Is Propecia Really safe?

[Campbell22]

I can say hand on heart that propecia seriously fked up my sexual life and despite being off it for over a year probably I still don't think things are completely back to normal. Actually I know they aren't.

The side effects are not rare. I reckon if you asked half the people who have ever taken it they will report erectile dysfunction and drop in libido. Its indicated for enlarged prostates for gods sake and changes sex hormones. Its hardly vitamin C. I'm a student pharmacist and looking in the BNF it categorically states that the side effects of dutasteride and finasteride include impotence, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders. In that order. These are not 1in 100 occurances. Unlike the states due to our socialist medicine POM medicines can not be advertised so the data collected is unbiased as best as can be and those are the cold hard facts.

However having said all that which I know is true. It has got to the point where my wife has said "You are not going to like this, but I can really see the thinning" She is supportive and doesn't care. At least she says she doesn't but she knows I do. So as of today have started Duta 500mcg od.

Being a budding experimentalist with a pharm background I will also be taking some pharmaceutics that I hope will counteract the sides as best as possible and shouldn't have any effect on the pharmacology of of the DHT inihibitor. Nothing is set in stone and still got two years till I qualify so won't be recommending what I am doing but I think it is based on sound pharmacology so going for it.

I have taken my first pictures today and hope to start a diary so you can all se what an ugly b****** I am lol and hopefully some progress. Up to now I have been using hydrocortizone (not recommended) minox, capillogain, msm+Vitc (which I think I am going to drop as I can't really get my head around how this could be beneficial at these extreme doses more than at normal doses and it gets a bit pricey necking 10-12 pills a day.

Any advice appreciated and glad to have found this forum

[BigThinker]

About a month or so in i thought propecia was ****ing up my willy, i had penis discharge all the time, it was hurting to urinate, i couldn't get hard, lack of interest in sex blah blah blah... turns out i just had gonorrhoea!!!

Oh, just gonorrhea?

My hair feels fuller, it looks darker, hairs have nearly all stopped falling out when i run my hands through my hair.

I'm getting that response as well. Love it. Only side effect I got right now is not worrying about my hair.

Did start with nut irritation, but it dissipated over the first week.

Most importantly, the itch is gone. God, I hated the itch - the feeling of my hair being strangled into a translucent dwarf hair.

if you're gonna take it, start low like i did, it's cheaper and will allow the body to get used to it.

Agreed. It gave me peace of mind, and I honestly think it helped my body adjust. I could be wrong about the latter, but peace of mind still made it worth it.

[Amandeep]

Hey Doc, I've started taking propecia for 2 weeks now (I'm taking it every other day) and the sides I've experienced have been brain fog and there has been a slight reduction in semin volume . I haven't had any other sides and I was just wondering whether I should continue taking the drug and whether the brain fog would subside with continued use? (The brain fog does seem to wear off the next day, as I'm taking propecia every other day). I'm in the UK and get propecia from a company called boots, they don't seem to really know much about the drug as they didn't know about the reports of permanent side effects and completely panicked when I said I get brain fog. My actual doctor also seems clueless as she literally searched the drug on wiki in front of me and didn't really offer much advice lol. I really would appreciate getting some advise from people who know about the drug.

[blakes33]

Hey Doc, I've started taking propecia for 2 weeks now (I'm taking it every other day) and the sides I've experienced have been brain fog and there has been a slight reduction in semin volume . I haven't had any other sides and I was just wondering whether I should continue taking the drug and whether the brain fog would subside with continued use? (The brain fog does seem to wear off the next day, as I'm taking propecia every other day). I'm in the UK and get propecia ferrrom a company called boots, they don't seem to really know much about the drug as they didn't know about the reports of permanent side effects and completely panicked when I said I get brain fog. My actual doctor also seems clueless as she literally searched the drug on wiki in front of me and didn't really offer much advice lol. I really would appreciate getting some advise from people who know about the drug.

If I were in your position, I would look at (and at least consider) the below 2 pieces of information:

1) There are two studies being done right now, one at Baylor College of Medicine headed by world-renowned Dr. Mohit Khera and the other at Harvard University, which are both looking at the two most prevalent theories to describe what happens from the use of propecia, in PFS - that there is brain-damage (neurosteroid levels altered) and that the androgen receptors have become sensitized so that testosterone and DHT cannot be absorbed by the body anymore. They are beginning to think it is NOT only happening to men that have some sort of genetic pre-disposition - how do I know this? Because Dr. Khera did genetic testing on me, testing my number of CAG repeats and mine were completely normal showing I was a "good responder" to propecia (which of course I was for a long time).

These two studies by the way, are investigating and looking into almost EXACTLY what this comprehensive article (The 5ARI Withdrawal Syndrome) reports on.

-->http://www.protocol-online.org/forum...1282061244.ipb

2) I ran across this article yesterday and it made me really feel for the loss of this family. This good-looking bright young man took propecia and his damage from the drug led him to a place of desperation and hopelessness. His family has asked that in lieu of flowers/cards, donations be sent to the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation. He was a Doctor (PhD) and Professor of Criminal Justice, where he taught at University of North Texas. His story here

-->http://www.pfsfoundation.org/news/da...art-1976-2014/

It's ultimately your call on how much validity you give this information. But if you end up with problems, you will be searching for answers and the doc that prescribed/recommended propecia to you, will not be able to help.

[blakes33]

Sorry guys, links above not working.

Try these:

http://www.pfsfoundation.org/news/daniel-m-stewart-1976-2014

http://www.protocol-online.org/forums/uploads/monthly_08_2010/msg-19273-027408800%201282061244.ipb

[hiko]

You search long enough for side effects, you will find them. Most of the so called side effects are just placebo. And this goes for all medications, not just finasteride. Patients will attribute anything to the medication they take. The actual, true side effect rate is very tiny, and it's obvious within a month of starting. You don't get it years later...

