How common is Post Finasteride syndrome?

[dan1990]

I have quite Finasteride 23 days ago and am still having side effects. I am very worried the side effects may be permanent. How common is PFS?

 

I was on the drug 2 years and noticed the side effects 2 months ago.

 

My dreams do seem to be improving. maybe a am improving slightly.

 

 

But I was prescribed viagra and it did not work so...

 

 

I am 27 years old

[Mark2010]

At least one in every hundred Finasteride users willl get some form of PFS.

 

 

Hair Loss Drug Propecia Carries Risk of Losing Something Else - NBC News

[MattyNJ1]

what are the side effects you are experiencing? dreams??

[dan1990]

what are the side effects you are experiencing? dreams??

Sexual dysfunction. its been abit of roller coaster since quitting the drug. Some days better than others. my sleep is disrupted atm. I wake up after about 4 hours every night

[MattyNJ1]

Sexual dysfunction. its been abit of roller coaster since quitting the drug. Some days better than others. my sleep is disrupted atm. I wake up after about 4 hours every night

 

How long have you been taking Fin...I find this to be strange and considerably rare from everything ive read, and people whom ive spoken to, as well as my own experience so far. Ive had ZERO Ed, or ANY sexual dysfunction what so ever so far 3 months in...in fact my libido has improved and iam 49yrs old...to hear this from a 27yr old guy is strange. And to say Viagra had no effect is very odd i would go see a doctor asap...

[Shampoo]

another major "common Post Finasteride syndrome" is you very may go bald and you will go bald quicker. I have experinced sexual dysfunction when taking finasteride that went away after staying on Finasteride. Of course as stated before, each patient responds different, however stopping finasteride can and does have it's own consequences which is faster balding.

[MattyNJ1]

Lack of sleep, bad dreams, ed are all also symptoms of depression...just my .02$

[fml5555]

Oh PFS, yeah I read about that when I was researching hair loss for the first time in 2011. Fortunately, though, I am intelligent and mentally stable so I got bored and stopped following that idiotic nonsense a year or two later once I had settled in on my fin/dut routine.

 

Any evidence on it yet or is it still about 80 depressed loons demanding a condition is invented because they say so?

 

I hope psychologists can help Problem Fabrication Syndrome suffers at some point.

[Mark2010]

PFS is real even hair loss Doctors admit that.

 

 

Hair loss surgeon Dr Patrick Treacy admits Finasteride can cause "permanent side effects".

 

(skip to 8:15)

 

[dan1990]

I am in a fine mental state atm.

PFS is much more prevalent than many of you think and Finasteride is not so effective for hair for all patients. It did not do much for my hair and I am off the drug a while now with no regression. Laser therapy worked much better for me personally

[MattyNJ1]

I am in a fine mental state atm.

PFS is much more prevalent than many of you think and Finasteride is not so effective for hair for all patients. It did not do much for my hair and I am off the drug a while now with no regression. Laser therapy worked much better for me personally

 

They say your condition (sexual sides) is more prevalent in “younger users”. May i ask how old you are? Also, iam curious when you 1st started taking the drug, did you have ANY sexual side effects? was your libido, sexual function the same? I ask bc (as stated previously) ive been on Fin for only 2 +months, at only 1/2 dose, and ive actually experienced an INCREASE in libido, ejaculation strength, and volume (although slightly watery as Ive read) Oddly even a feeling of “well being” associated with the drug. Not to mention my thinning hair stopped in its tracks and grew back nearly 20% of the hair fall i was experiencing already…and seems to get thicker every day.

Iam however cautiously optimistic, and have to admit the negative things im reading about this drug have me very concerned, but haven’t experienced any of these side effects Ive read about, or stated here in this thread…other than that i seem to be dreaming during sleep a bit more than usual.

[dan1990]

They say your condition (sexual sides) is more prevalent in “younger users”. May i ask how old you are? Also, iam curious when you 1st started taking the drug, did you have ANY sexual side effects? was your libido, sexual function the same? I ask bc (as stated previously) ive been on Fin for only 2 +months, at only 1/2 dose, and ive actually experienced an INCREASE in libido, ejaculation strength, and volume (although slightly watery as Ive read) Oddly even a feeling of “well being” associated with the drug. Not to mention my thinning hair stopped in its tracks and grew back nearly 20% of the hair fall i was experiencing already…and seems to get thicker every day.

