Evidence is pointing finasteride is safe

[Yoshi3Mario]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Report your PFS Symptoms to World Health Organization Programme for International Drug Monitoring [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Reminder: Report PFS Symptoms to World Health Organization[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Programme for International Drug Monitoring WHO database contains 12,000+ adverse drug reactions for finasteride, including 3000+ cases of sexual function and fertility disorders, and 50+ suicides[/FONT]​ [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] SOMERSET, N.J., Sept. 9, 2015 – The Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation is reminding PFS patients to report all persistent side effects to the World Health Organization Progamme for International Drug Monitoring’s VigiBase database for adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Run by Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC), which provides scientific leadership and operational support to the WHO, VigiBase reports of suspected ADRs are available to public-health officials and medical professionals in an effort to “contribute to a global culture of patient safety and well-being,†with further investigation of unknown or not well described ADRs being “of paramount importance.†In April of this year, VigiBase, the largest and most comprehensive pharmacovigilance database in the world, was opened to the public for the first time via its VigiAccessprogram. PFS patients, their family members and/or health care providers should file ADR reports to the appropriate public-health official in their respective country. (All reports will remain confidential in that patient names are never disclosed to the public.) To download the list of officials in the 146 nations currently participating in the VigiBase program, click here. PFS occurs in men who’ve taken finasteride to treat hair loss, or enlarged prostates. Reported symptoms include: loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, panic attacks, Peyronie’s disease, penile shrinkage, gynecomastia, muscle atrophy, cognitive impairment, insomnia, severely dry skin and tinnitus. The condition often has a life-altering impact on victims and their families, such as job loss and the breakup of marriages and romantic relationships, while also being linked to suicides. In March 2015, the U.S. National Institutes of Health recognized PFS, adding the condition to its Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. Following is an overview of finasteride ADRs filed with UMC as of Sept. 2. (To access the complete statistics, search “finasteride†in the VigiAccess database.) Total finasteride ADRs filed (1993-2015)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]12,350[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Finasteride ADRs by age range[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]18 - 44 years: 2338 (19%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]45 - 64 years: 1928 (16%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]65 - 74 years: 1870 (15%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]≥ 75 years: 1404 (11%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Finasteride ADRs by gender[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Male: 11414 (92%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Female: 429 (3%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Finasteride ADRs by type[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Reproductive system and breast disorders: 4538 (37%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]General disorders and administration site conditions: 3233 (26%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Psychiatric disorders: 2777 (22%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Nervous system disorders: 2434 (20%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: 2117 (17%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Investigations: 1493 (12%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Gastrointestinal disorders: 1328 (11%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Injury, poisoning and procedural complications: 1206 (10%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: 955 (8%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Finasteride ADR type by subcategory Reproductive system and breast disorders[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Sexual function and fertility disorders: 3116 (25%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Breast disorders: 1293 (10%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Testicular and epididymal disorders: 501 (4%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Penile and scrotal disorders: 458 (4%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Psychiatric disorders[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Sexual dysfunctions, disturbances and gender identity disorders: 1818 (15%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Depressed mood disorders and disturbances: 1244 (10%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Anxiety disorders and symptoms: 1137 (9%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Sleep disorders and disturbances: 426 (3%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Mood disorders and disturbances NEC: 390 (3%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Suicidal and self-injurious behaviors NEC: 200 (1.6%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Suicidal and self-injurious behavior[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Suicidal ideation: 127 (1%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Completed suicide: 55 (0.4%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Suicide attempt: 21 (0.17%)[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] About Uppsala Monitoring Centre Based in Uppsala, Sweden, Uppsala Monitoring Centre evolved from the World Health Organization’s efforts to monitor drug safety in the wake of the thalidomide disaster of the 1960s, which caused more than 10,000 children to be born with Roberts syndrome(malformation of the facial bones and limbs), only 40 percent of whom survived. UMC is an independent foundation that supports international awareness and scientific research in the realm of pharmacovigilance, focusing on patient safety and the safe and effective use of medicines worldwide. About the PFS Foundation Headquartered in Somerset N.J., the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation was established in July 2012 as a 501(c)(3) organization, with private grants from families in the U.S. and abroad. Tax-deductible financial donations to the nonprofit organization can be made via PFSFoundation.org, which also houses patient-recruitment information on active clinical studies, published research, research goals, and media reports about PFS. In July 2015, the PFS Foundation established The Southwest Brain Bank in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center, whose mission is to collect and study post-mortem human brain and spinal cord tissue in patients with PFS in order to better understand the pathology and etiology of the condition. [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]# # #[/FONT]​ [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] Contact Philip Roberts The Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation proberts@pfsfoundation.org (856)425-6046 [/FONT] ​ [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Copyright © 2015 Post Finasteride Syndrome Foundation, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have corresponded with the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation, seeking assistance and/or offering assistance. Our mailing address is: [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Post Finasteride Syndrome Foundation[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]27 World’s Fair Drive[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Somerset, NJ 08873[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] Add us to your address book[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences [/FONT]​ [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] [/FONT]

