Erectile Dysfunction Due to Propecia WITHDRAWL

[NoTakeBacks]

21, it's good to hear about the progress! That is a good sign. Seconding what Bobiliero has said; continue what you're doing and keep working out. Also make sure you're getting enough Zinc and D3 in your diet, and no worries Whey protein will not exacerbate ED. But I'd recommend natural cold-processed Whey,with none of that weird additive shit like "mass builders."

[Bobilero]

21 - Any update on your symptoms? Have you had the results of all your blood work?

 

Evergreeen - its a tough one. I too was on it for over 3 years before side effects kicked in. (I had had mild sides like less/watery semen since more or less the beginning). However all Dr's will tell you to discontinue it until you are at least back to normal and then cutting down dose. It's up to you but i ditched it totally. There is Saw Palmetto but that is also a DHT blocker and theres not a lot of studies on it .

 

However i think the natural route always to be better so could be worth trying. If i were you, id hit strong the Minox & delay the 2nd op to see where your loss goes in 12 months and hopefully stabilises. Then hit it with HT 2 to fix it up.

 

Fin will have no effect on transplanted hair as it should be DHT resistant. What grows in will stay regardless.

[Evergreen]

Thanks alot for your reply Bobilero, its good to know that someone else only started suffering the sides after 3 years so im not alone. Only regret is that I rode through it for almost a year until it was too much so I hope it wont have caused permenant damage. Not fully back to normal but defo on the right track.

 

Will take your advice about the minoxidil and maybe try saw palmetto. Strange that some HT docs will tell you that you need to take fin if you are getting a HT. I guess they are worried about the potential of loosing more of the natural hair rather than the new hair not growing out.

 

Was thinking if it gets too thin in non HT areas I could buzz it down but then not sure if that is good for the 1st HT hair or how it will look. Hopefully the loss will stabilise in the next few months.

 

How did you find the loss when you stopped taking it? Was it major?

[Bobilero]

No probs. I will say it took me a good year to feel really back to my pre Fin self so hang in there. Ive had some people in the industry recommend Saw palmetto to me as they couldnt tolerate finasteride.

 

However in my book its still a DHT blocker albeit milder non chemical so could cause sides. Could be worth trying tho. Get taking the minox foam too to help matters. Helped me. Yeah it makes sense, Docs will recommend Fin particualry in a younger patient whose loss has not progressed fully.

 

However its not an exact science and everyone is different and by inspecting for minutarisation in the native hair it can be fairly well judged if a loss pattern will progress in the short to medium term . Therefore a HT will be designed taking this in to account. There are some people though who will have loss isolated to one area and decent hair the rest of their scalp. They dont need fin in my opinion and a HT to hit the affected area will sort them out. Granted they may need HT2 a few years down the line. However most people will Fin or no Fin. And a Better option that no libido for sure.!

 

I would give it 12 months if i were you , see where your loss goes as if you are not taking fin you will have lost any gains in that period. You can then see clearly where you need to fix up in your next op. And assess any other minutarisation if present.

 

When i ditched fin I had a shed in the hairline frontal zone which was shitty hair anyway on its way out. I will also add when i started Fin it induced a massive hairline shed which NEVER recovered. I went from not having to having to use concealer in a matter of weeks.

 

I definitly wish i never bothered. Good luck.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Bobilero

[Evergreen]

Thanks bobilero, I will take your advice and see how it goes.

[El Nino]

Have this horrible gut feeling this drug is a medical scandal time bomb.

 

I agree.

 

Sorry to hear about all these problems guys, keep fighting though and don't give up.

 

I go to bed happy each night knowing it's one more day since I last ingested that shite into my body.

[Mikeylad]

stay off it guys - your sex drive should come back but it takes time. Propecia should be banned in my opinion - it is a harmful drug that definitely affects the male sex drive in a lot of cases. I went through exactly the same and wish that I had never taken it. It really isnt worth the side effects to retain a bit of hair

[HairKlepto]

Yeh, I stopped taking it after I heard it can give you permanent ED and make you sterile. It was also killing my sex drive. Take some maca in the meantime. It is amazing stuff.

[21YearsAndScared]

Decided to write a followup after a couple more months.

 

After about 2 months of stopping, I felt like I was about normal again. This however didn't last - I'm able to get an erection but 1) it only lasts from constant arousal 2) it takes a lot to get one. I'm not sure if it's a side effect of propecia as well but when I do participate in intercourse it's not as satisfying/pleasurable, just something I want to get over with.

