finasteride, Testosterone effects on the brain.

[ukmale24]

Guys who take finasteride,

you'll know that before you were on finasteride, when you haven't had a wank or sex in a week or two, you become more confident right? Whether it's in every day things or with girls (because you're f*****g horny) it seems to strip away a load of anxieties. Also, i dunno if it's just with me, but i'm more imaginative/creative when my testosterone levels are high. & all that extra energy you have, etc.

Does finasteride inhibit these effects Testosterone has? Or does that happen only if you are the small percentage that get sides? I'd hate to lose all the benefits testosterone brings.

I also don't get why people get sides anyway, testosterone is still being produced so why do we get a loss of libido? Does it stop it getting to the brain and that's why?

 

[Rawtashk]

No one really knows why the sides happen. Don't worry, you have a 90+% chance of no sides. Also, you overall Test levels will go up while on finasteride.

 

[Ende]

lso, i dunno if it's just with me, but i'm more imaginative/creative when my testosterone levels are high. & all that extra energy you have, etc.

Does finasteride inhibit these effects Testosterone has? Or does that happen only if you are the small percentage that get sides? I'd hate to lose all the benefits testosterone brings.

I also don't get why people get sides anyway, testosterone is still being produced so why do we get a loss of libido? Does it stop it getting to the brain and that's why?

Androgens, and especially DHT affects your brain a lot. It makes you more more confident and calm, but at the same time aggressive and competitive, which is a powerful combination. It affects your well-being and thought process.

DHT is the estrogen antagonist, and in some Propecia users, the estrogen level gets out of control, and suppresses the testosterone production and causes a lot of other chain reactions. This results in symptoms of hypogonadism, and in some cases, other hormonal diseases as well.

 

[Ende]

Also, you overall Test levels will go up while on finasteride..

Your free testosterone level, which is a lot more important than the total testosterone level, will decrease.

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=66380&start=0

 

[ukmale24]

lso, i dunno if it's just with me, but i'm more imaginative/creative when my testosterone levels are high. & all that extra energy you have, etc.

Does finasteride inhibit these effects Testosterone has? Or does that happen only if you are the small percentage that get sides? I'd hate to lose all the benefits testosterone brings.

I also don't get why people get sides anyway, testosterone is still being produced so why do we get a loss of libido? Does it stop it getting to the brain and that's why?

Androgens, and especially DHT affects your brain a lot. It makes you more more confident and calm, but at the same time aggressive and competitive, which is a powerful combination. It affects your well-being and thought process.

DHT is the estrogen antagonist, and in some Propecia users, the estrogen level gets out of control, and suppresses the testosterone production and causes a lot of other chain reactions. This results in symptoms of hypogonadism, and in some cases, other hormonal diseases as well.

So DHT still has the same effect as testosterone?
So does finasteride stop testosterone or DHT from basically leaving your testicles? I'm just confused as to what effect finasteride will have on the benefits testosterone provides like the ones i said.

 

[ukmale24]

p.s. what is free testosterone?

 

[Ende]

So DHT still has the same effect as testosterone?
So does finasteride stop testosterone or DHT from basically leaving your testicles? I'm just confused as to what effect finasteride will have on the benefits testosterone provides like the ones i said.

Both are androgens, but DHT is a lot more androgenic than testosterone, and it therefore affects your brain a lot more than testosterone. Testosterone is a lot more anabolic, and responsible for maintaining your muscles - although DHT has some effects on your muscles as well; it makes them harder and stronger. Testosterone may convert to estrogen, DHT can't. DHT is the estrogen antagonist, in other words, it counters the effects of estrogen.

Finasteride blocks an enzyme which converts testosterone to DHT.

 

[Ende]

p.s. what is free testosterone?

Most of the testosterone in your body is bound to a hormone known as SHBG. Free testosterone is the amount of testosterone which isn't bound to this hormone. There is another protein - albumin, which binds to some of the free testosterone as well. The testosterone which isn't bound to SHBG or albumin is called bioavailable testosterone, and it's available for use by the body.

 

[ukmale24]

Cheers man, very well explained, bet you have a good job! LOL

I'm still 50/50 on whether to risk taking finasteride, i have to get a proven anti-androgen involved in my regime, I just don't want it to take away the effects testosterone/DHT has on my mind so it's catch-22 really!

I remember last year i went about 3 months without having a wank, i coupled that with regular exercising throughout the day and eating healthy and i just felt like amazing, the best i've ever felt and really confident when i've usually been quite shy and reserved.

Although you're not a finasteride user, you seem fairly clued up - if i was to take finasteride, would you say it'd be better to ween myself onto them? maybe start off on 0.25mg of finasteride every other day, then push it to every day after a couple of weeks?

 

[Ende]

You should use the approved dose - which is 1 mg a day - although personally I wouldn't use more than 0.25 mg a day. I've used Propecia, and it fucked me up really bad within 4 months. Most people do just fine, but it's a dangerous drug.

It's very important that you quit treatment immediately if you lose morning erections, or get weaker erections - if you don't have morning erections. All the mental side effects are reversible.

 

[ukmale24]

I'm gonna abstain from any sort of ejaculation for a few weeks, then when i get my finasteride, i'll start off on 0.25 and if i'm not getting a boner when i getting the slightest view of boob, i'll know something is wrong.

 

[Rawtashk]

I remember when I was younger. I'd think to myself "How is it possible not to get a boner at the drop of a hat (or bra)?" Now I'm 27, and married...and I know what it's like.

I've been on finasteride for over years years, and it takes more to turn me on now than it did 3 years ago. Is that finasteride's fault? Not really. It's the fault of getting older and having more stuff to do. I remember back when I was 17, I would pitch a tent just thinking about kissing my girlfriend. No way that's gonna happen anymore.

Just be careful about looking for side effects. Personally, I'm not going to be surprised in the least if I see you post saying "OMG, finasteride sides, I had to stop." Why? Because you're going into LOOKING FOR PROBLEMS. If you look hard enough, you're gonna find something and attribute it to finasteride. You'll go 2 days w/o morning wood and freak out because "Well, obviously finasteride is DESTROYING MY BODY!!!" When in fact it just so happens that you didn't wake up with a boner for 2 days in a row, and that was all.

I made a post about my side effect scare. I suggest that you give it a read
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=66803

 

[Rawtashk]

Also, look at what Enden (one of this biggest anti-finasteride [not using that as a negative statment] users on this board said in his previous post...

Most people do just fine...

 

[ukmale24]

hey, i see what you're saying, totally. like one of the guys in that thread you linked me to said, if you can't differentiate between psychological and physical problems, then you shouldn't be on meds. however i do feel like my anxieties would be kept at bay if i started off on a low dose every other day, and the libido isn't as much as a problem as say, the lack of energy levels i'd usually have not being there, which would be noticeable. i'm gonna buy some anyway and then if i have a bad day, i can start on them.