23 Year Old Terrified to use Proscar (Finasteride)

[VictimOfDHT]

around 13 years on Fin, 1 1/2 on Dut with 0 (zero) side effects. However, they barely do anything for my hair loss. Maybe slowing it down a bit.

How does the saying go ? Believe only half what you see and non of what you hear. Or something like that. There are a group of people who are trying to make Fin look as if it were the worst drug ever, when it is NOT.

[Follicle Death Row]

That's some serious 5AR inhibition Hunter84. Good to hear you're side effect free. I'd agree on the aromatase inhibitor. Maybe blood work every 4 months or so would be a good idea for some I suppose.

[Notbaldyet]

ok, here is what a urologist said to me. i had been in denial like so many others up to this point:

"propecia reverses your testosterone/estrogen ratio and over time will cause damage. basically you're estrogenizing yourself when you take this medicine. people need to be told that before they take the medicine."

then i went to look at the medical literature and found that if you look at all the articles on propecia, there are a few from the late/mid 90s from Merck, which all say that there are minimal to no side effects. then, starting around 1999, there are multiple articles by other independent groups showing the reverse, both in terms of erectile dysfunction, infertility, and both in humans and in animals.

the 2% erectile dysfunction side effect number that Merck initially claimed has NEVER been duplicated. the real numbers are between 15 and 33% in multiple studies since then. the infertility issues that Merck said were non -existent? tons of case reports and animal studies show decreased sperm numbers, dna damage, and structural changes associated with sperm production. drug company lies about data to get drug approved? shocker.

[PatientlyWaiting]

around 13 years on Fin, 1 1/2 on Dut with 0 (zero) side effects. However, they barely do anything for my hair loss. Maybe slowing it down a bit.

How does the saying go ? Believe only half what you see and non of what you hear. Or something like that. There are a group of people who are trying to make Fin look as if it were the worst drug ever, when it is NOT.

You reminded me of this George Bush speech with this post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A

[PropeciaVictim]

the infertility issues that Merck said were non -existent? tons of case reports and animal studies show decreased sperm numbers, dna damage, and structural changes associated with sperm production. shocker.

I don't believe Merck has ever said that Propecia does not cause fertility issues, but rather lied about it via omission. If you look at the actually data from their clinical trials (accessible from the FDA) you will see Propecia users typically have a 50% drop in their sperm count. Of course, this finding was entirely omitted in their product warning labels and they neglect to mention male fertility while on the drug.

[VictimOfDHT]

50% drop in sperm count ! Shit. I was hoping for 100%.

[Havok]

I realize that the negative publicity probably gets a lot more attention than the positive, but has anyone else gone through this situation? What did/do you plan on doing? Any advice is welcomed.

Thanks!

what do you mean by 'has anyone gone through this situation?'

there are a lot of men who suffer from MPB. there are a lot of men who take finasteride fully aware of potential side effect. there are also a lot of men who'd rather go bald than risk potential side effects.

you will lose hair if you're genetically programmed to lose hair. nobody can tell you how aggressive your hair loss will be in the future. there are no proven medication that is as effective as finasteride. and most importantly, you don't even know whether finasteride will prevent or even slow down your hair loss LOL!

bald guy isn't in a position to give finasteride a chance. it's finasteride that is giving the bald guy a chance to keep his hair.

i'm only saying this since i haven't experienced any sides from taking the medication for a year. i'm sure i'll change my tune as soon as i'm experiencing the elusive side effect. but i made the decision to take that risk and it's nobody's fault but my own if anything happens.

no matter how many people you talk to, the potential side effect (if it's even real) won't go away. it's still there. so stop wasting your time and just make the decision. nobody can make that decision for you. nobody can take the blame for you once you make that decision.

[Havok]

50% drop in sperm count ! Shit. I was hoping for 100%.

me too. maybe that's the 'miracle cure' we've all been waiting for. if bald guys can't have kids then we can rid of this genetic defect for good

[VictimOfDHT]

me too. maybe that's the 'miracle cure' we've all been waiting for. if bald guys can't have kids then we can rid of this genetic defect for good

If a man in his right mind stopped for a second and thought about what having children would ultimately lead to, he'd be praying for a drug that would make his sperm count drop to zero.
Fools rush in, where wise men never go.....

But hey, let these guys who are too concerned with their sperm count find out the hard way

[abusername]

I say that you should give it a shot. I feel that i experienced the worst of it (sexual sides a week in) and they are slowly going away. But honestly now that i'm getting over it i'm just happy that i actually did something to try and save my hair.

It also taught me that hair is really nothing in the grand scheme of things and that my hair is really just a small part of what makes me so awesome :-D