Changes in Sexual Orientation

General Discussion
#1

Has anyone else noticed any changes in their sexual orientation? A couple of years after quitting Propecia, I started having homosexual urges periodically, which is not something I ever experienced pre-Propecia. These are rare events - they’ll last for about a week or two a couple of times a year - and so not of major concern, but this is interesting because it suggests some sort of hormonal shift.

This is actually a joke among those on hairloss sites who are dismissive of long-term Propecia problems. They’ll joke around about Propecia making you gay. But Dr. Shippen mentioned to me a while back, before I ever had any of these urges, that several of the men he treated with long-term problems from Propecia experienced the same thing.

Don’t know if I’ll get any serious responses here since this is a sensitive issue, but what the hell? Figured I’d ask.

Edit: Come to think of it, Dr. Shippen probably told me this has happened to men on TRT, not with his patients with problems from having taken fin.

#2

At least I have not noticed anything like it with myself. If you were somebody new, I guess many could accuse you of being a Merck employee, someone who is trying to harm our cause or joke about all of us.

But, who knows, maybe you have been a bi-sexual all the time? That is supposed to be quite common according to some studies. There also was at least one gay on the old forum. I do not know if he got heterosexual thoughts from finasteride, might have… 8)

Thanks for your honesty if you really were serious. Actually, this would be very interesting if true.

#3

If this was the case than changing/altering hormones of gay men would make them heterosexual.

Prior to Fin were you truley interested in women?

Overall, if you are serious than I’m sorry but I think this is another ‘Fin is responsible for everything wrong in the world today’…

Sexual Orientation Change - I am now gay
#4

IMO at your age (I assume at least 20’s) sexual orientation is pretty established. I doubt that a change in hormones can affect that. This must have been there under the surface. If hormones play any part, maybe it’s that on your good libido days you’re more inclined to have those urges, more sexually charged?

Along with fin sides that’s quite a bit to deal with (psychologically). Are you struggling with it?

#5

Your not the first person on this site to say that. I can’t point to where but someone else wrote this somewheres.

#6

For the record, yes, I am serious. Hard to believe I know. It sounds like a ridiculous issue.

And no, I never had any gay urges prior to using Propecia. I’m 100% certain I was straight. I still consider myself straight. I suppose I could consider myself bisexual, but as I said, I have homosexual urges very rarely, so I still self-identify as a straight man.

I’m not saying that Propecia is definitely responsible. I’ve heard that it’s not uncommon for straight individuals to experience homosexual urges or fantasies a few times in their lives - according to sex researchers like Kinsey, no one is 100% completely straight or 100% completely gay. But based on what Dr. Shippen told me and the timing of this, I thought it reasonable there might be some connection. Hormones are definitely connected to one’s sexual orientation (not that hormones give us the full story necessarily).

#7

I was acting like a gay on my last run of fin, just feminised to fuck. Started to read gay porn. I’ve never looked at any man in ‘reality’ and wanted to have sex with him but I noticed this behaviour later on on fin. Also there was a period when I stopped where it didn’t figure in my head at all. At its worst I was still hetro fantasising ten times more but it was there nonetheless in small doses and linked I think to the drug and higher estrogens.

edit: acting like a gay is a bit strong and misleading, wasn’t camp or anything but occasionally more moody and emotional. Others have pointed this out too, alhough not the sexual stuff.

#8

I did see a study once that looked at certain hormone ratios that are prevalent in homoesexuals and it matched some of the Finasteride-induced ratios. If you really want, I could probably find it again. Never had this issue myself.

#9

I really dont consider your comment appropriate luckfax, and based on your private messages you seriously need some psychiatric help.

#10

His post fits the parameters of this (in my opinion, useless) topic.

