Why I highly recommend you don't take finasteride

[Matt Skiba]

Hello, I'm a young boy, just recently turned 20, upon looking at me you would think that I'm totally normal and there's nothing wrong with me. Hell, if you were a young lady you might even be interested in getting to know me a bit better. I am tall, thin, somewhat athletic, and with a degree of hair loss that is barely even noticeable. Upon looking at me you would think of me as someone full of confidence with a thirst for life and a lust with fire in my eyes... wrong.

 

I have unfortunatley fallen victim to the pharmaceutical company. I started noticing that a bit of my hair was going out so I started freaking out. I did some research and found out that finasteride is effective at halting and perhaps regrowing some hair. All I had to do was pay a bit of a monthly fee and take a pill every day. I thought this could be my way of preserving my precious precious social status. So I looked through a forum where a small group of men stated that they got side effects from propecia that did not go away after stopping the drug. Of course this was a few months ago when the forum was newly established and I saw that there was barely anyone on there so I didn't really take much warning from it. I also didn't look in it enough to see that this group was coming from an older yahoo group that had over a thousand members.

 

Alright so everyone on this forum tells me not to worry and I should go ahead and take the drug, whats even worse is that the doctor who prescribed it was not any different.

 

So after only about a week of the drug I start noticing a subtle pain in my nuts... so I think to myself 'dont worry the side effects will go away if I keep taking the drug'. okay a few days later my cock will just not go up. So this is when I stop taking the drug for about a week. Of course vanity can have a strong effect on a person and someone on the forum mentions if I take a reduced dosage every other day that there should be no side effects... wrong. Side effects come back within a short amount of time and this is when I stop taking the shit once and for all.

 

Alright... things yet again return to being normal. So around this time I'm feeling relieved. Things are going pretty good, but eventually, and it did kinda take me a while to figure it out, I started noticing a decay in my sex drive. Around this period I didn't even get with anyone, partly because I was afraid of my worst fears coming true.

 

On top of that I started noticing a kind of a decay in my facial complexion. I had dark bags under my eyes, and my face kinda looked like it was starting to sag and I just looked older and uglier (this is thankfully starting to clear up).

 

One of the worst moments of my life was the night there was a naked girl on me and I couldn't get it up. I can assure you it was not psychological.

 

It has been a rough time for me but I am trying to stay optimistic as I'm still in a timeframe where some guys say they have recovered and my case doesn't seem to be as bad as some of the other guys since my sex drive isn't 100% gone. I think I might need a prescription for Viagra to hold me off until this is permanently cured.

 

I will be getting a full hormone bloodwork done pretty soon so I can get an idea of what exactly has happened to me.

 

I highly doubt that the 2% occurence of side effects is accurate and Merck is not exactly the most reputable pharmacuetical company, if you wanna know what I'm talking about do a google search for Vioxx. I would also not be the least bit surprised to find out that there is more than one Merck employee who frequents these forums.

 

I think that it is only a matter of time before Propecia will be banned or withdrawn and you will start seeing those TV commercials with the 1-800 numbers for some law office saying they will get you your re-imbursements.

 

For me this has been an ugly reminder of how the world is perhaps more than ever run on greed and selfishness. And I might have a hard time not beating the shit out of the next suit wearing corporate cock sucking son of a bitch I see.

 

Well here are some web sites...

 

http://www.propeciahelp.com - A forum full of guys with persisting side effects, some of these guys got it really bad but you can also find a crapload of very specific information on how finasteride can affect you.

 

http://finasteride.jconserv.net/viewtopic.php?t=329&sta...d3791e6a32e56c26d4ae

- Here's a nice few videos that talk about just how fucked up your precious FDA is.

