yesplease

I was not saying that testicular and genital pain was very common in ALL USERS of fin. Rather, of those that do report sides, it seems to be one that is commonly reported. Even many who otherwise do well with fin and stay on it seem to report testicular pain/aching, albeit sometimes temporarily. When I was on fin (which, in total, was a longer period of time than you have taken it thus far), I persistently experienced this symptom to varying degrees of intensity. And as an aside, I most definitely wouldn’t call a 10% incidence of any symptom or outcome anywhere near “rare”. Nor would anyone who is savvy with analyzing data and scientific/medical literature. Finally, your experience with it thus far is just that. Your experience. Not everyone’s physiology and pharmacogenetics are the same. Truly glad it’s working well for you, but your system’s ability to tolerate it is irrelevant to how others may respond to it, and does not preclude the occurrence of significant, drug induced side effects in others.

Thanks for sharing. any chance you have a thread or some pics to share? Sounds like you’ve had quite the hair restoration journey.

Testicular pain/ache is a very common side effect from fin. And definitely one that, to me, is difficult to ascribe to a psychosomatic etiology. IMO, testicular/genital pain and a true loss of nocturnal erections (morning wood) are clear, undeniable signs that it is impacting your sexual health.

Looking good any shots of the scar?

Nice. So you had been using the topical, stopped that and then started the oral?

Any chance you documented the results? Glad to hear it’s working well for you.

Even with two pumps, it seems like it would be difficult to cover larger areas of scalp for people with higher Norwood patterns, or for those wanting to just be aggressive about prevention and avoiding miniaturization in susceptible areas.

Did Hasson accept your request for FUT?

Was there a thread/update regarding your 3rd procedure? would be interesting to see your latest results and hear your final thoughts on the journey.

I don’t need to belabor our discussion. It is difficult to have a conversation with you about this because you’re clearly not understanding what I’m saying and have your mind made up. Obviously I know what placebo and nocebo mean, and have read 100x more peer reviewed medical publications than any non-medical professional. But thank you for the primer on study design. Obviously I know that the brain and psychology are involved in sexual function. Obviously I know that any given person or patient can “imagine” symptoms or misinterpret body signals as symptoms of a disease. What I am saying, and what you aren’t grasping, is that just because certain lab markers are OK, or certain literature reviews or studies can’t determine the cause of the pathology, does not mean that everything is fine physically. It can also mean that the medical community doesn’t yet fully understand a medical condition. We understand your stance, that sexual side effects and persistent negative health impacts of finasteride are all “in the head” of these patients. You are entitled to your opinion, but I choose to be more open minded and nuanced when looking at this type of discussion. As a physician, I strive to look at complexity with balance, not with my mind made up already (“there just can’t be anything wrong with these people physically!”). And, no, there aren’t any “studies” that “prove” PFS doesn’t exist or has no physical component. Or at least not to anyone with a more sophisticated understanding of medical literature and the human body. This will be my last reply to your posts, as it’s clear you have your mind made up. I’m merely hoping to encourage more open thought and caution with readers so that they can weigh things carefully when considering using this medication.

Once again you are conjecturing based on your personal opinion. As I tried to state in my post, just because we don’t understand a particular condition (in this case, PFS or finasteride indices sexual dysfunction) doesn’t mean that it does not exist or cannot cause persistent or lasting consequences. Just because the standard tests (hormonal markers) don’t show abnormalities, doesn’t mean that there is no pathology with a condition that we don’t understand. I am actually a physician, and you would be shocked at the number of pathophysiologic processes and even medications that we have merely a rudimentary understanding of. Sexual function is no doubt heavily impacted by a number of factors, psychology included. No one is arguing that point. But it is multi-factorial, and that does not mean psychology plays a larger role than physiology, endocrinology, vascular health, etc. It’s just one part of the equation. And did cases of sexual dysfunction only appear many years later with the advent of Internet forums? Or did digital communication just provide the platform to share information and more readily bring these patients’ issues to the foreground? 🤔

Agree. Hence we need more studies and data. To be clear, the Xyon product has been examined in exactly zero studies. Not to say that it isn’t effective or doesn’t minimize systemic uptake. But currently there is no impartial evidence to confirm this. Correct me of I’m wrong, as I may have missed it.

Not necessarily true. It depends on which study you read. There are a few (Caserini et al) that demonstrate essentially identical serum DHT reduction (~70%) with both oral and topical fin. Enough to make me believe that we need more studies and evidence, both in terms of dose-ranging for efficacy and systemic effects.

I am sorry for what you went through in the past. But saying that symptoms of PFS are purely psychological and not physical is simply conjecture on your part. Not a fact. And not every diagnosis or symptom can be linked to a particular hormonal level in the blood. The human endocrine system is incredibly complex and involves many cellular pathways and receptors that cannot necessarily be monitored with a simple lab study.

I wish we knew this to be the case. However there is evidence that topical fin decreases blood levels of DHT to a similar extent as systemic (oral) fin does. This does not reassure me that topicals are necessarily safer.

Congrats! I was just curious, no calling you out on my end.

Have you tried topical, Melvin? Or any intention to?

Why would you deploy this strategy? To avoid prolonged systemic exposure?

Any updates? Thanks

Looks amazing! Must be a great feeling. Did you have any loss in your crown before you started medications? Any before and after pictures of improvement there? Also, would be interesting to see any photos you have of the incision/scar throughout the process. Congrats again, enjoy it.

I suspect that the increase in cost is beyond commensurate with the increase in labor for FUE harvesting

I believe one strong factor is that FUE is more profitable for the physician than FUT.

Ahh ok Well, if he can’t afford konior, he likely can’t afford Wong, either.

Konior?

Wong, yes Hasson will no longer perform FUT procedures, even when indicated. Or that’s what I was told by their clinic, anyway.