Also, my blood tests showed no red flags from those before taking propecia (and testosterone levels were "normal") which makes it worse to find out and fix what's wrong.

 

The dermatologist who prescribed propecia insists this is in my head, and I no longer go to him as it's pointless explaining my situation to him.

I really don't want to have to resort to artificial testosterone or anything like that, I did not yet visit a urologist but I will consider doing so soon.

 

Thanks for the replies as well, I read them whenever I return to the site.

[Nick153452]

It could all be in your head; you'd be surprised how medically powerful the human mind truly is.

[HairKlepto]

Almost all ED is NOT psychosomatic. They used to think it was high but its only like 5-10% of cases. ED is well known side effect of propecia and known to be perm. Take some gelatenized maca... Red or black is good. It will probably fix you right up.

[tinkz]

21YearsAndScared,

 

Good on you for being brave and admitting you're having issues with ED.

 

I too, suffered ED whilst on Propecia. I would suggest people do their research on permanent side effects from taking Propecia.

 

I think it may take up to 3 months to get your sex drive back and also functional erections. It is very depressing when you're suffering ED.

 

I recommend the following:

1) Consider to stop taking Propecia

2) Lose weight if your overweight - can effect your erections

3) Explain the issue to your Mrs or Gf and explain to them that they need to be supportive during this time - Putting yourself under great pressure is an erection killer

4) Relax and try not stress yourself out.

Edited May 23, 2013 by tinkz
KO is upset from what i wrote in my post

[KO]

^Please go away, We don't want you going on your anti fin lectures. It's not your place to give medical advice, especially against a drug that is widely proven to be safe and well tolerated.

 

Seriously, go to propeciahelp.com and don't come back.

[Blake Bloxham]

Guys,

 

A friendly reminder to keep it civil. Please remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and as long as members follow our terms of service, these opinions will be respected.

[KO]

But why? He said "I strongly suggest people not to take propecia" - which means he is giving medical advice, despite not being a doctor, and that too against a drug which is widely recognized as safe. While everybody has a right to an opinion, he's not stating his, he's instructing other people based on his personal beliefs against empirical evidence.

[Calgacus]

In an attempt to balance the negativity and anti-fin rants, I'd just like to add my 2 cents.

 

I've been using generic finasteride for 4 months now and my penis still wakes up in the morning before I do.

 

Even just a glimpse of a female breast gets my pants stirring.

 

Personally, I would recommend Finasteride to androgenic alopecia sufferers.

[KO]

^That's the thing though, one should not be recommending treatments based on their personal experience, you should go by data and empirical studies, which do support your opinion of fin's safety and efficacy.

 

The fin haters always forget that, "fin caused me sides so noone should take it".

[Calgacus]

Agreed, but positive recommendations based on personal experience can't hurt either.

[tinkz]

^Please go away, We don't want you going on your anti fin lectures. It's not your place to give medical advice, especially against a drug that is widely proven to be safe and well tolerated.

 

Seriously, go to propeciahelp.com and don't come back.

 

LOL. Seriously, who writes stuff like this? You sound like a little kid. Grow up!

 

You're right, i'm not qualified to give medical advice but i'am giving advice from my personal experience.

 

Have suffered ED from Propecia? I didn't suffer ED until 4 years of use. So it may not effect you right now, but it may effect you later down the track.

 

My post was to help 21YearsAndScared and not you KO.

 

 

I suggest people go to propeciahelp.com before taking Propecia

[KO]

It's not relevant whom you were talking to. You shouldn't be giving your own opinion masquerading as medical advice. If you have had ED, too bad, go to propeciahelp and complain there, you will find many losers happy to commiserate with you.

 

All available data shows that finasteride is tolerated exceptionally well and only causes sides in a small minority of people. Either you are too dense to grasp that, or you seem to have a "misery wants company" issue.

 

So stop giving medical advice based on your own opinion, and feel free to get lost. This is not propeciahelp.

[Blake Bloxham]

Guys,

 

Last warning to please keep things civil.

 

Additionally, please keep in mind that our forum is NOT a place to give or receive medical advice. If any member believes another is providing non-expert medical advice (opposed to an opinion or suggestion based upon personal experience) please send me the information via a private message.