 

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20788&name=PROPECIA

- Here's a page full of people who suffered side effects

 

http://www.propeciasideeffects.com/

 

- Some more info

 

So there you have it, I am hopeful that it will be soon when the day comes (I can sort of feel inside me that I am making progress) that I will be fully recovered and I can forget about this ugly ugly episode of my life. Also remember that theres plenty of bald guys who are perfectly satisfied with how they are and live happy fulfilling lives. Not only that but I think huge advances in the field of hair loss are right around the corner.

[Blond]

Hey Matt,

When you say a change in facial complexion.. in what way? How long were you on finasteride before you noticed this and now that you have stopped the medication...have the face sagging reversed?? How long did it take to reverse?

 

Have you come across anyone else reporting finasteride effects on facial sagging and complexion??

 

Blondie

[NervousNelly]

Matt,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I have been telling guys to be careful because these meds are powerful. Many might not have the side effects but when you do it can be very detrimental and nerve wracking.

 

Don't just go by what others on this site say. just because others didn't have any effects doesn't mean that you won't. Be very careful everyone.

 

Remember, these pharmaceutical companies are profit driven. There sole purpose is to make lots of money. Don't feel that you can rely on the FDA--I can provide you with a list of drugs, etc. the FDA approved and then all kinds of bullshit was found out later.

 

Drugs are a poison to our system. They are risky no matter what anyone tells you. There is a time and place for them. Yes our vanity will sometimes convince ourselves the risk is worth it. Be very cautious.

 

Thanks for your post Matt.

 

NN

[MrJobi]

Sorry to say I have had no side effects..

 

No drugs are good for you but niether is smoking, eating too much , drinking to much or anything else in that regard

[Matt Skiba]

Originally posted by Blondie:

Hey Matt,

When you say a change in facial complexion.. in what way? How long were you on finasteride before you noticed this and now that you have stopped the medication...have the face sagging reversed?? How long did it take to reverse?

 

Have you come across anyone else reporting finasteride effects on facial sagging and complexion??

 

Blondie

 

Believe it or not this actually began happening after I'd been off the drug for a while. I'd say after about 3 weeks it happened, and for a month it stayed like that, and gradually it's been clearing up since then.

 

I read somewhere that 5-alpha reductase does more in the body than convert testosterone to DHT. It also converts progesterone to allopregnenolone and this is what keeps the functioning of the GABA neurotransmitter receptors healthy. I think type 1 5-alpha reductase does more of this than the type 2 kind, but finasteride has actually been shown to inhibit very small amounts of 5-ar type 1 (perhaps some men are more sensitive to this than others?). The GABA neurotransmitter helps you feel relaxed and lets you sleep well, thus my theory is that I wasn't getting as much out of my sleep as I should, thus giving my bags under the eyes.

 

Not only that but DHT also has an effect on the function on the tear ducts and tear glands, for more information on that you can read the following post.

 

http://finasteride.jconserv.net/viewtopic.php?t=660

 

Oh yes and I don't know if I mentioned this in my previous post but the main action of getting side effects from finasteride is that when you reduce levels of 5-ar, you in turn get elevated levels of aromatase. Aromatase is the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen, funny thing is I've actually read reports that estrogen has more to do with enlarging your prostate than DHT does. I guess most men are genetically made to be able to endogenously balance out 5-ar and aromatase, but many others including myself might have a deficiency in this department.

 

I've recently begun taking zinc since it is supposed to be a natural aromatase inhibitor, and I think it has helped me out. I will also begin doing what is known as "the broccoli treatment" which is something that's supposed to be very effective against prostatitis and broccoli is also known as a natural aromatase inhibitor.

 

I highly suggest anyone who is suffering from any side effects do these things as it may help you out a lot. I hate to say it, but because of this fucking drug I am having ailments that generally affect people at least 30 years older than me.

 

So here... check out the broccoli treatment.

 

http://www.prostatitis.org/broccindex.html

[Matt Skiba]

I'd just like to add that I do think I am recovering, but it is painstakingly slow, not only that but I might even have some days where I'll be worse than the day before it.

