Finasteride really that bad regarding sex life?

[Gobrel]

Hello,

I often read how bad Finasteride is for the sex life and really slows down things down there. Is that really that often the case?

I really fear this and this is holding me back taking it.

[Melvin- Admin]

It depends on the person. Several men here have had children while on finasteride. The chances of sides are between 10-20% so majority of men don’t get sides.

[LookMaxx]

I have noticed no major difference between fin and no fin. But with any drug some people can’t tolerate it like penicillin will kill someone but majority can take grams of it without any sides. 

[John1991]

9 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

It depends on the person. Several men here have had children while on finasteride. The chances of sides are between 10-20% so majority of men don’t get sides.

Safe to say more than just several men have had children while on finasteride, isn't it?  And even though it can cause ED, it doesn't make people sterile as far as I'm aware.  OP, you should try topical fin.  Also, if possible, this topic should get stickied in such a way that people can't ask this question over and over again.  It seems non-stop.

Edited September 7, 2022 by John1991

[Mike1J]

Been on oral Finasteride 0.5MG daily for nearly 2 years - gratefully absolutely no sides whatsoever 

Although it did take time, but I can noticeably see how my hair strands have thickened and shedding is fairly managed (reasonable amount of hair strands found in comb, shower, etc)

[lindros88]

Just want to drop a line here and say 5mg Cialis completely fixed any finasteride issue I had telling me it was likely mental/nocebo.

[Tiger2050]

6 hours ago, lindros88 said:

Just want to drop a line here and say 5mg Cialis completely fixed any finasteride issue I had telling me it was likely mental/nocebo.

I had some mild side effects from finasteride and used to sometimes takes Cialis for an extra boost however I switched to dutasteride about an year ago and have no side effects. Dutasteride actually increased my libido and makes me feel like a horny 16 year old lol.

[lindros88]

8 hours ago, Tiger2050 said:

I had some mild side effects from finasteride and used to sometimes takes Cialis for an extra boost however I switched to dutasteride about an year ago and have no side effects. Dutasteride actually increased my libido and makes me feel like a horny 16 year old lol.

Interesting, how long were you on finasteride for?

[GoliGoliGoli]

16 hours ago, lindros88 said:

Just want to drop a line here and say 5mg Cialis completely fixed any finasteride issue I had telling me it was likely mental/nocebo.

That taking a pharmaceutical was the thing that fixed the issues you were having suggests to me the opposite, that it was not mental/nocebo. 

[lindros88]

1 hour ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

That taking a pharmaceutical was the thing that fixed the issues you were having suggests to me the opposite, that it was not mental/nocebo. 

Why do you say that?

[lindros88]

11 hours ago, Tiger2050 said:

I had some mild side effects from finasteride and used to sometimes takes Cialis for an extra boost however I switched to dutasteride about an year ago and have no side effects. Dutasteride actually increased my libido and makes me feel like a horny 16 year old lol.

What side effects did you have on finasteride and how long were you on it for? I have heard that before

[GoliGoliGoli]

31 minutes ago, lindros88 said:

Why do you say that?

Well, if the sequence of events was:

*No issues that would require Cialis*  > *Starts Fin*  > *Develops Issues That Require Cialis sometime not long after starting Fin* > Starts taking Cialis and this alone solves the issues that developed*

Then I don't think it's logical to say that it was mental/nocebo if this was the sequence of events. I'm not saying it isn't possible it was mental/nocebo, just that the timing of things seems more than coincidental. 

[lindros88]

1 hour ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Well, if the sequence of events was:

*No issues that would require Cialis*  > *Starts Fin*  > *Develops Issues That Require Cialis sometime not long after starting Fin* > Starts taking Cialis and this alone solves the issues that developed*

Then I don't think it's logical to say that it was mental/nocebo if this was the sequence of events. I'm not saying it isn't possible it was mental/nocebo, just that the timing of things seems more than coincidental. 

There are studies that have been done that prove the majority of finasteride sides are nocebo. I am also anxious and read way too much online, so it's more likely my sides are nocebo than not. My dick works great (incredible really) on Cialis so I see it as a valid fix to what is likely nocebo.

 

What you have described there is just speculation so I was just confirming if there was something I was missing.

