23 Year Old Terrified to use Proscar (Finasteride)

[TheFakeMoonMan]

Hey guys,

I am 23, and for the past few years, I have been noticing a gradual decline in my hair on my temple regions. I finally said enough is enough and have decided to take action to prevent the loss of any more (and hopefully regain some).

My uncle is a family doctor, and I got a prescription for Proscar (5mg) which I have been cutting into 1/4 tablets (1.25mg) and taken both yesterday and today.

However, I have continued to do research on this drug, and there seems to be A LOT of negative information about Finasteride severely messing up your weenie and causing depression. Most notably, the website http://www.propeciahelp.com/, Michael S. Irwig's study on the drug, and the story about the kid who killed himself, have all made me consider whether this is the right thing or not.

I realize that the negative publicity probably gets a lot more attention than the positive, but has anyone else gone through this situation? What did/do you plan on doing? Any advice is welcomed.

Thanks!

[Follicle Death Row]

Man, I was in the same boat as you. Was on it for a couple of weeks and was researching it. I definitely noticed a drop in libido after a week. 2 weeks in and I thought one of my nipples was getting puffy. I actually had a tiny case of gyno when I hit puberty as my testosterone levels rocketed and some of it must have aromatised into estradiol, hence the slight gyno. It cleared up within a month as DHT levels came up. Thought it was happening again due DHT inhibition so I said **** that and got off it. It's not for me. Everything is fine now.

I'd love to be able to take it but I can't. I guess the point I want to make is keep an eye on the side effects. If you notice them creeping up on you, you might want to re-evaluate. Best of luck though. I hope it works well for you.

[PropeciaVictim]

If you notice them creeping up on you, you might want to re-evaluate. Best of luck though. I hope it works well for you.

This is dangerous advice. Many men who develop PFS, myself included, had an immediate onset of side effects that did not reverse after stopping the drug. There was no gradual creeping. Monitoring side effects will not help you prevent longer term damage, and believing you have control over the situation is misinformed and reckless.

If you decide you want to try Propecia, you should realize that there is a minute chance that you develop long-term problems from the drug, but in most cases you will be fine.

When I took the drug about 2 years ago, there was much less information about PFS and it had much less acceptance. I cannot say for sure, but I would not have personally taken the risk were it not for Merck's fraud.

[Jcm800]

This is dangerous advice. Many men who develop PFS, myself included, had an immediate onset of side effects that did not reverse after stopping the drug. There was no gradual creeping. Monitoring side effects will not help you prevent longer term damage, and believing you have control over the situation is misinformed and reckless.

If you decide you want to try Propecia, you should realize that there is a minute chance that you develop long-term problems from the drug, but in most cases you will be fine.

When I took the drug about 2 years ago, there was much less information about PFS and it had much less acceptance. I cannot say for sure, but I would not have personally taken the risk were it not for Merck's fraud.

Thanks for posting this reply-I get tempted to try this drug sometimes myself-but replies like yours give me a sudden reality check.

Seems taking Fin is like playing Russian roulette with your system-too damn risky if you pull the trigger and get serious sides.

[Follicle Death Row]

This is dangerous advice. Many men who develop PFS, myself included, had an immediate onset of side effects that did not reverse after stopping the drug. There was no gradual creeping. Monitoring side effects will not help you prevent longer term damage, and believing you have control over the situation is misinformed and reckless.

If you decide you want to try Propecia, you should realize that there is a minute chance that you develop long-term problems from the drug, but in most cases you will be fine.

When I took the drug about 2 years ago, there was much less information about PFS and it had much less acceptance. I cannot say for sure, but I would not have personally taken the risk were it not for Merck's fraud.

I'm sorry to hear that. No question it's far from ideal taking any 5AR inhibitor but usually the HPTA does right itself, not always of course. Risk-Reward didn't make sense for me but it might for someone else. Any hormonal intervention is serious so they are all warned. I still think the HPTA goes out of whack gradually for most that suffer side effects rather than immediately. If he's taking the drug what other advice can I give him except stop taking it. There's no fool proof way to take finasteride. It's not dangerous advice, it's just dangerous to take the drug in the first place. I happen to agree with you on the efficacy of the drug because I didn't feel good on it myself but thankfully I'm fine now.

[TheFakeMoonMan]

Yes, the more and more research I do on this drug, the more and more I feel that I should not be messing with my hormones in such a way.

However, I am still pretty young and have most of my hair, and want to do everything in my power (while still remaining safe) to keep what I have and try to grow back some of the areas where it has shed.

