finisteride, whats the real truth?

[Pitbull]

I'd like to hear any input on this drug. Reading many posts some say it must be taken.

I've read that on many sights the negative effects can far out weigh the positives, I'm referring to the issue with decreased libido and erection issues.

 

I tried myself 18 months ago and feel that this is what happened to me but it also could have been a very stressful time in life for me as well. I started reading and it scared me off the drug. I just did my transplant and my surgeon says very important I do it even for 6 months.

 

Like to hear other stories......

 

Thanks guys

[Since21]

I've been taking it without any adverse side effects that I know of since 1997 - never had a decrease in libido or ED. Also had a child since then who is a healthy and happy preadolescent. That's not to say that there may be some potential long-term risks that I am yet unaware of. But it essentially halted my hair loss when I began taking it and my hair actually thickened at first. Then gradually over time the hair loss resumed but much more slowly. I can tell its lost some of its effectiveness in the past few years as well.

[hsrp10]

if you are on it currently, I wouldn't stop until around six months I agree with the doctor.

I had stopped for around the same time period and noticed some thinning behind my transplanted area.

it sneaks up on you.

 

if you are thinking of restarting, then it's a personal call as everyone reacts differently.

you could also experience sheds from starting again.

[Pitbull]

Thanks for the info. What dose are you on?

I know it varies but I'm taking 1.25,mg daily. I think I'll go for the 6 months and then see what happens

[hsrp10]

after restarting, I am on 1.25 Proscar four consecutive days and take the fifth day off.

noticed some improvements already not so much oily scalp as last time and no sides, except the first week had some testicular pain - almost quit over this but went away.

[Since21]

Thanks for the info. What dose are you on?

 

I take 1 mg daily in the form of Propecia. I tried Proscar and quartered it, but I experienced some shedding after switching so I went back to Propecia, unfortunately. It costs significantly more.

[cueball35]

I experienced libido and erection problems from this drug, I stupidly persisted with taking it thinking the sides would go away and also for fear of losing more hair!

it took me many months to get back to normal again.

It seems to be a drug thats very hit and miss

[Since21]

It seems to be a drug thats very hit and miss

 

It's hardly hit or miss: Merck acknowledged that some Propecia users – it put the number at 1.3 percent – experienced erectile dysfunction.

 

But users should be aware of the possible risks and side effects.

 

**outside link removed**

 

Let's also not forget that as men age our sex drive (supposedly) decreases.

Edited January 22, 2014 by Future_HT_Doc

[cueball35]

It's hardly hit or miss: Merck acknowledged that some Propecia users – it put the number at 1.3 percent – experienced erectile dysfunction.

 

But users should be aware of the possible risks and side effects.

 

The (Not So Hard) Truth About Hair Loss Drugs - MensJournal.com

 

Let's also not forget that as men age our sex drive (supposedly) decreases.

 

The experiences from guys of all ages on this forum and others say otherwise. I prefer to hear what ordinary joes like myself have experienced on the drug rather than what comes out from a large money making pharma

[Since21]

I'm an ordinary Joe and it appears those who experience negative side effects are in the vast minority. That seems to be the case on this forum as well. And the article from MensJournal is pretty critical. Obviously if you're one of the people who experiences side effects you're going to have a negative take on it.

[Jotronic]

Statistically, via word of mouth and not even taking the internet into consideration, if someone has a good experience with something they might tell two people. If they have a bad experience with something, they'll tell ten people. Now add the internet to this and the numbers become exponentially higher. In my twelve years of taking this medication and speaking with thousands of other hair loss sufferers it is my distinct impression that finasteride is getting a bad rap.

 

Since21,

 

I take 1 mg daily in the form of Propecia. I tried Proscar and quartered it, but I experienced some shedding after switching so I went back to Propecia, unfortunately. It costs significantly more.

 

When taking Proscar were you taking 5mg name brand Proscar or 5mg finasteride? There should be no reason why 1mg Propecia would work better than 1.25mg Proscar if you were taking the name brand in both cases.

[Since21]

When taking Proscar were you taking 5mg name brand Proscar or 5mg finasteride? There should be no reason why 1mg Propecia would work better than 1.25mg Proscar if you were taking the name brand in both cases.

