Is Propecia Really safe?

[Grammaton Cleric]

You search long enough for side effects, you will find them. Most of the so called side effects are just placebo. And this goes for all medications, not just finasteride. Patients will attribute anything to the medication they take. The actual, true side effect rate is very tiny, and it's obvious within a month of starting. You don't get it years later...

But of course a whole bunch of pseudoscientists on here will try to convince everyone and themselves how harmful DHT deprivation is to the body and mind. Not realizing that none of us had much DHT before puberty and we all did just fine. Women don't have it either, and they do just fine. But for some magical reason taking propecia will make you go mentally retarded.

It's a hormone the body produces for a specific reason at a specific time. Yes, it is necessary in that context. No it is not required for survival or quality of life. No, it is not required to get an erection or to ejaculate. No, it is not required for sexual attraction. If you're having problems in these areas long after stopping the drug, it's all in your head.

Really can you explain this? http://www.plosone.org/article/info%...l.pone.0100237

[hiko]

You search long enough for side effects, you will find them. Most of the so called side effects are just placebo. And this goes for all medications, not just finasteride. Patients will attribute anything to the medication they take. The actual, true side effect rate is very tiny, and it's obvious within a month of starting. You don't get it years later...

But of course a whole bunch of pseudoscientists on here will try to convince everyone and themselves how harmful DHT deprivation is to the body and mind. Not realizing that none of us had much DHT before puberty and we all did just fine. Women don't have it either, and they do just fine. But for some magical reason taking propecia will make you go mentally retarded.

It's a hormone the body produces for a specific reason at a specific time. Yes, it is necessary in that context. No it is not required for survival or quality of life. No, it is not required to get an erection or to ejaculate. No, it is not required for sexual attraction. If you're having problems in these areas long after stopping the drug, it's all in your head.

[blakes33]

Sorry guys, links above not working.

Try these:

http://www.pfsfoundation.org/news/daniel-m-stewart-1976-2014

http://www.protocol-online.org/forums/uploads/monthly_08_2010/msg-19273-027408800%201282061244.ipb

[blakes33]

Hey Doc, I've started taking propecia for 2 weeks now (I'm taking it every other day) and the sides I've experienced have been brain fog and there has been a slight reduction in semin volume . I haven't had any other sides and I was just wondering whether I should continue taking the drug and whether the brain fog would subside with continued use? (The brain fog does seem to wear off the next day, as I'm taking propecia every other day). I'm in the UK and get propecia ferrrom a company called boots, they don't seem to really know much about the drug as they didn't know about the reports of permanent side effects and completely panicked when I said I get brain fog. My actual doctor also seems clueless as she literally searched the drug on wiki in front of me and didn't really offer much advice lol. I really would appreciate getting some advise from people who know about the drug.

If I were in your position, I would look at (and at least consider) the below 2 pieces of information:

1) There are two studies being done right now, one at Baylor College of Medicine headed by world-renowned Dr. Mohit Khera and the other at Harvard University, which are both looking at the two most prevalent theories to describe what happens from the use of propecia, in PFS - that there is brain-damage (neurosteroid levels altered) and that the androgen receptors have become sensitized so that testosterone and DHT cannot be absorbed by the body anymore. They are beginning to think it is NOT only happening to men that have some sort of genetic pre-disposition - how do I know this? Because Dr. Khera did genetic testing on me, testing my number of CAG repeats and mine were completely normal showing I was a "good responder" to propecia (which of course I was for a long time).

These two studies by the way, are investigating and looking into almost EXACTLY what this comprehensive article (The 5ARI Withdrawal Syndrome) reports on.

-->http://www.protocol-online.org/forum...1282061244.ipb

2) I ran across this article yesterday and it made me really feel for the loss of this family. This good-looking bright young man took propecia and his damage from the drug led him to a place of desperation and hopelessness. His family has asked that in lieu of flowers/cards, donations be sent to the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation. He was a Doctor (PhD) and Professor of Criminal Justice, where he taught at University of North Texas. His story here

-->http://www.pfsfoundation.org/news/da...art-1976-2014/

It's ultimately your call on how much validity you give this information. But if you end up with problems, you will be searching for answers and the doc that prescribed/recommended propecia to you, will not be able to help.