#11

Here is the (very old) study. They found that a low Androsterone/Etiocholanolone ratio was the single best predictor of whether someone was gay. If you read the Duskova studies on neurosteroids you will see that on Fin Androsterone falls and Etiocholanolone increases (a lot). Obviously there are a lot more factors at work in sexual orientation but I thought you’d find it interesting.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC15 … 8-0031.pdf

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#12

Hello,
I am new here. I took only finasteride for 1 month in March 2009. After one month, I felt that my body femalized. I did not feel like a man anymore. And the worst of all, I did not look at beautiful girls anymore, but I looked at men ?! Wtf !? I wanted to commit suicide, but I told to myself that is going to pass. I really became a hermaphrodite after taking this poison: And indeed, since last week (01.2012), I am actually looking at girls ! This is not a joke ! I think that is the reason why people commit suicide after taking this shit ! I am a happy survivor now. It really ruined my life. Therefore I can speak about it, but if you had asked me in December 2011 where I was still ‘‘gay’’, what happened to me after finasteride use, I would have kept my mouth shout, because of that big shame. Please believe me this is not a joke ! I think that there must have been a big hormonal shift in my body and my neuronal system also crashed, because I had to stop studying law. I was always one of the best in class.

Best regards,

Freud

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#13

It doesn’t usually follow that if you’ve never had homosexual tendencies before, you’ll never have it for the rest of your life. A lot of middle-aged men, thanks to a mid-life crisis, become gay after being straight all their lives.

Maybe it’s just a huge coincidence that you’re experiencing these tendencies now. I figured that sexual orientation is more psychological than medical in nature.

#14

interesting topic! i am a self-identified gay - was for years prior to propecia. i haven’t noticed any big change - though oddly a few weeks ago i was completely craving sex with a woman. i dismissed the feelings… hmm… i still identify as homosexual. i’ve always felt and been told that you can’t really tell that i am gay but during my “crash” i felt like my voice was higher pitched than normal. everything seems to have kind of evened out - though i am NOT recovered. i must say that cutting alcohol seems to help tremendously. which fucking blows. but whatever.

btw - i don’t think people become suicidal because the experience “gay” thoughts? though maybe they do… i think the magnitude of what some men on here experience forces them to lose hope. it IS a lot to deal with. plus depression is a known persistent side effect - so even if some gay thoughts do come into play - i think its a combination of things.

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#15

Please post your members story. Did you also suffer impotence and lower libido?

#17

Seriously people need to stop these stupid threads. Doctors go to this site to learn more about their patients’ problem, threads like this need to stop and be deleted.

#18

This is a support forum. Perhaps what you feel is “appropriate” or “not appropriate” to discuss may differ from what other sufferers feel. If it is a senseless topic - don’t post. And don’t make people feel stupid for whatever symptoms they may experience especially when it seems like science may back them up!

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#19

I’ve experienced exactly what you’re talking about.
I’m still what you would consider to be straight, but since finasteride I’ve experienced gay urges, and feel more feminine overall.

This isn’t a crazy topic at all, because finasteride is a feminizing medication, and it obviously affects the mind. I read somewhere that transsexuals use this stuff, or have used it, or something, to become more womanly

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Sexual Orientation Change - I am now gay
#20

I was gay long before I started taking propecia and the truth is that now, age 34 (12 years on propecia and 56 days off) I’m more attracted to women than I have been in years, though I am still totally gay. Though I’m kind of depressed I’ve actually been more assertive at work etc. Still, I had sex with a girl TONS for about 5 years, all while on propecia.

For you guys who are suddenly experiencing same-sex thoughts, don’t beat yourself up. When I came out, many of my friends admitted to me that they had had same sex attractions or experiences … All of these same guys stayed straight, and many got married and had kids. If you want to be straight, be straight and don’t worry about random thoughts here and there - propecia related or not.

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#21

Maybe this question is more relevant to the Loss of Libido topic, but has anyone else questioned if their lack of libido towards women might be substitued by some interest toward men?

Before, when I thought my “performance and interest” problems were unique and not part of the widespread casualties of Propecia use, I did start to wonder what was going on with my Psyche.

I do think the software engineer who claimes Propecia use “turned him into a woman” is overreaching, but, again, does anyone have any experiences or thoughts down this road?

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