Does Propecia Shrinks the Penis?

[nobuzz4me]

Originally posted by wesley949:

With regard to propecia shrinking your penis, I believe I have lost about three inches of erect penis lenght, which amounts to about an inch a year. When I get down to 9 inches next year, I may consider cutting back to half a pill a day.

 

LOL!!! I got on Propecia for just this reason, the new hair growth thing is a bothersome side effect!

[Mark H]

In that case, I'll be the one to confess that the loss of 3 inches would turn me into a period instead of an exclamation point.

 

However, I can report that empirically at least, I've lost no length. Of course I no longer give a s**t about girls, but you can't have everything can you.

 

Oh BTW B spot, I now have a custom avatar....nanner nanner nanner!

 

mark

[endoftherope]

DHT is the hormone that drives the penile spongy tissue (sinusoids) to grow, to repair, and to erect. Penis size is determined by DHT's concentration in the spongy tissues and capillaries, the Acetylcholine/NO level in the penile parasympathetic nerves and endings, as well as cardiovascular pumping.

 

Any drugs which drop the DHT production in the penile tissues will weaken your erection and shrink your penis, and yes an increase in DHT production will result in a larger penis. DHT is a superhormone that stimulates the prostate to enlarge and stimulates muscles to grow. DHT helps you grow everything in your body except the hair on your head!

 

Teenage boys going through puberty reach their maximum penile size when their DHT level reaches its peak in their life. As they pass the ages of 30-35 or enter their midlife, their penises start to shrink due to a drop of DHT or a disorder of penile arterial Hemodilation.

 

Also, DHT plays an important role in orgasm and libido. Orgasm is a sympathetic nervous function driven by a burst of dopamine-adrenalin conversion in conjunction with the burst of testosterone-DHT conversion, where dopamine is the orgasmic fire and testosterone is the fuel. Upon achieving orgasm, your penis will reach its maximum size during lovemaking due to the abrupt peaking of the DHT level in your penile spongy tissues or bloodstream.

 

As a result, if excessive DHT is produced and/or trapped in the wrong places for the wrong reasons, the prostate will enlarge or over-heat, cause premature ejaculation, and the penis will shrink due to deficiency of DHT in the penile spongy tissue. Finasteride reduces the body's DHT levels which shrinks the prostrate and shrinks other things as well!!!

 

Any medication or street drugs blocking the testosterone- DHT conversion and the beta receptors sites, promoting the excessive dopamine-adrenalin conversion will shrink the penis, sooner or later.

 

Here are some documents on DHT rat trials. Oddly enough, a great deal of information concerning the roles of finasteride and DHT in penis and muscle size have been disappearing from the net lately.

 

http://www.asiaandro.com/1008-682X/5/33.htm

 

http://www.asiaandro.com/1008-682X/1/169.htm

 

Will EVERYONE suffer a shrunken penis due to Propecia? No. Absolutely not. People react differently to different medications and everyone's horomone levels are unique.

[JW]

Endoftherope:

 

Regarding your comments on Propecia and penis size, this is a forum and you have a right to present your position so people can make an informed decision on whether to take Propecia or not.

 

However, here are some problems that I have with your conclusions.

 

First, taking Propecia does not totally eliminate DHT from your body. Propecia works by inhibiting the enzyme 5 alpha reductase. This enzyme is responsible for the conversion of testosterone to DHT. However, taking Propecia, 1mg. finasteride, each day lowers serum DHT levels by 60% - 70%. It does not wipe DHT from the body. Thus, people who take Propecia still have DHT in their blood and bodies. However, at a much lower level. So even if DHT drives the penile spongy tissue to grow, how can you say for sure that the DHT in the blood of a Propecia user is not adequate or sufficient for a healthy penis. What serum levels of DHT are necessary so that penile tissue will grow? Will a 10% reduction in DHT levels adversely affect penis health? What about a 30% reduction? What about a 60% reduction? Since Propecia does not eliminate DHT from the body but only reduces it by 60%, before you conclude that people who take Propecia may be adversely affecting the health of the penis, I think that you have to point to a study on humans which establishes the minimum level of DHT that is necessary for a healthy penis. Without that, your conclusions do not have a scientific foundation.