[Amandeep]

Hey Doc, I've started taking propecia for 2 weeks now (I'm taking it every other day) and the sides I've experienced have been brain fog and there has been a slight reduction in semin volume . I haven't had any other sides and I was just wondering whether I should continue taking the drug and whether the brain fog would subside with continued use? (The brain fog does seem to wear off the next day, as I'm taking propecia every other day). I'm in the UK and get propecia from a company called boots, they don't seem to really know much about the drug as they didn't know about the reports of permanent side effects and completely panicked when I said I get brain fog. My actual doctor also seems clueless as she literally searched the drug on wiki in front of me and didn't really offer much advice lol. I really would appreciate getting some advise from people who know about the drug.

[BigThinker]

About a month or so in i thought propecia was ****ing up my willy, i had penis discharge all the time, it was hurting to urinate, i couldn't get hard, lack of interest in sex blah blah blah... turns out i just had gonorrhoea!!!

Oh, just gonorrhea?

My hair feels fuller, it looks darker, hairs have nearly all stopped falling out when i run my hands through my hair.

I'm getting that response as well. Love it. Only side effect I got right now is not worrying about my hair.

Did start with nut irritation, but it dissipated over the first week.

Most importantly, the itch is gone. God, I hated the itch - the feeling of my hair being strangled into a translucent dwarf hair.

if you're gonna take it, start low like i did, it's cheaper and will allow the body to get used to it.

Agreed. It gave me peace of mind, and I honestly think it helped my body adjust. I could be wrong about the latter, but peace of mind still made it worth it.

[Campbell22]

I can say hand on heart that propecia seriously fked up my sexual life and despite being off it for over a year probably I still don't think things are completely back to normal. Actually I know they aren't.

The side effects are not rare. I reckon if you asked half the people who have ever taken it they will report erectile dysfunction and drop in libido. Its indicated for enlarged prostates for gods sake and changes sex hormones. Its hardly vitamin C. I'm a student pharmacist and looking in the BNF it categorically states that the side effects of dutasteride and finasteride include impotence, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders. In that order. These are not 1in 100 occurances. Unlike the states due to our socialist medicine POM medicines can not be advertised so the data collected is unbiased as best as can be and those are the cold hard facts.

However having said all that which I know is true. It has got to the point where my wife has said "You are not going to like this, but I can really see the thinning" She is supportive and doesn't care. At least she says she doesn't but she knows I do. So as of today have started Duta 500mcg od.

Being a budding experimentalist with a pharm background I will also be taking some pharmaceutics that I hope will counteract the sides as best as possible and shouldn't have any effect on the pharmacology of of the DHT inihibitor. Nothing is set in stone and still got two years till I qualify so won't be recommending what I am doing but I think it is based on sound pharmacology so going for it.

I have taken my first pictures today and hope to start a diary so you can all se what an ugly b****** I am lol and hopefully some progress. Up to now I have been using hydrocortizone (not recommended) minox, capillogain, msm+Vitc (which I think I am going to drop as I can't really get my head around how this could be beneficial at these extreme doses more than at normal doses and it gets a bit pricey necking 10-12 pills a day.

Any advice appreciated and glad to have found this forum

[StayThick]

Dude you are making stupid statements. Go and do your homework and look up the actions of DHT besides from making your hair fall out. Your telling me a hormone more potent than testosterone has no effect on your sexual function, your offending a lot of people and being a douchebag about it.

I agree 100% Aeroes. Guy is an obvious troll.

[hhoward77]

I've been taking propecia @ 0.25mg/0.33mg depending on how the pill breaks for 4/5 months now, and the only side effect i can say i've noticed is a slight reduction in ejaculate.
My hair feels fuller, it looks darker, hairs have nearly all stopped falling out when i run my hands through my hair, i have tiny hairs what look like they're growing at the hairline.

About a month or so in i thought propecia was ****ing up my willy, i had penis discharge all the time, it was hurting to urinate, i couldn't get hard, lack of interest in sex blah blah blah... turns out i just had gonorrhoea!!! So i took the antibiotics and all went away and was fine. At the time i was 100% certain propecia was to blame, but infact i was 100% wrong, propecia was not to blame.

anyway....

its a slow process.

Some will have side effects, some wont, some will have mild side effects.. everybody is different.

if you're gonna take it, start low like i did, it's cheaper and will allow the body to get used to it.

[Aeroes]

The problem is that almost all these "side effects" are "feelings" and are unprovable. If your penis fell off, then we would have some evidence. But claims that you suffer from impotence or a lack of libido can't simply be taken as any proof.

Dude you are making stupid statements. Go and do your homework and look up the actions of DHT besides from making your hair fall out. Your telling me a hormone more potent than testosterone has no effect on your sexual function, your offending a lot of people and being a douchebag about it.

[burtandernie]

You can make a research in all those 100.000 pseudoherms from the Dominacan republic. They completely lack 5-AR2. But they mysteriously survive somehow.

