiety, but have always had a strong sex drive. This past year, my personal life began to come apart and I began to experience symptoms commonly associated with finasteride use. No one, including me or my various doctors, can determine if the cause is psychological or because of meds, but the problems have persisted on and off for the last 10 months.

 

History:

I began taking finasteride in 1998 at age 23 after noticing some genetic hairloss. For the next decade, it helped retain my hair so I stayed on it. I have experienced zero side effects from finasteride. My sex drive and erections have been as strong as they were in my college days. Doctors' exams and bloodwork have always shown me to be in perfect health.

 

In 2009 I got married to someone I loved very much on an emotional level, but we did not have an active sexual relationship. I never cheated on her, but was always strongly sexually attracted to other women, which I felt guilty about.

 

Soon after we got married, we moved to NYC so she could pursue grad school. I worked 7 days a week at a high-stress job in Manhattan to support us. My anxieties skyrocketed. Our relationship became strained. I was in a huge city of beautiful women. I began to fixate on other women, sexually, as an escape from stress.

 

After 4 months in NYC, my wife's father died unexpectedly, sending her into a terrible depression for the better part of a year in which we were hardly intimate. We spent a lot of time separately. Meanwhile my fixation on sex and other women became more intense and I felt terribly guilty. I slept only 4-5 hours a night. I would go to bed and wake up thinking about sex. I masturbated 2-3 times a day when possible.

 

Everything changed around Christmas last year. I'd been noticing more hairloss, possibly from increased stress, so a doctor recommended increasing my finasteride from 1mg/day to 1.5mg/day. After a week on this new dosage, I woke up for the first time in many years without a morning erection. For a few days, I noticed even with masturbation my body just felt strangely numb. My penis felt weak. It was like my body had collapsed from the stress. I didn't take it very seriously. But for the first time ever, I also questioned the meds. I immediately backed my dose down to 1mg, assuming things would return to normal.

 

Weeks later, the symptoms persisted. To make things worse, I did some internet research and stumbled on sites with horror stories like PropeciaHelp.com. I panicked and began fixating on the idea I'd damaged my body. For about a week, I didn't sleep and had testicular ache and numbness below the waist — both supposed side-effects of the meds, but also both commonly associated with extreme stress and anxiety.

 

Right after Christmas my wife and I agreed to a trial separation. She moved out. Within a month, I realized it was a terrible mistake. I feel into a deeper depression. Not only did I feel guilty for how things ended, my libido had disappeared and I began to fixate on the idea that finasteride had done it. There was tremendous buildup to the idea of having sex with other women after separation -- which was now impossible.

 

So I stopped the drug altogether and consulted a top internist and a top urologist in Manhattan. Both took one look at my situation and said it was all stress-related and highly unlikely that side-effects would surface about 12 years of taking a drug, or that upping my dose by .5mg would tip the balance. They said it was not abnormal for someone my age experiencing so many stressors and life changes. They were worried about my mental state. Prostate exams, bloodwork for testosterone, prolactin, thyroid, DHT levels etc, returned totally baseline normal results. I was prescribed Viagra and Klonopin, but neither addressed the issue.

 

This spring was miserable. On stressful days, my penis either felt like it was being "squeezed" and sore, or just numb. Every day I fixated on the idea of finasteride damaging me, but I was also in limbo with my wife. One day she wanted to work things out, the other day she wanted to date other people. Meanwhile I was still holding down a very stressful job. I was barely making it through the day. Occasionally my wife and I would have dinner. We'd hug goodbye and that was the only spontaneous beginnings of an erection I'd have.

 

One night on my birthday, my wife came over for drinks and she ended up spending the night. That night I had zero problem with ED. I had a good, maintained erection and libido the entire time.

 

The only other time my problems subsided was when I decided to escape NYC and come down to Virginia for a 3-week vacation. I stayed in a friend's empty house and had my first good night's sleep in months. That next morning, I had my first morning erection. My body felt relaxed. It stayed that way for 3 weeks. I noticed women again. I masturbated regularly. During that time, my wife would call and suggest she wanted to work things out.

 

But then I went back to NYC and began low-dose finasteride again because I worried about more hairloss. But then the problems came back. I really should not have combined those 2 things, because once again, I couldn't tell whether it was the stress/environment or the meds.

 

On Sept 1, I realized I could not deal with limbo with my wife any longer. I bailed on NYC and moved back down to Virginia to try and sort my life out. I stopped the finasteride again. Within the first few days here, I felt relaxed and thought I felt my libido returning. I got morning erections. The stress of the city was gone.

 

But within a few weeks, I realized my libido simply wasn't what it was a year ago. I don't fantasize when I go to bed, or wake up in the morning. My penis either feels numb or "strained" some days, like a overstressed muscle. I also thought I noticed a slight feeling of inflammation in the prostate area, so I saw another urologist who did yet another unpleasant prostate exam which turned up nothing. He gave me antibiotics which have done nothing. I have used a High Island massager for the past week, but don't feel any differently.

 

I also saw an internal medicine doc here. She said it's highly unlikely to have zero side-effects from a drug for 12 years only to have them surface one day and last for 10 months. She agreed that upping the dose by .5mg for 1 week would cause a difference. She said the limbo of my marriage and other stressors have caused my body to "close up" a bit to protect itself. She did another bloodwork panel. Everything from testosterone to DHT to prolactin to thyroid was 100% normal.

 

Currently:

So that's where I am now. Especially since I got an HT in late September, I worry about not going back on finasteride to preserve my native hair. But I worry going back on it might exacerbate the symptoms I'm having.

 

I don't notice pretty women much now, not like I did a year ago. I don't look forward to seeing porn. If I masturbate, it's compulsory. Only half the time are my erections strong. I have noticed when I sit in a hot bath and my body is relaxed, it's easier to feel aroused or get a "normal" erection. But overall, I do feel depressed and am not exercising or socializing much.

 

I hesitate to go on sites like PropeciaHelp because so much of what they're describing either seems alarmist or unrelated to Propecia altogether. I do believe there is a psychological effect where people's worries spiral and began to manifest in psychosomatic ways. I don't want to read a bunch of horror stories and subconsciously convince my body it's broken.

 

So I'm in limbo with the wife and limbo with my libido. My wife will move back down here in a month or so and we may try to work things out.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this, or if you have any encouraging words.

 

Hey Mate,

 

TMI....That is a very detailed story! I'm glad you have been able to analyze the situation in details to see how your circumstances are the reason for the issues that ensued as opposed to joining the "blame the medicine" card. The long term studies done on finasteride only imply there were issues with the amount of evaculate, not anything with libido or erectile dysfunction over that of the placebo group.

[multiplier]

Heheh, sorry about the TMI. Just wanted to get all my thoughts down to re-read it all chronologically and see what other folks thought.

[multiplier]

Boy does this sound familiar -

 

Finding help for pelvic pain: A patient