 

I'm not 100% positive, but I think it was Proscar. The pharmacist quartered them all for me. I recently read somewhere that quartering the entire prescription might cause it to lose potency and to try quartering it one pill at a time. That said, when I switched back to Propecia, my pharmacist said several other people had done the same thing - tried Proscar, then went back to Propecia. Could be the placebo effect.

[Jotronic]

I mentioned that because I've had several patients tell me the same thing but then they found out that the "Proscar" was not Proscar but the 5mg generic equivalent. That is why our prescriptions say "No generic substitutes". I've never taken Propecia and have always taken name brand Proscar.

[Since21]

I mentioned that because I've had several patients tell me the same thing but then they found out that the "Proscar" was not Proscar but the 5mg generic equivalent. That is why our prescriptions say "No generic substitutes". I've never taken Propecia and have always taken name brand Proscar.

 

I wonder if Propecia and Proscar share the same inert ingredients.

[greatjob]

I mentioned that because I've had several patients tell me the same thing but then they found out that the "Proscar" was not Proscar but the 5mg generic equivalent. That is why our prescriptions say "No generic substitutes". I've never taken Propecia and have always taken name brand Proscar.

Joe I have read your posts on generic vs. name brand proscar and I have been wanting to give name brand proscar a run, but I have found it difficult to find a legit source at a decent price. All of the pharmacy's in my area are quoting around $170 for a four month supply, and that is compared to the generic costing me $9 for a four month supply. I have checked with the clinics in my area, even some of the bad ones, and no one seems to be selling the meds anymore. Do you happen to know of a reputable online source for name brand proscar at a reasonable price? I've recently started to think that I my have gotten a bad batch since my pharmacy switched labs.

[GoForIt]

The experiences from guys of all ages on this forum and others say otherwise. I prefer to hear what ordinary joes like myself have experienced on the drug rather than what comes out from a large money making pharma

 

When I started finasteride, I looked into the research behind it. Two of the most recent studies are not funded by pharma companies. I can't remember where the first was published, but the authors were Sato for one, and Rossi (Dermatologic Therapy, Vol. 24, 2011, 455–461) for another. Bottom line - <5% of men experienced side effects, and many of those went away with continued use. 7/8 men at 5 and even at 10 years either looked the same or better in terms of their hair.

 

You can have hair transplants without using finasteride, but the goal is to use every means possible to restore a full (appearing) head of hair and medical treatment is an important consideration.

 

7 months into finasteride - no side effects except for hair growth:). I guess I'm one of the 95% from the studies who experience no side effects.

[Pitbull]

Joe I have read your posts on generic vs. name brand proscar and I have been wanting to give name brand proscar a run, but I have found it difficult to find a legit source at a decent price. All of the pharmacy's in my area are quoting around $170 for a four month supply, and that is compared to the generic costing me $9 for a four month supply. I have checked with the clinics in my area, even some of the bad ones, and no one seems to be selling the meds anymore. Do you happen to know of a reputable online source for name brand proscar at a reasonable price? I've recently started to think that I my have gotten a bad batch since my pharmacy switched labs.

 

Can you tell me the difference between proscar and propecia?

[greatjob]

Can you tell me the difference between proscar and propecia?

 

It's the same drug, finasteride. Proscar comes in the form of 5mg finasteride pills that was originally used for the treatment of enlarged prostate, hairloss patients quarter the pill to get 1.25 mg of finasteride per dose. This is usually a more cost effective option compared to propecia, which contains 1 mg of finasteride.

 

Cliff notes: They are the same drug, just in different doses and designed for different uses.

[Jotronic]

Joe I have read your posts on generic vs. name brand proscar and I have been wanting to give name brand proscar a run, but I have found it difficult to find a legit source at a decent price. All of the pharmacy's in my area are quoting around $170 for a four month supply, and that is compared to the generic costing me $9 for a four month supply. I have checked with the clinics in my area, even some of the bad ones, and no one seems to be selling the meds anymore. Do you happen to know of a reputable online source for name brand proscar at a reasonable price? I've recently started to think that I my have gotten a bad batch since my pharmacy switched labs.

