I have propecia side effects, but all my blood tests are normal. WHY?!

[NJhair]

Anyone else experience this? I've gotten blood tests done twice during the past 6 months. My doctor is convinced that I have nothing at all to be concerned about. In fact, he continues to recommend that I stay on propecia or I'll lose all my hair.

All my testosterone levels are normal.

But I experience the watery semen, lack of libido, pitiful erections that are no where close to what they used to be, and no more morning hardness.

Anyone else dealing with this?? Any advice??

[darchangel77]

Dear njhair, even i have gone through the same set of symptoms along with deep sadness when it occured .But that was about 3 years back.Since then i swore i ll never go back to finasteride and minoxidil ever. Even if my life is at stake. It is true that your hair will be gone once you stop finasteride,but that is the sad truth of such meaningless medicines. I have embraced ayurveda which has helped me regain my lost hair. You need to reduce PITTA dosha through diet, lifestyle. Start applying virgin coconut oil on your scalp everyday before sleep and wash off in morning.Avoid spicy and oily(cheese,mayo.mustard,etc),ref flour,salty and sour foods,alcohol.
Ofcourse this will change your life once you start following these tips. But it will make sure your overall health is corrected which will in turn be reflected in your hair quality. All the best buddy.

[pkipling]

If you're convinced the Fin is causing these side effects and also convinced that it is what is saving your hair, unfortunately it may seem that you need to make a choice about which is more important to you. You could stop taking the Fin and try other alternatives and hope that they work to preserve your hair, or stay on the Fin and tolerate the sides.

A third option is one that tends to not be so popular, and that is to simply entertain the idea that the side effects you're experiencing aren't the cause of the Finasteride and that they may be due to the mere fear of having them. I'm not saying that the side effects aren't real, as they very well could be. This is something only you can know for yourself. However, there is scientific data to support the placebo effect and power of suggestion with any medication, and often just the thought, fear, and suggestion of sides is enough to make us experience them. I know I went through this personally in the beginning stages of taking the Finasteride. I was so hyper aware of everything dealing with my "equipment" that I started believing that I was experiencing side effects, even when in hindsight, I don't think I was. Our minds are more powerful than we realize, especially when it comes to our sex drive and erections, and just the fear alone of not being able to perform can impact our ability to do so.

I received advice on this forum to simply "take the pill like a vitamin and forget about it", and once I did, I've realized that everything seems back to normal. My libido and sex life are just as healthy as they were before, sometimes even more so. The only side effect I suspect I may be experiencing is occasional decrease in semen, but if I'm being perfectly honest, I can't say with certainty that A) it's attributed to the Finasteride and B) that it's actually any different than it was before. For example, who's to say that I didn't have periods of decreased semen before I started taking the drug, but that I just wasn't paying attention to it or concerned about it, so it never stood out to me in my mind?

Again, I'm not saying your side effects aren't real and I'm not saying they're not possible. I'm simply speaking from my own experience and scientific data that just because it looks like a duck doesn't necessarily mean it is a duck.
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I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My views/opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

[Bernard Yong]

I've had the same side effects as well, and decided to stop Propecia after 5 years of using it. I'm now on a different hair care regime, using mainly herbal based extracts and it seems to be working well with no side effects.

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Cosmetology Ayurveda HerbalPlus Hair Loss Treatment, a natural, herb based solution which is based on the ancient medicine system of Ayurveda. Find out more at www.cosmetology.com.my.