Finasteride and Pain: What Users Say

• Rra...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 22, 2020

Finasteride for Androgenetic Alopecia "I took finasteride for hair loss in 2017. I experienced testicular pain and loss in semen volume. While on the drug, I noticed a callous-type knot in my left hand. I stopped the drug, and within a week, developed severe upward curvature from Peyronie's disease. I had bloodwork done, and I'm now hypothyroid as well. Before I took this drug, I was perfectly healthy. I'm now experiencing weight gain and feel like I'm 70 years old. I'm 36."

• nat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 5, 2016

For Androgenetic Alopecia "I was on 1 mg about a year ago on and off for about 6 months. I only had slight pain and discomfort in my lower abdomen/testicles for the first few days. Then my morning wood disappeared and sometimes came back. At about the 6th month, I noticed bad shrinkage, low ejaculate volume. I stopped taking it, and after 1 month of seeing no improvement, I was breaking down. I was a tall, athletic 30 yr old man and feeling like I had nothing between my legs. It's almost a year since I stopped. I'm about 90% back to my old self (I think I'm one of the 'lucky' guys). I thought the number of negative comments were b.s. (they're not). The percentage of men being damaged must be much higher than reported. Don't take the risk."

• Jam...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 12, 2021

For Androgenetic Alopecia "Stopped hair from falling out in the shower, thickened up a bit. Quite delightful, that'll be great with the women. Oh wait, my cock doesn't work anymore, I get shocking testicular pain, my sperm is water, when I drive my car a thought flashes through my mind that one day I will reflexively drive off the road into a tree. My short-term memory is decimated. I jump when people recognize me in the street because I'm too slow to talk. These effects came through slowly, I forgot it was even likely to be the drug until I looked again at the side effects. I was in excellent health otherwise, bar the odd depressive spell, never the type to be the 20% who suffer side effects. I find it hard to believe it's only 20%, and the effects are far more severe than I could have imagined. I've been an absolute shell, I could have easily done some serious damage to myself, thank Christ I stopped it, hopefully in time."

• Bry...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 16, 2022

For Androgenetic Alopecia "I started this drug several months ago, 1 mg, 3x a week. I had read all the negative reviews and horror stories, but I took those with a grain of salt and kept an open mind because I had read the same internet horror stories about Chantix a decade ago when I wanted to stop smoking. Yet I decided to try that anyway and had no issues. It helped me stop smoking for good and stay smoke-free to this day. So I figured I’d give this medication the same fair shot. Several weeks into it, dull but persistent testicular pain, increased libido (which was nice), and otherwise fine. Three to four weeks later, I noticed difficulty with reaching orgasm, decreased and watery ejaculate, and mild ED. Six weeks in, I couldn’t have sex at all (never experienced that and I’m still in great shape at 37). Threw in the towel."

• Try...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2018

For Androgenetic Alopecia "Took finasteride for only 4 days and experienced testicular pain that was unacceptable. Morning wood gone after 2 days and 70% decreased libido. Been a week since I quit now, and I still have got an ache in my testicles and lower stomach area, still waiting for it to get better. This drug is extremely potent if you ask me, be careful. I will not be taking this again."

• med...
• April 6, 2017

For Androgenetic Alopecia "I take this for both BPH and alopecia. Just would like to say a few things about posters who have had a bad experience with the drug, either side effects or lack of response. 1) If you are having testicular pain, for God's sake, don't just stop the drug. You may have epididymitis or another problem that needs to be evaluated quickly by the urologist/MD that gave you the Rx. Young people take note. 2) When you are taking a combo drug of finasteride with an alpha blocker such as Flomax (tamsulosin) and you start having side effects such as dizziness, you really don't know which of the two may be causing it. Again, this is a subject that should be discussed with your MD. 3) If your doctor didn't tell you this, I will. Finasteride takes TIME to work, months before seeing significant improvement."

• Wil...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 8, 2025

For Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia "Have been on this medication for many years (10). For the last 5 years have been trying to discover why my fingers/feet are numb/tingly. Pins like they fell asleep and are also painful. Went to so many doctors regarding the pain when waking/asleep in my hands. From carpal tunnel to diabetes. I then found that finasteride had this side effect. Will try and wean off of it, although it does help with the constant feeling of urinating. Will try tamsulosin as a replacement for this issue."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 11, 2025

For Androgenetic Alopecia "My experiences with Finasteride. I am a person who experienced side effects. I'm 21 and started experiencing side effects around 9 months into treatment. I was getting side effects like pain, full gyno, brain fog, depression, and dermatitis for around 6 months, and my hair loss increased on Finasteride. I have been dealing with it, and there has been no improvement. I found out what was causing all these problems, it was low progesterone and low pregnenolone levels causing these issues. It appears that Finasteride does not just block the conversion of DHT but lowers hormones like progesterone, pregnenolone, and allopregnanolone, most likely causing these side effects. But the treatment appears to be working, my side effects on Finasteride appear to be clearing up. The main reason, I think, is because I have lower levels of these hormones naturally, so what I have done is started to supplement with pregnenolone, and my side effects appear to be clearing up. I am still taking Finasteride."