I got an email from one of my patients today (who has never experienced a sexual side effect from taking Propecia) with concerns about the following article http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MensHea...3152993&page=3
"What is your take on this, Doc?" he asked me in an email he titled, "Propecia Side Effects - not a myth."
I replied to him that sexual side effect among those taking Propecia has never been a myth. It is an actual, scientifically documented, and quantified fact and these numbers sound about right. Less than one percent (71 out of the millions of men taking Propecia?) report a sexual side effect. I think the potential problem with this data (and we will have to evaluate that once it gets published) is the incidence of "permanent side effects." There are a lot of things which cause sexual dysfunction in men and in order to prove causality (i.e. that Propecia MADE it happen), each one of these cases should be controlled for other factors, like drug use, diabetes, smoking, and a host of other medical problems as long as your arm.
This will always be the problem with trying to tease out what is truth from what is the psychology of sex drive - lots and lots of things in life affect a mans libido. Plus, sensationalist headlines like this do little to encourage rigorous scientific study since the issue gets so emotionally charged.
So I guess I am saying that you have to weigh the odds for everything you do in life and what is published in this article looks about right for the odds of sexual dysfunction versus keeping your hair from taking Propecia. Further, I will have to read the article to be able to comment on the likelihood of permanent side effects, since that has not been well documented in the past.
And no, I do not have stock in Merck!
"What is your take on this, Doc?" he asked me in an email he titled, "Propecia Side Effects - not a myth."
I replied to him that sexual side effect among those taking Propecia has never been a myth. It is an actual, scientifically documented, and quantified fact and these numbers sound about right. Less than one percent (71 out of the millions of men taking Propecia?) report a sexual side effect. I think the potential problem with this data (and we will have to evaluate that once it gets published) is the incidence of "permanent side effects." There are a lot of things which cause sexual dysfunction in men and in order to prove causality (i.e. that Propecia MADE it happen), each one of these cases should be controlled for other factors, like drug use, diabetes, smoking, and a host of other medical problems as long as your arm.
This will always be the problem with trying to tease out what is truth from what is the psychology of sex drive - lots and lots of things in life affect a mans libido. Plus, sensationalist headlines like this do little to encourage rigorous scientific study since the issue gets so emotionally charged.
So I guess I am saying that you have to weigh the odds for everything you do in life and what is published in this article looks about right for the odds of sexual dysfunction versus keeping your hair from taking Propecia. Further, I will have to read the article to be able to comment on the likelihood of permanent side effects, since that has not been well documented in the past.
And no, I do not have stock in Merck!
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