I am aware of this, but a drug is a gamble anyway you slice it. That model is not 100 percent for sure correct. Its our current guess based off what we knew at the time. Every drug is like this.
Did these guys lack the 5-ar2 but also have an unknown 5-ar3 enzyme that we never knew about it that contributes to that profile of not losing hair? Sure could we have an incomplete map and we make our best guesses trying to help people with no better options. If you have bad MPB significantly affecting your life then by all means use it but minor slow loss I think waiting is a fine option.
The propecia patent is nearly out I promise new treatments are in the works as we speak and in 5 or less years we will have something significantly better or safer.

[Campbell22]

I can say hand on heart that propecia seriously fked up my sexual life and despite being off it for over a year probably I still don't think things are completely back to normal. Actually I know they aren't.

The side effects are not rare. I reckon if you asked half the people who have ever taken it they will report erectile dysfunction and drop in libido. Its indicated for enlarged prostates for gods sake and changes sex hormones. Its hardly vitamin C. I'm a student pharmacist and looking in the BNF it categorically states that the side effects of dutasteride and finasteride include impotence, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders. In that order. These are not 1in 100 occurances. Unlike the states due to our socialist medicine POM medicines can not be advertised so the data collected is unbiased as best as can be and those are the cold hard facts.

[WarLord]

Wow....sorry if I touched a nerve Warlord. Why are you so defensive? Geez...is that kind of behavior appropriate?

I haven't posted in this forum before...but its time I told my story. A few years ago I started taking Propecia after noticing some thinning of my hair. I did my research - checked out the Propecia website, read the insert front to back (I have done that for every drug I've ever taken) and started taking 1 mg a day with little worry. The insert said that in the small percentage of men that experience side effects, just stop taking the drug and they will go away. Before taking this, I was the picture of health - mental and physical. I had a strong libido, and never had any mental health issues. As I write this, I am in the middle of my second year of pure hell. I have a penis that no longer has sensation, and while I can get erections sometimes, I have no desire for sex. I only masturbate now once a week - on a good week - and have no real desire to date anymore. I occasionally try to go out - but it always ends up frustrating me because that familiar tingle I used get, that sexual energy coursing through my body - is no longer there - so I will kiss the girl on the cheek and say goodnight. As harsh as it may sound - I don't think its far from the truth - PFS is essentially chemical castration. Read about Depo Provera - the drug they give pedophiles to castrate them - and the side effects are very similar. The only thing - Depo Provera side effects go away when you stop taking it. Ironic.....
Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is reach down and touch my genitals. I keep thinking that this is all a bad dream, and maybe THIS is the morning I will wake up and everything will go back to normal. I've contemplated suicide, and despite a great career, wonderful family and supportive friends, I'm afraid someday I might actually follow through with it. PFS has to be one of the cruelest fates that can be bestowed upon a young man - yet that is exactly the market for this poison. At some point a critical mass will be reached, so many young men will be made sick that all the Trolls in the world won't be able to silence their suffering, and when that day comes, I hope justice will be served to the company that knowingly sold a medicine that causes permanent damage in some men, and they sold that drug without warnings of such permanent damage. My hope is that at least one man will read this and not make the same tragic mistake I made years ago. This drug is like playing Russian Roulette with your health - is that a risk you want to take for hair?

I don't recall that I would respond by these words. But it may have been my weak moment, because I am already annoyed by all those hysterical posts. I am sorry.

But go figure - even if all these "side effects" were true, they sound absolutely ridiculous to me. I would sacrifice everything, only to avoid the devastating fate - to look like a circus clown with a horseshoe of hairs around my head. If finasteride works for you, then stick with it and be glad that you don't have to follow the destiny of many millions of men before.

By the way, I jumped on dutasteride 5 weeks ago and the only change that I have observed so far was an increase in libido.

[WarLord]

Actually WarLord most of our symptoms can be proven - but why would we need to? We are just men telling our story - and we know what's changed and we just want to warn other men. You don't have to listen to us - but you've been warned.
And besides - many things are difficult to prove - it doesn't make them untrue. Prove you love your dog. Or even better, prove you have a brain.

You don't need to prove anything. I don't take anything that is presented here seriously. The posts simply became too ridiculous.

[jorbie]

Actually WarLord most of our symptoms can be proven - but why would we need to? We are just men telling our story - and we know what's changed and we just want to warn other men. You don't have to listen to us - but you've been warned.
And besides - many things are difficult to prove - it doesn't make them untrue. Prove you love your dog. Or even better, prove you have a brain.