There are a number of studies that show the side effects are pretty low. IIRC, there was a Duke study and a Japanese study.
Anyways, I took finasteride on a whim by the suggestion of a friend of mine who is a bodybuilder. Only thing I read about it prior to taking it was that there was a 4% chance of getting sexual side effects (judging from the forums it appears to be much higher than that). That was it. Started taking .5mg everyday with my fish oil and multivitamin. Never gave it another thought and didn't discover hairloss forums until over a year later. My hairloss wasn't too bad, but it was noticeable. I have shaggy hair and I was visibly thinning on the crown. Finasteride stopped my hairloss and about 8 months or so in I noticed my crown started to fill in and my hair felt thicker overall (it's always been kind of wispy, even when I was young). I'm one of the lucky ones who hasn't experienced side effects I guess. I think a big part of that was because I didn't get freaked out by reading propeciahelp or some similar forum. Not saying that side effects are all in people's heads. It's obvious there are people experiencing serious sexual side effects and I feel for them. I had the same thing happen to me when I took lexapro for anxiety years ago. However, I don't think it's fair to scare someone into not giving finasteride a shot. It's helped me (along with Nizoral) tremendously and if I would of discovered propeciahelp back then it probably would of scared me into not taking it and my hairloss would have progressed significantly.
01-16-2013 03:56 PM
chrisis
akai, the problem is you don't know if you'll be affected by sides unless you take the drug.
It isn't scare mongering for men to come forward and offer their experiences to others considering the drug, because the truth is this is a game of Russian Roulette.
Obviously I wish I'd never taken it. If I'd had a positive experience, I may be posting in defence of this drug right now. Shouldn't we therefore conclude that nobody really knows how safe the drug is? Not even Merck, because they've already revised their labels once, while sales decline and litigation against them is up.
Let people decide for themselves. For every 10 people promoting how Propecia saved their hair and those suffering sides are scaremongers, let 1 man come forward and represent the very real risk involved without so much harassment and denial on these forums.
01-16-2013 04:26 PM
Cr779
I agree with Chrisis, you say its not fare to scare people into not giving it a shot, I say its not fair to lie to them and tell them its 100% safe. Some posters on this forum even say things like "If you don't take Propecia you'll be bald and ugly forever" which is pushing people towards the drug, the same thing as the fear mongering they claim. There's so many treatments around the corner that propecia might not be the only option soon enough.
01-16-2013 06:24 PM
akai
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cr779
I agree with Chrisis, you say its not fare to scare people into not giving it a shot, I say its not fair to lie to them and tell them its 100% safe. Some posters on this forum even say things like "If you don't take Propecia you'll be bald and ugly forever" which is pushing people towards the drug, the same thing as the fear mongering they claim. There's so many treatments around the corner that propecia might not be the only option soon enough.
Just to be clear, I totally agree with you and Chrisis. I'm glad they're people out there sharing their stories and experiences either good or bad. I was referring to the propeciahelp type people who say things like their dick shrank 3 inches or finasteride turned them bisexual after using it for a week. The few times I skimmed that board I actually read someone warning people to stay away from nizoral because it gave them impotence. That's what I would consider scaremongering. Either side of the extreme (scaremongerers or sunshine pumpers in denial) aren't good for the forum. Hopefully a new treatment will be available without so much risk in the near future.
01-17-2013 04:22 PM
Inspired to achieve
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisis
akai, the problem is you don't know if you'll be affected by sides unless you take the drug.
It isn't scare mongering for men to come forward and offer their experiences to others considering the drug, because the truth is this is a game of Russian Roulette.
Obviously I wish I'd never taken it. If I'd had a positive experience, I may be posting in defence of this drug right now. Shouldn't we therefore conclude that nobody really knows how safe the drug is? Not even Merck, because they've already revised their labels once, while sales decline and litigation against them is up.
Let people decide for themselves. For every 10 people promoting how Propecia saved their hair and those suffering sides are scaremongers, let 1 man come forward and represent the very real risk involved without so much harassment and denial on these forums.
Dude you're such a buzz kill.
You just ruined my day - thanks a lot. I was looking forward to reading this post (He clearly stated that people with a negative take on Fin should start their own thread) so what does Chris do? He replies with negative comments & links - has Fin ruined you're social skills as well?
Dude in the future let the men who have benefited from this drug speak.
01-17-2013 04:29 PM
chrisis
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inspired to achieve
You just ruined my day - thanks a lot.
I'm deeply sorry that speaking up to help men avoid a life time of suffering inconvenienced your day.
