+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Junior Member Sara Wasserbauer, MD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Walnut Creek, CA
    Posts
    18

    Default Propecia and Side Effects: New Data

    I got an email from one of my patients today (who has never experienced a sexual side effect from taking Propecia) with concerns about the following article http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MensHea...3152993&page=3

    "What is your take on this, Doc?" he asked me in an email he titled, "Propecia Side Effects - not a myth."

    I replied to him that sexual side effect among those taking Propecia has never been a myth. It is an actual, scientifically documented, and quantified fact and these numbers sound about right. Less than one percent (71 out of the millions of men taking Propecia?) report a sexual side effect. I think the potential problem with this data (and we will have to evaluate that once it gets published) is the incidence of "permanent side effects." There are a lot of things which cause sexual dysfunction in men and in order to prove causality (i.e. that Propecia MADE it happen), each one of these cases should be controlled for other factors, like drug use, diabetes, smoking, and a host of other medical problems as long as your arm.

    This will always be the problem with trying to tease out what is truth from what is the psychology of sex drive - lots and lots of things in life affect a mans libido. Plus, sensationalist headlines like this do little to encourage rigorous scientific study since the issue gets so emotionally charged.

    So I guess I am saying that you have to weigh the odds for everything you do in life and what is published in this article looks about right for the odds of sexual dysfunction versus keeping your hair from taking Propecia. Further, I will have to read the article to be able to comment on the likelihood of permanent side effects, since that has not been well documented in the past.

    And no, I do not have stock in Merck!

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    156

    Default

    I find it strange that most of the information I have read about permanent side effects after stopping Propecia are just anecdotal. Impotence is a complex issue that in my personal experience can be caused by anxiety, depression and a little too much beer. I’ve been on Propeciia since the late 1990s and have very normal sexual function. Most guys will deny it, but we have all had problems “performing” at one point or another in our lives. Sometimes it’s being nervous the first time you’re with a new girlfriend or something else. When it happens once it can be a source of anxiety for the next time and yes it can happen again. I believe that the very thought of this drug scares people so much that if they do become impotent when on it their anxiety of it happening again, makes it happen again. The mind is so powerful when it comes to sexual function.

    I would like to know how these researchers think they know for sure that these permanent side effects are caused by the drug and not the mind?
    Thank you for bringing this to our attention Dr. Wasserbauer.

    You can read my story here.
    http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=435

  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    31

    Default causality

    the problem with saying that there is an absence of 'causality' is that this is a medication which targets a major male hormone. DHT is known to cause absence of erections in animals in animal studies, and is known to cause degeneration of the corpus cavernosum and changes in the tunica albuginea, the structures responsible for erections, in rats. there is a huge incidence of side effects (much, much more than 1%) in a majority of studies on humans (with the exception of the Merck study). its not like propecia is a drug which is related to some completely unrelated biological pathway -- its a drug that is intimately related to the regulation of male hormones. Merck tried to fool everybody by saying that DHT wasn't important -- it was just some sort of extra "throw-away" hormone which magically only was responsible for making hair fall out. Unfortunately, DHT is critical for male functioning, hence the name - dihydroTESTOSTERONE. to imagine that there is no causality is like imagining that turning off the sun will not cause darkness on earth.

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    92

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sara Wasserbauer, MD View Post
    I got an email from one of my patients today (who has never experienced a sexual side effect from taking Propecia) with concerns about the following article http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MensHea...3152993&page=3

    "What is your take on this, Doc?" he asked me in an email he titled, "Propecia Side Effects - not a myth."

    I replied to him that sexual side effect among those taking Propecia has never been a myth. It is an actual, scientifically documented, and quantified fact and these numbers sound about right. Less than one percent (71 out of the millions of men taking Propecia?) report a sexual side effect. I think the potential problem with this data (and we will have to evaluate that once it gets published) is the incidence of "permanent side effects." There are a lot of things which cause sexual dysfunction in men and in order to prove causality (i.e. that Propecia MADE it happen), each one of these cases should be controlled for other factors, like drug use, diabetes, smoking, and a host of other medical problems as long as your arm.

