Joint Pain from Propecia?

I am 22 years old. I have just recently stopped taking Propecia (after 8 months). I have played guitar since I was 16, but I started to feel pain in my left hand and arm about a month or so after starting Propecia (looking back on it). Turns out I had developed tendonitis in my left elbow (tennis elbow). Not attributing anything to Propecia, I took time off guitar (2 months), started typing with one finger, tried anti-inflammatories, started doing hand excersizes, started taking Hyaluronic Acid, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin, and finally started seeing a chiropractor about 3 months ago (who cannot explain why I have not been healing). Then, about 2 or 3 months ago, my right arm also developed joint pain and tendonitis as my left arm has stayed about the same despite me taking every effort and measure to heal the “injuries.” I finally started researching Propecia, and I have quit use as of yesterday being as I have tried everything else without success. I began to read about some of the side effects from people who have taken it, some of which I had not thought of attributing to the drug… like increased “tummy fat”. I had been a skinny guy all my life and I have gained about 25 pounds in 8 months(which is alot considering I only weighed about 125-130 before propecia!). I have also had a few bad experiences with difficulty ejaculating that I never had before proprecia. Of course I have never thought before now that Propecia could be the culprit. I have only found a couple of comments from random people so far on the internet about “joint pain” and propecia, what is going on?

Many of your complaints may not be related to Propecia. Ejaculation volumes are often decreased on Propecia. I have had one other patient report weight gain. You could decrease the dosage (rather than go off the medication entirely), and see if that reduces your joint pain. Discuss this with your prescribing doctor.

At 22, have you developed a Master Plan for your hair loss with your doctor? Got your hair mapped out for miniaturization yet? You may not even need Propecia or it may not be the right thing to use for you. You are in control so take the driver’s seat.