Long Term side effects from Finesteride

[centurian]

Hello All,

 

Recently I have decided to research the side effects of finesteride. I have been taking it for a year now, but have been reading some pretty bad stuff such as loss of memory, extreme sexual side effects such as testical and penis shrinkage, no desire for sex, foggy mind, higher estrogen levels and lower overall testosterone levels. Finally altered hormone levels for life!

 

I have only been taking a 1 percent daily dosage for the past year, missing a dose here and there but I haven't noticed these side effects. Those that listed these side effects were taking finasteride for several years. If this is the price to pay for a little hair temporarily then it is not worth it. I would rather be b ald then give up my manhood.

 

I am ready to swear off propecia/proscar completely. Please, anyone who has or has not experienced these side effects after years of usage, please respond back with any facts or opinions. Also I read that dht is overall a good hormone for men and important in other bodily functions except for the hair loss.

 

Am I overeacting? Are the current cures for hairloss really worth the side effects?

[centurian]

Hello All,

 

Recently I have decided to research the side effects of finesteride. I have been taking it for a year now, but have been reading some pretty bad stuff such as loss of memory, extreme sexual side effects such as testical and penis shrinkage, no desire for sex, foggy mind, higher estrogen levels and lower overall testosterone levels. Finally altered hormone levels for life!

 

I have only been taking a 1 percent daily dosage for the past year, missing a dose here and there but I haven't noticed these side effects. Those that listed these side effects were taking finasteride for several years. If this is the price to pay for a little hair temporarily then it is not worth it. I would rather be b ald then give up my manhood.

 

I am ready to swear off propecia/proscar completely. Please, anyone who has or has not experienced these side effects after years of usage, please respond back with any facts or opinions. Also I read that dht is overall a good hormone for men and important in other bodily functions except for the hair loss.

 

Am I overeacting? Are the current cures for hairloss really worth the side effects?

[Ceasar08]

Centurian--

 

I took Propecia years ago and had some bad side effects, and I chose to quit the drug.

Personally, I would only worry about these side effects if you are getting them. It's true that you are altering your hormones, but it's quite possible that your body has reacted in a way where it has compensated for the lower DHT in a way where everything is functioning fine.

It's true that some people develop sides after being on the drug for awhile, but it is also true that plenty of people have been on the drug for ten or more years without any sides whatsoever. Everybody is different. There is no law that says you have to suffer side effects.

Again, I wouldn't worry about hypotheticals if your body has adjusted well to the drug. I was not as lucky, and I had to worry about those things. Hope this helped.

[Leeson]

Centurian, I have taken these drugs for over 10 years and...uhh...what was I saying? and I'm fine!

[mmhce]

Leeson,

In the 10 years that you took finasteride, did you take a break for procreative sex (in order for your wife to become pregnant)?

 

Or did you already have children?

 

I am not certain, but I do believe minute quantities of finasteride are in semen.

 

I will have to revise my notes on that.

[TC17]

In addition to possible side effects, I'm concerned that taking Finasteride misleads the doctor with regards to your actual balding pattern. For example, you may be 40 and been taking Propecia for 10 years and have evolved to a NW4, but if you had never used drugs you would be a NW6. If you get a transplant the doctor may be more aggressive because of your age and relative minor balding, but if you get off the drugs you're left with more bald area, less available donor, and a potentially poor result. I take Proscar 1.25 every day, but I don't want to take it the rest of my life and I fear that as a result of the Proscar the doctor will have no possible way to estimate my future balding.

[Leeson]

No kids, I figure one of me is enough to subject the world to.

[Stimpson]

Fin for about 2 years. No side effects whatsoever. People might scream at me, but I think most people who claim sexual sides have it in their heads that they are going to have trouble, and so they do. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

 

Sex isn't so great when you approach it with a nervous "oh shit..." attitude. Then, after the sting of the 'incident', I could see where it would be REALLY easy to blame the fin, as some guys will do anything to save face at this point. Of course the problem was not the fin, it was the nervous "oh shit..." approach. Sitting there waiting for trouble.

 

To quote my very respected HT doctor when I was 27, "a 27 year old man will NOT have sexual side effects from propecia".

 

No disrespect intended, and I wonder if maybe I missed a joke or something, but if you have to ask if somebody "took a break from fin in order to procreate", you are DEFINITELY in that group that has it in your head that you are going to have trouble, and as such you probably will. If you are that worried, just avoid the fin altogether. Period. You are going to have trouble.