Is there anyway for this to be accomplished without taking Procepia (or any other oral pill). I tried Rogaine a few years ago, but it seemed to regrow very thin and brittle hairs that were noticeably fake and fell out usually with just a light touch. The Men's Premium Minoxidil 15% & Azelaic Acid 5% DHT Inhibitor has good reviews on Amazon, and I've heard elsewhere amazing things about Nizoral (although it seems to have vanished off the face of the earth). It seems like these might be able to help out some...anyone have any experience with these two products (while not on procepia)?

Thanks again!

[ryan555]

I took it for 12 years with no issues and kept all my hair plus regrew what I had lost. I have many friends who have also taken it long term with no problems at all. There are a small number of unfortunate guys who have issues with the drug, but it is highly unlikely that you will be one of them. The alternative is to not take the drug and spend your twenties obsessing about it and possibly becoming one of the guys who spends hours a day lurking in hair loss forums.

If I were you, I would stop reading the horror stories and try the med. If it works and you don't have bad side effects (the most likely scenario) then you can pretty much move on and stop worrying about your hair loss. If you do get side effects, stop the med and you will almost certainly go back to normal.

[PropeciaVictim]

If I were you, I would stop reading the horror stories and try the med. If you do get side effects, stop the med and you will almost certainly go back to normal.

This is not true and the same false reasoning that led to a decision that ruined my life.

[ryan555]

This is not true and the same false reasoning that led to a decision that ruined my life.

Man, I really feel for you but you are in a very small unfortunate minority. If this were a drug that made your eyelashes longer I would agree it was never worth even the tiniest risk, but this is a drug that can potentially put an end to a condition that causes a great deal of anguish for some people. The incidence of permanent side effects is extremely low and the trade off is being a guy in his 20's who spends the next several years being depressed and self concious about his hair loss.

[8868alex]

Ryan 555

I completely agree with you. It is awful what has happened to these guys and I truly feel for them. To have to deal with the ongoing side effects is so sad and I wish every individual the best with regards to finding peace and resolving their issue. However, it is an elective drug and one which can dramatically improve quality of life for thousands. Also, the vast majority will not have these side effects. I think the forums should be used as means of discussion and imparting advice. What works for me and certain people may not work for others. What is needed is a calm, factual analysis of all the pro's and cons involved in prescribing medication.

[sadscalp]

I would certainly not recommend it. I started 1.25mg in September of last year, and I had absolutely no sides at all until March, when the sides suddenly hit me (very suddenly). My dick became very soft and weird, couldn't get hard, zero libido, it was f*cking scary. Got off it and I've gotten better, but it's still some way to go. My dick isn't quite the way it was yet (feels and looks a bit strange, erections still not 100%, and I go soft very quickly), and my libido is still low, but at least I've improved since I quit which gives me hope I'll recover completely.

The drug didn't do anything for my hair either. I know it's effective to a varying degree in most males, but don't think this drug is safe. I was devastated by my hair loss, and still am to some degree, but there's just no way I'd put that sh*t in my body again, even if I'd known it was gonna give me all my hair back. Just not worth it.

[Jcm800]

Whoa ^^^ **** that, I'd rather embrace the Jason Statham look than experience those quite possible side effects.

[sadscalp]

Oh, and the fact that I was absolutely fine up until around the 6 month mark should be alarming to others. That tells me that you really don't know when the sides are gonna kick in (and I've read other stories where people got them after years on the drug). It was quite a shock to me, especially since I stopped worrying about side effects after a couple of months on the drug, thinking I got away scot free.

Stick to minox, niz and other safe products, that's my advice. Hopefully we'll have something in a few years that obliterates finasteride.

[Jcm800]

Oh, and the fact that I was absolutely fine up until around the 6 month mark should be alarming to others. That tells me that you really don't know when the sides are gonna kick in (and I've read other stories where people got them after years on the drug). It was quite a shock to me, especially since I stopped worrying about side effects after a couple of months on the drug, thinking I got away scot free.

Stick to minox, niz and other safe products, that's my advice. Hopefully we'll have something in a few years that obliterates finasteride.

NO worries dude-Minox and Niz, oh and damn TRX2 (that shit for the time being) is all I'm using.

[PropeciaVictim]

If this were a drug that made your eyelashes longer I would agree it was never worth even the tiniest risk, but this is a drug that can potentially put an end to a condition that causes a great deal of anguish for some people.

That is your personal opinion. For me, balding is not significant and my entirely family does fine without a full head of hair. Personally, I took the drug because I was balding early (around 21) and wanted to postpone the process a little bit. However, the Merck safety profile has blatant lies in it and I was misled into making a decision I would not have otherwise.

The OP poster can decide for himself whether the prospect of attempting to keep his hair is worth the minute risk of lifelong sexual dysfunction and other potential cognitive/mood issues.