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So over a 22 year span only 12,350 adverse effects have been reported? There are a million prescriptions for Mercks propecia alone at any given time not including all the generic prescriptions out there. Even that would only be 1.2 percent.

Guys, please don't worry about side effects while taking finasteride. The same amount of people not taking the drug are going to have the same amount of related symptoms as the people that do take it.

that being said if you do get sides, and you know it's not a nocebo/placebo related incidence, then you should consider quitting.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Get back on propecia!!!

 

[g.i joey]

wow, almost matches the percentage given in the original studies.

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

Get back on propecia!!!

I am not going back on the drug. I am going bald. I will say that I beat baldness for about 11.5 years. No one had the slightest clue that I was going bald. And then the last 1.5 years it just all went away.

But I would like to say that no one has researched, analyzed, and dug through the stories as much as I have when it comes to finasteride. I say it's safe.

Take this drug young men! You will be glad you did. Even if you don't notice regrowth you can rest assure it is stopping your losses.

I hate to say it but I'm too far gone for meds to help. And I made the choice to proceed without meds 1.5 years ago and now need to man up to that decision. 1.5 years ago was my point of no return. I've wasted a good portion of my life over the matter.

I plan to stick around on the forum more or less to promote the drug that helped me get through my college years and young adult life. I also want to answer questions for people since I've taken the drug so long.

 

[I.D WALKER]

You're be an indispensable resource here then.

 

[Captain Hook]

This post is very important, anyone apprehensive about finasteride should give this a read. This actually eases some of my own qualms, I certainly will consider finasteride should my Androgenetic Alopecia worsen in the near future.

Being a pharmacy technician and someone who is studying pharmacy at uni, I've always been an advocate of the pharmaceutical industry. While Merck might have slipped up with rofecoxib (Vioxx), I'm confident that is not the case with Propecia. The millions of people taking it while experiencing no side effects aren't on the internet, they're out enjoying their lives and subsequent maintenance and possible regrowth of their hair.

 

[JTS]

We all know that the sides affect a minority of people but the real question is, how many of those people suffered/suffer from long term ones and why?

 

[CharAblaze]

Iteresting. I'm considering giving it another try. I was so freaked out by horror stories that I quit.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Thanks for this thread. It should be stickied in this section.

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Most will not read this or accept the studies findings. They would rather take the word of anonymous guys on the internet.

 

[CliffLee]

Excellent post, thanks.

Yoshi, what is your opinion of dutasteride?

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

Never tried it. I do remember my first research of finasteride back when I started taking it in 2003. I read finasteride vs dutasteride comparisons. I believe dutasteride patients were more likely to get sides. And coming both finasteride and dutasteride (yes there was a trial on this at some point) were way more likely to get sides.

My guess is that dutasteride would probably be better at regrowing hair but may be cause more side effects for some. I personally wouldn't be comfortable taking it because it hasn't been FDA approved.

 

[FratLordKeynes]

Never tried it. I do remember my first research of finasteride back when I started taking it in 2003. I read finasteride vs dutasteride comparisons. I believe dutasteride patients were more likely to get sides. And coming both finasteride and dutasteride (yes there was a trial on this at some point) were way more likely to get sides.

My guess is that dutasteride would probably be better at regrowing hair but may be cause more side effects for some. I personally wouldn't be comfortable taking it because it hasn't been FDA approved.

Anecdotal evidence: I took propecia for ~4 years (hard to believe it was that long!) and switched to dutasteride last month. I didn't have any significant propecia sides but I'm pretty sure that my libido is very low due to the dutasteride. Because I've been depressed before taking dutasteride, I have no useful "case study" information to offer but it seems that my depression has intensified since taking it. This could be for other reasons though.

 

[abdo123]

my libido is very low due to the dutasteride.

these sides disappear after a month or two of usage, i had low libido with finasteride and today is my 50th day of using it. i could say all of libido/sex related signs were gone by day 40

 

[swingline747]

MY sides took 8 months to show but when they did it was HARD. I think its safe for the majority of guys but for those it does affect the sides can be bad.