 

Second, are you aware of any clinical studies on humans that establish a link between Propecia use and penis health. I am aware of the study that you posted regarding giving finasteride to rats. However, I am not aware of any human studies. The rat study was posted and discussed on another board about 2 years ago. I was very concerned after reading the study because I had just started taking Propecia.

 

I was so concerned that I made an appointment with a very reputable and respected urologist in the city where I live. (I live in a large city so I did not go to some country doctor). I showed the urologist the study and told him I was worried because I had just started taking Propecia. He read it and he then laughed. He stated that I had nothing to worry about and that Propecia was completely safe. He told me that the rats in that study were given huge amounts of finasteride, almost 100 times more than is ingested when humans take Propecia. He also stated that you can not extrapolate rat studies to humans.

 

His comment about extrapolating rat studies to humans resonated with me recently when I read about the study of mice that were given Resveratrol, the ingredient in red wine. The mice were obese and on a high fat diet but they lived healthier, longer lives because they were given huge doses of Resveratrol. They were given a dose of Resveratrol that was equivalent to a human drinking 100 bottles of wine a day. Even the author of the study stated: "All of us who practice medicine have learned that we can't leap from studies in the lab, particularly in lab animals, to what will happen in humans." So other than the rat study on finasteride and penile health, can you point us to any human studies performed by doctors that establish a link between Propecia usage and penile health?

 

As far as your anecdotal evidence that Propecia usage shrinks the penis, here are my thoughts. One side effect that some Propecia users may get is that there is some inhibition of nitrus oxide production. Nitrus oxide is necessary for an erection. Thus, some Propecia users may not get rock hard erections because of insufficient NO production. . Because of that the penis appears to have shrunk. Thus, is it a question of the penis appearing to shrink because of insufficient serum DHT or is it a question of the penis appearing to shrink because of insufficient NO production which results in softer erections. If it is the latter, than the answer is to increase the production of NO and not to discontinue Propecia, especially if it is working and halting hair loss. Viagra and other drugs stimulate NO production. L-Arginine, a natural supplement, also stimulates NO production. Before someone discontinues Propecia because their penis appears to have shrunk, they should try Viagra or L-Arginine.

 

Finally, can you point to any reputable, respected urologist who subscribes to the theory that Propecia usage can shrink the penis? If propecia does play havoc with the penile tissue, wouldn't there be a few respected urologists out there alerting men to that side effect?

 

Once I hear a respected urologist espouse your views then I will give your views more credence. Until then, I don't see how you can extrapolate rat studies to humans or rely on anecdotal evidence to link Propecia usage with penile damage.

 

I have taken the time to post this long response because I am afraid that some of the newer and younger readers of this forum may be scared off from taking Propecia because of your post. Propecia has helped many men and can help many men with hair loss. To some men it is a miracle drug. I think anyone on the fence about taking Propecia from reading your post should be given the other viewpoint.

[C.L.]

Oh man, that really sucks, Jr. (as I call "him") is really big and I want to keep em that way. Propecia isn't going to stop that will it?

[endoftherope]

JW-

 

I am grateful for your post and am very interested in everything you had to say. This is a discussion forum and it's important to express all sides to an argument. In fact, I love this forum because people actually DISCUSS things here with a civil tone.

 

I began my research because I randomly stumbled across some online posts reporting a reduction in penis size using Propecia. My intent is not to scare anyone, but to simply post my findings on that particular subject.

 

I am a firm believer that artificially altering the body's hormonal balance always has consequences. And I do not trust the pharmaceutical industry to properly research and publish those consequences.

 

I have always taken it upon myself to thoroughly research every drug I put into my body, ESPECIALLY if it is a drug I plan to use for life. The FDA is too busy to catch every flaw in every substance dumped on their desk and a single doctor's word is not enough for me. In this day and age, you're hard pressed to find a doctor that can keep up with every new turn in the pharmaceutical business. There are simply too many drugs on the market and it is too difficult to catch the problems in all of them.

