I didn't intend to make another post on this subject, but I recently got a private message from a poster who reminded me that this forum has been rather uncritical of finasteride and its various trade names. It's true: by and large, people here seem to repeat the company line, to wit, that the incidence of sexual dysfunction is very low and that any dysfunction will always abate quickly upon discontinuing the drug. In short, they believe the drug companies.

But an ever-increasing amount of evidence suggests that the sexual side effects of this drug are likely greater than admitted and that the resulting dysfunction is often chronic or even permanent. I know that speculation about the safety of finasteride has been around for a while, but there have been two noteworthy changes in recent months. First, the number of reports is growing apace. Second, the stories are now being published by first-rate media outlets including Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, CBS, msnbc, etc.

Go to google news, type in "propecia" or "finasteride." See what you get. It's not a pretty picture. Of course, I reserve the possibility that this could all be much ado about little, but given the increasing number and quality of these reports, I tend to think not. In fact, I think that we could very well be on the precipice of learning some very disturbing truths about the drug. But in any event, I think people should be aware of these reports when deciding whether to take it. The idea that this is a low-risk medication might not be exactly true.

Propecia for Treating Hair Loss: Is it Worth the Risk?

Today i had exactly the same convertation with 3 other HT greek patients . They told me that they are willing to quit for side effects.all of them. I do not have side effects like them but lately there is tendency for the announced 5% sexual side effects from propecia to be revealed to be a big inaccuracy.

according to this http://www.propeciasideeffects.com/ the side effects are NOT reversable which is a completely opposite from what we knew untill know.

BREAKING NEWS: New Prescription Information for Propecia released in Europe - Permanent Erectile Dysfunction now official.

BREAKING NEWS: New Prescription Information for Propecia released in Europe, persistent erectile dysfunction now OFFICIAL • PROPECIAHELP: Unresolved Finasteride Propecia Proscar side effects info & discussion forum

Hmm, I'm a bit confused here and maybe someone can help clarify:

1. Tsakalos, the first link you posted is to another hair restoration forum where the original article about PROPECIA causing permanent side effects is hosted. However, when I clicked on the article (which took me to a Swedish page), it gave me a 404 error and I couldn't find the information.

2. The only conclusive piece of information in that thread was a PDF that explained Dr. Reddy's 1 mg finasteride tablets would now have a 'permanent' warning on them in the UK, but I didn't see any mention of Propecia. Granted, I know that the active ingredient is identical and in a comparable concentration, but I'm wondering why one and not the other?

3. Dr. Rassman posted the following regarding this new information on his blog today:

This is new to me. We always try to follow publications, but remember that just because an article is published does not mean it is FACT and everyone needs to understand how the results were compiled. This was a paper based only on interviews of 71 men with sexual side effects only. I’m unsure about what lengths they went to find any underlying health issues or even conducting physical exams.

If this is true, then those men who develop sexual side effects will have a difficult decision. This has not been my experience in using and prescribing this drug for over 14 years. We have to make our decisions not just based on what we read, but also the methods of how the conclusions were based

He also included a link to the actual study (which references the new Swedish and UK regulations): Persistent Sexual Side Effects of Finasteride for Male Pattern Hair Loss - Irwig - 2011 - The Journal of Sexual Medicine - Wiley Online Library

So, from this point I have a few questions:

1. Is the product still approved by the FDA under the original assessment that side effects include reversible sexual dysfunction in other areas like the U.S.?

2. Why does this study base it's conclusions upon talking to 71 individuals (a very small "n") who have already admitted that they are suffering sexual side effects? I don't understand why they wouldn't survey a much larger population of individuals taking the medication and determine, from there, how many were suffering sexual side effects, and how many had persisted 3 months after stopping the medication?

I hope this doesn't label me as someone "uncritical" of finasteride, because obviously I think these types of discussions and studies are important and that patient safety should always be the number 1 priority with regard to any medical treatment. However, I simply don't want to condemn something that's helped a lot of individuals based off anecdotal opinions or a biased study (if this is the case). Any clarification is welcomed.

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All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

I hope everyone understands that my concern does not arise solely out of the George Washington study discussed above. That's the latest piece of news, yes, but I began reading google news articles about the pervasiveness and permanency of sexual side effects long before the GW study became news.

Moreover, the fact that they're apparently now relabeling the product to include permanent erectile dysfunction as a side effect is very, very damning. Why? Because they certainly didn't add the warning solely on the basis of the GW information. They had to have had--or obtained--their own data showing the same thing or worse. And it's all made that much worse because they had previously trumpeted the reversibility of side effects as an enormous selling point. The alleged reversibility of side effects was set up to act as the safety net that would allay fears. After all, they told people that if they somehow wound up in the supposed "two percent" who experience side effects, all they had to do was stop using the product, and they'd be fine. But now, several years later, they're saying, "Oh, by the way, remember the reversible side effects? Well, they're not always reversible."

The point is that the drug companies either didn't know the full extent of side effects or made efforts to obscure them. In either event, we need to acknowledge that the drug, although useful for some, carries with it a larger-than-advertised risk of serious and permanent health problems.

Exactly. Manhood over hair anytime. I not gonna take that risk. I will do all i can to restore my hair but to risk my libido, no. period.

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View my hair loss website. Surgery done by Doc Pathomvanich from Bangkok http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=1730

I am on it, I had a bit of an issue a month or 2 after I started taking but it could have been in my head. After 7 months on it, all is well. In fact, better. I last longer but it's still like it should be.

I attribute that to aging like a fine wine and not to the fin tho.

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"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." -Eleanore Roosevelt

actually is not a hair restoration forum. it is a forum against propecia which is alarming to say at least. why whould people who stop propecia and still have side effects to create a forum just for that ??



I just saw that there are also sites that endorse massive lawsuits against Merck Propecia, Proscar, Finasteride class action lawsuits. Register for Canada, USA & International litigation

Many people have build their hair transplant plan in conjuction with the safe use of propecia, Reading such info on a period that HM or other future treatments have been just science fiction theries and nothing more its scary

Many men considering taking Propecia (finasteride) for hair loss are concerned about the potential of sexual side effects they may experience by taking the drug. The possibility of long term or even permanent side effects indeed sounds scary.

This community encourages the truth no matter what it is. Thus, if proof exists that finasteride causes long term or permanent side effects, this community would like to know about it. However, I would hardly consider interviews with 71 men taking Propecia who already have sexual side effects to be highly scientific. But while it's far from the proof that medical doctors and potential consumers would like, perhaps it will encourage researchers to conduct actual scientific methods on the drug in revealing whether or not Propecia (finasteride) comes with any long term sexual side effects.

The only thing that we know for sure about the above study is that all of the 71 men were taking Propecia and also had sexual problems. Unfortunatley, there's no scientific evidence suggesting the two are linked and the study is very limited in scope.

I do hope however, that researchers will conduct real scientific studies which will provide real proof one way or another whether or not Propecia (finasteride) causes long term or even permanent side effects.

Best wishes,

Bill

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To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

Bill,

Dr. Rassman commented on this yesterday as well on his blog. Personally, I have been on Propecia (Finesteride) since 1998 with no problems at all.