Fin it to win it

[the_charger]

Dude, you said this yourself!

When i talked with my doctor about the sides and propeciahelp etc his advice was that the best thing i could do is stay off the web. I understand this because mentality and placebo and very strong things.

Youve already given up on propecia, convinced yourself you have PFS problems and are posting on propeciahelp after like a week? Im sorry but its painfully obvious that you are just falling victim to your own fears

[PropeciaVictim]

No no no no, this isin't going to turn into another discussion about the evils of propecia thread. I am well informed and i don't need any more information so if your trying to get into to an argument here, kindly get the **** out?

I saw from your new post on Propeciahelp that your side effects have not yet reversed. Just wanted to point out that you should be more respectful to people, especially since you one day may require their assistance.

[PropeciaVictim]

After quitting the drug, have you found that you have returned to being able to attain a full erection and restoration of sensitivity?

I recommend that you never touch the stuff again since the side effects hit you pretty quickly (less than one week) which means you likely are a candidate for developing much worse side effects.

[abusername]

Well

At the 1 week mark i have decided to discontinue the use of propecia. While the drug didn't "wreak havoc" like some say it most certainly affected the quality of my erections and the sensitivity of my penis.

My conclusion after actually TRYING the drug and not just posting and researching is that this pill is a clumsy effort to treat my hairloss and something that i wouldn't have tried if i would have known it would have such an effect.

I wish i could say it was just in my head, but after getting off the drug and trying it again it most certainly changes my penis. While i am aware that these are just side effects, i refuse to deal with them as i am 20 ****ing years old and if not worrying about my hair means worrying about being able to perform then count me out!

[abusername]

Just an update with some pictures of my hair while wet, 4th day of propecia and everythings feelin good. Also i started rogaine on my birthday (it was a birthday gift lol) and have been using it for about a week now, i've never ever shed a hair in my life and i've been losing like 20-30 hairs in the shower. So hopefully that means its working.

[ryan555]

I'm not trying to minimize the impact some have felt from the side effects, but I would argue that many medications have side effects that last longer than 6 months after cessation. The effects of many anti-depressants and anxiety meds can be felt for over a year after stopping and the side effects can be horrid, but they are much more widely prescribed than propecia. This is the nature of putting artificial substances in our bodies. The question is always whether or not the reward is greater than the risk and with propecia, it is worth it for that vast majority of people who take it.

[PatientlyWaiting]

Good luck, don't let that 2% side effect bother you. I'm fine 7 months in, and I have taken it before these on and off and never had side effects.

[PropeciaVictim]

I see tha tmerck included reports of "difficulty in achieving an erection that continued after stopping the medication" in their brochures, which is much different than "permanent ED" like you put it. Merck in no way said it was permanent, or that it didnt resolve itself shortly after discontinuing. Thats just what you are concluding.

It's called whitewashing. They use euphemisms to describe permanent ED to minimize the amount of fear they will evoke in potential customers. It really isn't any different since the vast majority of PFS suffers do not recover naturally over time.

In the PPI, Merck claims Propecia does not have any antiandrogenic effects, but this is suspect since Propecia is classified as an antiandrogen. A quick google search will easily show this. There are other lies that I will not describe in further detail.

I know Merck is covering up the effects from my personal communication with them. They completely ignored my question about the prevalence of permanent ED, while addressing some of the less devastating side effects. Proof comes as they were negligent in updating their PPI and only did so after Irwig published his report, but internal emails will be uncovered through the subpoena of information during the upcoming lawsuits.

If you look up stats from the PLESS study, you will find 2% of patients suffered from side effects that lasted 6 months after stopping the drug versus 0.8% from the placebo. It would make sense that the rate would be lower for Propecia since the patients are younger and the dose is smaller, but a precise figure cannot be offered.

Online message boards are not ideal, but for something like PFS which is being swept under the rug by Merck and not recognized by many ignorant doctors, it is the best option currently available. If you have erectile dysfunction that starts while on Propecia, does not end after you discontinue it, and all the typical causes of ED are absent, it is very likely you have PFS since ED is very uncommon amongst men in their 20s.

[the_charger]

That's good you feel informed enough and confident about your choice!

I just read in one of your posts your doctor said "stay off the forums" lol. My doctor told me the exact same thing! He told me about how many patients come in with concerns about things they read about on the internet.. he thinks that medical based internet forums are a very bad thing, since so many people self diagnose, or convince themselves they have some disease or condition without actually having it.

Your in awesome shape though man, my hair loss is a bit like yours but maybe a bit more advanced.. But you are catching it so early, i'm sure you are going to have nothing but great success. Congrats!

[abusername]

No no no no, this isin't going to turn into another discussion about the evils of propecia thread. I am well informed and i don't need any more information so if your trying to get into to an argument here, kindly get the **** out?

Just like on propecia help they don't want anyone posting unless they have experienced the side effects and such well i'd really like to not have anyone post in my thread about people feeling the side effects. There is enough information on this everywhere else and i didn't start this thread for that reason.

[the_charger]

You really shouldn't say the chance of persistent side effects is less than 1 in a 1,000 when nobody really knows. For Proscar (5mg) the 4 year follow up study found 2% of users had persistent side effects.

could you provide a source for that? i am seeing lots of statistics and facts being stated on this forum, but they dont mean much without any documents to support them, or if they are being quoted out of context!

