anyone worried by this video?

[EDVictim]

Mr. Reed,

Thanks for your reply. Healthy conversation regarding this condition is very important. I invite you to our website, create a username and browse through the hormone/blood section so you can get a better glimpse & understanding on this serious matter.

What will interestingly strike you on there is the amount of individuals who are still suffering after 6+ years and have not recovered. You will also see a pattern of blood test results showing unhealthy hormone levels/thyroid levels which can also lead to another serious condition: An increase risk of stroke. Poor vascular health is a contributor to this.

After reviewing this section of our website, you will see a lot of previously healthy individuals are now on TRT for life. Unfortunately, they were forced into this life long treatment because their hormonal profile never recovered naturally after stopping finasteride.

I do have a question for you Mr. Reed regarding the informal survey, are these doctors solely specializing in hairloss? Are they monitoring their patients Testosterone levels, Estrogen levels, Free Testosterone, Bioavailable testosterone, Thyroid(full thyroid, not just TSH) on an ongoing basis? Would these doctors be interested in completing a formal survey with their patients and releasing it to the public?

In summary, I can respect your willingness to bring this informal survey to the public. The validity behind it however, remains unknown. I'm not 100% understanding what your motive is still, all I know is we are in a very tough economy, and losing clients is the last thing you would want to happen. However, what is known to the public are a bunch of consistent blood tests on www.propeciahelp.com website which shows many individuals who are struggling with hypothyroidism, extreme fatigue, brain fog, and severe erection dysfunction(including an abscence of nocturnal erections).

Regards,

Steve

[William Reed, MD]

Finaseride Video: Long Term Side Effects

Dear Steve,

I am not providing any information other than what the 17 doctors that I have contacted have given me. I, too, am a bit shocked that there have been no long term side effects in our practices where over 30,000 patients have received finasteride; I'm especially shocked when I contrast these results to the videos on UTube.

I would imagine that the doctors you cite are familiar with issues in medicine being unclear and in there being a difference of opinion on many different medical issues. I would hope they find this informal survey of interest to help them put the situation into a perspective enriched by this large number of patients treated by their colleagues.

Since you don't know me, I won't take offense at your questioning my ethics. I know many people who could reassure you. I have no interest of any sort in promoting or berating finasteride. I just want to know how to help people manage hair loss and to understand the tools available as well as possible.

I am sorry that you are a sufferer of finasteride use. I hope that you can find this informal study reassuring that your symptoms are not as permanent as you fear. I should add that one patient in the 30,000 patients did feel that impotence resulted even after stopping finasteride but that this perception disappeared after a year. I hope that this will be the case for you and for others who suffer.

Best regards,

William Reed, MD

[bostonusa2009]

I agree with Winston there is too much fear mongering on the web that is never properly back up by reputable, experienced doctors.

After you have the pill for 6 months. Ask yourself, Is sex as good as used to be? Do you desire sex as much as you used to?

Be painfully honest with yourself, Are you experiencing vision problems, slight memory loss. I'm giving you the warning signs before the really bad stuff starts.

The propeciahelp forum has 1,500 + users and there probably double that number that are reading the forum, but aren't yet members.

Don't just ignore these things. Go on that forum read a few of the stories, so you know what to look for in case you also begin experiencing the same things.

[EDVictim]

Mr. Reed,

With all due respect sir, you are providing false information to the public. There are many doctors who are aware of the permanent side effects that finasteride(5 alph reductase II inhibitor) has caused to many individuals.

As you may know(since you went to medical school), finasteride blocks DHT(5 alpha reductsase II receptor *70% of DHT*), and also lowers allopregnolone levels along with inhibiting a very important neurosteroid called "GABA". TSH,T4, Free T3, Reverse T3 have come back abnormal after discontinuing the drug.

Putting that aside, I truely question your ethics on this board. Well reknowned doctors such as Dr. Goldstein, Dr. Jacob, Dr. Crisler, Dr. Irwig and some others acknowledges the long term permanent side effects this drug has caused. Many of these doctors have seens 100's of sufferers*including me* who discontinuted the drug and have not recovered from these side effects which include: (Hypothyroidsm, Erectile Dysfunction, Watery Ejaculate, Depressed Testosterone levels: Depressed LH & FSH, High Estrogen, and Gynocomestia.

You can also find videos on youtube, and blogs regarding these side effects. YES, they are very real..

In conlusion, I must say I'm completely shocked along with many other who are suffering side effects with your post. We are losing extreme faith in the U.S. medical system due unethical and dishonest actions.

Regards,

Steve

[tbtadmin]

Propecia Long Term Side Effects | Interview With William Reed, M.D.

IAHRS accepted member William H. Reed, M.D. discusses his findings of an informal study in which he polled 17 hair restoration practices that have treated more than 30,0000 patients with Propecia.

[William Reed, MD]

Finaseride Video: Long Term Side Effects

An update on the informal survey that I have been doing regarding the frequency of long term side effects even after the discontinuation of finasteride: None of the 17 surgeons reporting on over an estimated 30,000 patients begun on finasteride report having received feedback that the medicine has ever created long term, irreversible side effects of any sort.

