UK launches investigation of Finasteride

[BaldDude]

Health officials have launched a safety review of a commonly used hair loss drug after the side effects associated with this medication have reportedly increased by 30%.

Frequently taking the drug finasteride can trigger the development of some severe side effects, such as a low libido, erectile disfunction, depression and insomnia, new data has shown. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/mar/hair-loss-pill-under-investigation-after-reports-of-severe-side-effects.html#:~:text=Health reports have revealed that,result of taking the drug.&text=Finasteride is a medication that,stop men losing their hair.

[arthurSam]

Merk got the power ...

[HappyMan2021]

i wish people would really just bugger off about Fin sides. 

Either you don't get sides and are able to reap the rewards (99% of guys) or you experience side effects (1% of guys) and should stop taking it.

I've never seen more hysteria and vilification of an objectively safe medication. 

Fin really is as safe as it can get....no medication in the world will ever have 0% side effects for 100% of the population

Unpopular opinion but I wager the majority of guys experiencing 'Fin sides' really have ED, depression, etc. due to other causes. It's just really easy to blame Fin. 

Many guys start taking Fin at a stage in life when libido and sexual performance naturally starts to decline. 

I know its a newsflash to many out there but libido and erectile strength naturally declines with life's aging process. The finasteride is simply a red herring!!!

 

[TorontoMan]

Wish someone would do a comparative study on the effects of balding on depression. 

[Gatsby]

The real question is 30% of 'what?' I haven't read the link but are all of the people in the world who have safely taken finasteride and moved on with their life been included? I very much doubt it!

[Turkhair]

If you have a depressing life anything can trigger you to be suicidal.

What they should be spending their time on is investigating the quality of finasteride generics. 

I used generic Finasteride for many years and it would bring me down/crash me despite using a lower dosage. I switched to Propecia because I couldn’t find generics in a different country and was blown away. I couldn’t feel anything. I remember and this is so funny, I kept looking at the packet of Propecia few hours later wondering if I had taken it and one missing tablet was staring at me. I was surprised why I wasn’t feeling horrible and wondered if I had taken the drug. I then started thinking maybe this is fake, but then thought how can they fake Propecia and I bought it from a reputable store. 

I only use brand name Propecia now and avoid generics like the plague. I would go so far as to say many people would probably have less or no sides if they switched to brand name. Who knows what they put in generic, maybe the drug in impure condition causes more sides, who knows I am not a chemist.  

Edited September 2, 2023 by Turkhair

[TheGreatPretender]

30 minutes ago, Turkhair said:

If you have a depressing life anything can trigger you to be suicidal.

What they should be spending their time on is investigating the quality of finasteride generics. 

I used generic Finasteride for many years and it would bring me down/crash me despite using a lower dosage. I switched to Propecia because I couldn’t find generics in a different country and was blown away. I couldn’t feel anything. I remember and this is so funny, I kept looking at the packet of Propecia few hours later wondering if I had taken it and one missing tablet was staring at me. I was surprised why I wasn’t feeling horrible and wondered if I had taken the drug. I then started thinking maybe this is fake, but then thought how can they fake Propecia and I bought it from a reputable store. 

I only use brand name Propecia now and avoid generics like the plague. I would go so far as to say many people would probably have less or no sides if they switched to brand name. Who knows what they put in generic, maybe the drug in impure condition causes more sides, who knows I am not a chemist.  

Been on generic Finasteride for ages, never had a trouble. Switched recently to generic Dutasteride, same thing. 

Sometimes you can be alergic to some of the generic secondary ingredients but the same thing can happen with brand named medicine, I guess everyone does what works for them.  

It also depends on the brand, I used Accord and Milpharm so far and both worked well enough to help my hair which is what matters.

I think another prespective that is vital to understand is the balding desease itself can be the direct cause of depression for many individuals so take with that what you will.

[Joseph James]

8 hours ago, Turkhair said:

If you have a depressing life anything can trigger you to be suicidal.

What they should be spending their time on is investigating the quality of finasteride generics. 

I used generic Finasteride for many years and it would bring me down/crash me despite using a lower dosage. I switched to Propecia because I couldn’t find generics in a different country and was blown away. I couldn’t feel anything. I remember and this is so funny, I kept looking at the packet of Propecia few hours later wondering if I had taken it and one missing tablet was staring at me. I was surprised why I wasn’t feeling horrible and wondered if I had taken the drug. I then started thinking maybe this is fake, but then thought how can they fake Propecia and I bought it from a reputable store. 

I only use brand name Propecia now and avoid generics like the plague. I would go so far as to say many people would probably have less or no sides if they switched to brand name. Who knows what they put in generic, maybe the drug in impure condition causes more sides, who knows I am not a chemist.  

Generic finasteride gave me insomnia/anxiety, and I've wondered if taking actual Propecia would not give me these sides.

