Hypoandrogenicity in 19 year old MAle

[BretFarrow]

Propecia has screw messed me up. I thought my hair line was receding a little so a panicked and decided to take propecia. I am 19 year old male, (was) in good physical health, and was very self confident. Anyway, I started taking propecia and realized that a lot of hair was falling out, but I kept reading that this was normal. I also noticed an extreme loss of sex drive, as well as a difficulty in getting aroused. My face also became extremely oily and I began to break out in acne. Well, about 4 weeks into taking it, I realized that the hair on the sides and back of my head was receding tremendously (i did not realize earlier b/c I have long hair). I also noticed that hair all over my body had began to get thinner. So, long story short, I stopped taking this horrible drug in the beginning of october. Its been about 5-6 weeks since I stopped, and I realized my sex drive has mostly come back and i am no longer impotent, but new hairs on the side and back of my head do not seem to be growing as of yet... actually my hair seems to be thinning even more (but very slowly) on the back and sides.

 

My question to you is, do you believe that the hair I lost due to this drug will eventually grow back to its normal density? Will my sex drive return to normal? or, have i completely fucked up my body for the rest of my life? Any tips on getting better, or anything you found that had worked for you will be greatly appreciated.

[Bill - Seemiller]

BretFarrow,

 

I'm sorry to hear that you were experiencing side effects with Propecia. It's a sad reality for some men who take it, even though sexual side effects are reported as rare.

 

The hair shedding you were experiencing while on the drug could have been normal as this is typical for the first 3 months as weaker miniaturized hairs are making way for the stronger hairs to grow through.

 

However, because you stopped taking the medication, it is anyone's guess as to what will and won't return. Propecia wouldn't have caused your hair loss, but if the hair doesn't grow back, it's because they were on their way out anyway.

 

I'm glad to hear that your sex drive is returning however and I expect it will come back full force over the coming weeks/months.

 

I recommend also consulting with a doctor about these things to get their medical advice and opinions.

 

Bill

[BretFarrow]

The hair shedding you were experiencing while on the drug could have been normal as this is typical for the first 3 months as weaker miniaturized hairs are making way for the stronger hairs to grow through.

 

However, because you stopped taking the medication, it is anyone's guess as to what will and won't return. Propecia wouldn't have caused your hair loss, but if the hair doesn't grow back, it's because they were on their way out anyway.

 

 

 

I guess the hairs on my legs, arms, chest, and pubic area were all miniaturized then...?

The hair shedding I experienced was NOT NORMAL. Along with hair falling out all over my body, Propecia made TERMINAL hairs in the very back and side of my head fall out. It made the hairs that doctors would use as the donor hairs in hair transplants fall out. Its almost as if my hair line began to recede in the back and the sides.... and its quite bad. The hair on the back and sides of my head receded by about 2 to 3 inches.

 

Propecia is a horrible drug. The drug has been made my Merck, the makers of Vioxx. Vioxx is a drug that had killed over 20,000 people by causing heart attacks. Merck only cares about profit, not the well-being of its customers. I recommend that everyone stop this drug. It is not natural, humans were not meant to mess with their bodies this way. Go bald, who gives a crap. Its better than turning yourself into a low-testosterone ridden depressed individual. (Finastride was actually used by these companies to chemically castrate men). Thousands of men have reported horrible symptoms from this drug. Why does no one know about this? Why didn't I know about this before I took it? This country is being destroyed by these exploitive companies. Look out for yourself, cause they don't give a hell about you.

 

All i can hope for is that this drug has not permanently ruined my physiology. I can only hope that the hair on my back and side of my head stops receding and beings to grow back. I can only hope that I have not become sterile from taking this drug for a month when it was obviously causing me horrible bodily harm. Never again will I take a pill prescribed to me by a doctor for anything. It is not worth it. The risk of serious side effects is too great. The risk of ruining your life is too great. Eat health, stay in shape, and don't take these drugs. That is my recommendation to everyone.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Bret,

 

I'm not exactly sure why your tone is off key. I am not the creator of Propecia so chill.

 

Besides, you didn't mention body hair at all in your first email.

 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

Bill

[chucky]

i would go see your doctor,it may not be the drug but some other underlying problem

[BretFarrow]

Originally posted by Bill - Moderator:

Bret,

 

I'm not exactly sure why your tone is off key. I am not the creator of Propecia so chill.

 

Besides, you didn't mention body hair at all in your first email.

 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

Bill

 

Sorry, for sounding agitated, but as you can understand, I have been very stressed out lately.

 

The only improvement I have seen off of propecia, is that my face is no longer oily, and I am no longer breaking out in pimples on my face. However, the receding of my hairline on the back and sides of my head is getting worse. I do not think I have any underlying condition b/c I went to the doctor in June for my yearly bloodwork, and my hormone levels were fine (but since I took Propecia for a month who knows what my hormone levels are like now). Also, I had some slight gynecomastia while I was on propecia but that seems to be fading as well.