 

I appreciate the fact that you took action to refute my post. I will try and track down human trials to further support my evidence. I will also speak to some University professors and a handful of urologists to corroborate that evidence.

 

Let's hope you are right and I am wrong!

[JakeVig]

Hi endoftherope,

 

I wouldn't take too much confidence in what is written in online posts. If you do find some factual information (i.e. from case studies, etc) than that would definitely be an interesting read. Otherwise I wouldn't get too worked up over the rants of others.

[endoftherope]

I didn't take stock in what random people were writing in forums. Yes, the complaints sparked my interest, but what truly got my attention were the scientific studies available that supported those complaints. Oddly enough, many of the studies I found online have suddenly disappeared.

 

The rat trials, though not as strong as human trials, do have some weight. They were given large amounts of finasteride because that is how the scientific community measures the long term effects of a drug. For example, instead of monitoring a subject for 100 years using 1 MG a day, they'll monitor the subject for 10 years at 10 MG a day. It's not perfect, but it's the only way to get a drug to market without actually spending 100 years testing it.

 

I do agree with a lot of what JW has stated and because of his post, I am going to continue looking into this.

[andy79]

hmmm...well, to be honest, I did read about this in GQ. Someone's wife had written in to one of their columnists claiming that her husbands penis had shrunk from propecia.

 

Pretty much the columnist just bashed her for not being supportive of her husband and that losing his hair was tough enough without having to worry about the size of his member.

 

However, the columnist did not bother to prove or disprove it her theory.

 

I for one don't think its true...although I did experience terrible sexual side effects when I first started the drug...the Swedish Bikini Team could have parachuted into my bedroom and couldn't have made it move! I may have been more inclined to believe this back then...maybe frightened posters are hitting up the message boards scared and confused, ready to believe every horrible story that's out there.

[JW]

About the woman writing to GQ about her husband's penis shrinking,I will reiterate what I said in my post above. Does Propecia cause the penis to shrink or is it really a case of a Propecia user having softer, weaker erections from taking Propecia. Softer, weaker erections could make it appear that the penis has shrunk.

 

I have no doubt that Propecia can interfere with the production of nitrus oxide. Nitrus oxide is needed for hard, firm erections. Viagra increases nitrus oxide production in the body thereby resulting in hard, firm erections. L-Arginine also does the same thing. Thus, anecdotal stories of Propecia shrinking the penis don't carry a lot of weight with me because of this.

 

One other point: The optimal dosage of finasteride to shrink the prostate gland is 5 mg. That is what the prostate drug Proscar contains. Yet, Propecia, 1 mg. of finasteride, is not the optimal dosage for shrinking the prostate. Propecia is not prescribed for men suffering from BPH (an enlarged protate) because it does not do a good job in shrinking the prostate. This tells me that while 5 mg. of finasteride suppresses DHT levels to the extent that the prostate does not grow and even shrinks, 1 mg. of finasteride does not suppress DHT levels to the degree necessary to shrink the prostate. If 1 mg. of finasteride does not suppress DHT levels to shrink the prostate, then how can it supress DHT levels to shrink the penis? Endoftherope, are you out there? Am I making sense or not?

[Proactive]

I for one don't think its true...although I did experience terrible sexual side effects when I first started the drug...the Swedish Bikini Team could have parachuted into my bedroom and couldn't have made it move! I may have been more inclined to believe this back then...maybe frightened posters are hitting up the message boards scared and confused, ready to believe every horrible story that's out there.

 

How long were you on Propecia when you first noticed the side effects and how long until they subsided?

 

Thanks,

Proactive

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

This post is in my opinion is too funny. I have been on Propecia for 7 years and have experience zero side effects.. The only thing that shrinks a penis is a cold pool..

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hi

 

This post is in my opinion is too funny. I have been on Propecia for 7 years and have experience zero side effects.. The only thing that shrinks a penis is a cold pool..

