Afraid of Propecia

[norc]

Hi. I am 31 years old suffering from MPB and thinning on the right temple side. I consulted one doctor and prescribed me Propecia.

After doing lots of research, I came across "http://mypropeciasideeffects.com/". This scares me a lot.. I've been really reading bout the side effects. And still can't decide if I am going into this pill. I am currently still searching on other uses of DHT in our body that might get affected as an effect of the pill. According to some doctors, DHT is being used by our brain, nervous and endorcrine system....

any comments guys....

I really want to solve my hairloss problem...but I am facing this decision problem....


thanks

[ohlife]

Personally, I wouldn't take it. I tried.. 6 months in to it, my hair was as bad as ever and i developed Gyno which still hasn't gone away, a month after discontinuing propecia. I think whilst bad side effects of Propecia constitute the minority, theres a very good chance that propecia will alter your body and its way of functioning in SOME way. the fact that it can lower DHT, which in turn fails to control estrogen levels, which in turn leads to adverse and permanent side effects; all of that makes you wonder whether its worth taking propecia.

[norc]

Personally, I wouldn't take it. I tried.. 6 months in to it, my hair was as bad as ever and i developed Gyno which still hasn't gone away, a month after discontinuing propecia. I think whilst bad side effects of Propecia constitute the minority, theres a very good chance that propecia will alter your body and its way of functioning in SOME way. the fact that it can lower DHT, which in turn fails to control estrogen levels, which in turn leads to adverse and permanent side effects; all of that makes you wonder whether its worth taking propecia.

Hi ohlife. How many milligrams if Fin did you take and how often?

[ohlife]

1mg every day.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you, it is to consider the following:

Whether or not you start taking Propecia will largely be determined by how willing you are to take the risk against getting side effects. However, don't make the decision under the assumption that, if side effects do occur, you can simply stop the drug and they'll go away - in many cases they don't. Gyno, for example, is extremely hard to get rid of without surgery once it occurs - and that's what im now facing, on top of the hair loss issue.

For all that people say about finasteride being 'low-risk', I think you have to concede that it is a powerful drug in that it alters your body's chemistry - you just have to hope it doesn't do so in a way that is damaging.

Also, judge realistically how bad your hair loss is, whilst keeping in mind the prospect of new technology and improved treatment in the coming years.

[Boldieheed]

I stay confused has how many highlly doctors recomend it knowing the potential side effects on in, some say it only affects some percent of the people

[norc]

1mg every day.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you, it is to consider the following:

Whether or not you start taking Propecia will largely be determined by how willing you are to take the risk against getting side effects. However, don't make the decision under the assumption that, if side effects do occur, you can simply stop the drug and they'll go away - in many cases they don't. Gyno, for example, is extremely hard to get rid of without surgery once it occurs - and that's what im now facing, on top of the hair loss issue.

For all that people say about finasteride being 'low-risk', I think you have to concede that it is a powerful drug in that it alters your body's chemistry - you just have to hope it doesn't do so in a way that is damaging.

Also, judge realistically how bad your hair loss is, whilst keeping in mind the prospect of new technology and improved treatment in the coming years.

oh..sorry for your case...this scared me a lot now....as boldie mentioned, I am confused why doctors keep prescribing this..and as they say, different persons react to this medicine. so why not try according to them..

Was the cause confirmed by your physician already?

[ryan555]

There is a very small but extremely vocal group of guys who have had serious issues with the drug and who have taken to the Internet to demonize it. The vast majority of men have no issues at all, while a sizeable minority have minor issues that are quite tolerable. I can tell you from my own experience taking the drug for 12 years that I kept a full head of hair with very minimal side effects. Once I stopped it 7 months ago, I did notice some minor increases in erection quality that had slowly crept up on me over the years, but all my hormones went back to normal within 2 weeks (I had them tested to make sure). I had no decrease in sex drive or ability to perform and I would have never noticed the slight decrease in erection had I stayed on the drug because it was too minor to be recognized as a "side effect." On the other hand, I could have avoided this almost undetectable side effect at the expense of spending my 20's obsessing about hair loss.

Anecdotally, I can also say that I have 4 friends (that I know of) who have taken the drug long term without side effects and all of them have maintained their hair. I have also spoken to numerous doctors (several on this board) who have prescribed finasteride to probably tens of thousands of patients over the years and they all say the exact same thing - about 1% of patients report issues and they always go away after stopping the drug. I'm sure there are more men that have very minor issues but that's the nature of medication - they have side effects. Like I have pointed out before, way more than half of women who take birth control pills have noticeable side effects including decreased sex drive and sensitivity, and you never find them freaking out about it online.

On a side note, in the 12 years I was on the drug, it never even occurred to me that this drug had side effects and I never noticed any difference in my physiology. But when I decided to stop the drug I went online to research and found propeciahelp.com and all the others. All of a sudden, I started having anxiety and even decreased erections. I'm not trying to take anything away from the guys who have actually suffered from side effects, but the mind probably plays a huge role in all this.

[norc]

hi ryan...thanks for this info..

keep the inputs/suggestions/stories coming guys.....I need them badly...


thanks

[skotya]

There is a very small but extremely vocal group of guys who have had serious issues with the drug and who have taken to the Internet to demonize it. The vast majority of men have no issues at all, while a sizeable minority have minor issues that are quite tolerable. I can tell you from my own experience taking the drug for 12 years that I kept a full head of hair with very minimal side effects. Once I stopped it 7 months ago, I did notice some minor increases in erection quality that had slowly crept up on me over the years, but all my hormones went back to normal within 2 weeks (I had them tested to make sure). I had no decrease in sex drive or ability to perform and I would have never noticed the slight decrease in erection had I stayed on the drug because it was too minor to be recognized as a "side effect." On the other hand, I could have avoided this almost undetectable side effect at the expense of spending my 20's obsessing about hair loss.

Anecdotally, I can also say that I have 4 friends (that I know of) who have taken the drug long term without side effects and all of them have maintained their hair. I have also spoken to numerous doctors (several on this board) who have prescribed finasteride to probably tens of thousands of patients over the years and they all say the exact same thing - about 1% of patients report issues and they always go away after stopping the drug. I'm sure there are more men that have very minor issues but that's the nature of medication - they have side effects. Like I have pointed out before, way more than half of women who take birth control pills have noticeable side effects including decreased sex drive and sensitivity, and you never find them freaking out about it online.

On a side note, in the 12 years I was on the drug, it never even occurred to me that this drug had side effects and I never noticed any difference in my physiology. But when I decided to stop the drug I went online to research and found propeciahelp.com and all the others. All of a sudden, I started having anxiety and even decreased erections. I'm not trying to take anything away from the guys who have actually suffered from side effects, but the mind probably plays a huge role in all this.

ryan

you haven't mentioned why you had to stop Propecia ?

[ryan555]

ryan

you haven't mentioned why you had to stop Propecia ?

I have an illness that is completely unrelated to Propecia. I was ordered by my doctors to stop all medications, even allergy medicine.