Permanent Finasteride Side Effects Article in Journal of Sexual Medicine
Dr. Rassman, et. al, the Journal of Sexual Medicine has recently published an article describing the permanent sexual side effects of using finasteride. I quit taking propecia approximately 2 weeks ago and am terrified that I have permanently damaged myself. What are your thoughts on the article?
Many of my patients have been taking Propecia for over a decade without side effects. I have yet to meet a person in my practice who complains of permanent side effects associated with Propecia after they stopped the drug. The few that do have side effects at all elect to stop taking the medication and the side effects have subsided as their hair tumbles to the ground. But that is just my humble experience.
The article itself doesn’t provide anything new, just reviewing previously published reports from a subset of men that raises the possibility of a casual relationship. They did report a single case of a man with total sexual function loss, but that sounds peculiar and I’m not convinced. I would wait for confirmation by other investigators on claims of permanent damage from finasteride. The Journal article was digested by the Boston Globe here and even mentions what we’ve been saying for years about the percentage of those that saw side effects:
“In one trial, about 1.9 percent Propecia takers who took the drug for up to two years experienced a loss of libido compared to 1.3 percent of placebo takers; 1.4 percent of Propecia users had erectile dysfunction and 1 percent had an ejaculatory disorder compared to 0.9 and 0.4 percent of the placebo takers.”
For most of the frightened men, I wonder what they’re so terrified about. Did they actually have side effects? Are these men willing to risk balding over a 1-2% chance of side effects? As I’ve often said, the medication is completely elective. You don’t have to take it and I am not trying to convince anyone to do so. I am just presenting my opinion based on experience. The Mayans predicted the world will end in 2012, so I would be more terrified about what will happen in 11 months!
Everything carries some sort of risk. You go for an operation, there’s a small chance you may not wake up. You take over the counter asprin and you may have adverse side effects, drive to the mall and you could be killed..It’s weighing up the benefits vs the risks. If i said you had a 1-2% chance of winning on a roulette table, you would laugh at those odds. It’s also notable to look at the placebo percentages that are very similar to those of the drug.
Hmm… 1-2% sigh….
Using common sense for a change, do you honestly believe blocking the most important male androgen in the human body is a good idea? Honestly?
ANDROGEN BLOCKER
Take another look at those two words. Think about it.
That’s the sort of drug a transexual would take isn’t it, oh wait, they do take Finasteride, to help feminise themselves – and dosages are pretty irrelavent with this drug.
Beyond helping your purely cosmetic hairloss, blocking DHT -and more crucially 5aR itself – is a spectacuarly bad idea.
But for an emotional issue like hairloss people will convince themselves of anything to stay on the drug & make themselves feel better. I did – until I wised up and took charge of my health.
Do as thou whilst.
*One of the most important.
Great review for the article. But i think everything do carry some sort of risk. It is only depending on whether it is worth to take the risk or not!
Is this article a JOKE?
I’M one of these people who have had completely messed up sexual function and hormonal levels from finasteride. I took it for 1 year and have now been off it one year and things get worse. It send my system into a negative feedback loop. My penis has shrunk, my FSH levels are low and my estrogen and SHBG is skyhigh.
I was (am otherwise!!) 100% healthy. I’m only 25!!!
I’m not a one off either, I can refer to hundred’s of other sufferers.
Don’t try play down what hell some people have experienced just because you have limited personal experience with PFS sufferers yourself.
Yes every drug can have adverse effects but this one can have PROFOUNDLY adverse effects and can wreck endoctrine systems.
Myself and a friend of mine both started to take finasterid in february 2011. We both started to experience lack of sexual desire soon after starting the therapy (two weeks). We are quite different from each other, he is way taller and bigger but we both faced the same side effects. The effects are huge, though as we were talking to each other, mine were less exposed but noticeable too. I am not making this up because I wish I could still take finasterid but the effects on sex were much more prevalent than those on hair growth. If my hair grew at the same rate my libido fell, it would be great but it unfortunately it was the other way around. It is not true that the article does not say anything new – in fact it does, it was believed that only 8 percent of takers experienced side effects but the article now talks about 38% percent of people with side effects. I can say for myself and my friend, we both thought this is the solution and would gladly take this drug if everything was ok with us but it wasn’t.
BTW There is a solution that tackles the 5AlphaReductase, it does it on the surface of the scalp and it is called lauric acid.
Is taking finasteride worth the risk of getting possible sexual side effects? How long does it normally take for finasteride take to start seeing positive results in the hair loss battle?
Thanks
If one takes male enhancement supplements while in finasteride would that combat any possible male member negative effects from finasteride?