 

Overall I feel much, much better after taking some zinc along with some l-phenylaline, l-tyrosine, and l-theanine (the amino acids are supposed to help with neurotransmitters). And of course l-arginine keeps the blood flowing so my body can still remember that I have a dick, quitting cigarettes has also helped with this.

 

I am faithful that when I add the broccoli treatment to all of this that it might put the nail in the coffin once and for all to this very ugly period of time in my life.

[Blond]

Hey Matt thanks for replying! I'm glad things are looking up lol!

The main thing that I'm concerned about is the facial sagging/complexion part. I don't seem to have had any other side effects. How long in total were you on propecia before you noticed the sagging? How bad was it? You mentioned it started to clear up... how long did it take after you quit the drug? Or was it the sagging wasn't until after you quit the drug? Did you have any loss of facial fat?

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

Do you think any of this could be allergies? I went through hell about 5 years ago with all sorts of aiments and blamed it on everything else..creatine, propecia, soap, whatever . After going to 5 different doctors one asked me if I ever had allergies??

I said I didn't ,but he mentioned it can change and sure enough it was allergies..

 

I went nuts trying to figure it out ..

[Bill - Seemiller]

Matt,

 

Thank you for your post.

 

I can certainly sympathize for you in this situation and hope that you continue to recover.

 

Just wondering...

 

How long have you been off finasteride? Have you seen a doctor about your situation? Whereas I do not want to sit here and say it is definitely NOT finasteride that caused you this grief, I believe letting a doctor determine what is going on is the best idea.

 

Is it possible that you have a medical condition that could have caused this? Other than what you have posted, do you have any evidence that it was finasteride that gave you these symptoms?

 

As a finasteride user, I have not experienced any side effects...but I know that people can and do. I know what Merck's website says about side effects going away after non-use of the drug...but who knows! I didn't perform the tests so I can only take their word for it? A scary thought right?

 

I honestly have not read or researched the links you have posted, but in my time here and other forums, I have not read a post like yours before.

 

Please see a doctor and keep us posted as to what's going on and on your recovery.

 

Bill

[Jorge1977]

I've been taking fin for over 2 years now with decent results. Had sexual sides for over a year, but it has since subsided. Ever since I started working out at the gym and going on long runs, my "morning wood" has returned. Semen is still watery like though.

[Robert_]

Matt Skiba,

 

Good to see that you're doing your research AFTER you decided Propecia is not for you, Mr. Cart-before-the-horse.

 

Now, I can't care less if you do or don't take Propecia for the rest of your life, however I can't sit idly by while you say this:

 

Originally posted by Matt Skiba:I have unfortunatley fallen victim to the pharmaceutical company.

 

At what point in time did Merck break into your house and force those orange pills down your throat? What's that? Never? Oh, oh ok so you went and obtained the prescription from a DOCTOR, then, right? Who gave you a prescription for the medication, correct? Yes, a prescription medication that listed ALL OF ITS SIDE EFFECTS RIGHT THERE ON THE ASSOCIATED LITERATURE!!!

 

And at WHAT time did you become a victim again?

 

 

Thousands of men take Propecia every day with no problems. However, MANY men do have problems with it. I will never contest that because I know that it's true. However, YOU are a fear-mongering head case that let other fear mongering head cases on those goofy forums get into YOUR head and convince you that your balls are going to drop off and your face is going to melt because you took two weeks' worth of Propecia.

 

-Robert

[andy79]

Well said Robert - most of these symptoms I have never heard of...and I have researched the crap out of this drug.

 

That being said, even the safest of drugs can have horrible side effects...albeit rare, but can and does happen. Everyone's chemistry is different, and unforseen occurances can and do happen when you introduce a new chemical to the body.

 

Unfortunately, you are probably in the .01% of men who reacts horribly to the drug. That's no reason to preach to the 99.99% to stop Propecia or else their face with start resembling the Crypt Keeper.

