Have you discontinued Propecia? As you probably know, the side effects are meant to disappear after a month or two after stopping the drug, are you still within that time-frame?
It would be great if you posted a brief member story (remaining as nondescript as you’d like to maintain anonymity) here, and fill out our side effects template to see which among the lovely menu of side effects you’re experiencing.
You have the advantage of being able to look at this from a more medically-educated point of view, but your initial post was quite off-base regarding how these symptoms are induced. Finasteride does something to our hormonal homeostasis and is also a neurosteroid inhibitor, aggravating anxiety. BTW, if you don’t mind telling, what kind of doctor are you?
Looking forward to your input and story, hopefully you can inform more of your colleagues about the dangerous implications of inhibiting 5ar. Thanks and we appreciate your presence here.
I’m plastic surgeon and i used to prescribe propecia and/or hair transplant. Even for the patients that perform hair transplant, propecia was a good choice, of course, to maintain as much as possible the original hair, otherwise the transplant would became with a non favorable result. Now, without propecia the indication for hair transplant must be more carefull. If the patient is losing hair fast, even the hair transplant is not a good choice.
And now i’m patient too. I quit from finasteride 2 weeks ago, and i hope i would have some recovery (Loss of libido, ED). The lab tests are ok for me. One strange thing : 10 years ago i took propecia for 6 months (the same time as i took it now) and i didnt have any collateral symptons, i just stopped it on that time because i didnt note any improvment in my hair and i was afraid to have any collateral effect (but, in fact, i didnt have on that time). Now, 10 years older it happens , isn’t it strange ? the same body, the some dosage, the same time of usage (6 months)…BUT a different effect. I’ve already started to put in question the use of propecia here in brasil, i’m talking to many docrtor. Any news i’ll keep you informed…
This is kinda off-topic but, if the follicles from non-affected areas of the scalp are moved, doesn’t that mean they aren’t susceptible to DHT-induced shrinkage? How does relocating the hair follicle change it’s reaction to DHT? Just a quick question.
I think he just means that the hair will continue to fall out around the grafts giving an un-natural appearance. The transplanted hair is NOT affected by DHT. I know, I’ve had three already…
The donnor scalp area for hair transplant is usually a curve line in the back of the head going from one ear to another. In this area the hair is different, and not susceptible to dht effect in most of the people (another used donnor area is in the lateral, up to the ear). But, you can imagine, there is a limit to take a strip of scalp from that area (usually , no more than 3 times, or you’ll have a visible, large scar) so, if the area to receive the hair is too large (tottaly bald patients), you’ll not have sufficient hair to give a natural aspect. A patient that will lost all his hair is not a good candidate for hair transplant (not contraindicated, but certainly, not a good result). Propecia used to be a good partnership with the hair transplant, just to keep original hair as much as possible to achieve good results…
Just one more post in this discussion : the normal incidence of impotence in the range 20-39 years is about 8-10%. I will not insist that propecia is not the agent neither it is a smart drug (like i said before : i think propecia must be removed from the market, definitly the doubts around the possible effects are too much) , but, you must consider that many cases that are reported here would happen with or without propecia, even considering the lab exams. Unfortunatly there is no way to identify this patients. Maybe, if we could compare all lab tests in patients that are suffering of impotence (and are not using any drug) and the lab tests of the patients that are taking propecia (with colateral effects) we could visualize better what is going on…i mean, in wich exact fisiologic hormone mechanism propecia may be the guilty …
Where is the source for your quote of 8-10%? Not that it matters anyway since everyone here had no erectile or libido dysfunction before taking Finasteride.
“Sexual AEs [from Finasteride] are reported in clinical trials at rates of 2.1% to 38%. The most common sexual AE is ED, followed by EjD and decreased libido.”
Up to 38%, for crying out loud!!! Still looking for another scapegoat for our so-called “imaginary” problems?
No, we do not need to consider that because everyone here who took Finasteride was FULLY sexually functional prior to taking the drug.
The side effects are listed by Merck as being a possible outcome of using the drug, the Swedish Medical Agency has updated the Propecia prescribing info to state that persistent ED may persist even after discontinuation… how much more proof do people like yourself need? Do you think this site would even exist if there wasn’t a legitimate reason, or do you think we’re just making this shit up cuz we have nothing better to do with our time?
Please stop looking for things to blame other than the drug itself, we have no interest in arguing with disbelievers. If that is your intention, you are in the wrong place.
Wishful thinking unless you plan to fund such a large scale study.
If we had the answers to why we are experiencing the persistent issues we are, none of us would be here. Read the items in this thread – not even leading researchers have identified the exact reasons why, and are calling for more research to figure it out themselves!
PLEASE – do yourself a favor, take some time, and read through the Finasteride Studies section of this website so you understand what you are talking about, before posting.
