At What Point Will You Realize Propecia Is Not as Safe As You Thought?

Doctor when I hear so many people writing in that they have slight pain when ejaculating or there semen is jelly like, or they are experiencing problems cognitively-at what point does one such as yourself stop and say hey maybe this drug Propecia is not as safe as I thought. You keep saying the side effects only apply to 1-2% of the people, however it seems to me that you are getting repeated complaints and concerns.

This is why I hve hesitated with a systemic drug like Propecia. I only hope Minoxodil (Rogaine) will not be a hazardous choice for the long term.

The last time I checked, nobody is forcing anyone to take medications to treat hair loss. If you do enough searching on the Internet, I agree that you will find many people complain about side effects associated with Propecia. For that matter, you will find many people complain about many other drugs as well, as ALL drugs have side effects to varying degrees. Keep in mind that the Internet, while a very useful tool, is not a source for accurate and factual information all the time.

I wonder… if you took the medication and didn’t have side effects, would you go to every forum you could to tell people? The most vocal and persistent on forums are the ones that have a gripe, valid or otherwise. In my practice, a large percent of my male patients take Propecia and I do not get “repeated complaints or concerns” — and I do not believe the patients I see are any more special than those on the Internet. Of those patients that I see that take Propecia, only a few have side effects and it does correlate with the 1 to 2% figure I often quote. For those patients who have side effects, they can choose to stay on the medication or stop the medication. There’s no gun pointed to their head, and it isn’t life or death. If you are hesitant, then don’t take the medication. It’s really very simple. By the way, minoxidil has many side effects including heart arrhythmias, blurring of vision, fainting spells and on and on.