% of men who experience permanent side effects?

[marmoset]

I must say, it has been bittersweet to stumble upon this site. I’m 25 years old and just called my doctor for a prescription for finasteride, figuring that I’d better act now to retain my slowly-but-surely receding hairline.

Two questions: Has anyone come across any literature that shows the frequency of permanent side effects among human males? I know there are lots of users on this site, and it’s astonishing how many have suffered, but it’d be nice for my peace of mind to see some hard data.

Also, I was on propecia several years ago for about a year - I don’t remember experiencing any side effects, but I also at the time wasn’t really looking for any. In the last few years I’ve been struggling with a decreased libido ( hardly ever get morning wood, and aren’t I supposed to at my age?) and general passivity. Is there any data out there on how long someone needs to be on it before permanent damage is incurred?

I appreciate the hard work and research that has gone into this site, but I’m perplexed that there isn’t more medical literature out there confirming some of these claims. From what I can tell, there is not a single study in which ANY subjects experienced permanent side effects. Of course, I could be wrong. Please tell me if I am! This is turning out to be a much more consequential decision than I had anticipated…

[Mew]

Has anyone come across any literature that shows the frequency of permanent side effects among human males

Considering there are no studies that have documented permanent side effects after DISCONTINUATION of Finasteride, we don’t have that answer. Nor would Merck want such studies to be conducted… that, plus the fact many in the medical community have not heard of, or refuse to believe that such things are possible, puts us at a disadvantage when trying to discuss these issues with doctors.

But judging by the experience of the members of this forum and others out there, it is a real phenomenon, albeit we are in the minority (whatever that percentage is). In the meantime there are numerous studies out there showing documented side effects, with percentages, of those who are currently TAKING Finasteride. Those can be found in the Finasteride Studies section.

I don’t remember experiencing any side effects, but I also at the time wasn’t really looking for any.

Nobody here was necessarily “looking” for side effects. Everyone has a different experience with the drug, some get hit within days or weeks, others months or years. Perhaps you never had issues at all and are experiencing a placebo effect?

Is there any data out there on how long someone needs to be on it before permanent damage is incurred?

Nobody knows the answer to that question, everyone is different and we don’t have double-blind studies to verify why or how the damage occured.

In the last few years I’ve been struggling with a decreased libido ( hardly ever get morning wood, and aren’t I supposed to at my age?) and general passivity

I would suggest you get bloodwork as outlined on this site (top of Hormones section) to see what’s going on. It’s possible you could have low T post-Finasteride and other imbalances.

[marmoset]

Considering there are no studies that have documented permanent side effects after DISCONTINUATION of Finasteride, we don’t have that answer. Nor would Merck want such studies to be conducted… that, plus the fact many in the medical community have not heard of, or refuse to believe that such things are possible, puts us at a disadvantage when trying to discuss these issues with doctors.

From what I can tell, most of the studies tracking side effects during use also monitored patients after they had discontinued use, and found that all of the side effects had “resolved.” Of course this isn’t a long-term look, but if the side effects clear up for the few months after discontinuation, what would be the cause for alarm/further study? For the majority of men on this site the problem is that the adverse effects NEVER went away - not that they went away for a few months and then came back (so it’s not like the existing studies neglected to test for/notice the phenomenon you describe.) Have any of you considered volunteering for a study?

I am truly, truly confused.

Thank you for your help. I’ll continue to dig…

[Mew]

but if the side effects clear up for the few months after discontinuation, why should there be cause for alarm/further study?

Thing is, there is a pattern for most here. For most here problems started to clear up within 2 weeks to a month, as 5AR-II started to regenerate and DHT comes flooding back, just as it is supposed to – we feel full of energy, get morning woods, libido is sky high, feel aggressive etc… but instead of continuing on as normal for rest of our lives like everyone else, something happens shortly after DHT returns that causes our systems to crash and those feelings I just described start to ebb away over the next few days/weeks.

What happened is anybody’s guess, but there is plenty of theorizing around here. Most guys find after this brief “recovery” period they end up with low T, low LH, low FSH and other imbalances… borderline hypogonadal for the most part.

It would seem the DHT returning caused some sort of hormonal cascade/negative feedback that drops T production, yet when certain members have tried TRT months or years down the road, they feel no different. So what then? Where does the problem lie? Is it genetic? Did we become androgen resistant such that the AR can no longer harness the effects of DHT? 5AR-II mutation? Nobody knows because nobody in the medical community has investigated this “problem”.

As for there being cause for alarm, like I said, we are in the minority so perhaps those who were in previous studies did not experience what we did, for whatever reason.

It seems that for the majority of men on this site the problem is that the adverse effects NEVER went away - not that they went away for a few months and then came back.

Everyone is different but I can only tell you my personal experience and the common patterns others have reported – most get sides on the drug, quit, briefly feel like their old selves a few weeks later, only to have this period short lived, followed by a return of their symptoms in full force, often coupled with complete loss of libido due to crashing T levels.

And that phenomenon isn’t reflected in any of the medical literature. Have any of you considered volunteering for a study?

Again, no such studies have been conducted, and I’m sure everyone here would gladly pay to participate in such a study if it came to investigating what happened to us and why we continue to have these longterm issues after quitting the medication. However, there are adverse effects reports which you can read on this site, some of which report Testosterone decrease while on Finasteride.