Iam however cautiously optimistic, and have to admit the negative things im reading about this drug have me very concerned, but haven’t experienced any of these side effects Ive read about, or stated here in this thread…other than that i seem to be dreaming during sleep a bit more than usual.

Istarted taking it in July 2015. At the age of 25. At first I was fine. I actually noticed an increase in libido. All was fine until June of this year . So about 23 months where I noticed sexual side effects. Its June the major sides hit me. Inability to sustain an erections. Erections less firm etc.

 

Since going of the drug. Sleep is disrupted but not a huge problem it is much worse for many more.

 

I am now in the process of fighting this and recovering to the state I was before. But its not easy and Im in for a huge battle but im trying my best to cope with the hand Iv been dealt.

 

Dont make the same mistake I did. Iv spoken to many in Ireland about this and done lots of research on how to recover etc. Its more common than you think and certainitly not that rare in Ireland (country of only 4 million).

 

Not many with this condition come forward that the issue but PFS is certainty real Im afraid.

 

I wish Finasteride was safe and we could not worry about hair loss but sadly its not the case.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Based on everything that I've read, I do believe that post finasteride syndrome is real and possible although I also believe it is very rare. I also believe that some, not all who claim to have it actually don't and are experiencing sexual side effects do to some other condition.

 

Unfortunately, there is no device or medical way to examine somebody to determine whether or not sexual dysfunction is occurring because of finasteride after you stop taking it. However, enough people have reported the concern on problem that most believe that post finasteride syndrome exists.

 

I know that many hair restoration physicians resisted this phenomenon for quite some time however, I haven't spoken to them for a while about it, I'm curious to see what they think about it now that it's been excepted as a real condition amongst many.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[MattyNJ1]

I agree Bill...Dr's seem to push Fin even though there is a huge "grey area" shrouded around this drug. I would be interested to hear their feedback to topics such as this one....

[BaronVonHairline]

I think lots of hair loss doctors don't necessarily get feedback from patients who are suffering, because if you start suffering sexual, mental, or emotional symptoms you're probably less likely to go to an HT doc, and rather to your primary or a specialist. So I think lots of HT docs who prescribe Fin might not end up getting the feedback of patients who react badly. If a doc gives 10 guys fin, 2 react badly, and they both go to outside specialists, as far as that doc knows, 10 of 10 did fine on it. Though I know not only HT docs prescribe it, obviously.

 

For the record though, before I took fin, I consulted with a couple of HT docs about both a possible HT and about fin. One told me he had 1,000s of fin patients, and the worst he'd heard were some had mild to medium libido and erection issues, but most were fine. The other doc however told me he had numerous patients who were "young guys, who should not be having the problems they are having," and that the problems were long lasting and persistent. He also said he does not give fin scripts to any of his patients, and told me in no uncertain terms that he himself would absolutely not take fin.

 

Also, not to generalize doctors too broadly, but lots of them go by current medical literature, which is fair and understandable. But pfs is a new and emerging issue, which means it isn't heavily in the current literature, so it's not going to be taken seriously until or unless it becomes prevalent enough that it moves from anecdotal to peer reviewed and accepted. Any new condition or reaction is by nature going to start out as anecdotal.

 

There was a time when Vioxx was widely prescribed, and as anecdotal evidence started to arise, it remained a popular drug regardless. Eventually, after supposedly 50-60,000 deaths, it was pulled from the market. But it took that long to move from "my neighbor's mom's ex-roommate's veterinarian said it's dangerous," to being something in medical journals that said, Vioxx should no longer be prescribed. Everything starts anecdotally. The real issue is how do certain things make it past the FDA to begin with.

[MattyNJ1]

exactly look at Fen Phen...

 

PFS does seem to be more prevalent in young men ive noticed nearly every horror story ive read on the extreme side, involving sexual dysfunction etc seemed to be a young guy in his 20's or 30's.

[BaronVonHairline]

exactly look at Fen Phen...

 

PFS does seem to be more prevalent in young men ive noticed nearly every horror story ive read on the extreme side, involving sexual dysfunction etc seemed to be a young guy in his 20's or 30's.