[GoliGoliGoli]

Obviously its speculation, that's what both of us are doing. Like I said it's possible you psyched yourself into having side effects AKA nocebo but I don't know why you take the fact that Cialis works for you as evidence as it being nocebo as you said. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by GoliGoliGoli

[lindros88]

Yeah fair enough, I’m no doctor lol so I have no idea. But I’m happy I found something that works for me that makes me not worry about the side effects. I was thinking to take cialis for a bit then go off and see how things work but for now it seems to be a great solution.

[Melvin- Admin]

20 hours ago, lindros88 said:

Just want to drop a line here and say 5mg Cialis completely fixed any finasteride issue I had telling me it was likely mental/nocebo.

Good point, yea that was probably it.

[Tiger2050]

5 hours ago, lindros88 said:

What side effects did you have on finasteride and how long were you on it for? I have heard that before

I was on fin for 4.5 years. I used name brand Propecia for the first 2 years and never had any issues. I noticed a slight decrease in erection quality and morning erections when I switched brands of finasteride to generic manufactured by Ascend Laboratories. Found out later that Ascend Laboratories has been in trouble with the FDA several times for not meeting quality control standards. I also shed a lot more hair on Ascend brand finasteride compared to Propecia.

After switching to dutasteride my libidio is higher than it was pre-fin. I have used name brand Avodart for about an year with no issues but I also tried generics manufactured by Epic Pharma and Teva. I am pretty sure the Teva branded dutasteride gave me side effects, I stopped getting morning erections on this brand. I cycled on/off Teva brand dutasteride several times because I bought a 1 year supply and was hoping it was just nocebo but my morning erections always stopped after a few weeks. No morning erection issues with Avodart or Epic Pharma.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Tiger2050

[SoSoz]

10hrs post my second dose of 0.25mg I developed complete ED which got me really scared because I never experienced something like this before. I felt like I had no blood flow at all in that area and my libido was really low. After stopping everything went back normal after couple of days.

[LookMaxx]

21 minutes ago, SoSoz said:

10hrs post my second dose of 0.25mg I developed complete ED which got me really scared because I never experienced something like this before. I felt like I had no blood flow at all in that area and my libido was really low. After stopping everything went back normal after couple of days.

Just for your information, finasteride has a really long half life in tissues and skin and take several days to get out of your system completely. 
 

 

[Odysseus]

On 9/20/2022 at 3:58 PM, lindros88 said:

Just want to drop a line here and say 5mg Cialis completely fixed any finasteride issue I had telling me it was likely mental/nocebo.

Thanks for mentioning this. I started oral finasteride at the end of June. I wasn't noticing any sexual side effects at all, but I was also taking 5mg Cialis (Tadalafil) daily for its general health benefits. I ran out of Tadalafil recently and I'm currently waiting for my resupply shipment. Last night I was with a woman that should have had me as hard as a rock, but my dick was worthless. Fortunately, things still went very well (I played it off as "No, tonight is all about you"😅). My mind has been racing all day trying to figure out if my issue was because I'm out of Tadalafil or because of a Finasteride side effect that took 90 days to kick in. I feel a lot better having read your comment. Those pills had better get here soon!

By the way, I don't think my dick issue was a "nocebo" case. For those readers who don't know, "A nocebo effect is said to occur when negative expectations of the patient regarding a treatment cause the treatment to have a more negative effect than it otherwise would have." Believe me, I didn't expect Mr. Friendly to let me down the way he did. 🤦‍♂️😄

Edited October 4, 2023 by Odysseus

[futureresearch]

20 hours ago, Odysseus said:

Thanks for mentioning this. I started oral finasteride at the end of June. I wasn't noticing any sexual side effects at all, but I was also taking 5mg Cialis (Tadalafil) daily for its general health benefits. I ran out of Tadalafil recently and I'm currently waiting for my resupply shipment. Last night I was with a woman that should have had me as hard as a rock, but my dick was worthless. Fortunately, things still went very well (I played it off as "No, tonight is all about you"😅). My mind has been racing all day trying to figure out if my issue was because I'm out of Tadalafil or because of a Finasteride side effect that took 90 days to kick in. I feel a lot better having read your comment. Those pills had better get here soon!