 

Instead of fear mongoring online and researching sites, use your time and energy to make an appointment with your doctor, and then make another to get a second opinion to see why this happened to you! That's the FIRST thing any sane person would do.

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

As I said in another post, if you look hard enough you will find crazy side effects for any drug or even fast food ( that movie about Mcdonalds).. Some people smoke all their lives and die at 90 while others smoke and die of cancer at 25..

 

Yes, drugs have side effects, and there are risks involved. With that being said, you cannot make blanket statements and take everything to the extreme. I have been taking Propecia for 7 years or so without any problems.. So have many others ..

[Matt Skiba]

Why I say that I have fallen victim to the pharmaceutical company is because they make no mention of the fact that side effects can last after quitting the drug, and there's more than a handful of men who've suffered because of this. Finasteride was a drug originally developed to chemically castrate men with prostate cancer (at much higher doses of course).

 

I am not making blank statements, people so far have not been able to bring about a lawsuit against Merck for the reason that very few men get hormone profiles before taking finasteride, so in effect they have no way of proving that they were not like that before taking the drug.

 

DHT is really not the culprit for hair loss, it's the follicle's fault, DHT is a natural hormone that has beneficial functions in other parts of the body. The DHT receptors on the hair follicles are at fault so thats what you should be trying to combat.

 

By taking finasteride you are doing nothing less than mildly castrating yourself on the molecular level, all of your sex homes work at some extent to give you life, vitality, and virility. Yes it is true that you get a boost of testosterone shortly after taking the drug, but this wears down over time and you end up with reduced production.

 

Funny how you call me a fear-mongering head case, I will admit that the majority of men do use finasteride without issue and for the majority of those who do get issues that they do clear up upon quitting the drug. The percentage of men who do get issues is much higher than the 2% Merck would have you believe though, I would not be surprised to find it as high as 25% or even 30%.

 

Being optimistic, I still do have faith that I will make a 100% recovery, no doubt, but the fact that you call the members of propeciahelp.com head cases is highly unjustified. If you go to the hormone profiles section of the site, you will see that there are quite a few guys who've been messed up by this stuff, and are still messed up sometimes for as long as 2 years after quitting. Just take a look at the different abnormal hormonal levels Propecia has brought on to some for them to live with.

 

Of course I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of you guys wouldn't even notice the sexual side effects since you don't have a sex life anyways, hell a pretty big reason why I can see many of you caring so much about your hair is the lack of sex. All I know is that I've lost about 3 months worth of time in the bedroom because of this shit, and there's probably a fully bald guy whose enjoying some ass right now.

 

And of course it is finally your choice whether to take the drug or not. But don't ever for a second think that the "the man" cares more about your health than your money.

[Hair to Style]

Originally posted by Matt Skiba:

I'd just like to add that I do think I am recovering, but it is painstakingly slow, not only that but I might even have some days where I'll be worse than the day before it.

 

Overall I feel much, much better after taking some zinc along with some l-phenylaline, l-tyrosine, and l-theanine (the amino acids are supposed to help with neurotransmitters). And of course l-arginine keeps the blood flowing so my body can still remember that I have a dick, quitting cigarettes has also helped with this.

 

I am faithful that when I add the broccoli treatment to all of this that it might put the nail in the coffin once and for all to this very ugly period of time in my life.

Noticed the lack of drive right away and ouit no propecia for me..................Takes weeks to go away.

[jackisback1]

First off: Matt: I take Zinc in my multivitamin, but I'm going to start eating more broccoli and taking l-arginine too. Do you really think l-phenylaline, l-tyrosine, and l-theanine do anything though? I've never heard of them. Do you think "the broccoli treatment" has helped with the drinking the broccoli water and all? Have you tried anything else? Anybody have an opinion on Horny Goat Weed?