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

I mean let's face it. If a million people are taking finasteride 20,000 guys will get side effects. For a million people not taking finasteride about 15,000 guys will get similar health issues.

This drug has been around since 1992. That's 23 years. You can bet for the men that get bad sides will be posting about them online (and they do).

Im just trying to put things in perspective for the men that want to treat their hair loss the best way possible. That the fact is millions of men have taken the drug without any issues at all. But because 2 percent of guys have bad experiences on the drug they are preventing people from taking it.

But I will put it this way. I've taken the drug for 8.5 years. It helped me keep hair. But it didn't help me cope with going bald once I finally decided to quit. And I don't know about you guys but I never intended to take the drug my whole life. So I would say if you think you are going to quit at some point in your life whether it be 10 years or 20 years, maybe consider not even taking the drug.

If I have a son or a grandson someday I would probably encourage them to not take the drug. And to embrace baldness. But that's me personally. Most if not all guys on here hate that they are balding and don't want to go bald. These men should strongly consider taking finasteride as it will save their self esteem. I've committed to the bald route, and have accepted that I'm already bald.

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As much as I would like to stay on this forum and try to make sense of things to people I find being on here quite stressful. I think I will rejoin the slybaldguys community not as a head shaver but as a buzzer.

My final point to get across: this is a hair loss site. The purpose of this site should be to promote the best possible way to keep your natural hair and prevent it from going bald. This is finasteride. It's cheap, well tolerated by most, and actually works. It comes with some risks and people should be a little scared to take it. But if their hair is worth it to them they will try it and they should do so at the very start of their hair loss.

The other option: don't even treat it at all. Keep your hair buzzed, shaved, or whatever makes you comfortable. Don't bother with treatments and move on. In the end you got to do whatever makes you the most comfortable.

As a wise hair loss guy here are some tips:

Almost all men who think they are balding probably are in fact balding.
Friends and family are not a good source to get an honest opinion on the matter. They will lie or jist
actually not even notice.
Hats do not cause hair loss. Literally nothing but finasteride will work. Don't waste your time with other snake oils
Most importantly: do not under any circumstances ever even consider that masturbation in any way shape or form it linked to hair loss. Anyone who thinks this is probably an 18 year old uneducated troll or fo

 

[yetti]

But I will put it this way. I've taken the drug for 8.5 years. It helped me keep hair. But it didn't help me cope with going bald once I finally decided to quit.

Hi. Question..... after taking finasteride for a while and then quitting, do you quickly lose a lot of hair? Or is the rate of hair loss pretty much what it was before starting finasteride? In other words, does one lose all ther hair they would have lost while taking finasteride in an abbreviated amount of time? Or is it as if you never started finasteride, and you just continue from where you left off?

 

[Notcoolanymore]

As much as I would like to stay on this forum and try to make sense of things to people I find being on here quite stressful. I think I will rejoin the slybaldguys community not as a head shaver but as a buzzer.

Good luck man you will be missed. We need guys like you that actually do the research and can be unbiased. I understand why you would want to leave though. If I was throwing in the towel on treating my hair loss I doubt I would want to stick around here and discuss it day after day.

 

[4thojab]

Yoshi,

Thank you for your post.

I have currently just started minoxidil/ Nizol for about 2-3weeks now.

I was wondering, how soon would you recommend jumping on finasteride?

Also, if i do find myself experience some side effects, which ones do i 'ride out' and which ones would you say if i experience i should come off the medication immediately?

All help is greatly appreciate.

Thanks

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

Yoshi,

Thank you for your post.

I have currently just started minoxidil/ Nizol for about 2-3weeks now.

I was wondering, how soon would you recommend jumping on finasteride?

Also, if i do find myself experience some side effects, which ones do i 'ride out' and which ones would you say if i experience i should come off the medication immediately?

All help is greatly appreciate.

Thanks

It depends on how aggressive your hair loss is. Min will make your hair dependent on it. When I quit min I lost a lot of hair and then some very quickly. nizoral will slow down your losses and help with inflammation. The sooner you jump on finasteride the better for your long term results.

I would say if you have very mild testicular aches (increase in testosterone), more watery semen, and can still get an erection with pleasurable orgasms you are safe to stay on the drug. If you can't get an erection after the first week and are shooting blanks or lose feeling down there quit right away and stay quit forever.