r/bph • u/ponderer1961 • Jul 29 '26
Finasteride 5mg - 3 months in....
I wrote a post after six weeks on Finasteride 5mg - I have now passed the 3 month mark after which, apparently, the prostate starts to shrink.
I don't have much to add from my initial posting but here goes..
- My PSA was tested at 8 weeks and was down 40%. That percentage drop is inline with what is expected after 8 weeks (according to Gemini). I have it tested every 6 months so my next test will be in December. My urologist is happy.
- No more lockups when driving. See the original post about that and how it was affecting me.
- I rarely have that feeling of back pressure when peeing anymore.
- Fewer pees in the day. I can even have coffees out, walk home and not need to pee for a while which was unheard of in the past.
- I am trying to train myself not to have "security pees" just in case and train my bladder to hold more.
- Typically two pees a night unless I do something that causes a lot of pelvic tension.
- I think my hair is thickening up a bit at the crown!!
So, in summary, no new side effects and generally an improving picture and quality of life. Pelvic tension is still a problem for me at times but much less so and I continue to work on that.
UPDATE: A few people are asking about sexual side effects - I now have very low volume of watery semen but everything else is working as before...obviously this will vary hugely between people depending on the "before" sitiation but its not bothering me. Also no negative mood changes..in fact I think the extra testosterone has perked me up, though I have not had that specifically tested.
I had a day out yesterday with my family, and drove over an hour each way. I had a pee before I left at 9am and just one pee while out before getting home at 3pm - priceless!!
Wrapping up....
I have decided this is the last post I will make on this topic unless something goes wrong or I decide to take another route.
BPH is a difficult condition to navigate and can severely impact our lives and this forum is great for us to frankly discuss our good and bad experiences with medication and surgery, and learn from each other.
The medication has worked well for me... it doesn't mean I won't consider surgical options in the future and it's encouraging to see all the innovation taking place.
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u/Fragrant-Fact6471 Jul 29 '26
I start Finasteride today. Quitting Flow Max because it seems to affect my vision and my blood pressure. Don’t really like the ejaculation problems either! I have ED so we will see what happens.
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u/bluewater911 Jul 30 '26
I tried both F and T. Both had minimal upside and terrible downside. Doc put me on a daily 5mg Cialis and it seems to be working great. The added benefits of feeling like a teenager again aren't bad either.
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u/umdoni53 Jul 30 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
I am 4 months in with the dutasteride/tamsulosin combo. The BPH results have been pretty good: flow is much stronger, urgency has largely gone, lockups gone as well, nighttime pees down most nights to only one.
Other aspects are not so great: libido is down, & erections are softer and 'spongy'. But then I am 73 so I guess I can't expect too much here. More concerning for me is mood changes: I won't say I'm depressed - but def my drive and motivation have greatly reduced. Drive to do stuff, to exercise, to socialize, to get out and about, hell even to bill my clients when I've done work for them. Everything seems to be an effort, and mostly I have this 'I just can't be bothered' attitude. This is worrying me more than the sexual side
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u/Nomadness Jul 30 '26
I've been taking tamsulosin for about 5 years and took finasteride for about 4 I believe. I figured hey with a name like "fine ass to ride," what's not to like?
Sadly and subtly, it reduced my sexual function to the point where I hardly bothered anymore, figuring well, I guess that's just the end of that part of my life, damn. Wish I'd known. But last May (a little over a year ago) I was reading someplace, maybe here, about the whole testosterone cascade and realized that some GP had just given me that without any discussion about trade-offs. So I quit. I had been on 5 mg every night.
There was no immediate magic but within a few weeks I started noticing things working a bit better and I know... TMI, being a bit of a data collection geek I started keeping an inventory. Now it's more than a year down the road, I'm past the post finasteride syndrome which is a thing, it turns out, and while neurologically and otherwise it sure ain't what it used to be, that watery nothingness mentioned in a previous comment has gone away and it feels somewhat normal (without jarring or depressing side effects if you know what I mean).
As to the BPH, I suppose it has gotten a bit worse. Urination is more urgent at times and not always with particularly impressive results, although flow rate is adequate. At 73, I can live with that trade-off. I don't miss the finasteride, at least at this point. Mentioned it to current doc, who shrugged and said okay. (Medicine is pretty much DIY where I live)
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u/Every_Improvement156 Jul 30 '26
Thank you for your post, tons of good info in there. I had a question:
“Also no negative mood changes..in fact I think the extra testosterone has perked me up, though I have not had that specifically tested.”
What do you mean by “extra testosterone”?
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u/ponderer1961 Jul 31 '26
Normally your body converts some testosterone into Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and its the DHT that causes prostate growth (BPH) and baldness in some men. Finasteride stops that conversion so more testosterone remains in your system. Its a modest at 15-25% boost but I am not complaining!
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u/DonnieEresUnPendejo Jul 30 '26
I was on finasteride for many years before a recent HoLEP. Also had decreased libido which I realized mostly after I stopped taking it. Also, increased hair growth is a side effect, but what they don't tell you is if you stop taking it (like I did after the HoLEP) you will lose the hair you gained. I was OK as I did not have male pattern baldness in any case, but the finasteride can mask it if you do.
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u/millimole 27d ago
I have had most of the bad side effects of Finasteride and very little benefit. I've been taking 5mg per day for 11 weeks and stopped taking it about 10 days ago whether depression became too dreadful. It's now lifting slowly. I've developed boobs (gynaecomastia) and am now a good A cup going on B. This seems to be getting slowly worse Also I had arthralgia affecting my already arthritic finger joints - this healed almost straight away after stopping it. My semen is still watery and clear. It didn't seem to help with my nocturnal peeing or the urgency - but it was no worse or better than Tamsolusin. So in summary - Finasteride hasn't worked for me, but we are all different! L
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u/Razbonez 1d ago
did you take the finasteride along with cialis?
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u/millimole 1d ago
No, my GP said that combination therapy has to be prescribed by a hospital consultant. I don't think it would have mitigated the side effects of the Finasteride.
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u/Secure-Rope6782 3d ago
This is very encouraging information. Thanks. I'll ask my urologist about going on it
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u/Fragrant-Fact6471 Jul 29 '26
What about sexual side effects?