Re: ABandInHope's Story - (22)
yeah, I agree the best thing to do is go to a doctor first. But I gotta say I've never paid any attention to morning wood. I get it every so often I guess, but to focus on random erection and stuff like that, you just have to make sure your not obsessing. I've never had a problem with sexual dysfunction and before taking finasteride I never worried about it one bit, and hence never experienced the side effects.
Before taking finasteride I was mainly worried about the muscle loss, and getting "soft" or getting acne and brain fog. I was absolutely convinced I had all of these negative side effect for the first few weeks. I chilled out and stopped paying so much attention to ridiculous posters and tried to relax about it a bit and they suddenly went away. For me, the sides were absolutely mental. these drugs don't do jack except grow hair for me.
that isn't to say I don't believe that sides are possible. They are possible and it sucks that you have them and I like how you mention that its still worth it to give finasteride a try. Thats all i'm saying, that finasteride deserves a fair shot. Posters like timi and that Fenera guy (i forgot his exact name) are so incredibly ridiculous they really should be banned from these forums. Their sole purpose is to scare new members that don't know anything about the drug into not taking it.
It's incredibly selfish, I've seen their posts. A new guy comes on asking for advice, asking if he should take finasteride. and these guys come and say "finasteride WILL ruin your life and give you irreversible side effects". Thats f*cking bullshit right there. Just b/c finasteride gives one person sides doesnt mean someone else will react the same way. Plus when the new guy starts taking the drug he's in a constant state of fear thinking about whether or not these guys could be right. the sides or placebo effect is magnified and they end up dropping it.
Bryan posted a good study that talked about that effect. To summarize, two groups were given finasteride. but neither were told it was finasteride. the first group was given the drug and told nothing about the sides, the second group was told that it may give you sexual side effects like decreased libido. Group 2 has something like 3 or 4 times the incident of side effects as group 1. I think group 1 was something like 5%, whereas group 2 was at 15-20%. Ill find the study if anyone wants to see it.
Anyway, if you want to save your hair, finasteride is the best route to go, but if you decide to take it try evaluating how it works and the side effect completely on your own.