A Very Important Study For Anyone Taking Or Considering Taking Propecia

[jd_uk]

I had this in my email from a very decent hair transplant surgeon who felt that it was his duty to alert his patients to the findings of this study which notes that long term use of finasteride was a bigger risk factor for permanent erectile dysfunction than other risk factors such as smoking or diabetes. Definitely something to consider and confirmed my belief that taking a 5AR is not particularly healthy and that all risks versus benefits should be carefully assessed:

"Our data show that, in a cohort of men exposed to 5α-RIs, the duration of 5α-RI exposure was a more accurate predictor of PED than many known risk factors, including age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, ethanol abuse, obesity, and depression. In our data, confounding by age or extent of healthcare utilization did not account for the increased risk of PED associated with longer 5α-RI exposure duration (Table 3, Figs. 2A and and2B).2B). Also, duration of finasteride exposure proved to be a more accurate predictor of sexual dysfunction than higher dose vs lower dose of finasteride, likely reflecting that finasteride exerts near-maximal inhibition of 5α-DHT synthesis at a dose of 1 mg"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5346286/

 

[WMQ]

Which surgeon sent you this?

 

[jd_uk]

Which surgeon sent you this?

It came from New Hair Institute so I believe was written by Dr William Rassman. I've met both him and Dr Jae Pak and they were very honest and big on patient care.

I think it is important that everybody is aware of the risks as this quite thorough study seems to confirm a lot of what people have reported anecdotally on the internet for years about permanent sexual issues.

 

[WMQ]

Yeah that was a responsible thing to do. I was surprised because almost all transplant doctors are pro-finasteride, even the best of them.

 

[ahmed wolf]

what do they mean by short usage like one week or couple of pills?
they showed the longer ur on the drug the higher the chance of getting PED all there test subjects used finasteride for more than 205 days?
there are no studies done on guys who took finasteride for a week?

 

[jd_uk]

Yeah that was a responsible thing to do. I was surprised because almost all transplant doctors are pro-finasteride, even the best of them.

Previously Dr Rassman has always been very pro Finasteride and I'm sure that he still sees its benefits but he is an ethical doctor I know who wants to make patients aware of the risks. Years ago I made a decision not to take Finasteride even though it may have helped slow my hair loss, because to me my internal health was more important than the amount of hair on my head.

 

[Saiyaman]

This seems to be the consensus. Again, it simply comes back to the risks and rewards associated with the drug. Keep in mind this only affects a certain percentage of users, but the risks are real.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

My concerns:

1) I think that the 1.4% is a lower bound, even on severe ED, given how they measured things.
2) It seems that ED should be a continuum rather than a binary. There may be a larger fraction of men who have impaired erectile function but don't realize it, because it's only dropped by 10%, 20%, etc. For example, on this forum we had one poster, I think it was @RhinestoneHLT , who was a militantly pro-finasteride poster and didn't even realize that he had ED. If I recall correctly, it was his wife who pointed out to him that he was no longer grabbing her ***.

There may be a large reservoire of such people who don't get v**** (and other PDE5 inhibitors) prescriptions, and thus don't show up in the 1.4%.

3) 20 years on and we stil have absolutely no idea which kinds of men are most likely to get side effects.

 

[buckthorn]

almost all transplant doctors are pro-finasteride, even the best of them.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[g.i joey]

the multivariable model predicting PED had four variables: prostate disease, duration of 5α-RI exposure, age, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use.

Can someone explain this... does this mean these 4 factors are the main contributors or, is this simply what they were looking at when assessing? Is taking ibuprophen when on finasteride a bad idea?

 

[michel sapin]

damn this is scary . i know that i have Ed on propecia ( loss of morning wood , etc ...), but i can't stop . I would kill myself if i become bald .
But i am ruining my long term health . i hope a better treatment will come fast

 

[jd_uk]

My concerns:

1) I think that the 1.4% is a lower bound, even on severe ED, given how they measured things.
2) It seems that ED should be a continuum rather than a binary. There may be a larger fraction of men who have impaired erectile function but don't realize it, because it's only dropped by 10%, 20%, etc. For example, on this forum we had one poster, I think it was @RhinestoneHLT , who was a militantly pro-finasteride poster and didn't even realize that he had ED. If I recall correctly, it was his wife who pointed out to him that he was no longer grabbing her ***.

There may be a large reservoire of such people who don't get v**** (and other PDE5 inhibitors) prescriptions, and thus don't show up in the 1.4%.

3) 20 years on and we stil have absolutely no idea which kinds of men are most likely to get side effects.

I could never understand many people's apparent ease at taking a drug which removes male hormones which are meant to be present and raises estrogen, also lowering the free (usable) testosterone. I think the last point is something that people don't realise because they here that total testosterone is raised but at the end of the day male pattern baldness is a masculine process caused by normal male hormones in those genetically susceptible so the issue (if it is to be considered that in today's society) is not with the hormones but with something else.

All of us here would like a genuinely safe and really effective 'treatment' due to societal pressures, but aside from hair transplant patients with minimal balding and excellent donor quality we just aren't there yet.

I went a bit off topic there but my point is that I think you're right to say many men are likely having negative effects without even realising it...I just can't and never could see how messing with/lowering normal male hormone levels could not provide some negatives.

 

[jd_uk]

damn this is scary . i know that i have Ed on propecia ( loss of morning wood , etc ...), but i can't stop . I would kill myself if i become bald .
But i am ruining my long term health . i hope a better treatment will come fast

Many months ago there was talk of Hasson and Wong Liposomal, topical finasteride which had very minimal absorption. I'm not sure where that is at the moment but may be worth looking into. Then there is nizoral shampoo which may have a very slight positive effect

 

[abcdefg]

Nice to know, but something more helpful would be a viable alternative to finasteride that worked as well. Until there is a viable alternative or new treatment that can replace finasteride then men will always continue to use it. There is nothing else regardless of the possible negatives with finasteride.