New Zealand's Medicine Safety Authority Recognises - Post-Finasteride Syndrome

[Mark2010]

Post-Finasteride Syndrome

 

 

 

Post-Finasteride Syndrome

 

 

Prescriber Update 37(1): 8-9

March 2016

Key Messages

 

 

 

• Post-Finasteride Syndrome is a recently recognised condition that occurs in some men who have taken finasteride.
  
• Symptoms (sexual, physical, and mental and neurological) often persist after the patient has stopped taking finasteride.
  
• Patients should be informed of the risks of taking finasteride prior to treatment initiation.
  
• The symptoms associated with Post-Finasteride Syndrome should be discussed with patients prior to treatment.
  

 

 

 

Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS) is a recently recognised condition that can occur in patients who have taken finasteride1. Finasteride is a 5-alpha reductase type II enzyme inhibitor used to treat hair loss (eg, Propecia, Profal and ReGen) or enlarged prostate (eg, Proscar, Finasteride Rex and Fintral).

PFS includes sexual, physical, and mental and neurological symptoms in patients who have taken finasteride (Table 1). Symptoms often persist after the patient has stopped taking finasteride.

Table 1: Reported symptoms of Post-Finasteride Syndrome1

Sexual Symptoms Physical Symptoms Mental and Neurological Symptoms Decreased or complete loss of sex drive Female-like breast development and enlargement Severe memory/recall impairment Erectile dysfunction, impotence Chronic fatigue, listlessness Slowed thought processes Loss of morning and spontaneous erections Muscle atrophy, weakness Impaired problem solving, decreased comprehension Sexual anhedonia, loss of pleasurable orgasm Decreased oil and sebum production Depression Decreased semen volume and force Chronically dry, thinning of skin Anxiety Penile shrinkage and numbness Melasma Suicidal ideation Peyronie’s disease Tinnitus Emotional flatness and anhedonia Scrotal shrinkage and numbness Increased fat deposition, obesity and elevated body mass index Insomnia Decrease in body temperature Reduced HDL cholesterol, raised fasting glucose and triglycerides Attempted suicide Completed suicide

Importantly, some patients can experience suicidal ideation and depression after stopping finasteride treatment. Patients and their families should be advised about these symptoms and to seek medical advice as soon as possible if they occur.

Unfortunately, PFS is a condition with no known cure and few, if any, effective treatments.

Further information about PFS can be found on the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation website (www.pfsfoundation.org/).

To date, the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) has received 10 reports associating finasteride use with at least one of the symptoms of PFS listed in Table 1. Age, when reported, ranged from 22 to 81 years of age. Only three patients reported that they had recovered at the time of the report.

Please report any adverse events, including those associated with PFS, to CARM (https://nzphvc.otago.ac.nz/).

 

[Mark2010]

Dr. Andrew Rynne was years ahead of his time when he warned people about Finasteride.

 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

Although a small percentage experience PFS it is certainly something that needs to be discussed in detail as a possibility. What is the most alarming is that after speaking with some guys who have PFS even TRT doesn't help, it's as if their body can no longer accept testosterone, I also think there is a demonization with DHT, it's often talked about only for its negative side effects which are cosmetic like hairloss and acne. When you realize DHT is the very androgen which develops you as a man through puberty it's pretty scary to think so many are completely blocking it sometimes by up to 90% with dutasteride. There needs to be something else, why on earth would we block such a powerful natural androgen in all of our body to stop it from only affecting the scalp when you think about it, its crazy. Why can't there be a topical treatment that blocks the receptors on the scalp only that way DHT is not removed systemically.

[Bill - Seemiller]

It's unfortunate that finasteride may seem to be accompanied by long-term side effects. But enough people have reported it where it cannot be ignored. Personally, the concern about long-term side effects has caused me to quit using the medication. Thankfully, even though I haven't used it for over a year, I have not noticed any additional hair loss. Unfortunately, it is risky to stop the medication at least in terms of retaining hair, but I figured my long-term health is more important than my hair despite how much I want to save what natural hair I have left. Thankfully, I've had over 9600 graphs and still have some hair left in reserve for future work if I need it. I encourage anyone who is benefiting from finasteride to truly research all the pros and cons and make an educated decision about what you want to do. Side effects does not affect everybody but it obviously can't affect some.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Rashid36]

After just under 2 months I've seen very good results in the crown using monoxidil and nizarol so now i'm giving propicia a try starting at 0.5mg to see how it goes.

 

Everyone is different and the body reacts and responds differently too.

 

Most medicine have a list of possible side effects which if one read like me in the past you would not take any medicine but look how much good medicine can do as well.

[esrec]

The US will always remain behind on these issues. Big Pharma is lobbyist and $$$ driven like nowhere else in the world.

 

Look no further than advertising and commercials-only the US is able to promote products. I read someone that 10x $$ is goes into advertising and marketing vs research and development.

 

Its hardly just Finasteride. Studies are released every day documenting the over-prescribing of medications. Look at amphetamines like Adderal. Big Pharma now has commercials targeting adults with "Adult ADHD" bc they've maxed out the adolescent crowd. How many people do you know casually taking amphetamines or anti-depressants and think nothing of it? I think we all become quite desensitized as a result.

 

I realize im going off topic, I just think you need to be your own doctor alot of the time. We all badly want to keep our hair, but the importance of DHT in the male body cannot be understated.

[JON86]

The sad thing is doctors tell patients that two percent of people get side effects. That is a complete lie. The numbers are much greater. Everyone I personally know has gotten side effects from it. I still think meds are important when considering surgery but who knows what this stuff is really doing to us. I got severe brain fog when I started taking it and loss of libido. I cut the dose in half have had no sides now but I wonder what it is doing to me long term. I honestly think in time it will be one of those drugs you see in those late night infomercials with lawyers seeking compensation for messed up people. It's sad there is no alternative to this.

[esrec]

2% is a completely arbitrary and made up number. Most men do not get treatment when they have sides or even report that they have an issue. This is not the fault of big pharma, but it makes their claims even less substantiated.

 

Just look at this large study conducted: If 75% of men actually diagnosed with ED don't follow through with treatment, can you imagine how many others go unreported?

 

Most Men With Erectile Dysfunction Don't Seem to Get Treatment

Edited April 22, 2016 by esrec

[ZeoRanger]

I have taken fin for 12 yrs and I still wake up with a hard boner in the middle of the night. Which is extremely annoying when you want to take a leak. Is fin responsible for that too?

[Rashid36]

There is a stigma attached to using this med.

I'm sure many blame the med but it's due to other things.

 

Reading posts shows many don't want to take the med bec of any chance of a risk but the hair transplant doc who are relied to do our surgery advise we take the med ?

 

A few things i recently read about this med:

 

- In the past they did not tell people the sides can continue even if you stop taking the med. This then has caused many to file law suites against the manufacture and since they have revised the patient info

 

- Physicians use finasteride for the treatment of BPH, informally known as an enlarged prostate. Finasteride may improve the symptoms associated with BPH such as difficulty urinating, getting up during the night to urinate, hesitation at the start of urination, and decreased urinary flow

 

- Finasteride is sometimes used in hormone replacement therapy for male-to-female transsexuals in combination with a form of estrogen due to its antiandrogen properties.

[AlexieJ]

There are just so many side effects and take not bad side effects of finasteride especially to men. Just to be on the safe side let's not just try this medicine as it can destroy us. I'm not judging, it's just that I've read so many side effects that are alarming.