 

I think that this is a very interesting thread, and I can definitely understand everyone's point of view. I used to wonder (and still do to some extent) where these claims of Propecia causing severe sexual dysfunction came from. Was it from internet pranksters? Did rival drug companies circulate it to hurt Merck? Was it actually a widescale problem that was never prosecuted because even if it takes years, once people get their equipment to start working again, they generally do not want to admit to anyone, much less the world through a lawsuit that they couldn't get their penises to work (as this is one of the most established parts of manhood)? Could it be that this does happen, but only to a small percentage of people? I don't know the answer, but I too had to quit Propecia eventually, only for me it wasn't until I'd been on the drug for 2 ?? years.

 

Because I myself, often avoid long posts, I'm going to respond to this thread directly in this paragraph, and give you my story and background in the subsequent paragraphs. Even though I have had problems with Propecia, I know that it has helped a lot of men, and I would not want to take that away from them as long as it wasn't hurting, so I disagree with some of what Matt says, but Robert, the fact is, Propecia doesn't list its side effect as being as extreme as what I've heard and what I've experienced, and I do think that should be looked into. Right now a Swedish facility is doing research into whether or not Propecia could cause longterm sexual side effects. Unfortunately, I don't know Swedish, so this presents a problem. http://www.lakemedelsverket.se/Tpl/NewsPage____5522.aspx I found the link from wikipedia's Finasteride page. Also, while the anti-drug company sentiments may seem extreme, please understand that when you are in your lower 20's and your dick isn't working right, and this problem doesn't just go away, it sticks around for months, you start to get VERY NERVOUS. And then you start to get very angry and perhaps not entirely rational. Personally, I have decided to vent my anger toward God, but I can't entirely fault Matt for venting his anger towards the pharmaceutical companies. To run through the symptoms quickly: yes, I have noticed bags under my eyes. My main issue was that my penis started to curve to the left, and then it seemed it couldn't get the bloodflow to get as full of erections as I used to. I recently went to a doctor and he said (after I pressed him) that if he had to guess, it's probably been like this my whole life. The only problem with that is that I'm pretty familiar with my penis. We've been pretty well acquainted for about 8 years now, so that explanation is worthless in my opinion. He said I could try Viagra, but honestly, I'm too young to concede myself to using drugs to get hard. He told me a surgery could straighten it, but I'm skeptical if that would help, for all I know it would make things worse. The worst part is that I'm still in college, and on my parents' insurance. I REALLY don't want to have to explain to my mom that I need get surgery or take Viagra so I can keep my dick hard. What I'm really pissed about is that he didn't do any bloodwork or hormone checks that I've read other people write about. That's the kind of thing that would be good to know, but I went to a respected medical facility. I didn't bring in any pictures to show him, and I really regret this. I was told that pictures were necessary, then I was told they were not necessary, and I deleted them b/c that's not the shit you want on your camera when visiting your family for the weekend. But really, I think having pictures is the only way the doc can actually make an informed decision. Nonetheless, he did say that he could see a slight bend even in my flaccid state, but that discontinuing Propecia would probably not correct it in his opinion. Oh, and I keep forgetting to add, that he said he didn't think that the bend was Peyronies' Disease. Whatever that means. I'm thinking about going to Planned Parenthood and seeing if anyone there can give me any advice. I would agree that exercising and running has helped (except at first when you're tired and your legs are sore, then it's much worse). Watery semen? You bet. Although now that I've quit, the other day I noticed my semen looked the way it did on Ben Stiller's ear in "Something About Mary" again. It had been so long, I'd forgotten all about that. The question is, did Propecia cause this? Well, this is my story, you decide for yourself:

 