 

If the hair on my head is going to grow back, how long will it take till hair begins to sprout up from my scalp again? Atm, my hair just keeps getting thinner and thinner. Its really depressing. Im in school, and I have a 3.7 GPA at the moment, but because ive been so depressed this semester, I have been doing bad in most of my classes. I no longer go to class, I dont socialize much anymore. I dont see the point to it all. I feel exploited. I was exploited... and I'm angry. I am angry I did this to myself. I am angry I didn't research the drug b4 I took it. I'm angry none of these side-effects that I have experienced are listed by Propecia on their website or bottle.

 

Once again, I'm sorry about sounding upset in my last post.

 

i would go see your doctor,it may not be the drug but some other underlying problem

 

I would rather not see a doctor. I have very little trust for them anymore, which is ironic since both of my parents are doctors. This experience has opened up their eyes, as well as mine, to the horrors of the Drug Industry. They have told me to just eat healthy and exercise and hope that everything comes back to normal. They seem much more optimistic than myself however.

 

Right now I question my existence. I question my purpose. Is this another lesson I must learn in my travels up the path of life? Or is this an eternal curse that I must live with till my end days? If the later, I don't know how I will continue. I wanna leave this society, go somewhere new, somewhere without the cruelty of man.

 

I feel mentally weak for being so effected by such symptoms, maybe its my decrease in testosterone that seems to be driving me to these conclusions. Whatever the reason, I just don't feel like myself any longer. I'm now old, sick and tired. I stare at myself and experience these feelings way too often.

[Bill - Seemiller]

BretFarrow,

 

Wow brother...my heart really goes out to you right now. Underneath the words you are writing I can hear the pain and anguish and the desire to give up. I have been there though probably not that low from hair loss itself but for other reasons.

 

Life isn't fair, that's the honest truth. Pain and anguish fills this world and often times bad things happen to good people. I often wonder why Justice hasn't come yet, for all the wrong in the world.

 

I have felt so lonely and desperate that I've had thoughts of dying though I never seriously committed suicide.

 

I do have to ask, are you having suicidal thoughts?

 

My brother...

 

You are amongst friends here. Share your pain and your grief and receive support - but please don't give up on the joys of life that are indeed out there.

 

Despite all the pain and sorrow the world has to offer, there is certainly joy, hope, peace, and love.

 

Regarding your physicial situation:

 

Despite your distrust of doctors, I still recommend consulting one just to confirm there is nothing else wrong.

 

The sexual side effects could have very well been from Propecia though I'm not sure about the others.

 

Regarding hair loss - it sucks but it doesn't have to ruin your life. The good news is, there is hope beyond Propecia however, there is still no cure for balding/baldness.

 

Feel free to read my hair loss and hair restoration journey including pictures to see how I restored my hair over a period of 3 years.

 

If I can do anything for you, feel free to send me a private message. I'll be happy to give you my phone number if you want to talk.

 

Bill

[blowdry]

I think Bret may be that other guy who wants us to all take blood tests. If this Bret guy is for real, than I am sure his body is not developed yet and should have not gone on this drug....just my 2 cents........

[BretFarrow]

Originally posted by blowdry:

I think Bret may be that other guy who wants us to all take blood tests. If this Bret guy is for real, than I am sure his body is not developed yet and should have not gone on this drug....just my 2 cents........

 

I can assure you I'm not "that other guy who wants us all to take blood test". I agree, I think I took the drug while I was not fully developed, and I think its gonna screw me up big time.

[balody]

bretfarrow,it sounds to me you are suffering from depression,i to blamed the fin as i was feeling as you are now lack of sd,fatigue,brainfog etc.i looked in to the background of this drug and read a lot of scary stuff,it made me go and get my levels checked twice,both came back normal.i had been diagnosed with depression a couple of years back and been on all different types of ad,s and started to question if these might be the culprit.i stopped them 6-8 months ago and today i feel much better in myself.

i now wonder wether it was the actual depression making me feel like i was falling apart?

the long and short of it is,i am still on fin but i feel alright now,where as at one point i was just like you and would have put my house on it being the problem.

dont get me wrong i am not promoting fin,far from it i would love to be free of any drug but it is a double edged sword.

p.s.

i definatly noticed a change in body hair,my torso hair became a lot thinner,hair on my shoulders and back stopped completely which i see as a plus but i am definatly not the hairy monkey i once was!

dont know what this all means but dont give up on docs, especially if you are as i suspect suffering from depression.

[Matt Skiba]

As soon as I read this post I knew you guys would think it's me.

 

But here is some advice and insight I can give right now.