 

JOBI

 

LOL....yes, I second that a cold pool causes temporary shrinkage...but Finasteride does not

 

Bill

[Guest]

Will EVERYONE suffer a shrunken penis due to Propecia? No. Absolutely not. People react differently to different medications and everyone's horomone levels are unique.

 

Hello, I'm a new member and forgive me for responding to such an old post, but my question is, will the penis size increase after discontinuing finasteride and the DHT levels increase? Thanks a alot. I appreciate your help.

[Al - Moderator]

Originally posted by toppel:

question is, will the penis size increase after discontinuing finasteride and the DHT levels increase? Thanks a alot. I appreciate your help.

 

I've been on finisteride for 10 years (proscar). I don't split the 5mg pill the way most people do. I just take a nibble and put the remaining piece back in the blister pack. Once in a while I'll accidentally bite off a larger piece than I meant to and take maybe half a pill (2.5mg). If I do that I won't be able to get an erection for 2 or 3 days. I also just skip taking it the next day or 2. After that I'm back to big hard erections with no problem.

 

True story. This just happened. Last week my girlfriend and I had the same vacation week. She stayd at my house for the week. We had awesome sex all week. At the end of our vacation she was so amazed and wanted to know how I could get so hard and stay so hard for hours. She came 4 times one night. Two days later she was still telling me she still felt all warm inside from it. So I don't think the finisteride is negatively effecting me other than the occasional times I take too much.

 

The trick is to play with your dose until you find an amount that is just less than what will start to make you lose your erections. You can also take it every other day. That's what I do now. As I've gotten older and my DHT is naturally lower, I've lowered my dose to 1mg every other day instead of every day.

[Al - Moderator]

Something else that should be pointed out. Many men are taking finisteride for prostate problems and thus are taking 5mg daily. For hairloss you should only be taking 1mg daily. So when you hear about people not getting erections while being on finisteride try to remember that they might be on 5mg and may have other erectile problems as well. For example they may have weakened erections partly because of their enlarged prostate problem and it just becomes more noticeable when on finisteride.

 

Think of it like this: Taking one glass of red wine each day with dinner is supposed to be good for your heart, but if you take 5 glasses every evening, you'll just be drunk every night and eventually kill your liver. Same with aspirin. Taking one a day to thin your blood is good, but taking one every 4 hours for years will rip away your stomach lining.

[jackisback1]

BeHappy - I'm sure you know this, but just to clarify for readers, what you're talking about at half a pill would be two and a half Propecias. So that's an amount unlikely to be taken by anybody. I'm having some troub with my Propecia though. I've been on it for two years--no problems, but lately something's been not quite right down stairs. No trouble getting erections, they're just not very strong erections. And I've noticed a slight curve (which I have also read other people talk about on other sites) which has got me quite worried. The erection thing I figured could be 100 different reasons, like I don't sleep, eat, or exercise properly lately, but the curve that I had just noticed for the first time the day before bothered me. And i've read multiple stuff all saying that same thing. I hate to mention this here, as people don't talk about their penises a lot here, and this is not the first time for me, but I'm having trouble getting into the other message boards. I guess some of you have released pics of yourselves, so you're not anonymous like me. lol.

[kamin]

Originally posted by jackisback:

I've noticed a slight curve (which I have also read other people talk about on other sites) which has got me quite worried....but the curve that I had just noticed for the first time the day before bothered me.

 

 

Believe it or not, this is extremely common in men. Most of the time, the curve will stabilize and not get any worse. See the following link:

 

http://www.malehealthcenter.com/c_peyronie.html

[the B spot]

Well I think Behappy should share his secret with the rest of us...... 4 times, eh?

 

That is something I would expect from one of Bill's clones-----

 

You big bald sex machine you!!!!!!

 

 

I hope you guys work out any issues your having.

 

Take Care,

J

[Bill - Seemiller]

Well I think Behappy should share his secret with the rest of us...... 4 times, eh?

 

That is something I would expect from one of Bill's clones-----

 

You big bald sex machine you!!!!!!

