Hypochondriac Taking Propecia

I’m 23 and recently started noticing baldness symptoms. I’m a huge hypochondriac however and my friends tell me I’m just paranoid. I think my temples recede a bit further back than normal and my hair feels thinner in the back but that could just be my imagination. I first had concerns when I noticed large amounts of hair falling out. I have very long hair, about 11 inches, which is new for me, and I know many men think they are balding when they grow their hair out and are simply not used to finding so much large visable hair everywhere. My female friend told me that I had too many split ends and that was causing more hair to come out on the comb. I trimmed it and have noticed less hair falling out. I also have a cow lick in the back od my head that cause a bit of an odd part that shows my scalp a bit. I know many men also mistake this kind of thing for baldness. Maybe there are multiple factors at work. What is NOT my imagination is that much of my hair that falls out is much thinner in diameter at the follical. It usually starts to decrease in thickness within the last 4 inches towards the follical. I have been under more than usual stress, could that contribute to this?

Also, I tried Propecia for one month but stopped when I read many many testimonials online for several people who claim it damaged their sexual functionality, in some cases permenently even after they stopped using it. It seems like it must affect more than the claimed rare 2% since so many people seem to speak out against it. If it did start to affect me I wouldn’t be able to tell since I’m so paranoid about these kind of things.

I have noticed that my sexual functionality is okay, but not what it was when I was 18. I noticed this before going on Propecia. Since I may already have problems in that area I didn’t want to risk causing any more damage.

So the questions

Do I have good reason to fear propecia?

I seem to have less hair falling out than I did a month ago. Could this be a result of fewer split ends? Or could that one month on Propecia have made any difference? Does baldness occur is shifts or phases or is it a constant steady decrease until it’s all gone?

I know that was kind of a tome but thank you.

Yes, you certainly sound like a hypochondriac — every doctor’s nightmare!

Keep in mind that those without sexual side effects don’t generally go posting all over the Internet to tell everyone. The posts you read are from those with complaints (legitimate or not) and as such, the numbers and the degree of alarm are skewed. Furthermore, many men not taking Propecia also have inherent sexual problems that go undiagnosed. Just look at the popularity of Viagra. You would think that everybody was impotent!

If you are concerned about hair loss, go see a doctor (just not me — I’m kidding!). Don’t play guessing games.