HELP> Propecia sides driving me crazy!

[sandmac]

Hi guys. I'm so glad there is a forum like this. It's been so great and inspiring to read the threads. I have a consultation with Dr. Konior in Jan that I'm really excited about.

 

Around 4 years ago I took Propecia daily for probably around 8 months or so with zero sides and took it off/on the past 3 years. I reduced the dosage to EOD and then a sporadic schedule. It seemed to work pretty well and I maintained my hair as far as I could tell. My wife and I started fertility treatment so I stopped the meds. (One year old baby boy! BTW...)

 

I recently started Propecia around 6 weeks ago and have developed sides in the form of testicluar/genital aches and pain. These sides are unexpected and are starting to really bother me. I started at 1mg daily, dropped to 1mg EOD and still had sides turn up every fews days or so.

 

I'm now on .5mg EOD schedule.

 

I think I need Propecia as a vital part of my treatment plan beyond my future HT.

 

Has anyone here experienced this type of side effect and off/on like this? Did it reslove with time and/or reduced dose?

Is .5mg even worth it?

 

I didn't used to have any reaction to this drug so I'm suprised and disappointed about all this.

 

Any help is truly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[Bill - Seemiller]

sandmac,

 

Welcome to our forum community and congratulations on your one year old baby boy!

 

It's true that hair loss medication like Propecia is usually an important part of any long term hair restoration plan.

 

First, be sure to discuss your symptoms with your doctor and find out for sure if your genital pain is related to Propecia and not something else. Better safe than sorry.

 

If the testicular pain is from the Propecia, it's possible they will go away with continued use of finasteride. Propecia's website reports this as a possibility. It the pain persists, you will ultimately have to decide whether or not the side effects are worth keeping your hair or include other prospect DHT blockers into your regime as a substitute.

 

Though finasteride seems to be by far the most potent DHT inhibitor (other than dutasteride found in Avodart), you may want to consider Extina, a ketoconazole based leave-in foam. Extina is often used for seborrheic dermatitis, but also has some anti-DHT properties. It's active ingredient ketoconazole is the same one found in Nizoral and Revita shampoo, but may be more effective since you leave it in allowing full penetration of and asborption into the scalp as opposed to a shampoo that is washed off after a few minutes at best.

 

Saw palmetto has some conjectured DHT blocking benefits however, more testing is required before a proper conclusion can be reached as to whether it's effective in treating hair loss.

 

You may also want to consider complementing it with the FDA approved Rogaine (minoxidil) hair regrowth solution.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[sandmac]

Hey Bill,

Thanks so much for the response and support. I really appreciate your thoughts and information.

 

My one year old is the result of 6 years of trying. We finally had success with In Vitro fertilization. He's a healthy happy little guy.

 

I'm just so frusterated as I never had sides before. I am planning on talking to my doctor for sure. I found a few posts after an extensive search where these same sides reduced and resolved with a lower dose and time. I also wonder if dosing at an inconsistant rate is contributing, though it is normal with many drugs to find a level that works for you.

[simplyd13]

A year and a half ago I was prescribed Finasteride, the generic for Propecia on the advice of my hair transplant doctor. He told me that the only reported side effect was a slight loss of libido. Subsequently I proceeded to take the drug for the next few months experiencing bouts of depression, severe anxiety, and panic attacks that landed me in the emergency room five times in a matter of four months because I feared I was having a heart attack. After connecting the two, I stopped taking the drug and thought everything would be just fine. Since the drug has been out of my system I have not had any anxiety but have developed a whole new set of side effects. These include auto-immune problems, dizziness, rapid tooth decay and skin wrinkling, bleeding gums, severe food allergies, and much more. If anyone out there knows how to get back to normal life after Propecia please let me know. I just want to feel normal again. Thanks

[finasteride]

How does finasteride work for hair restoration?

Have you ever thought about that?

It definitely do something with hormone!!

You have to start taking it slow and take long stages to stop taking it. Sudden reduce of particular hormone may cause human death.

When you quit it again, I want you take long enough time and stages to reduce it.