 

LOL...well, my clones are horny devils...what can I say

 

But I think I missed an original post that something about 4 times somewhere

[Bayer]

Hi Bill,

 

See below for the "4" times post from BeHappy.

I guess someone else was happy too!

 

 

"I've been on finisteride for 10 years (proscar). I don't split the 5mg pill the way most people do. I just take a nibble and put the remaining piece back in the blister pack. Once in a while I'll accidentally bite off a larger piece than I meant to and take maybe half a pill (2.5mg). If I do that I won't be able to get an erection for 2 or 3 days. I also just skip taking it the next day or 2. After that I'm back to big hard erections with no problem.

 

True story. This just happened. Last week my girlfriend and I had the same vacation week. She stayd at my house for the week. We had awesome sex all week. At the end of our vacation she was so amazed and wanted to know how I could get so hard and stay so hard for hours. She came 4 times one night. Two days later she was still telling me she still felt all warm inside from it. So I don't think the finisteride is negatively effecting me other than the occasional times I take too much.

 

The trick is to play with your dose until you find an amount that is just less than what will start to make you lose your erections. You can also take it every other day. That's what I do now. As I've gotten older and my DHT is naturally lower, I've lowered my dose to 1mg every other day instead of every day."

[YoungGuy]

I can believe the 4 times thing. I've given my girlfriend 3 in a row once, but the next day I was convinced I pulled something in my thigh (she was happy though). In my opinion, therefore, while going for the 2nd one after the first can make sense, going for anything over that is not worth the effort. It's like gunning your car on the victory lap after you've won the race...

[calvinmd]

I'm just at the point of starting propecia after reading about it in various places for months.

 

I get the strong impression that finasteride will probably shine a spotlight onto any pre-existing penile/genital problems, as well as amplify any problems that had been building up over time.

 

I guess the bigger question - for us all - is whether the problems are things that finasteride is illuminating, or whether these things are evidence of new finasteride-related DAMAGE that's occurring.

 

I believe the finasteride dosage arguments are valid too. Some bad findings are not necessarily evidence of all DHT suppression being bad. (Heck, iron is necessary for the body too. But all I have to do is feed a truck axle to a lab rat, and I'll get mountains of evidence that iron is extrememly harmful.)

 

I really wonder what Merck is thinking about Propecia. If they seriously suspect that long-term DHT suppression will wreck a normal healthy man's weiner, I have a hard time believing they'd put the stuff out there. (Could they be that cruel? Yes. But HOW ON EARTH could they expect the issue not to eventually be discovered?)

[Bill - Seemiller]

Bayer,

 

Ah, now I see it...thanks. Well, now I can see why his alias is "BeHappy" .

 

Everyone,

 

IMO, there is absolutely no reason to believe that Propecia shrinks the penis. The size of a man's penis is not related to a man's sex drive.

 

However, it is true that sexual side effects (though rare) can impact the sex drive, lower's the desire for sex, therefore, making it more difficult to become aroused. Side effects are supposed to be reversable if you experiencing them if you stop taking the medication.

 

Now I realize we are all speculating here...but let's be clear that this is all speculation. I don't want people reading this thread to be scared out of their minds thinking false things.

 

Anyway...on a personal note, I've had no sexual side effects from taking Propecia. Ask my wife .

 

Bill

[calvinmd]

If finasteride flat-out SHRANK a lot of penises, I really doubt Merck could keep it quiet. The stuff has been out there for about a decade already.

 

Is is possible? I suspect it is, theoretically. Maybe a combination of a too-young user with a natural DHT level that was already on the low end of the bell curve, and then a high fin dosage for years . . . if it'll do it to rats, then I don't think it can be ruled out.

 

But realistically, how many dudes could lose much penis size without realizing it immediately? Some of the complaints are about guys losing entire inches off their weiners. I have a hard time believing finasteride could really knock an inch off anyone's wiener before they noticed, discontinued the fin immediately, and then called a class-action lawyer.

 

 

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