Symptoms: Emotional blunting, sexual dysfunction, cognitive impairment, insomnia, suicidal ideation, tinnitus, severe anxiety/panic, anhedonia, GI disturbances
In my mid-20s, I took the drug finasteride for 7 months after it was prescribed by my NHS General Practitioner (GP) late in 2015. Whilst I had some relatively minor and manageable side effects when on the drug, I continued until I stopped taking it after I fainted. After that, the symptoms progressively and massively increased in number and worsened terribly, so I was clearly suffering from Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS). The main side effects are listed in this report, and most of them were submitted to the MHRA near the start of my PFS journey. Life became very difficult and, along the way, I had several “finasteride crashes,” similar to the one experienced after drug cessation.
Along with my father, I spent months searching for solutions within the medical field, including frequent trips to several GPs at my local surgery and eventually a referred endocrinologist. The latter was selected from a few options by my father (I was in no state to help) because he specialised in pituitary disease and problems with neurosurgical patients, so was thought to be a good option for PFS—e.g., online literature stated it may be caused by disruption of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis (HPA). He said that my blood test levels were “normal”—e.g., total testosterone (which was the same level as my father, in his early 60s!)—and offered me anti-depressants after I listed depression as one of my symptoms. All medical doctors had agreed that my blood test results were normal and that it wasn’t possible to still have side effects after coming off a medication, so indicated it must be “in my head.” After more than 1 wasted year of trying, I felt broken as a patient of the healthcare system, and we realised that the medical route was not the way forward. Whilst that realisation was catastrophic at the time, looking back it actually proved to be a key turning point for me and my recovery.
After extensive research, I drastically changed my nutrition, fitness and lifestyle, which initiated big improvements in all my symptoms and body composition. Along the way, I had some support from a naturopathic practitioner (until she retired) who had been recommended by another guy who had recovered from PFS. The test results on my hormones and gut health verified how much better I was feeling and looking, month by month—without any medications or hormonal treatments. To this day, I still avoid all medical interventions.
When I felt healthier, I decided I wanted to help others with conditions like PFS, so I worked hard to get highly qualified. This I did, in both Nutritional Therapy (NT) and Personal Training (PT)—two key areas which had helped me after medical support had failed, and which would also help me better understand and optimise related, scientifically-based health protocols. Currently I am working with other PFS sufferers via OC NutriHealth, to provide them with appropriate, full, personalised protocols including NT, PT, plus other vital support, with a strong passion to help them recover too.
In total, I suffered from the hell of PFS for ~3 years, although documented evidence from my journey indicates that my recovery likely would have been much quicker if my full, personalised protocol had been optimised earlier and my body was ready for the specific exercise it included (i.e., without injuries I’d incurred). The harm that I endured from a medically-prescribed drug cost me dearly during important years of my life, but I know that others less fortunate have suffered even more, and I sincerely hope that they too can recover from PFS hell.