 

When I read crazy threads about finesteride sides, I am usually laughing after a few posts. I have nothing but sympathy for my fellow baldies, but damn, fin gets blamed for EVERYTHING that is wrong in peoples lives (saggy faces, lack of concentration, etc.). It's really over the top too much of the time.

 

Stimpy

[Ceasar08]

Stimpy --

 

When I started Finasteride, I believed there were no side effects. The sides in the study that were reported were so small that I dismissed them completely.

 

I can tell you without any doubt whatsoever that the drug severely affected me in ways that I never could have believed, had I not experienced it first hand. The people who are suffering long term have had permanent changes in their hormonal balance, and these changes have been confirmed by tests. I have asked some very reputable and well respected people if they felt that these "permanent side effects" are possible and they believe that it is indeed possible. The endocrine system is not fully understood, and it is confusing and unpredictable even in the hands of the experts.

 

Many people on Finasteride have experienced physical changes including male breast growth caused by an increase in estrogen. These are measurable and logical consequences resulting from the body producing excess estrogen. It's not a placebo effect.

 

If you would like to see a similar phenomenon, research anti-depressant medications -- especially SSRI drugs. Studies consistently show 1-2% of people report sexual side effects. Ask any psychiatrist and they will tell you that there is no question, based on post marketing experience, that the sides are more like 30-60%. Sexual side effects are notoriously under reported in studies.

 

A lot of people who do not experience Propecia sides picture the phenomenon similar to performance anxiety. It is not like that. When you experience th side effects first hand, for many people there is a complete lack of interest in sex, a non-existent libido, and a complete lack of any sensation and morning erections. It is bizarre, unnerving, and far from subtle. When I quit the drug, it felt like I'd gone from an eighty year old man to a twenty year old.

 

Like yourself, I used to laugh when I read about all the people who talked online about the sides. I had no idea it would happen to me, and now I don't laugh those people off anymore. You are inhibiting a male hormone (DHT) by somewhere between 67- 86%. DHT is more potent than testosterone and it is found all over the body. We are not even completely sure of its function everywhere.

 

I realize you mean no disrespect. Understand that I once came from exactly the perspective you are coming from now. Some people's bodies adjust fine to Propecia, while some people's bodies do not. When you are on the other side of it, there is no doubt whatsoever to what it happening. You have to experience it yourself, and I am glad you have not experienced it. It's horrible.

[aaron1234]

I have been on Finasteride for three years. During the first two weeks on the medication, I began to feel a pretty intense pain in my testicles. It stung to pee. I was about to quit the drug. I decided to give it a little longer before I gave it up. The sides subsided after the 3rd week and I haven't experienced any since.

 

I'm sure some really do experience the sides, like Ceasar08. But I am also positive that many have placebode themselves by obsessing over the small probability of sides.

[Stimpson]

Ceasar - You seem entirely credible and I do not doubt you in the least. Some people really do have side effects.

 

I am indeed thankful that I have not had any of these issues.

 

Stimpy

[Uk_lad]

so what happens to the guys that take 5mg a day for the prostate? I myself took 5mg a day for about three weeks (incompetence of the doctor) and experienced no sexual sides, just slight ache in balls, my main side was fast heart rate! i do believe in the people who say they have them, but some are ridiculous, type any drug and side effects into google and your get plenty of results!

[Acrobaz]

Ceasar08 - I've not seen you write about this before. It's a very helpful and interesting perspective. Can I ask you:

- how long had you been taking fin before noticing the sides?

- how long after ceasing fin did the sides disappear (if indeed they have all disappeared)?

Many thanks

Acrobaz

[Petchski]

Fin has higher side effects than Merck lead you to believe. For many the side effects are short lasting and tantamount to adjusting your body to the drug, but for some the side effects can be quite damaging. If you look online you will find people that suffered from androgen sensitivity, but it is rare.

 

You have to bear in mind that some people do overplay the side effects as well and blame fin for everything.

 

We are all different and our bodies react differently to the same stimuli. For the majority of people who get side effects that don't go away when taking the drug, ceasing to take the drug will bring you back to normal.

 

I've been on fin for 7 years and everything is fine, you just have to suck it and see. I got minor side effects when I first took it such as nut ache and watery jizz, but after 3 weeks I was back to normal.