 

Thank you.

[BrianR]

KO, Im pretty sure we can decide what to believe and not believe..Tinkz has a opinion and its shared by a LOT of people...If these side affect are real (and even you say they are, in a small number of people)people who have them should talk about them....Nothing personal KO, I don't see anywhere where Tinkz is claiming to be a Doc...If I have a bad HT by a Doc who has done 1000s of great HT, I can still post about it cant I?

[HairKlepto]

Yeh, let's take our advice from clinical trials which first of all show this as a known side effect. It's a FACT, get over it... Propecia can cause ED. It's time to realize its a risk you decided to accept and stop pretending like it doesn't exist. Not only that, it is known to be unreported, not only in the studies itself, but in general for any study. ED is something men generally are uncomfortable reporting.

 

Secondly you can go on a patient reviews sites where pretty much every drug is reviewed and see the disturbing difference in what the clinic trials show and what patients actually say. Saying patient reports don't matter is pretty stupid too. We should weigh everything and make educated choices. He made his and decided to warn people. They can read his point of view and others to make their own decision.

 

This is why we see so many drug lawsuits... Unreported side effects. Oh wait, that means they weren't mentioned in the drug side effects or maybe not even reported in the clinical trials... How could that happen??.

 

Also another reason why patient review sites will show different results is because they are LONG TERM. Clinic trials are often short or at most a couple years. Let's see how safe a drug is after 10-20 years. It makes a big difference. Yeah, right now you don't have any issues, but later maybe you will. Yes, it's not going to happen to everyone, but acting like you aren't taking a risk is just pure ignorance.

 

People are defensive about this drug, because they want to reassure themselves they are fine and safe. They are waiting for the drug company to do another study just to show it maybe has more side effects or a high incidence of them then was thought... Yeah like that's going to happen.

 

If I say a popular anti-fungal drug for example has a 1:10000 chance of giving you liver failure, would you say it's widely known as safe?? Hmmmm. So if I say you had a 1 or 100 or 1 in 20 chance (hypothetically) of experiencing impotence with propecia, would you also say it's safe? Safe that it might not kill you, but for those willing to risk never having sex again, I question their idea of safe.

 

Safe is a relative term. If someone wants to warn someone about a KNOWN side effect that is pretty much considered a FACT, then let them. If you want to disprove his argument with something intelligent other than some oh it's gotta be safe because the hot drug rep and pharma company said so then have at it.

 

We are a world of reviews.. We use reviews to buy products, evaluate services, etc., but when people have reviews about a drug, somehow it's not valid? Drug trials are so limited.

 

Do you know that I can run trial after trial with different samples of people until I get the results I want and then only publish the one that fits as long as the sample is statistically significant?

[1978matt]

>Propecia can cause ED. It's time to realize its a risk you decided to accept and stop pretending like it doesn't exist. Not only that, it is known to be unreported, not only in the studies itself, but in general for any study.

 

That reminds me of the statement "The police conclude that 70% of all crimes go unreported". Yeah but how do they know?! lol

 

Men get ED regardless of whether they take Propecia or not. The percentages are in the same ball park for users and non users.

 

You have to ask yourself how many of these smoke 20 Marlboros a day or do not excercise. How old are they? The answer is we do not know. Even the study in Sweden (or whereever it was) could not conclusively prove that Propecia caused permanent ED.

 

Sure there is a risk in taking the drug, just as there is with taking an Asprin a day.

 

Ultimately you just have to study the facts and either chose for yourself whether you think the risk is too high for your own personal circumstances.

 

Based on my own assessment I'm quite happy to continue taking it. It's a very small risk in my opinion. Good luck in whatever you decide.

[HairKlepto]

I agree men will get ED for lots of reasons and some will even blame propecia when it's something else. But it can cause ED and I was saying it was wrong to blast the guy for informing others despite what the actual percentage is. Would you say 1% vs 2% is similar or would you it's a 100% increased risk. Don't have the numbers in front of me but they are published.

 

Ive taken propecia and it didnt give me ED but seemed to affect my sex drive. I stopped taking because of other people's experiences combined with the other effect I experienced. Its tempting to take it even now but in general anything that stops or alters a biological process will have possible negative effects on the body.

 

As for unreported, they combine other data sources. For example they can take numbers from a domestic shelter and see what percent of woman reported the abuse. Then they form rough estimates.