[Turkhair]

17 hours ago, Joseph James said:

Generic finasteride gave me insomnia/anxiety, and I've wondered if taking actual Propecia would not give me these sides.

Not all generic brands would be bad but yeah some would be as was the case with mine. You can try Propecia and see if that makes a difference. 
 

 

[LeveledUp]

Meh don’t see a problem with investigating claims 

[GoliGoliGoli]

11 minutes ago, LeveledUp said:

Meh don’t see a problem with investigating claims 

Yep

Regardless of anyone's opinion on Finasteride, there is nothing wrong with doing more research into the drugs and its side effects. If everyone is confident that side effects are as low as Merck claims/claimed, then more research will bear this out. I'm willing to change my opinion on it given enough evidence. 

This is the one area of balding research where you guys get mad when people put money into it! 

[TorontoMan]

34 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Yep

Regardless of anyone's opinion on Finasteride, there is nothing wrong with doing more research into the drugs and its side effects. If everyone is confident that side effects are as low as Merck claims/claimed, then more research will bear this out. I'm willing to change my opinion on it given enough evidence. 

This is the one area of balding research where you guys get mad when people put money into it! 

No one is ever going to do another double blinded placebo study on fin, it’s off patent and generics are insanely cheap, so no one cares. It really is on the individual to weigh up the trade offs and try it for themselves 

[Vann]

It’s interesting to see it’s in the UK, I’ve been reading a lot of reports of people becoming more “feminine” due to local/environmental supplements (water, food, etc.) that is effected by things in their hormones. The leading cause was water, there’s a rising case of hormones (estrogen) in the water that is making a lot, more, men show symptoms.

in addition to birth control leeching, many men are affected by the imbalance… I heard it is mainly affected through physical contact (kiss, physical intimacy, etc.)

 

there’s so many factors that it’s insane and difficult to pinpoint a specific side effect when there’s 999999 other variables people refuse to consider. Whether or not the drug has sides, it wouldn’t be prevalent until, a person cannot determine the effect until it’s in their system. 
 

me for example… I was a hyper responder but felt temporary sides for the first 6 months at most and even then it was mild for me. If i got off the drug I probably wouldn’t notice much difference. 
 

edit: unless the drug is being improved on… there’s no alternative that is currently on market. So it’s really take it or leave it

Edited September 3, 2023 by Vann

[GoliGoliGoli]

43 minutes ago, TorontoMan said:

No one is ever going to do another double blinded placebo study on fin, it’s off patent and generics are insanely cheap, so no one cares. It really is on the individual to weigh up the trade offs and try it for themselves 

That may be true but it's largely irrelevant to my original point

[4chanhrn]

On 9/1/2023 at 6:17 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

i wish people would really just bugger off about Fin sides. 

Either you don't get sides and are able to reap the rewards (99% of guys) or you experience side effects (1% of guys) and should stop taking it.

I've never seen more hysteria and vilification of an objectively safe medication. 

Fin really is as safe as it can get....no medication in the world will ever have 0% side effects for 100% of the population

Unpopular opinion but I wager the majority of guys experiencing 'Fin sides' really have ED, depression, etc. due to other causes. It's just really easy to blame Fin. 

Many guys start taking Fin at a stage in life when libido and sexual performance naturally starts to decline. 

I know its a newsflash to many out there but libido and erectile strength naturally declines with life's aging process. The finasteride is simply a red herring!!!

 

It is illogical to think that nuking one of main male hormones would not have any significant short term or long term side effects for sizable number of population.

[GoliGoliGoli]

10 hours ago, 4chanhue said:

It is illogical to think that nuking one of main male hormones would not have any significant short term or long term side effects for sizable number of population.

Merck and Kevin Mann know what androgens you need. Forget 100 million years of conserved evolution maintaining your DHT levels. DHT is like the male nipple! 

 

All kidding aside, I do believe that large numbers of men are able to take it without too many serious side effects. It's surprising but does seem to be the case. Why that is I'm not sure, but it certainly isn't because DHT is a "trash hormone". 

Edited September 14, 2023 by GoliGoliGoli

[Scree]

Just because we evolved with something doesn't mean it's useful. It just means that it doesn't seriously detract from getting laid. 5AR inhibitors are incredibly safe as far as hormone therapy is concerned. Hormonal birth control pills come with some pretty outrageous side effects and are prescribed to literal 15 year olds yet nobody cares. Ultimately, the drug gets a lot of flak because it's for hair loss and being worried about hair loss is considered vain and pointless.

[GoliGoliGoli]

5 hours ago, Scree said:

Just because we evolved with something doesn't mean it's useful.

If something is conserved across millions of years of evolution is a pretty good sign that it's useful. Not always the case, but it's indicative of utility.