[Ceasar08]

Hey guys --

 

Acrobaz- I was on the standard 1mg Propecia for over a year back around 2000. It grew a tremendous amount of hair back for me. It was incredibly effective for me in doing what it was meant to do.

 

I had those side effects for practically the entire time on the drug, and I tried different herbs, supplements, and even a little viagra. Nothing seemed to work too well. I then tried cutting the dose for a few months, intermittent dosing, etc. After a little over a year, I had no choice but to quit. The sides were that bad.

 

After I quit the drug, it was a rollercoaster. I could literally feel my body trying to find a normal equilibrium for many months. Somewhere within that year, things seemed to adjust back to normal, though it's hard to give an exact time frame other than that. When I read posts from those poor guys on Propeciahelp.com my heart really goes out to them. I have no doubt they are not doing a number on their heads.

 

Again, I think people who don't get the sides imagine some guy on Propecia who is with his girlfriend and having a little trouble because the possibility has been planted in his head. It's not like that. It's more like you're watching Heidi Klum on a commercial and you might as well be looking at your great uncle Ernie. You have no desire for sex whatsoever. It's frightening.

 

No doubt there are hypochondriacal people on the web, as there are a lot of total crazies period. But it hurts me when I read people dismissing other people who have side effects.

 

A final story to add... Back in 2000, there was a period of time when I started losing my train of thought in conversations a lot, and found myself forgetting things much more than usual. It was a joke amongst my friends that in my mid-twenties I was suddenly "getting old." I laughed it off, as did they, but it was a bit weird. Years later, I read all of these people online complaining of Propecia "brain fog." Now, I never once would have ever made the connection between Propecia and my memory at the time. Even years later, I'd never thought about it. Even now... am I saying now that it was Finasteride? I do not know. What I will say is that it was most definitely the same year I took the drug, and nowadays my memory is as good as ever.

 

I wish I could have stayed on Propecia, it worked wonders for my hair. There is no question that most people seem to do very well on the drug, and I am in no way trying to scare people. My two main points are:

 

1. Everyone is different. Don't assume your experience is universal and belittle the next person's experience.

 

2. If you are unfortunate enough to get side effects, take them seriously. They can be indicative that your hormones have fallen out of whack.

[Acrobaz]

Thanks Ceasar08 - much appreciated.

[xxy]

I had side effects too.

 

I find it a little offensive when people dismiss it as psychological. If I even thought there was a tiny chance I'd have been in the affected group, I wouldn't have taken it. I was sure I'd be fine, and I wasn't even the one to first notice the effects.

 

Another reason I don't want them trivialised or dismissed is that it's something that could benefit everyone - if the proper research is done, it might be possible to improve or change the drug in a way that it will be even less likely to have side effects. Which would be a better drug, even for the guys who haven't experienced side effects.

[Uk_lad]

so maybe the general rule should be if you go on the meds and experience side effects lasting over a week, you should maybe stop. My thinking being the sides proves its having a negative effect, and the quciker you stop the less damage you cause!

[john2008]

I have been taking propecia since 1998 and I was 21 at the time. I got married in 2000 and I have not have any side effects that I am aware of. Now, I started young and I do realize that I started taking it the year after it was approved for baldness, so there is not a "true" long-term (20-30 years) study of side effects. I was off it for about a year to save money. During this time the only difference that I noticed was losing more hair. After another transplant and taking Propecia again, I have more hair. Unfortunately, you never know for sure what can happen when being on a medication for several years. Remember that women on birth control can have strokes and heart attacks. So, each person has to way the possible benefits and risks, I can only say that I have not had side affects for 11 years, minus the one that I was off of the drug.

 

john

[john2008]

I was reading a few more of the posts here. In my many years on the drug, I can honestly say that although I did not have any side effects, I am aware of some people who have had side effects. Everyone needs to understand that they are serious and that they are REAL. Luckily, those who I knew with side effects, went back to normal shortly after ceasing the drug. At first I did have some effects that could be considered psychological, because I was 21 and REALLY stressed about becoming impotent and I was better after I got it out of my head. So, it was mental for me, but for the two friends that I had, it was not mental. I just think that it is important that we keep in mind that these side effects are a reality for some people, however for centurian's situation -I AM NOT A DOCTOR - but I think that you would have noticed something within a year. Don't be afraid to speak with you doctor and pharmacists as they are have access to most studies on the drugs.

 

John