I started taking Propecia in January 2005. My dermatologist hadn't agreed to prescribe it to me citing "sexual side-effects" in males as young as me. I figured he was just trying to scare me, and it was a rare thing, I'd done the research that said the sides go away after discontinuation, plus I knew there are drugs for that stuff, so I wrote him off as just being a jerk. I went to me GP and got a prescription. Also, at the same time I got on an anti-depressant called Lexapro. I was concerned about sexual sides with this med, however, and after one month discontinued Lexapro, partly b/c I thought it may have ever so slightly hurt my sex drive, but mostly for other reasons (like that I didn't feel depressed anymore). And then I was back to normal and it was great, so I cannot really say for sure if I had sides at first from Propecia, because I would have blamed them on Lexapro, but even those sides don't compare to the ones I faced later from Propecia. I read some of the extreme horror stories about sexual problems, and although I was always conscious of them, they never bothered me. I remember as recently as December 2006 (two years later) thinking there's no way this Propecia stuff has affected me sexually, as my appetite was through the roof! Then I decided that I should try to shock my system so as to not to build up immunity to Propecia. Hair wise, it was a good choice. I noticed my hair look thinner in the front from possibly the shock loss, and then I seemed to think it had thickened after a few months. But my penis was starting to feel strange and disconnected. By Spring Break of this year, I was starting to become quite concerned. Instead of being able to give myself an erection whenever I needed, I now started to had to work at it. (oh BTW, also grew hairs up the shaft of my penis. Somewhere God is laughing his ass off about that one.) So finally after several months of fairly disappointing erections, I shaved my head totally bald. When I did this I stared what before this was my greatest fear in the eye, and made the decision that the way I looked bald wasn't worse than my penis not being all it could be, and I stopped taking Propecia. That was over a month ago. The situation didn't really get better, and 1 week ago, it was really really bad to the point that I was almost entirely impotent, and unusually small in my flaccid state. Something like that really makes you feel like less of a man, and although I had no immediate suicidal temptations, I thought if it stays this bad for years I'll probably kill myself. To me, it wouldn't be worth it to go through the rest of my life impotent. For some reason, the past few days have been a lot better, so I am hopeful that now I am on the uphill journey.

[Matt Skiba]

Hey sorry it took me a while to respond to your post, as you can imagine this isn't the happiest place on the internet to be spending your time on.

 

First off, with hormone blood tests, you don't really need a doctor's permission to have one done. You can do a google search to find a medical lab in your area who will do it for you without any questions asked. They even have labs on the internet that send you kits in the mail for you to send back your sample. Also for testosterone levels, remember that for a young man it should generally be in the upper one third of the reference range. My level was kinda low, but oddly enough my DHT level was above the reference range. To look into what tests you should be getting you can go to propeciahelp.com and find it on there.

 

Remember that if you have just quit propecia, chances are you have nothing to worry about, since for the vast majority of men everything clears up within about a month, there's a chance you might even end up with an enhanced libido since propecia makes the body produce more testosterone to try to compensate for the loss of DHT. I guess a possible theory is that for some younger men, you're already producing the maximum amount of testosterone, and the added stress tires out the balls. A good idea would probably be to take or continue to take a multi-vitamin, try to eat healthy, exercise and lift weights, try to rest and sleep well, and try not to smoke cigarettes.

 

As for your penis curving, you might want to look into the idea of peyronie's disease, you'd be surprised how many stupid doctors there are out there, believe it or not medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of death in the USA. Generally I believe that changes in penis shape are reversible, especially if you're under the age of 25. As for hair on penis shaft, this could be a normal thing, it actually happened to me naturally when I was not using any meds, it began showing up around the same time chest hair started appearing for me, it has never really bothered me, but there are permanent hair removal solutions if you feel so inclined.

 

There's theories that sleeping odd hours or sometimes not getting enough sleep can predispose you to hormonal disorders, since the body works on a circadian rythm and testosterone levels are highest at night and in the morning, hence "morning wood". I think some substance abuse history might be able to play a role. Pollution in the environment is another theory, as is having an infection of candida albicans yeast in your digestive tract.

 

Anti-depressant use can in fact cause sexual problems for both men and women. There's many studies done on this and you can look on the internet for it.

 

GABOB - It is claimed to help you sleep well and release growth hormone.

