Is Propecia Really safe?

[Henrique]

Originally Posted by selfmade

Propecia worked magic for me. There was a difference in 2 weeks. I was nearly bald (thinned all over). I took propecia, and 1 year later, whole head of hair. There is always give an take. Give was hair, take was boobs and sex drive (5' 11'', 170, so not heavy, should not have boobs). I spent 7K on surgery to get rid of the boobs. So, my advise, if you REALLY want hair, but willing to have a non exsistant sex drive, and man boobs, go for it. You will have hair for sure.

When I am with a girl everything is normal. I have an erection and I perform at least two times. The problem is when I try to masturbate, nothing happens. I just can´t feel nothing.

[blakes33]

Originally Posted by Robert Haber, MD

Taka:

You didn’t mention if your performance problem resolved while you were off the drug.

The most common reported side effects of finasteride are loss of sex drive and the inability to achieve or maintain an erection. The incidence of these problems however is very small. For men taking finasteride for five years, the difference between the treatment group and the placebo group was only 0.3%. In comparison, the incidence of these complaints in men not on finasteride is as high as 10-15%, particularly for men over 40. Notably, 60% of patients experiencing a sexual side effect found that the problem resolved spontaneously, even if the drug was continued. I’m not aware of any reputable study that has associated a permanent sexual problem with the use of finasteride. Wikipedia is not a reliable source of medical information.

I’ve prescribed finasteride to many thousands of men, and less than 1% of my patients have complained about sexual problems. The only way to manage decreased libido is to decrease the dose of finasteride, or stop it altogether. For problems with performance, I usually prescribe Cialis or Viagra, which allows the continuation of finasteride as well as robust sexual performance.

I’m in my 10th year of finasteride use myself, and I continue to have the utmost confidence in its safety and effectiveness.

All that said, any side effect from any drug should be evaluated by a physician, preferably the one who prescribed the medication, so that other causes can be considered, and a treatment plan developed.

I hope that helps!

Sincerely,

Dr. Haber - in light of the new information on propecia in the last year or so - do you still feel the same (utmost) confidence in its safety?

[NotBelievingIt]

Originally Posted by blakes33

Dr. Haber - in light of the new information on propecia in the last year or so - do you still feel the same (utmost) confidence in its safety?

I can probably answer for him and say yes.

Though new information on the potential for permanent or long standing persistence may lead to a better understanding of *why*

IMO they should have figured out why in the first place rather then just go "yah it might happen, but small chance"

Ultimately thats what I hope comes of the lawsuits - it'll take awhile for the science but thats what will happen.

[khan]

Originally Posted by blakes33

Dr. Haber - in light of the new information on propecia in the last year or so - do you still feel the same (utmost) confidence in its safety?

Dude why did you have to post this? Now, this doctor is going to get attacked all over the internet. And by that I mean personal attacks, labelling him a Merk employee, immoral, big pharma puppet, unprofessional...and on

He has absolutely no right to express his professional opinion. How dare he say anything postive based on his personal experience of prescribing the drug!

[blakes33]

Originally Posted by khan

Dude why did you have to post this? Now, this doctor is going to get attacked all over the internet. And by that I mean personal attacks, labelling him a Merk employee, immoral, big pharma puppet, unprofessional...and on

He has absolutely no right to express his professional opinion. How dare he say anything postive based on his personal experience of prescribing the drug!

I didn't mean that as a personal attack or to put him on the spot negatively!! I too am trying to sift through and understand what has come out about the SE's (believe me, I have skin in the game here too). I would be interested to hear a Doctor's opinion (like his) who has prescribed to so many men with good results to see if he still feels the drug is safe or if perhaps he now feels differently... that's all.

[khan]

Originally Posted by blakes33

I didn't mean that as a personal attack or to put him on the spot negatively!! I too am trying to sift through and understand what has come out about the SE's (believe me, I have skin in the game here too). I would be interested to hear a Doctor's opinion (like his) who has prescribed to so many men with good results to see if he still feels the drug is safe or if perhaps he now feels differently... that's all.

I know you didn't, but with statements like this he will get butchered on the internet by the anti-Propecia bullies.
Try searching for the thread on this forum where Dr.Sara Wasserbauer was interviewed. Or check out some of Dr Rassman thread...and so on...

No doctor has a right to say anything positive on the internet, without getting personally attacked.

[Winston]

I am sure most doctors feel the same way. Like any other drug on the market there will be people that have very bad side effects. It’s all based on percentages. A percentage of people will react very badly to sleeping pills and sleep drive into a telephone poll. If that person is you, it’s very possible that you might be angry at the drug company or start an anti sleeping pill movement on the internet or try to put a class action law suit together with all the other people who sleep drove into telephone polls. When you choose to take any medication you risk side effects. That is just the way it is.

[SoothSayer]

Originally Posted by NotBelievingIt

I can probably answer for him and say yes.

You really are in no position to be answering for him.

[Robert Haber, MD]

Hello All:

It certainly is a risk to give an opinion about anything online. There is always the risk that someone will attack for personal reasons.

Nonetheless, I am comfortable sharing my position on Propecia. The best response I can give is that I continue to take the drug myself after 13 years, and started my 19 year old son on Propecia last year as well. I would not use Propecia in myself or my family if I did not have a very high degree of confidence in its safety and efficacy.

There is a large group of physicians who communicate regularly who have prescribed Propecia extensively for many years. None of us have ever had a patient who experienced a permanent side effect from Propecia. There is also no credible scientific evidence that such permanent side effects have ever occurred.

Certainly if the available scientific data changes, I will change my position accordingly. However, based on my understanding of the available data, I continue to prescribe Propecia to my patients with confidence.

I hope this helps.

[SKI]

Originally Posted by Robert Haber, MD

Hello All:

The best response I can give is that I continue to take the drug myself after 13 years,

Certainly if the available scientific data changes, I will change my position accordingly.

I've been on fin for about this many years and have not had any of the sides that I have read about in the last few years either up to this point.