 

Agreed, in my experience, seems to be that demographic too. I've wondered why. I once read something about how older men, 40s and beyond, are already beginning to experience andropause/decline in testosterone/other natural physiological changes, so if they ARE having mild-medium side effects, they may chalk it up to age rather than the meds.

 

But I haven't heard of many older guys having extreme sides, which is curious. Maybe it's part of the same above reason--some hormonal change has taken place in their bodies by then which makes them less susceptible to overreacting to a hormonal change.

[MattyNJ1]

well i for one am happy to report that iam 8 days POST Fin after taking it almost 3 months...and although it was clear my hormones were all over the place the past week, (with a definite "crash" involved, even some ED and even a lot of strange anxiety and emotions)...i seem to come through this phase, and now every thing is working just as it should this weekend thanks God. Morning wood, is back, sex drive is normal, semen, ejaculation, arousal all good to go! (many times this weekend as a matter of fact : )) and there is just an overall feeling that an adjustment has been made ....which tells me that my theory is correct. PFS is real however something that should be expected...its a hormonal "crash" and a period of time where the body "rights" itself. Just like any drug there is a crash. I think, if more DRs maybe told their patients to expect this, and maybe even treat it, there wouldn't be so much fear and horror surrounding it (which surely doesn't help the situation) . That being said im sure there are people for whatever reasons unbeknownst to me, who dont come back 100% from this...or maybe take longer. Maybe my own anticipation of this, and common sense approach helped being that i supplemented a (PFS supplement stack) MACA which is well known to balance hormones and increase libido, but stimulating certain glands idk....but iam just glad my system is back to normal. The only thing iam still getting is these random hives and itchy skin?...i cant figure out why. I even stopped minoxidil being its the only other factor i didn't rule out....guess we shall see....

 

One other thing id like to note, is to the guys going through this issue with ED / libido etc...be open with your GF or partner , being ashamed or keeping it a secret cant help, iam grateful to have such a beautiful woman,and open relationship with my girlfriend who i disclosed every thing with...it really made all the difference for me, as she was very supportive and understanding.....including many "test runs" and high fives after sex when everything was back to normal : )....just my .02$

[AlextheAmerican]

I think most instances of PFS is due to placebo effect. Same thing happened to me when I first started finasteride and thought I'd lose all sexual function. Couldn't get it up for over a month. After that? A fucking stallion again.

[ffar1989]

I personally believe that huge amount of people who are taking FIN DO NOT admitting that they have sexual problems on it, but they do. It is very hard for men, admit that kind of thing. Most of men have problem to go to doctor and ask for Viagra.

 

I am hoping that i will never have to take it. I will to everything to avoid it. Maybe 6 months berfore and 6 after HT i will take it, but that's it, i hope so at least.

[MattyNJ1]

...time on the drug doesn't matter. People have reported PFS after only a few weeks on the drug.

[ffar1989]

You are right. I know about that, and it makes my crazy about it... I will tell on consultation what's are my issues, worries...

 

Hopefully I won't have to take it, or at best I will be good responder, and every side effect will disappear after stop taking it.

[options]

Lack of sleep, bad dreams, ed are all also symptoms of depression...just my .02$

 

Am I the only one who has no idea what 'ed' is?

 

 

...but to the original poster - I hope you get better. Remember ,all the side effects you ascribe to finasteride could be caused by something else, particularly if you are anxious about the side effects...worry about not getting an erection can in itself, stop you getting an erection. Sexual problems are one of the most psychosomatic areas of health and well being.

[kenziesam]

3 minutes ago, nobleman said:

Can anyone recommend me something against erectile dysfunction?

Hi, dude. Unfortunately, I have the same problem, and it's terrible. I have noticed that I have a very weak erection, and decided to see a urologist. He gave me erectile dysfunction diagnose, and prescribed me viagra from https://ed-oesterreichische.at/viagra-generika/. I was very disappointed, but I have bought this viagra. It has a very cheap price, so, why not. I have tried it and I was really shocked, because it worked. It has solved my problem really fast, and I was so happy! Finally, I could have a good, normal sex. If you're looking for a stimulation drug, I would definitely recommend you to buy it.

Edited March 14, 2020 by kenziesam