No matter how smart he is, he may simply not know. There have, thus far, only been two articles published and most doctors go off the PPI which is printed by Merck. Merck has done its best to conceal this information, still has deliberately false information about finasteride in its literature, but only recently included the reports of permanent ED in their brochures.

can you explain further? you say merck has done its best to conceal and cover up the proof, but is that just your theory? Where is the proof of all this? What false information do they have in their literature?

I see tha tmerck included reports of "difficulty in achieving an erection that continued after stopping the medication" in their brochures, which is much different than "permanent ED" like you put it. Merck in no way said it was permanent, or that it didnt resolve itself shortly after discontinuing. Thats just what you are concluding.

[PropeciaVictim]

But yeah I would prefer to “bury my head in the sand” and not spend every day worrying about a very small (less than 1 in 1000) chance of having these severe problems, and just enjoy my 20’s with hair, even if its in ignorance.

You really shouldn't say the chance of persistent side effects is less than 1 in a 1,000 when nobody really knows. For Proscar (5mg) the 4 year follow up study found 2% of users had persistent side effects.

For me, going by my doctors opinion (he is a brilliant man, he’s been my doctor my whole life) it isn’t something im going to personally worry about.

No matter how smart he is, he may simply not know. There have, thus far, only been two articles published and most doctors go off the PPI which is printed by Merck. Merck has done its best to conceal this information, still has deliberately false information about finasteride in its literature, but only recently included the reports of permanent ED in their brochures.

[sadscalp]

Good for you abusername! Don’t let the anti-Propecia mafia try to bully you. You’ll be fine and probably keep your hair like I have. Don’t even think about side effects, I never did and I am doing great!
Good luck!

That's exactly what people told me, and what caused me to make the decision to get on it.

And to OP, go ahead and do it if you want, just as long as you're aware that this not without risks. I was on it for about 6-7 months without experiencing any side effects at all (didn't do anything for my hair either, which was disappointing and surprising since I had had great results from minoxidil initially, but that's beside the point), and then one day in March, bam, ED, penile shrinkage, no libido and ball ache. And I didn't even worry about side effecs at that point.
Been off it for a little over 3 months now and I've recovered some, but not completely. Still low libido and my d*ck and balls feel and look somewhat weird. Some days are better than others though, for some reason.

I've read stories of people who were on the drug for as much as 7 years without having any side effects, and then suddenly got hit hard. Seems to me that finasteride is very unpredictable, and that you never know when you might get sides. Then all you can do is hope that they go away. Trust me, you'll know when/if you get these sides, they're very, very unpleasant.

If you think you're fine with that, good for you. At least you're making an informed decision. But don't say no one warned you. Personally I'm sticking with minoxidil and keto, and hoping for something new (and safe) to hit the market. There's no way I'm putting that sh*t in my body again.

[the_charger]

Good choice! Ive been on propecia for around 2 months now. Its too early to tell if ive had any benefit from it yet, but I am pretty sure I’m losing way less hair. I am quite young, and Im personally glad I caught it early enough. You are in the same boat and catching it early. You should be able to hopefully expect a full head of hair for the next 5-10 years, or at least until something way better and more effective is available!

I haven’t noticed any side effects at all, everything is still exactly the same. I actually work out pretty regularly and before starting, I had a deadlifting max of 180bs. After 2 months on the stuff, I am able to deadlift 200. I’ve put on probably 5 pounds of muscle in the last 2 months, and honestly not having all the anxiety of worrying about my hair has allowed me to focus on the important things in my life. I honestly feel, like ryan said, I have my 20’s back! Hair loss is really the farthest thing from my mind.

While it’s unfortunate some people have been seriously harmed by this stuff, it’s a very small group of people who are EXTREMELY vocal.. they are extremely persistent at getting their point across on every single forum and it seems like everybody gets permanent problems from propecia. Well on the internet it does.. But ive talked to my family doctor and he talked to some of his colleagues, and not a single one of them have ever heard of or seen a patient with these problems. And hes estimated he and his coleagues have prescribed it to thousands of people. Apparently it’s a popular drug where I live!

But yeah I would prefer to “bury my head in the sand” and not spend every day worrying about a very small (less than 1 in 1000) chance of having these severe problems, and just enjoy my 20’s with hair, even if its in ignorance. There is a chance I’ll really regret it, but as a compromise to starting propecia, I quit smoking. So for me, ive just reduced my chance of hundreds of health problems!

I don’t want to discount anyone who has had really bad problems. some of them seem like great people, like mens rea for example, but I guess we all need to understand there is a risk, be it is very small. For me, going by my doctors opinion (he is a brilliant man, he’s been my doctor my whole life) it isn’t something im going to personally worry about.

I think that taking propecia and worrying myself sick about these problems is worse than worrying about and stressing out about my hair loss, anyway. But that’s just me…..

[benson&hedges]

Its funny a good proportion of people get on party drugs every weekend with more chance of side effects or worse with out even thinking twice, yet propecia with minimal chance of side effects because it regards there manhood some people freak out. Remember the mind is a powerful thing, try not to read too much negative things you will be fine, best too start early. Wish I started 1 or 2 years earlier. I think I was in denial about my hairloss as I have very thick hair and like you have been able to hide it.

Very well said ^^^^