Great job,

 

170.00 for a four month supply? Do you mean for 30 tablets because that is a four month supply. 30 5mg tablets to a box, quarter one tablet, and taking one quarter a day will last four months (give or take a few days). That is WAY expensive. It costs me 80.00 for a four month supply (one box). I don't deal with online pharmacies so I can't recommend any particular site. Where are you located (country)?

[greatjob]

Great job,

 

170.00 for a four month supply? Do you mean for 30 tablets because that is a four month supply. 30 5mg tablets to a box, quarter one tablet, and taking one quarter a day will last four months (give or take a few days). That is WAY expensive. It costs me 80.00 for a four month supply (one box). I don't deal with online pharmacies so I can't recommend any particular site. Where are you located (country)?

Yes I mean 30 5mg tablets, I have checked every pharmacy local to me and they are all around the same price, and every hair transplant doctor no longer sells them. I am located in the U.S. on the west coast/south west.

[rev333]

when you split a pill that is not "scored" remember that the active ingredients maybe not be equally distributed throughout the pill

and might also deteriorate the effectiveness of the drug, so cut one pill till you need another

 

that said the splitting of Proscar into quarters seems to be working for many on this site

 

proscar is the brand name from which merck developed the brand propecia clinically tested specifically for

hairloss

[BaldingBogger]

The stats are nowhere as stated here. Many many more people get sides.

 

The easiest thing for people to do is to try it and see.

 

The lack of knowledge re long term risks is enough to rule this out for me

[GoForIt]

The stats are nowhere as stated here. Many many more people get sides.

 

The easiest thing for people to do is to try it and see.

 

The lack of knowledge re long term risks is enough to rule this out for me

 

For people thinking about it - Just do your research - some people will have side effects. I could not find any report of side effects affecting more than about 5%. If a million people take a drug that is 50,000 who will have side effects. That can be a lot of posts.

 

In terms of long term - it has been around for over 20 years. Not bad - longer than a lot of what we take.

[JohnGage]

Evaluation of androgens in the scalp hair and plasma of patients with male-pattern baldness before and after finasteride administration.

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Finasteride, a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme 5alpha-reductase II, is widely used as a medical treatment for patients with male-pattern baldness (MPB), which is affected by the distribution of androgenic steroids. It is also notable that the androgenic effect in MPB is different for each region of the head.

 

OBJECTIVES:

 

To study the effect of the drug finasteride, we quantified androgenic steroids in the vertex and occipital scalp hair and in the plasma of patients with MPB.

 

METHODS:

 

The patients with MPB, aged 23-52 years, were treated with finasteride 1 mg daily for 5 months. The hair and plasma samples were hydrolysed, extracted with n-pentane, and derivatized with MSTFA:NH4I:DTE (1000:4:5, v/w/w). We analysed the concentrations of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone (T) in the hair and plasma using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

 

RESULTS:

 

In the hair, the ratio of DHT/T was decreased in the vertex scalp hair after the individual received finasteride (P < 0.005). However, we found no significant difference in the ratio of DHT/T in the occipital scalp hair before and after individuals received finasteride. Like the results in the vertex scalp hair, the ratio of DHT/T in the plasma was remarkably decreased after finasteride administration (P < 0.001).

 

CONCLUSIONS:

 

This study supports the effect of finasteride in patients with MPB by examining the decreased level of DHT/T in scalp hair and in plasma. Thus, in view of the androgenic effect in the different hair regions, the vertex scalp hair plays a more important role for patients with MPB treated with finasteride than does the occipital hair.

 

Evaluation of androgens in the scalp hair and ... [br J Dermatol. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI

[suarez]

Propecia does what it says by blocking Dht, but by doing that you will create all kinds of problems, ageing face due to lipodystrophy or fat redistribution of the face,erection problems etc, propecia makers Merck are being hit with lawsuits due to this, people call it a poison but that's what happens when you block the king hormone.

 

When I block dht I get testicular shrinkage,wrinkles look worse,face gets bloated, and I get telogen effluvium on the sides of my head,my temple points just disappear, so what's the solution? That's the billion dollar question, maybe a topical that deals with inflammation while stopping androgens from attacking the follicles with no sides, one can only dream