…AND MORE HOW COULD U EXPLAIN THE BRAIN FOG WE HAD AFTER THE DRUG AND ALL THE PHISICAL PROBLEMS OTHER THAN SEX ? … I WAS COMPLETELY AN HEALTY BOY, 23 YEARS OLD AND AFTER THIS DRUG ,IT HAS BEEN 3 YEARS OF DEATH … COME ON BABY,OPEN YOUR EYES !
All 3 of my doctors said they wouldnt take Propecia. My Endo told me not to but I didnt listen at that time. I am one with no sexual problems before or after Propecia fortunately. However mine are the wide range of other symptoms that were caused by it. Please note that most men start taking this drug in there early 20’s which is REALLY rare to be having low testosterone or other sexual dysfunctions. So to say that it could not be Propecia and possibly from the percentage of people that fall into the catagory of having sexual problems is tough to believe. Not trying to attack you just state my opinion.
Wow. I’m not even going to read all the other posts. There aren’t 2 variables! It’s a cause and effect!
I guess lipitor had nothing to do with heart attacks. They’re both two very common " situations".
Decrease in sexual function is common, but not from perfect to zero in months!
The first " eurologist" I saw, at least he had plaque in his office stating so, said that in the year since I took propecia ( I was 28) my sexual function could of declined! You have got to be kidding me! When he told me my options of treatment ( or I should say symptom masking, treatment, what the hell is that!) , the first thing he told me was, " I can implant a ballon in your penis…!" WTH! I was so pist. After the intial shock of trying to back out of my chair subsided, I told him " Do you want to put a band aid on it or fix it!" He looked like he was ready to back out of his chair. Any of you who want to use that one go for it , no charge!
We all took propecia, we all had side effects, simple. It is possible that the propecia is expelled from our bodies, but sides still remain.
Your logic is so flawed ( or “amateur” hey, you lie in the bed you make) and the very reason why so many people have lost all faith in the medical proffesion. Medical reasoning aside, mathimatically it is impossible for it NOT to be propecia. Maybe we have something unusual in our chemistry, but the fact is all of us were fine before we took an FDA sponsored poison.
We took propecia, with faith in the Dr.s that told us that we wouldn’t have permanent side effects. There may be some truths in your statements, but that doesn’t change our situations.
The BEST Dr. I ever had told me this, " The biggest problems with Dr.s is they don’t listen to their patients." AMEN. I think Dr.s need to be able to differentiate what the read in their old medical journals and reality. I’m a stupid construction worker, and if I had the problem solving ability of most of the Dr.s I’ve seen, I would have been fired many times.
If you are actually a Dr., I hope you had the best of intentions in your post. If you are correct, you’ll be fine. If not, you may find that reality may be different than what you’ve been told.
Thanks for giving us all the perfect post to vent on. You wanted comments, I’m sure you’ll get them.
Ok, i 've been smashed in this discussion, and i dont care, i think this is the normal and i dont take it as personal. I’m suffering from ED and low libido too (and i’m glad to have some improvement last week). My first intention was to trying see the problem from other perspective, not to put propecia as innocent. Beside propecia, there must have something more that could explain why some people stay with permanent SE and some people not. Is the anwser in the lab tests ? or in something else ?
for sure we had maybe some genetic/endocrinologic predisposition,PROPECIA was the kick to get theese problems…but now we all have them ,and it’s real problems .
I commend the doctor for coming on here with an open mind. I hear what he’s saying, I don’t think he’s doubting what people here are experiencing, but rather hoping to find a way to distinguish between symptoms that have a direct correlation to finasteride, and those that would have happened anyway.
Doc, I do hope you speak with your colleages about what you read here and report back to us. I think people here are just fustrated with the medical community because of the arrogant doubt we get when we suggest finasteride had anything to do with our problems. I personally suggested to my urologist that finasteride may have caused my prostatitis. (which started with a vengence two days after stopping a long term regimine of propecia). He told me he had never heard of it and asked ME why I thought propecia had caused it. It was fustrating because he wasn’t even open to the possibility. So I understand the fustration of others on here.
But nonetheless, I hope you’ll stick around and participate.
I ´d recover at least 90% of my ED and libido 2 months after finasteride descontinuation (8 months)…thats great. I´ve been talking to other doctors about finasteride issues, but its very frustrating, nobody hear about what is discussing here, and nobody have listen a great number of complains from their patients. Sometimes I told my history, and give this website adress…i´ll keep trying…
After using Fin for 8 months plus minoxidil 2%…i´ve experimented a high degree of erectile disfunction and low libido that worst from the 4 month to the 8 month. Still in the last months i´ve try to reduce the dosage to the half (0,5mg) a day and suspend minoxidil, but it made no difference. After stopping, i´ve a progressive recovery (libido and ED). Now, 2 months after stopping i could say i´d recovery at least 90% of my previous function…I believe that not just fin…but minoxidil have affected me…