By the way, I don't think my dick issue was a "nocebo" case. For those readers who don't know, "A nocebo effect is said to occur when negative expectations of the patient regarding a treatment cause the treatment to have a more negative effect than it otherwise would have." Believe me, I didn't expect Mr. Friendly to let me down the way he did. 🤦‍♂️😄

Trust me, it's likely the fin. I was on fin for over 3 years and was always finding excuses for why my erections weren't as strong (alcohol, not into the girl enough, stress...). Got off of it for 9 months to see what would happen and felt like I was 15 again lol. Didn't even realize I wasn't getting morning erections while on it till I got off.

[Odysseus]

6 hours ago, futureresearch said:

Trust me, it's likely the fin. I was on fin for over 3 years and was always finding excuses for why my erections weren't as strong (alcohol, not into the girl enough, stress...). Got off of it for 9 months to see what would happen and felt like I was 15 again lol. Didn't even realize I wasn't getting morning erections while on it till I got off.

Oh, I have no doubt whatsoever that the issue is the Finasteride. It did the same thing to me when I tried it 20 years ago (so I switched to oral Dutasteride, which didn't have that side effect). What I'm saying is that the Tadalafil removes the limp dick issue. I was waking up with morning wood on a regular basis despite the Finasteride. If I had the Tadalafil in hand, I wouldn't be in this position. That said, I am leaning toward getting back on oral Dutasteride. The only reason I got on Finasteride again is because Eugenix recommended it so strenuously and I thought I'd give it another try. Until the July switch to oral Finasteride, I had been using topical Dutasteride for years...but I don't think it worked very well.

It's my fault that I ran out of Tadalafil. I should have been paying closer attention to how many were left. Now I'm in a bind because the young woman has invited herself to spend the night tomorrow. I was hoping to put off her next visit until late next week when my order might be here...but I'm obviously not going to tell her no. But the situation sucks. And what makes it even worse is that the quickest way to ensure you don't get an erection is to worry about whether you will get an erection! Uuugh. 🤦‍♂️

[coolbreeze]

On 9/21/2022 at 9:43 AM, lindros88 said:

There are studies that have been done that prove the majority of finasteride sides are nocebo. I am also anxious and read way too much online, so it's more likely my sides are nocebo than not. My dick works great (incredible really) on Cialis so I see it as a valid fix to what is likely nocebo.

 

What you have described there is just speculation so I was just confirming if there was something I was missing.

If you can't get it up because and need Cialis then should get of fin. Your mind isn't the problem, it is the fin.

[helpthisguypls]

2 hours ago, Odysseus said:

Oh, I have no doubt whatsoever that the issue is the Finasteride. It did the same thing to me when I tried it 20 years ago (so I switched to oral Dutasteride, which didn't have that side effect). What I'm saying is that the Tadalafil removes the limp dick issue. I was waking up with morning wood on a regular basis despite the Finasteride. If I had the Tadalafil in hand, I wouldn't be in this position. That said, I am leaning toward getting back on oral Dutasteride. The only reason I got on Finasteride again is because Eugenix recommended it so strenuously and I thought I'd give it another try. Until the July switch to oral Finasteride, I had been using topical Dutasteride for years...but I don't think it worked very well.

It's my fault that I ran out of Tadalafil. I should have been paying closer attention to how many were left. Now I'm in a bind because the young woman has invited herself to spend the night tomorrow. I was hoping to put off her next visit until late next week when my order might be here...but I'm obviously not going to tell her no. But the situation sucks. And what makes it even worse is that the quickest way to ensure you don't get an erection is to worry about whether you will get an erection! Uuugh. 🤦‍♂️

Which topical dutasteride did you use and did it have side effects?

[Odysseus]

8 hours ago, helpthisguypls said:

Which topical dutasteride did you use and did it have side effects?

Murray Avenue Apothecary. I don't want to come across like I'm throwing them under the bus or criticizing them in any way, because I'm not. I always found them to be very helpful and efficient when I reached out to them. And it is very difficult to tell how well a drug is working when its job is to slow down hairloss - because we can't peer into another universe where we didn't take it and compare those results with ours. 🤷‍♂️ But my sense is that it didn't do as good a job as the oral Dut did.

I had no noticeable side effects while on the topical Dut.