Can you fully recover from PFS?

Yes, for some. Some people with post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) recover fully, and many improve over time. For others, symptoms that began on finasteride last for years after stopping.

Nobody has measured how often each outcome happens. That uncertainty is hard to live with. It also means a bad first year doesn’t tell you how the next ones will go.

Here is what recovery has looked like for others, how long it can take, and what you can do while you wait.

What does recovery look like for people with PFS?

Some people recover fully. Others improve a lot without getting all the way back, and some don’t improve. The UK finasteride leaflet lists “persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment” among side effects of unknown frequency.

PFS is more than sexual problems. The 2022 diagnostic criteria also describe problems with cognition, depression and suicidal thoughts, which can happen without any sexual problems. Recovery can mean different things for each of these.

Two people in our community shared how far they had come. One, from the UK, wrote:

“I would say I’m about 95% recovered now. It took years, but my symptoms have gradually subsided, and I can live a nearly normal life again. I’m careful with my diet and lifestyle, and that’s made a big difference.”

Another, from the US, wrote:

“I’m about 80% recovered, which allows me to live an acceptable life. I have a family now, and while I’m not fully back to where I was before PFS, I’ve adapted, and things are much better than they were in the beginning.”

Their stories are encouraging. They aren’t a forecast for anyone else.

How many people recover, and is PFS permanent?

Nobody knows how many recover. No study has followed a large group of people with PFS for years and counted who got better.

The UK medicines regulator, the MHRA, gives the closest thing to a picture. Of 426 Yellow Card reports of sexual problems with finasteride up to April 2024, it says “in almost half of these reports, the outcome was recorded as ‘not recovered’ or ‘not resolved’”. Those are reports, often made early, so they can’t tell us how people were doing years later.

For some people it has lasted years after stopping. Nobody knows yet who will be affected, or whether it will ease.

In 2012 Dr Michael Irwig, a US hormone specialist, put the question in the title of a study: “could they be permanent?” He went back to men whose symptoms had already lasted at least 3 months. About 14 months later, nearly all still had them. Those men were chosen because their symptoms had lasted, so it doesn’t tell us about everyone who takes finasteride.

Watch this short extract to hear why the question occurred to him.

Play video: Persistent sexual side effects of finasteride (Dr Michael Irwig)

How long does PFS recovery take?

There’s no set timeline. People in our community often say the first year or two after stopping was the hardest, and that any improvement came slowly. Some notice changes within months, others only after years.

Marko took finasteride for three days. Watch this extract for how fast it hit him, and what the year after was like.

Play video: Marko on three days of finasteride (Moral Medicine, extract)

If you haven’t improved yet, that doesn’t mean you won’t. Slow change is still change, and a diary of symptoms helps you see it.

What can you do while you wait?

Looking after your body and keeping stress down won’t cure PFS, but many people say it makes the days easier. Our pages on lifestyle changes and sleep go into more detail.

Be careful with experiments. In the search for relief, some people try supplements, hormones or drugs bought online. Some people say they felt worse than before afterwards. Talk to a doctor before you try any treatment.

Talking to people who understand helps too. Our WhatsApp peer support groups are open to anyone affected.

Finasteride helps many people with hair loss or an enlarged prostate. If you have side effects, that’s a decision for you and your prescriber. The leaflet says to stop taking it and talk to your doctor if you have depression or suicidal thoughts. If you’re struggling, the Samaritans are on 116 123 in the UK, any time.

Bring a short record: “Finasteride 1 mg from March 2022, last tablet June 2023.” Add what changed, when, and how things were before.

Report it: it helps everyone

A doctor’s note helps you. A report to the medicines regulator helps everyone else: it is how patterns get noticed.

• No proof needed. A suspicion is enough, even years after stopping. Report improvement too: it tells regulators how PFS changes over time.
• Where: the Yellow Card scheme in the UK, MedWatch in the US.
• Use the right words. If symptoms continued after stopping, write Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome (MedDRA 10082430).

Our reporting guide walks you through it

What else do people ask?

Can PFS get worse before it gets better? Some people say their symptoms changed or came in waves after stopping. There’s no study that tracks this. Write down what you notice, with dates, so you and your doctor can see the pattern.

Is research looking for a treatment? Researchers are studying what causes PFS. Nothing has yet been shown to reverse it. Joining a patient registry or reporting your symptoms helps that work.

Can I recover if I took finasteride only briefly? The 2022 criteria set no minimum length of treatment for PFS. How long you took it doesn’t tell you how long symptoms will last.

The person who wrote “about 95% recovered” said it took years. If you’re early on, give yourself that time, and read more on our PFS page.

Sources

1. Organon Pharma (UK). Propecia 1 mg patient information leaflet, electronic medicines compendium, revised May 2026. Section 4, “Frequency unknown”: “persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment”, “persistent decrease in sex drive after discontinuation of treatment”, “persistent problems with ejaculation after discontinuation of treatment”. Section 4: “Stop taking Propecia and talk to your doctor if you experience” depression or suicidal thoughts.
2. MHRA, Finasteride: reminder of the risk of psychiatric side effects and of sexual side effects (which may persist after discontinuation of treatment), Drug Safety Update, 29 April 2024. 426 Yellow Card reports of sexual dysfunction with finasteride 1 mg and 5 mg up to 5 April 2024; “In almost half of these reports, the outcome was recorded as ‘not recovered’ or ‘not resolved’.” Voluntary reports, UK.
3. Healy D, Bahrick A, Bak M and colleagues. Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin. Int J Risk Saf Med 2022;33(1):65-76. Proposed criteria. Section 5: no minimum length of treatment; “Additional finasteride effects that can occur independently of any sexual difficulties” include cognitive impairment, depression and suicidality.
4. Irwig MS. Persistent sexual side effects of finasteride: could they be permanent? J Sex Med 2012;9(11):2927-32. 54 men with sexual side effects lasting at least 3 months after stopping, reassessed 9 to 16 months later (mean 14 months); most still had them. Men recruited because their symptoms had lasted.
5. PFS Foundation, Persistent sexual side effects of finasteride (Propecia) for male pattern hair loss, interview with Dr Michael Irwig, 28 August 2012, extract from 3:09 to the end.
6. Moral Medicine, I Took Finasteride for 3 Days. It Changed My Life for 5 Years., Marko’s film, 9 March 2026. Extract played: 0:58 to 1:48.
7. Patient quotes: shared with SIDEfxHUB by two members of our community, published here since August 2024, anonymised.
8. GOV.UK. Report a problem with a medicine or medical device.

Sources checked on 22 October 2026. AI-assisted writing and review, not clinical review.