If finasteride is so safe, what scientific tests can a person do to check it's affect

[salvation]

I'm getting tired of pro finasteride users hating on users that experience side effects and saying "only 1% of people get sides"

That's great, but if finasteride is scientifically proven to work and only have a small percentage of side effects, then what scientific test can one do to check if it's working positively or negatively?

• Will getting your DHT levels tested show if finasteride is causing your decreased libido and lack of erections? How and why?

• Will getting any other blood work or tests show that your side effects are in fact from finasteride?

Personally, I've lost all my libido and ability to get erections, and some people will say "it's all in your head bro" well then tell me, how can I prove it's not from finasteride?

Please, share the science behind the side effects and how one can scientifically prove the sides are caused by or not caused by finasteride.

If finasteride is chemically stopping hair loss, it also means it's affecting your bodys chemistry, the drug is doing things to your system.

Bottom line, is there a calculated way to test this? I want answers.

[orielonline]

You can seek out universities that have done such research, or even contact the FDA - but doing so might be more trouble than its worth. If you can't handle the side effects, stop taking it. If you want to know what the benefits could be, commit to using for 6 months and go from there.

I have some mild side effects but I don't care - I want my hair back.

[Aonyx262]

you may care someday when you want every bit of that sex drive you can have

I fear that, without hair, every bit of my sex drive may end up in a sock.

[Aonyx262]

There's no easy way to compare a quantifiable value like DHT level to a subjective trait, like libido in one individual. It'd be nearly impossible to do this. That's just how placebo effects can work.

If you wanted to compare DHT levels and # of erections per week/subjective libido scale in a large population size irrespective of finasteride treatment, that may be better, although it would still only give you correlation (if it existed) and not causation. This is more or less what the reports of side effects are by MERCK, but specific to Finasteride treatment without DHT level correllation. Also, since DHT has very little at all to do with the process of erection, you probably wouldn't find much of a correlation. After puberty, DHT mostly just has the wonderful effect of head hair loss, prostate hyperplasia, and body hair growth.

Erection is primarily a function of the parasympathetic nervous system (the "rest and digest", or "feed and breed" part of autonomics), hence why when someone is pretty nervous or anxious(maybe about finasteride treatment), they may have difficulty getting an erection. Of course there are other factors involved with inhibiting 5AR, like the potential to feedback inhibit GnRH or increased levels of estrogens by excess testosterone accumulation, so you could measure these too I suppose, but in YOUR specific case, its not possible to determine YOUR specific cause for your symptoms. Even if you withdraw Finasteride treatment, and all of a sudden you had erections again, that does not mean that Finasteride as a drug was the physiologic reason for your side effects.

And of course, humans aren't machines, and we all respond differently to interruptions in our homeostasis. I havent had any side effects whatsoever as far as I can tell.

[pagedo]

I fear that, without hair, every bit of my sex drive may end up in a sock.

Win. Kek