But of course a whole bunch of pseudoscientists on here will try to convince everyone and themselves how harmful DHT deprivation is to the body and mind. Not realizing that none of us had much DHT before puberty and we all did just fine. Women don't have it either, and they do just fine. But for some magical reason taking propecia will make you go mentally retarded.

It's a hormone the body produces for a specific reason at a specific time. Yes, it is necessary in that context. No it is not required for survival or quality of life. No, it is not required to get an erection or to ejaculate. No, it is not required for sexual attraction. If you're having problems in these areas long after stopping the drug, it's all in your head.

[Grammaton Cleric]

You search long enough for side effects, you will find them. Most of the so called side effects are just placebo. And this goes for all medications, not just finasteride. Patients will attribute anything to the medication they take. The actual, true side effect rate is very tiny, and it's obvious within a month of starting. You don't get it years later...

But of course a whole bunch of pseudoscientists on here will try to convince everyone and themselves how harmful DHT deprivation is to the body and mind. Not realizing that none of us had much DHT before puberty and we all did just fine. Women don't have it either, and they do just fine. But for some magical reason taking propecia will make you go mentally retarded.

It's a hormone the body produces for a specific reason at a specific time. Yes, it is necessary in that context. No it is not required for survival or quality of life. No, it is not required to get an erection or to ejaculate. No, it is not required for sexual attraction. If you're having problems in these areas long after stopping the drug, it's all in your head.

Really can you explain this? http://www.plosone.org/article/info%...l.pone.0100237

[Armandein]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4064044/

Recent publication

[Aeroes]

Those statistics are bullshit. So many more people get side effects than 1-2% .. Hello we are talking about male sex hormones here.

[hiko]

Because I'm sure it's really difficult to get published in the Korean Journal of Urology...

Can we please stop posting these weak, half-assed studies?

[burtandernie]

I think its a pretty basic assumption that there is no such thing as a completely safe internal drug given current medicine. Not much else to say really. You might not have any obvious visible sides, but does that mean a drug is safe or just that you had nothing noticeable? All the stuff about the role of DHT is completely based on what we currently know and believe. Things like this are constantly being redefined and changing as we learn more about what it does. I dont think in most cases we completely understand every role DHT plays and how it affects different people differently.
All that being said its the best there is so if your going bald and it bothers you I dont see why you wouldnt use it. Its safe as far as we know

[Karlton]

I think its a pretty basic assumption that there is no such thing as a completely safe internal drug given current medicine. Not much else to say really. You might not have any obvious visible sides, but does that mean a drug is safe or just that you had nothing noticeable? All the stuff about the role of DHT is completely based on what we currently know and believe. Things like this are constantly being redefined and changing as we learn more about what it does. I dont think in most cases we completely understand every role DHT plays and how it affects different people differently.
All that being said its the best there is so if your going bald and it bothers you I dont see why you wouldnt use it. Its safe as far as we know

So true. We are the guinea pigs as far as long term effects go. Everyone can come on here and speculate all they want, but the fact is no can know what will happen down the road.
Like you said, if hair loss is interfering with your life, then you might as well treat it the best way we know how. The next treatment to hit the market will have its own set of risks and side effects to weigh, and until and outright cure comes along, we must live with a certain degree of uncertainty within our treatment regimens.

[blakes33]

Who knew that propecia (finasteride) is a commonly used drug for gender change?

http://www.transgendercare.com/medical/resources/tmf_program/tmf_program_5.asp

Forms of Feminizing Hormone Therapy

Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar)

Another good choice for an anti-androgen is finasteride (Proscar, Propecia), and is able to be used in concert with spironolactone.*The primary use of Proscar (finasteride 5 mg) was in the treatment of benign prostatic enlargement, but with its reintroduction as Propecia (finasteride 1 mg), the drug is being largely marketed to promote scalp hair growth.* For transgendered women, finasteride when given in the larger dose promotes not only scalp hair growth but acts as an potent anti-androgen as it is highly effective in inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to DHT (dehydrotestosterone) responsible for male sexual characteristics.* Finasteride is usually physically well tolerated over long durations, but is expensive.*

Wow!!!!

[Notcoolanymore]

All this back and forth on whether finasteride is safe is just a bunch of BS. Absolutely no prescription drug is 100% safe, NONE. Read a list of many of the popular drugs in use today. Many will include the potential for many dangerous sides including multiple cancers. Finasteride has been in use for close to 30 years and is considered one of the safer drugs to take. Does this mean that all will be ok to take it? Hell no, some will get effed up if they decide to use it. Unfortunately that is the risk we all take when we decide on taking a prescription drug.

Finasteride is our best defense against MPB. There is definite risk involved in taking it. I know that and am willing to take the risk to keep my hair. Is it worth the risk? At this point in time it is for me. Others may feel that hair is not worth risking their health. I am fine with that. At the end of the day it should be a personal choice and we really need to stop attacking people for whatever choices they decide to make. For all of us taking fin and having success, we should refrain from giving people a hard time that don't want to take the risk. For all the guys who refuse to take it and are upset that they have no other alternative and are accepting that they will go bald, need to stop taking their frustrations out an fin users.

[Notcoolanymore]

Propecia (finasteride) has its' risks just like every other prescription drug. The sides most feared appear to be ED and brain fog. If hair is not worth risking these sides then don't take the drug. It is not that hard. I have yet to hear anybody claim that they were forced to take it. It is up to the user to educate themselves and make the decision that is best for them. We also need to be smart about it. If you take the drug and experience ED or brain fog, then stop taking the drug. Simple as that. If you choose harm yourself by continuing to take it then there is really nobody else to blame but yourself.