Before & After 1 year - Finasteride (generic propecia)

[Arian]

Okay...

I started taking Finasteride in early 2011....I took that for a year. These are the side effects I noticed.

-enlarged breast tissue (gynecomastia), hate it!

-Low libido, having issues with staying "hard" and the worse one, not feeling the same amount of pleasure when ejaculating.

-I also noticed body changes like, a little weight gain, and a hard time losing weight but that might just be age, not sure.

Now, I am not sure if Finasteride lowers your testosterone levels, but it does feel like that. I did not notice that much of a difference, only faster hair growth but even when taking it I was still losing hair, so I am not sure if I should continue the treatment or not. What do you guys think? Do you guys think the generic brand of propecia (Finasteride) is less effective than Propecia? and is there alternatives?... besides the surgical ones of course.

I did not use Minoxidil even though it was recommended along with the Finasteride treatment. I stopped taking Finasteride for about two months now...I know you will lose the improvements if you stop taking it. I just don't know what to do at this point because of the side effects. Even though I know...the weight and sexual issues will not go away, I feel they're permanent.

The two first pictures are from March 2011, the other two are current.

Thanks!

[thatkidd]

Your hair seems to be a bit longer in the newer ones so its a little hard to tell how much it has helped, but i think it has some. It is hard for me to say.

I feel propecia has not given me any side effects..but in 5 years when something better comes out maybe I will feel so much different when i get off Propecia and realize all along it was messing me up. But I didn't have the sexual sides you do.

NOW I started adding some Avodart and within one month of 2X weekly grew awesome puffy fat nipples. Can still get rock hard and ejaculate a lot of fluid (the more common side effects) so Its like all the side effects went to my tits. Terrible.

I think Minox would help you...if you stayed on propecia, added minox, and used topik i could see it looks a lot better.

I don't think generic is going to be any different than name brand. I switched to propecia cuz a doctor wanted me to...load of crap though I am going to get back on fin I believe.

If you really experience what you consider to be bad sides, and say you're still losing your hair, then it isn't worth taking.

[Follicle Death Row]

Looks like the fin is working for the hair. Shame that it does seem to have some sides for some people. I'm not a propecia hater but I can attest to the whole puffy nipple gyno thing. Didn't notice the other effects though I have to say. That's why I chucked it because I was getting that straight off the bat. Was your nipple kind of tender too? Thankfully I'm fine now. I don't think you need to worry about lasting effects if you decide to give up.

[baldesswonder]

Good pictures. This is where I buy the generic without a prescription http://your-excellent-tablets.com/ and I had good results too.

[Artista]

Hi Arian. Those photos DO show an obvious IMPROVEMENT to your hair !! Sorry you have experienced sides

[stilltrying]

Regardless of hair length, it's quite obvious that there's a good improvement. I'm sorry about the sexual sides though. But why do you believe they're permanent? Remember that the psychological factor in obtaining an erection is very important. If you keep thinking about how you're not able to get it up, then you won't get it up. When I was not on any medicine at all I actually had this problem, although my mind was a bit disturbed about my receding hairline instead.

If the medicine caused those side effects in you then I would discontinue use if I were in your place. Obviously your body can't tolerate it then. Do realise though that you will then continue going bald; so you might want to consider other medicines. Another option that a few have had success with is switching to a lower dose, but not much research has been done on that.

[verver]

finasteride can't give you weight gain, i'm curious to see where did you find that reduced DHT increase weight ?

[greatjob!]

finasteride can't give you weight gain, i'm curious to see where did you find that reduced DHT increase weight ?

It's not a decrease in DHT that will necessarily cause weight gain, it's an increase in estrogen levels as a result of increased testosterone levels because it is not being converted into DHT. Up-regulation of estrogen can cause an increase in belly fat and breast tissue. It's analogous to testosterone therapy, you have to use estrogen suppressors or your body will increase estrogen production as a result of increased testosterone levels which will result in the same side effects.

[verver]

It's not a decrease in DHT that will necessarily cause weight gain, it's an increase in estrogen levels as a result of increased testosterone levels because it is not being converted into DHT. Up-regulation of estrogen can cause an increase in belly fat and breast tissue. It's analogous to testosterone therapy, you have to use estrogen suppressors or your body will increase estrogen production as a result of increased testosterone levels which will result in the same side effects.

it's highly unlikely that the low increase in estrogen resulting from lowerer level of DHT is responsible of weight gain
in TRT the level of estrogen is much more higher to the point where it can cause gynecomastia, water retention, loss of sex drive...
if estrogen level were high when on finasteride you would atleast experience one of these side effects before weight gain IMO

[greatjob!]

it's highly unlikely that the low increase in estrogen resulting from lowerer level of DHT is responsible of weight gain
in TRT the level of estrogen is much more higher to the point where it can cause gynecomastia, water retention, loss of sex drive...
if estrogen level were high when on finasteride you would atleast experience one of these side effects before weight gain IMO

Not only does fin cause testosterone to increase to a degree, which will result in an up regulation of estrogen, but DHT is also an estrogen antagonist. It inhibits estrogen production in three ways: First, DHT directly inhibits estrogens activity on tissues by acting as a competitive antagonist to the estrogen receptor or by decreasing estrogen-induced RNA transcription.

Second, DHT and its metabolites block the production of estrogens from androgens by inhibiting the activity of the aromatase enzyme.

Lastly, DHT acts on the hypothalamus/pituitary to decrease the secretion of gonadotropins which decreases the production of the raw materials for estrogen production testosterone and androstenedione.

All of this will result in increased estrogen levels, which will result in various degrees of side effects or none at all depending on the persons sensitivity to these changes.

[verver]

Not only does fin cause testosterone to increase to a degree, which will result in an up regulation of estrogen, but DHT is also an estrogen antagonist. It inhibits estrogen production in three ways: First, DHT directly inhibits estrogens activity on tissues by acting as a competitive antagonist to the estrogen receptor or by decreasing estrogen-induced RNA transcription.

Second, DHT and its metabolites block the production of estrogens from androgens by inhibiting the activity of the aromatase enzyme.

Lastly, DHT acts on the hypothalamus/pituitary to decrease the secretion of gonadotropins which decreases the production of the raw materials for estrogen production testosterone and androstenedione.

All of this will result in increased estrogen levels, which will result in various degrees of side effects or none at all depending on the persons sensitivity to these changes.

i know all of this and you missed the point of my post bro, to make it simple it's unlikely that the VERY moderate increase in estrogen will cause weight gain

[greatjob!]

i know all of this and you missed the point of my post bro, to make it simple it's unlikely that the VERY moderate increase in estrogen will cause weight gain

If you know all of that then you would not make the statement you just made .
The increase in estrogen can and does cause weight gain and gyno, that's why it is a noted side effect of fin, bro.

[Blaner]

Has anyone read http://www.hairgrowthcure.com ? they seem to have a lot of convincing pictures.

[Artista]

I didnt see any pictures on that website, www.hairgrowthcure.com Blaner.

All there was, was that guy advertising his 'product' for $37.95 without an explanation as to what the treatment would be.

[Baldcured]

I see no difference , only the longer hair that little bit more covering his bald head.