Bill - Seemiller Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) Given the news related to the alleged possibility of "permanent" sexual side effects associated with Propecia and lawsuits against Merck, is it really worth the risk to take Propecia? Visit "Propecia for Treating Hair Loss: Is it Worth the Risk? What the Experts are Saying" to see what leading hair restoration physicians are saying about Propecia. What are your thoughts on this important topic? Best wishes, Bill Edited June 26, 2012 by TakingThePlunge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member chrisdav Posted April 1, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted April 1, 2012 Great post Bill. 2 poor unsatisfactory hair transplants performed in the UK. Based on vast research and meeting patients, I travelled to see Dr Feller in New York to get repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NEWHAIRPLEASE Posted April 1, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted April 1, 2012 Well written article Bill. Glad to see you poll some of the experts. I have no problem with propecia either. Newhairplease!! Dr Rahal in January 19, 2012:) 4808 FUT grafts- 941 singles, 2809 doubles, 1031 triples, 27 quads My Hairloss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member newby1234 Posted April 2, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted April 2, 2012 The link doesn't seem to work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 newby (and all), The link is back up if you'd like to view and provide your comments. Best wishes, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member zenmunk Posted April 2, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted April 2, 2012 Bill, I've taken 1mg Propecia daily for 13+ years. I recently had a series of medical and blood tests done, because of my concern about the safety of long-term finasteride use. You may find the results interesting: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/163746-those-considering-starting-finasteride-therapy.html Best, Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 Zenmunk, I appreciate you taking the time to respond and to share your own personal experience with finasteride over the last 13 years. I've personally never seen any real evidence that Propecia (finasteride) effects DHEA levels, but it will be interesting to see if the steps you are taking to remedy this will increase your DHEA levels. It's encouraging however, to hear and see that everything else is normal though :-). Best wishes, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member zenmunk Posted April 8, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted April 8, 2012 Bill, Retested DHEA and results are normal. The low reading from the first test probably had something to do with stress and nothing to do with finasteride. Best, Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member OttawaJay Posted June 21, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted June 21, 2012 Given the news related to the alleged possibility of "permanent" sexual side effects associated with Propecia and lawsuits against Merck, is it really worth the risk to take Propecia? Visit "Propecia for Treating Hair Loss: Is it Worth the Risk? What the Experts are Saying" to see what leading hair restoration physicians are saying about Propecia. What are your thoughts on this important topic? Best wishes, Bill Hmmm... the link seems dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted June 26, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted June 26, 2012 OttawaJay, Thank you for pointing out the dead link. Hub pages decided to censor our content. Thus we've opted not to publish on their site anymore. I have just republished the above article to our Q&A Blog and updated the link in Bill's original post. For convenience I've included it below as well. Propecia for Treating Hair Loss: Is it Worth the Risk? What the Experts are Saying David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mikeylad Posted June 28, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted June 28, 2012 my own personal experience on propecia was awful - I had all of the sexual side effects that got worse gradually over time - and continued to worsen even after I reduced to 1 mg per week. I gave up on the drug as it was ruining my personal life and I had become virtually impotent.What was even more worrying for me is that it took 2 years after stopping the drug for complete normal sexual function to gradually come back. Any research, reports or findings might conclude that only 2% suffer side effects - if you are one of these apparent 2% like I was then you know how awful and devastating this drug can actually be. There is no research on this earth that cannot convince me that propecia messes up hormone levels and can be very dangerous for some people - I have been there and would never touch the stuff again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member blowdry Posted June 30, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted June 30, 2012 I agree with the Lad, that propecia is a bad drug and sooner or later dependent upon your age will feel the adverse effects of the drug. It gave me prostratis. So I asked my urologist if propecia is given to patients who suffer prostratis, how can it cause it. His head looked straight down. 2% my ass..........................................................:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RCWest Posted June 30, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted June 30, 2012 I take Finasteride, and the much stronger Dutasteride. I have no sexual side effects at all. I believe a lot of these reported side effects are either placebo effects, or the subjects were already having problems. Finasteride 1.25 mg. daily Avodart 0.5 mg. daily Spironolactone 50 mg twice daily 5 mg. oral Minoxidil twice daily Biotin 1000 mcg daily Multi Vitamin daily Damn, with all the stuff you put in your hair are you like a negative NW1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member gasto Posted July 2, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted July 2, 2012 Dr. Steve Gabel of Portland, Oregon has been prescribing Propecia for years. Dr. Gabel reports that only a select few had experienced side effects. A "select few"? Perhaps you mean a "few". A "select few" sounds like the Dr. Chose who were the patients to suffer side-effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Gasto, A "select few" represents a small group of people. And if you want to get technical, it was nature that "selected" the few who suffered from side effects. If you have any actual thoughts on the content, feel free to share. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member aim4hair Posted July 2, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted July 2, 2012 IMHO any drug you take most likely will create some sides, if it's not in the short term then it is in the long term, as you know propecia is still considered new and has not been really tested for the long term. However, if it's guranteed that the sides would go once you quit the drug then it could be worth taking the risk, but looking at the side effects from propecia site: "In clinical studies for PROPECIA, a small number of men experienced certain sexual side effects, such as less desire for sex, difficulty in achieving an erection, or a decrease in the amount of semen. Each of these side effects occurred in less than 2% of men and went away in men who stopped taking PROPECIA because of them." The above part is OK, since it mentions that sides wll go away once you quit the drug, but then the next paragraph: "In general use, the following have been reported: breast tenderness and enlargement (tell your doctor about any changes in your breasts such as lumps, pain, or nipple discharge); depression; decrease in sex drive that continued after stopping the medication; allergic reactions including rash, itching, hives, and swelling of the lips and face; problems with ejaculation that continued after stopping medication; testicular pain; difficulty in achieving an erection that continued after stopping the medication; male infertility and/or poor quality of semen; and, in rare cases, male breast cancer. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away." Looking at the possible permanent sides makes it not worth the risk for me, the second paragraph does not even mention the percentage of people who reported or suffered from those sides. I just can't beleive we still don't have an FDA approved drug similar to propecia that can be applied directly on the scalp instead of taking a pill that can effect your whole body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Bobilero Posted July 2, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) "I just can't beleive we still don't have an FDA approved drug similar to propecia that can be applied directly on the scalp instead of taking a pill that can effect your whole body. Exactly for me as a treatment it is just not good enough. Its like cutting off your foot because you have a pain in it. DHT is key for many functions. Some that we are not even aware of it seems. I came off Fin due to bad side effects which really became apparent after 3 1/2 years or so. I thought i didnt have any sides up until then but i can say now after 9 months off it sure was affecting me. The changes happen so subtlly a lot of people dont notice and dont remember how they felt before they started on it. I would say to all long term users to do a year off and see if they see a difference. Then confirm if you have had no side effects. Edited July 2, 2012 by Bobilero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member blowdry Posted July 4, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted July 4, 2012 Well said Bobilero. People get use to the New Normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member gasto Posted July 4, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted July 4, 2012 Bill, I still think you should correct it. The meaning is not as you put it, according to the thefreedictionary.com . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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