 

For more of your hair falling out, I'm really sorry to say that it probably won't grow back, you could try using stuff like minoxidil, nizoral, and spironolactone. The reason for this is that while you're on finasteride your body tries to fight it by producing more of the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. When you got off the drug, your blood got flooded with DHT, and I think it might be a while before this gets to re-equalize. They oughta be coming out with something to give us our hair back by the time we're 30 though.

 

The good news is that 5-6 weeks is still pretty early to tell whether the side effects are gonna last. I think the consensus is that if you're under 25 your body has a much better chance of recovering. There's a really good chance that within 6 months you'll be fine.

 

You might want to consider getting a thorough blood test done, a lot of doctors may deny you unfortunately, so you may have to find an independent lab who does it for you. With health insurance it shouldn't be too expensive.

 

There's some decent information at http://www.propeciahelp.com An underlying cause is a possibility.

 

Try not to let things get you down, but if you can't help it do not take anti-depressants. Anti-depressants will not help your libido in any way. For a natural alternative you could try supplementing with St John's Wort.

 

If you need to talk to me at all for any reason you can send me a private message.

[Matt Skiba]

As for depression being a factor, I doubt that. As for balody, there are two things that must be kept in mind: the reference ranges for normal hormonal levels don't mean much, your testosterone levels need to be in the upper one third of the range, especially at the age of 19. Which brings me to my next point, balody is an older guy so there are other factors to go along with that (no offense balody).

 

I've gone through depression back when I had a perfect head of hair, it definitely didn't make me want to have sex less. If anything, sex would help my mood improve a lot.

[balody]

your right,i am turning into a grumpy old man

[Bill - Seemiller]

I would not recommend spironolactone as a hair loss treatment except for in extreme conditions and only at the medical advice of your doctor.

 

Read more about spironolactone.

 

Bill

[Matt Skiba]

I personally have no experience with spironolactone, but it is believed to be pretty safe when applied topically.

 

Orally, you really don't ever want to take it unless you have a desire to be a tranny or have some serious cardiovascular problems.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Matt,

 

I haven't done any research on topical spironolactone. Are there any studies that indicate its efficacy as a hair loss treatment? If so, I'd like to see them.

 

Bill

[BretFarrow]

Anyone else get wrinkles from taking propecia? I have been noticing that I have been getting some pretty bad wrinkles around my eyes recently, wrinkles that have appeared within the last two months. I know for a fact, 4 months ago, before i was taking propecia, there were no signs of wrinkles.

[Matt Skiba]

Originally posted by BretFarrow:

Anyone else get wrinkles from taking propecia? I have been noticing that I have been getting some pretty bad wrinkles around my eyes recently, wrinkles that have appeared within the last two months. I know for a fact, 4 months ago, before i was taking propecia, there were no signs of wrinkles.

 

Yeah actually my face and skin quality was not as good. Fortunately this has pretty much fully reversed itself. This is supposed to be due to an increase in cortisol levels because of the drug, and fellow forum member blondie pointed this out to me and gave me a scientific report on it. Men have reported looking and feeling older because of this shit. Feel lucky you're not the guy who started sprouting gray pubes cause of the stuff.

 

 

As for topical spironolactone, I've actually read some pretty good forum posts about it on other forums. Supposedly it doesn't really do anything to regrow hair but does stop the miniaturization process as it is a very potent androgen blocker. I think using it topically might have some risks since there aren't really any studies on it in this way, and people have reported some bad side effects using the topical anti-androgen flutamide. Honestly I'm scared even of the azelaic acid in xandrox since stuff can significantly be absorbed through the skin. I'm thinking I may switch to spectral DNC, the retin-a in the stuff definitely makes my forehead look cleaner and better and it is known to have anti-aging properties in the skin.

 

Oh yes and there was a study done on topical spironolactone, though it is in a forum post which might decrease its credibility, although it looks pretty legit.

 

http://www.hairsite4.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&f...ic_id=1039&mode=full

 

Also a nice little article on spironolactone from another popular hair loss site:

 

http://www.farrellmanual.com/topical/spironolactone.htm

[BretFarrow]

Propecia seemed to have caused Hypothyroidism in myself. My hairloss and symptoms were all similar to that of Hypthyroidism: diffuse hairloss, cold feet, fatigue, saggy old dry skin.

 

I seem to be returning back to normal though. Hair, especially on my left side, is returning. However, i still get huge bouts of exhaustion during the later part of the day. I do not want to get treated for hypothyroidism, since I do not want to rely on medicine to keep me healthy for the rest of my days. So, hopefully I will eventually turn normal again.

 

I think everyone on here who has had negative side-effects should get tested for low thyroid. Cause all the side-effects symptoms caused by propecia sound like symptoms of hypothyroidism.