Just been given propecia

[outerhaven]

Hey guys i would really appreciate some feedback from men using propecia. I'm 23 years old with receding hairline and thinning all over the top. I am loosing at least 100 hairs each time i wash my hair alone. Hairloss has greatly had a negative impact on my confidence.

 

So i have been prescribed propecia by my GP and have started taking 0.5 today by cutting the pill in half.

 

I'm really worried about taking propecia though because i hear so many stories about guys suffering permanent sexual side effects and i have even read that propecia caused extreme personality changes, whereby some men found it difficult to articulate, felt depressed, and lot's of brain fog.

 

I was just wondering what your personal experiences are with this drug? How safe is it really?

[TakingThePlunge]

outerhaven,

 

I'd be happy to share my personal experience. I was afraid of the side effects also but, after my transplant, I knew that I had to use every tool at my disposal to keep future balding at bay so, with a heavy heart, I began taking the pill. I take the 5mg generic Proscar cut into fourths.

 

In the beginning I started feeling mild testicular pain. Not terrible but uncomfortable. I decided at that point to back off the dosage a little and began taking it every other day. After a couple of weeks I gradually increased to every day again. I no longer feel any discomfort.

 

The only other side effect that I've experienced is watery semen.

 

As far as I'm concerned this is more than worth the benefits.

 

Everything continues to work as it should. I'll leave it at that.

 

I've also read the scary stories but everyone is different. If there are people who have experienced irreversible side effects, they have to be an extreme minority of users.

 

I'm not trying to convince you to use it. Just sharing my experience.

 

Hope this helps,

[aw33]

I have been using it for 2 years now and am 20 years old. It has kept me at a NW3 stage. You read and hear many stories about side effects from this drug and while these stories can certainly be true, what you have to realize is that side effects are common with all kinds of drugs.

 

Use this drug and see what happens. If you do experience side effects, consult with your prescribing Doc immediately. Think of it this way, its either take this drug and possibly slow/maintain/regrow your progression/hair or its get off this drug and become what you are destined to become, which can mean anything from staying at your current NW stage to proceeding to a full-blown NW7.

 

It is easier to recover from the early stages of the Norwood scale than it is from the latter. The more hair loss you experience, the more grafts and funding you will need to get an HT. In my POV, I would certainly get on this drug as most men in my family are NW6 - at that stage I would need 5000+ grafts to get a decent result from an HT (depending on several factors, such as scalp elasticity, donor density and etc.) and it would most-likely cost me $15,000-$25,000 to go through.

 

And also, losing hair strands is not a bad thing, it is normal. Losing thin hair strands is a bad thing as it means the hair is going through MPB and will grow back even thinner until it ceases to exist.

[darren smith]

mawould give it a miss heard to many bad feedback on this. im 25 and have been told by 2 docs to get on it but due to my age and my personal opion its not worth it imagine being bad with no sex drive or worse side effects forget that, try saw palmetto as the least i jus got on that

[outerhaven]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. From the first day i started propecia it seriously reduced my sex drive to the point where i had none. The next day was no better and so on the third day i stopped it and my sex drive came back in the evening.

 

Now i've been taking propecia 0.5 every other day and that seems to be working better. But i'm still really worried about the whole thing, it seems like almost every guy who takes this drug has sexual side effects.

 

Can anyone else share their experiences with propecia? I just don't wanna carry on balding but not sure i'd rather be chemically castrated then be bald.

 

Any advice appreciated.

[Danielkiwi]

if i were to guess outer haven, i would consider this pyschological...there is no way sex drive and come and go in a day...unfortunately, this fear will always be a part of our life whenever we underperform in bed while on propecia...

 

If it makes you feel better, my physician said if you are getting side effects quickly, it means that your body is really receptive to the drug and start by taking low dosages as they would be equally effective and work your way upwards if one does not feel any sides..i think you could follow this strategy and see how it goes

[EpilepticSceptic]

The way I see it, the devil created MPB as the ultimate form of torture for the male species. As it turns out DHT (a sex hormone) is the culprit. So the higher your sex drive the more likely you are to go bald. That's the devil's work for sure !!!

 

And the very thing that will reduce your chances of getting laid (balding) is the same thing that gets your willy stiff. Take a pill to stop that and you'll keep your hair but no longer have any interest in getting laid (which IMO is the only purpose for wanting the hair anyway).

 

So in the end you have 2 choices it seems: 1) don't take it and be a super horny, oversexed balding guy who can't get laid and has to jerk off to internet porn 2) take it and keep some of the hair, but have a limp willy everytime you're with a girl

 

Oh wait, I forgot there's a 3rd option: fat chicks with yellow teeth, old hags over 60, or hookers

 

They might as well hand you a gun along with the propecia script! :eek:

Edited June 27, 2010 by EpilepticSceptic

[Danielkiwi]

Thats pretty funny ES...and hits the nail right on the head