 

X-dream - I think this product may contain GABOB but I'm not sure on this, in any case it contains a GABA analogue molecule in it which helps you sleep well and give you growth hormone benefits, and also contains a cannabinoid molecule in it which is something found in marijuana that gives you a relaxing effect.

 

Beyond GHS - This product contains hypothalamic and pituitary peptides which is supposed to help your hormonal system, I guess this is supposed to help libido nicely as it is under the libido enhancement product section of the site I'm at. It has a hefty pricetag of 76 dollars.

 

Melatonin - This is a common sleeping aid supplement found at many stores such as GNC, I don't think it does much for growth hormone, but it does give you a nice night of sleep.

 

Aspire36 - This doesn't really have anything to do with sleep but supposedly this is the most effective supplement/herb you can take for sexual activity, this is very expensive at 27 bucks for only 12 caps, but the customer reviews on the site are very positive, as are the forum postings for it. This is probably your best bet short from using viagra (some say they even like it better).

 

There is also a prescription drug called Baclofen which is supposed to disable the negative feedback loop of the hypothalamus gland but my knowledge on this drug is very, very limited and as you probably already know, care needs to be taken with prescription drugs.

 

In a best case scenario you will completely recover your sexual senses, with improvement as well, imagine getting intense orgasms and horniness like being 14 again combined with the endurance and expertise that you generally get with age and experience, after being what I'm still going through, I can't help but feel the need to bring myself to a point where my sex is enhanced to being above that of the average man. And one positive aspect of my experiences is that I have become educated in the cutting edge of anti-aging, which makes me feel less fearful of living life after hitting 30.

 

Good luck and best wishes!

[Robert_]

You're an idiot and a dangerous addition to this community. I'm notifying Pat of this post and hopefully he will edit it or take it down.

 

If someone has legitimate side effects from any prescription drug they should discontinue use immediately and contact their physician, NOT order illegal substances from God-knows-where online from a 20 year old fear mongerer that has an obvious agenda and is full of conspiracy theories.

[Matt Skiba]

Originally posted by Robert_:

 

You're an idiot and a dangerous addition to this community. I'm notifying Pat of this post and hopefully he will edit it or take it down.

 

If someone has legitimate side effects from any prescription drug they should discontinue use immediately and contact their physician, NOT order illegal substances from God-knows-where online from a 20 year old fear mongerer that has an obvious agenda and is full of conspiracy theories.

 

Maybe you didn't read what I said closely enough, I was only offering to give the URLs to some supplement vendors, who only sell legal things.

 

Maybe you should take a good look at your own ignorance before calling me an idiot.

 

Long-term finasteride side effects are undocumented in allopathic medical literature, so you might actually run into some doctors who won't offer you much help at all.

 

I am only giving what knowledge I have on the issue, it may be unorthodox, but one must keep in mind that in this world, things are really not black and white.

[Curious]

I've never heard a 20 year old man refer to himself as a "young boy." There's no question Finasteride can adversely impact your libido, but it seems like you may have some other issues to deal with. Illegal drug use will only bring you misery.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I have reviewed the following post and have made the following changes:

 

Any mention of illegal substances have been removed from all posts on this thread.

 

Matt,

 

It is obvious your posts are well intentioned...but please limit the discussion to legal remedies that might help those in need.

 

Regarding Propecia...

 

I'm sorry to hear you've had a bad experience, yet has it really been determined by a professional that your situation was really caused by Propecia?

 

I know it's hard to be objective when you have and are experiencing something horrible, but do understand that many people use these medications (including myself) without side effects.

 

Bill

[Matt Skiba]

Your editing of my post is understandable, and I respect your decision.

 

As for my problems being confirmed to have been caused by finasteride, one only needs to look at my blood tests to see that my hormones aren't all that normal, 5-alpha reductase also converts progsterone to allopregnenolone, and this is a biochemical process that helps with the repair of the brain. I personally have a high amount of DHT, a ridiculously high level of progesterone, lowish testosterone, and low follicular stimulating hormone levels.