A healthy discussion is always beneficial. I would encourage the authors of this very disturbing film to respond to this data that could not be further from supporting their contention of irreversible dangers from taking finasteride. A good start would be for them to publish their references that they feel support their positions. I shall try to tract down the physician who is shown on the video and will get back to you about his response.

[mlao]

I agree with Winston there is too much fear mongering on the web that is never properly back up by reputable, experienced doctors.

[Winston]

This is a great idea Dr. Reed! Thanks for doing this. These videos are really disturbing and I think they provide bogus claims that are unnecessarily frightening all of us who take Propecia and those who would like to start.

[KeepTheHair]

This is a very disturbing video. Unfortunately, it makes many generalizations and accusations that are not referenced to allow examination of its claims. I would hope that the authors of this video would supply their references.

I will be posting a poll I am conducting of fellow hair transplant surgeons. I will post the final tabulation but at the moment, I have estimates totaling 20,000 patients from 12 surgeons who have been prescribing finasteride since it received approval in the late 90s. At the moment, THERE ARE NO REPORTED SIDE EFFECTS reported that persisted after the patients stopped the medication. Very strange, indeed, that these findings are at such odds with the video. I will be sure that the reporting physicians do not sell finasteride in their practices or have any other bias motivating distortion of their data.

This makes me feel better about the whole thing.

[William Reed, MD]

Long Term Side Effects of Finaseride Video

This is a very disturbing video. Unfortunately, it makes many generalizations and accusations that are not referenced to allow examination of its claims. I would hope that the authors of this video would supply their references.

I will be posting a poll I am conducting of fellow hair transplant surgeons. I will post the final tabulation but at the moment, I have estimates totaling 20,000 patients from 12 surgeons who have been prescribing finasteride since it received approval in the late 90s. At the moment, THERE ARE NO REPORTED SIDE EFFECTS reported that persisted after the patients stopped the medication. Very strange, indeed, that these findings are at such odds with the video. I will be sure that the reporting physicians do not sell finasteride in their practices or have any other bias motivating distortion of their data.

[Mane Man]

So I woke up this morning and had no problem taking another 1/4 pill of fin. I got myself all in a panic yesterday (because of the negative talk of propecia) and was checking threads on here for a few hours. I decided that it was too early to pull the plug on a pill that can help me out with something that bothers me- hair loss. I also did something else. I went to the barber and got my hair taken down short to a 1 1/2. Part of me is accepting my balding and is willing to rock the bald look. The other part of me wants to believe that I can keep the hair I have, and maybe even someday regrow the hair I have lost. For me, stoping the fin is giving up the hope of keeping hair. I'm not quite ready to give up that hope. I'll continue to take the fin and will try not to worry so much about sides, but will see what happens. I'm two weeks in with no issues other than being a chicken little .

I wanted to thank the level headed people on here that spoke to me more than the negative people who post here.

[Buckerine11]

Finasteride caused me to have painful nipples. I was scared, so I quit. I was on it for about 7 months, but didn't see any regrowth. It really varies by the person.

[whyyyyyyyyyyy]

I watched the first couple seconds of the video and turned it off. We already know what the side effects are. The last thing I need is another person freaking me out about something I'm doing to improve the quality of my life. If I wanted that, I'd spend all day reading the posts at Propeciahelp.com going hysterical at all the crazy stories going on over there.

The simple fact of the matter is that the drug works for people. If you're someone like me who's just starting to notice their hairloss, you've got two options:

1) Do nothing and see how long it takes for your hair to fall out, or
2) Take action, see if it works, and risk getting side effects

It's not hard to find people who've used it for years and haven't experienced any sides (they're higher in number on sites that don't specialize in hair loss), and that's enough peace of mind for me to go ahead and start using it myself. Maybe I'll be lucky, maybe I won't. Those odds are much better than being just plain unlucky.

[Mane Man]

Yeah- ok it would be one thing if I were 20 and wanted to hold onto my hair through college and dating. I can totally empathize with some of the younger members here as being young and in the dating world can be intimidating even when you are confident in the way you look. To them, the risks of keeping hair through medication might seem worth it. Everybody has to weigh out the pros and cons of the options and ultimately decide for themselves.

I was not expecting any miracles with propecia/fin anyway. I'm 34, and have been married for eight years. My wife is very nice about my hair loss, considering she met me before I showed any signs. What is the point of me risking my sexual health and possibly other sides if the fin loses its effectiveness and people stop taking it after five years?

I'm on the fence, but I'm already on the pill. It felt good to finally do something about the hair loss, but I'm not sure about my decision now. I don't want to constantly be worrying about this. I'm going to make a decision in the next day or two.

[rtpatter]

Mane Man

I will be interested in your progress on propecia as I have been on the fence about it as well and I'm close to your age. The sides have keep me away up to this point and I don't see taking it for life so from one married man to another. I have a hard time justifying the risk of the sides when at best it seems to only delay the inevitable?