Diffuser44
Banned
- Reaction score
- 24
I am all about self preservation. Part of self preservation is maintaining youth in my appearance. So I would like to safely keep the hair that I have. That being said, my brain, fertility, and body are infinitely more important to me.
I quit the drug propecia/finasteride 2.5 years ago due to scare mongering, and anxieties over perceived side effects I may have or not have been having. With all of the information and crap out there on this drug it is hard to convince myself to get back on it without fear of causing harm to myself.
If I was basing my information off of the FDA literature alone, I would probably start it again without a second guess. However, I don't fully trust the FDA literature.
Here are the most convincing articles and information I have found online that have basically put me on the fence on whether or not I want to start the drug again. I like seeing members results, especially PeaPody's and would like to be able to follow that path again to regain some of my losses.
I would very much appreciate if people in these forums can point out why the below literature is either "crap" "good" or direct me to literature that has the truth. If the drug does have unwanted neurological effects I don't want any part of it what-so-ever.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2014/020788s024lbl.pdf
Potential Cons:
P. 9
"Finasteride has been found to cross the blood-brain barrier."
Don't know what the implications of this means. It's disturbing to say the least. Many PropeciaHelp-Esque articles have used this bit of information as evidence it does harm. Nothing is indicative that this is harmful in the warning label. Any thoughts?
Pros:
P. 9
"12.2 Pharmacodynamics
Finasteride produces a rapid reduction in serum DHT concentration, reaching 65% suppression within 24
hours of oral dosing with a 1-mg tablet. Mean circulating levels of testosterone and estradiol were
increased by approximately 15% as compared to baseline, but these remained within the physiologic
range."
The key in this paragraph is "remained within the physiologic range". Although estradiol is increasing by 15% it doesn't have an effect on one's physiologic make up. Or at least not a significant one.
"Finasteride has no affinity for the androgen receptor and has no androgenic, antiandrogenic, estrogenic,
antiestrogenic, or progestational effects. In studies with finasteride, no clinically meaningful changes in
luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or prolactin were detected. In healthy
volunteers, treatment with finasteride did not alter the response of LH and FSH to gonadotropin-releasing
hormone indicating that the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis was not affected. Finasteride had no
effect on circulating levels of cortisol, thyroid-stimulating hormone, or thyroxine, nor did it affect the
plasma lipid profile (e.g., total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins, high-density lipoproteins and
triglycerides) or bone mineral density."
This information disproves all of those other articles claiming why finasteride is harmful to our bodies systematically. Clinical studies have found no more incidences of gyno in men taking the drug then those who were on the placebo.
The Scary Articles:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1527-3458.2006.00053.x/pdf
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/reform8.htm
I quit the drug propecia/finasteride 2.5 years ago due to scare mongering, and anxieties over perceived side effects I may have or not have been having. With all of the information and crap out there on this drug it is hard to convince myself to get back on it without fear of causing harm to myself.
If I was basing my information off of the FDA literature alone, I would probably start it again without a second guess. However, I don't fully trust the FDA literature.
Here are the most convincing articles and information I have found online that have basically put me on the fence on whether or not I want to start the drug again. I like seeing members results, especially PeaPody's and would like to be able to follow that path again to regain some of my losses.
I would very much appreciate if people in these forums can point out why the below literature is either "crap" "good" or direct me to literature that has the truth. If the drug does have unwanted neurological effects I don't want any part of it what-so-ever.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2014/020788s024lbl.pdf
Potential Cons:
P. 9
"Finasteride has been found to cross the blood-brain barrier."
Don't know what the implications of this means. It's disturbing to say the least. Many PropeciaHelp-Esque articles have used this bit of information as evidence it does harm. Nothing is indicative that this is harmful in the warning label. Any thoughts?
Pros:
P. 9
"12.2 Pharmacodynamics
Finasteride produces a rapid reduction in serum DHT concentration, reaching 65% suppression within 24
hours of oral dosing with a 1-mg tablet. Mean circulating levels of testosterone and estradiol were
increased by approximately 15% as compared to baseline, but these remained within the physiologic
range."
The key in this paragraph is "remained within the physiologic range". Although estradiol is increasing by 15% it doesn't have an effect on one's physiologic make up. Or at least not a significant one.
"Finasteride has no affinity for the androgen receptor and has no androgenic, antiandrogenic, estrogenic,
antiestrogenic, or progestational effects. In studies with finasteride, no clinically meaningful changes in
luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or prolactin were detected. In healthy
volunteers, treatment with finasteride did not alter the response of LH and FSH to gonadotropin-releasing
hormone indicating that the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis was not affected. Finasteride had no
effect on circulating levels of cortisol, thyroid-stimulating hormone, or thyroxine, nor did it affect the
plasma lipid profile (e.g., total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins, high-density lipoproteins and
triglycerides) or bone mineral density."
This information disproves all of those other articles claiming why finasteride is harmful to our bodies systematically. Clinical studies have found no more incidences of gyno in men taking the drug then those who were on the placebo.
The Scary Articles:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1527-3458.2006.00053.x/pdf
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/reform8.htm