 

A very good theory is that I am in a condition of adrenal fatigue, where the adrenal glands (which produce progesterone) are overworked and tired, and take a very long time to recover by themselves. These things are very complex.. Perhaps living life on an irregular schedule and having odd sleeping patterns could play a role. As has been mentioned before, this would probably be the cause for the bags under the eyes. Things like depression and anxiety can also be factors, The doctor said adrenal fatigue could be a possibility and ordered a salivory test for me. I would also recommend not using caffeine or any other sort of stimulant.

 

Another possibility mentioned by the doctor, one that personally scares me, is that I have a pituitary tumor. He said something about the prolactin level being off. I am not at a point of helplessness to the point where I get an MRI just yet, and this is probably a worst case scenario type of thing.

 

Also I think men that are older, that are at least 30 years old are less prone to getting side effects from finasteride use, I think that Bill belongs to this group. I say this because 5-ar activity increases with age, so older men generally produce more DHT, which would also explain why older men are more prone to losing hair, I'm sure aging of the DNA and the cells of the skin and follicles may play a role as well, but finasteride may even be beneficial and preventative against things like bph and maybe other prostate problems. There are still guys that are as old as in their 50s that I've heard of who've gotten some problems from propecia use though so one can never be sure.

 

As for the guy whose criticizing me for calling myself a young boy, I only wanted to emphasize what I'm going through; sexual dysfunction well before an age that I thought such things were possible. Oh and I still do look young and am referred to as a boy, my hair loss is pretty minimal and easily covered up, I can make it look flashy too (if you look closely you might notice that the likes of Keanue Reeves and Jake Gylenhaal have slightly receding hairlines), which makes me all the more bitter about what I'm going through.

[pushing 40]

Partner, I just read thru this entire post. You have some issues. Try to realize you are in the box looking out; we are outside the box looking in. Two very different views. What I am referring to with this reference is your life, your comments on it, your opinions on this entire scenario voiced thru this forum. You sound just a little off center to most normal people; as in "kooky". It sounds like you are having SERIOUS hormonal problems that WILL NOT be solved by perusing this website. Stay off here, get LOTS of tests, and figure out what is wrong. I seriously am not trying to insult you when I say you are coming off like a whack job; I just thought you might want to know what impression you are giving off. Use it to your advantage.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Matt,

 

I do have great sympathy for you that you are going through all these problems.

 

Understand that we do welcome your opinions and your involvement in our community, but I encourage you to stay clear of scare tactics.

 

Regarding finasteride and age...there are a number of people in their early 20s taking the medication without problems as well. I started when I was 27 (I'm just 30 now), and had no problems.

 

Please understand I'm not stating the above to minimize your pain of what you are going through...only to help you understand that your case is a rare one, and it has not been concluded that finasteride is the cause.

 

Personally, I would love to see a doctor comment on this thread as to whether or not it is possible for finasteride to cause the symptoms you've described.

 

In either case, I do hope to see you get the help that you need. Continue to seek medical advice and help my friend.

 

Bill

[TheEmperor]

Matt,

 

I'm sorry to hear youre having side effect. I forget to take the propecia for weeks at a time. I do not believe I have had significant side effects like yours and attribute slight reduction in desire to aging.

 

One thing I can recommend is to hit the gym and start pumping iron. You dont have to get huge. This should increase your libido. Also abstinance from any sexual activity helps too, but given you are 20, you should probably be able to go 5-20 times a day as necessary.

 

Another thing to consider is that anxiety causes depression which can decrease libido. Lots of things do actually. Drinking, drugs, etc.

 

I think Im going to stop taking propecia on principle. I never noticed a yield from it and most of my thin areas are mostly bald -- and the not bald areas are still thick. Doubt it is helping much.