Every few months or so, a new poster comes around, gets up his post count and the nerve to question the side effects... some far more politely than others. So what either Jay or Bubka are saying isn't completely new. And it's always based on the erroneous assumption that their experiences must 100 percent mirror, or center around, everyone's... like a messianic complex, or something.
I don't think anyone questions there are some initial side effects in almost all who take finasteride. And for many people these sides gradually diminish over time. But we're talking about the people for whom these sides never disappear. These are the people who are most sensitive to the effects of finasteride. I'd rather have people discussing how to control/handle the sides rather than the insistence they don't exist.
But here's my little Jerry Seinfeld rant. I would really like to know: who are these people who put so much faith in the pharmaceutical companies? The pharmaceuticals who would fight on a case-by-case basis, rather than to admit the harmfulness of any drug, like Vioxx, for instance. (BTW, Vioxx had an initial advertised potential for side effects of 8 percent, or less than 1 in 10. But the risks, at the time, were thought to outweigh the benefits. And then new studies were forced upon Merck, and eventually increased those risks to almost half.) And who are these people who believe so strongly in the FDA as a reputable institution. The same FDA who accepts money from the large pharmaceutical manufactures to license these "independent" studies. And then there are the doctors, wined and dined by the pharmaceuticals, and targeted by marketing hunters to insure the most scripts are written for their drug.
What's really scary is the amount of people thinking medications can intelligently target one symptom. Like somehow finasteride will only focus on growing hair, and leave our other organs alone. And then there's a contingent thinking: the more of some drug you take, the greater its effect. Or again, thinking and believing every person will react similarly to similar medications. Even a doctor will consider the interaction between other medications being taken, at least, if he's a good doctor.
For a small instance, someone here right now could be taking orotic acid, aspartic acid, or grapefruit/orange juice with their finasteride every morning. And unbeknownst to them, it could increase the absorption and transport of finasteride enough to put their symptoms into another class. And anyone who's ever searched on the symptoms of finasteride, knows how proportional side effects are to dosage. Just search on 'finasteride' and 'gynecomastia,' for instance, and tell me you don't find reputable studies. Or how about 'finasteride' and 'erectile dysfunction,' there are several studies centered around this one too.
This is why I will always try to recommend lowering dosage to maximize results and minimize sides. Dosages as low as .2mg, combine with other hairloss treatments, are enough to keep hairloss at bay. And just be thankful that doses 1mg or higher daily haven't f'd you over.