    This will always be the problem with trying to tease out what is truth from what is the psychology of sex drive - lots and lots of things in life affect a mans libido. Plus, sensationalist headlines like this do little to encourage rigorous scientific study since the issue gets so emotionally charged.

    So I guess I am saying that you have to weigh the odds for everything you do in life and what is published in this article looks about right for the odds of sexual dysfunction versus keeping your hair from taking Propecia. Further, I will have to read the article to be able to comment on the likelihood of permanent side effects, since that has not been well documented in the past.

    And no, I do not have stock in Merck!
    I have a hard time believing that a licensed physician could be so gullible in saying what you are saying, As a doctor, I'm sure you must know how the pharmaceutical drug approval process works. When a company like Merck privately funds their own test trials on a drug, they are also looking for the lowest percentage numbers with regards to side effects of any sort. Tell me how you can't see a conflict of interest in this practice, and how any resulting test numbers might be heavily biased in favour of the company and getting the drug approved, because it's glaringly obvious. I've had two physicians who have given me Propecia prescriptions up here in Canada tell me that Merck's side effects numbers are,and I quote "WAY off".

  5. #5
    Administrator tbtadmin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    996

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by skipstah70 View Post
    I have a hard time believing that a licensed physician could be so gullible in saying what you are saying, As a doctor, I'm sure you must know how the pharmaceutical drug approval process works.
    While all opinions are welcome here, we ask that our users act in a respectful manner when addressing our physician contributors as well as all other posters on this forum.
    Thank you.

  6. #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    13

    Default

    Sexual desire is just as physiological as it is mental. Read articals bout these side affects and let it haunt you thennn the next time you and your partner want to share a little fun, your thoughts are owned by this and look, your a side affects statistic! "You are what you think about." I'm no doctor but I am a student of human physiology with a massive interest in mental health and its affects on human physiology...(excuse any typos and poor grammar, on a droid!)

  7. #7
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    943

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jncogt14 View Post
    Sexual desire is just as physiological as it is mental. Read articals bout these side affects and let it haunt you thennn the next time you and your partner want to share a little fun, your thoughts are owned by this and look, your a side affects statistic! "You are what you think about." I'm no doctor but I am a student of human physiology with a massive interest in mental health and its affects on human physiology...(excuse any typos and poor grammar, on a droid!)
    There is no doubt that sex is practically 100% between the ears and not the legs, so to speak. I believe firmly that these so called permanent side effects are caused by mind over matter. There is no real proof that I have come across that can point to a definitive physical reason for men to have permanent side effects from Propecia. Once the anxiety is triggered your body takes over. Eventually it’s involuntary and it is possible that a man can be impotent for years if the anxiety snowballs.

Similar Threads

  1. Propecia side effects?
    By seraphix in forum Hair Loss Treatments
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 10-24-2015, 01:12 AM
  2. Side effects of PROPECIA!!
    By jon parkes in forum Hair Loss Treatments
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-24-2015, 01:09 AM
  3. Have you had any bad side effects from Propecia?
    By Username1234 in forum Introduce Yourself & Share Your Story
    Replies: 38
    Last Post: 02-03-2013, 01:48 PM
  4. Propecia: Any side effects
    By notsure in forum Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 03-29-2010, 12:52 PM
  5. Propecia and side effects
    By jman2 in forum Hair Loss Treatments
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-24-2009, 09:18 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts

» IAHRS

hair transplant surgeons

» The Bald Truth

» Recent Threads

1800 graft repair case results by Dr. Lindsey
Yesterday 08:38 AM
Last Post By Dr. Lindsey
Yesterday 08:38 AM
Navigating the German Job Market as a Kenyan Citizen
11-04-2023 06:31 AM
Last Post By Keegan212
Yesterday 03:51 AM
DR HAKAN DOGANAY/ 4500 GRAFTS / Implanter Pen+FUE
03-26-2024 04:15 PM
Last Post By Hakan Doganay, MD
03-26-2024 04:15 PM
The Mane Event for Thursday, June 15th, 2023
06-15-2023 02:59 PM
Last Post By gisecit34
03-26-2024 08:05 AM
Sun Exposure after Hair Transplant
02-26-2009 02:36 PM
Last Post By gisecit34
03-25-2024 08:24 PM