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A question to those who are taking Finasteride.

Posted , 10 users are following.

stephen54687
stephen54687

Hi,

If you are currently taking Finasteride I would be grateful if you would share with me the following information:-

1) How long have you been taking this drug?

2)How long was it before you noticed any beneficial effect?

3) Do you suffer with retrograde ejaculation?

4) Do you take this drug in conjuction with any other drug for BPH, i.e Tamsulosin?

I ask these questions as I have been on Tamsulosin for about 2 years and Finasteride for five months.

When I first started with Tamsulosin I found some, almost, immediate relief with a better flow rate. But then, about five months ago, I had another episode of not being able to pass urine for a couple of hours, which thankfully passed. That's when I was put on Finasteride also.

With the Tamsulosin alone I had normal ejaculations but about 2 weeks after starting the Finasteride it all went haywire with totally dry orgasms. Very odd the first time it happens as I am sure you will agree.

So, I have been on Finasteride for five months now, how long, in your experience, does it take for them to shrink the prostate, as they are supposed to?

Is there anyone on here who has had total success with this drug? i.e. the easing/disappearance of all symptoms and if so how long did you persevere with it for?

Thanks for your time.

Best wishes.

1 like, 27 replies

27 Replies

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  • peter09839
    peter09839 stephen54687

    Posted

    Hi Stephen

    I was on Finisteride and Tamsulosin for 18 months prior to the TURP operation. I have RE and my semen is less viscous and darker in colour. I have stopped taking them after the operation as advised by my Urologist. I now have erectyl disfunction probably as a reult of the TURP operation. There has been slight improvements on getting up at night to pee down from 3-4 times a night to 1-2 but I have also stopped drinking after 7 pm and reduced caffeine I drink more peppermint tea and ordinary tea and no coffee. Regards Peter

    • stephen54687
      stephen54687 peter09839

      Posted

      Hello Peter,

      Good to hear you are no longer on these drugs.

      Sorry to read that your TURP has resulted in erectile disfunction. There always seems to be a downside to these proceedures.

      Do you find peppermint tea has any benefits or do you just drink it because you enjoy it?

      Best wishes

  • peter09839
    peter09839 stephen54687

    Posted

    Hi Stephen

    I take peppermint tea instead of coffee not becauae I enjoy it but it has no caffeine and according to an NHS leaflet I was given after TURP operation is that caffeine drinks should be avoided best to drink water and caffeine free drinks such as peppermint tea. Regards Peter

    • derek76
      derek76 peter09839

      Posted

      Did they mean those instructions forever or just post op.?

      Peppermint is good for the digestion as well

    • peter09839
      peter09839 derek76

      Posted

      Hi Derek

      The Simvastatin and aspirin are forever but annually reviewed. The peppermint tea and other caffeine free drinks are forever. Peter

    • derek76
      derek76 peter09839

      Posted

      As Sinatra used to say, May you live for a thousand years and the last voice you hear be mine.

      No side effects from the Simvastatin?

  • mike91
    mike91 stephen54687

    Posted

    I've been taking Finastrside for some 15+ years now. Yes, it does 'dry up' your ejaculation as it's one of the listed side effects.  It also takes a few weeks before taking full effect.  I also did a drugs trial for Tamsulosin, and the effects were instantly noticeable but, at the time, it wasn't my regular muscle relaxant (I've forgotten which one I was taking).

    However, in my case, I opted out of having an operation, which resulted in my urine retention over the years going up from a about 50cc to a whopping 800cc - I kid you not!

    So it was straight onto intermittant catheterisation, and shortly afterwards my bladder muscles packed up completely and I was (and still am) unable to pass a drop under my own steam.  I would have thought that the Finasteride was now of no use, but the opposite was the case.  Because catheters have slots in them to let the urine out, the slots sometimes seem to rub against the prostate and cause bleeding (entirely painless!).  I did a self-experiment whereby I stopped taking Finasteride to see what would happen.  For about 6 weeks everything went well (as I said above, Finasteride takes some time to act), then I had bleeds at every void.

    So it was straight back to Finasteride and, after a few weeks, the bleeding stopped and I was back to normal.  Stopping the Finasteride allowed my prostate to start growing again which resulting in a reduced passageway for the catheter.

    • derek76
      derek76 mike91

      Posted

      After 15 years do you think that medication was a better option than surgery?  In 15 years many more options have come along better than the TURP of 15 years ago. Even TURP has been improved.
    • mike91
      mike91 derek76

      Posted

      As you said, many more options have come along, but there was possible side effects to the TURP, and I just chickened out of having the operation.

      It may have changed my mind at the time if the possible loss of bladder muscle function  was pointed out to me. After performing ISC for some 12 years it's all water under the bridge now. But it's for life, unless I opted for an indwelling catheter.

    • derek76
      derek76 mike91

      Posted

      When I was advised to have a TURP as a matter of some urgency in 1994 for a 35 grm prostate I refused having read a series of articles by a Telegraph journalist in the same situation. My research on the dangers of TURP (at that time) agreed with his. I also had some correspondence with an American urologist who had written a book on prostate problems and who also advised watch and wait with so many new procedures in the pipeline.

      When PVP came along it seemed to tick most of the boxes and I fought the NHS to be allowed to go to a hospital in a different area who were doing it and had it done in 2005. Prostate was then 75 grms with 600 ml retention and urgency but I refused to self cath.  I had no regrets about PVP my only complaint was that the flow was not as strong as expected and I still had to get up in the night. My urgency and daytime frequency had gone and I was able to be out all afternoon without looking for a toilet and could pass 500/600mls.

      Alas prostates have the habit of always growing and I needed another procedure in 2013 when it reached 130 grams. This time it was Holmium laser as it was available locally. The hospital I went to in 2005 had by then switched to Holep laser as their preferred option.

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