My Son Took Propecia for Over a Year and Had Many Side Effects
My 21 year old son has been experiencing heavy body hair loss since summer 2011. He took propecia for 13 months stopping in February 2011 due to sexual side effects. He still has significant sexual dysfunction,anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Loss of body hair has been reported to the FDA as a side effect of the drug. This is absolutely devastating for him.
Some people experience side effects from the drug that range from sexual to mood changes. Based on my clinical experience, I am of the belief that side effects disappear upon stopping the drug. There may be other things happening to him that your son’s doctor should assess. I hope he’s seen his prescribing doctor for a follow-up after stopping the medication.
Dr R’s experience that he has not seen irreversible cases of this phenomenon in his practice is very smart as it directs the poster to have her son medically evaluated to exclude the many causes of psychological symptoms and sexual dysfunction that are not drug-related. Unfortunately, anxiety and panic attacks along with sexual dysfunction do go “hand in hand” as anxiety and depression may be, in certain individuals, a main cause of sexual dysfunction. Alternately, sexual dysfunction – for whatever reason – can also cause anxiety.
I think it is extremely likely that the original poster’s father has had his son visit a physician to investigate causes of his health problems. However, I don’t think that based on seeing a few hundred patients, a doctor can soundly determine that the side effects of a drug reverse in all cases. It is sound for Dr. R to suggest that the young man visit a doctor, but this isn’t really smart, it is just common sense.