Looking for a bit more info about Proscar/finasteride/propec

[amedias]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to find out a bit more about proscar, I am suffering hair loss (in my early 30s) and have been considering propecia, but a few people have been saying to me to use proscar and cut the tablets up, and others have said the side effects are too severe...

I've been reading up at sites like:

http://www.drugs.com/proscar.html
http://www.proscar-info.com
http://www.rxlist.com/proscar-drug.htm
http://prostate.emedtv.com/prostate/pro ... ation.html

and all thought they all have loads of info, it's all very factual, there's not really much to help me decide if its worth it or not...anyone with some first hand experience care to chip in?

thanks
Ben

 

[BungleBungle]

Remember that the upset customer screams 10 times louder than the happy customer praises.

There are possible side effects, such as softer erections and watery semen (note not less *fertile* semen.... although you should not use it if you are planning a pregnancy, for risks of birth defects. There is not enough science about whether the particular damaging chemicals are excreted through semen, and that's a risk I wouldn't take)

But these are rare (less than 2% according to drug trials) usually transitory, and stop if you stop taking it. There is suspicion that this figure is slightly higher, but I think that's mainly the echo chamber effect - if there are 20 people on this board of thousands continually complaining, they seem to be a much larger majority than they actually are.

In terms of splitting Proscar, or a Proscar generic, there's no reason not to. You'll safe a lot of money.

You should not pill-split if you live in a house with women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. If you do anyway, *never* split in a communal area, as even a little dust can penetrate the skin and have horrific consequences.

 

[Kyuu]

I'm also making a decision of what to buy, so I went through 77 success stories and made a table where I kept track of what everyone used (minus minerals, multivitamins and other extras).

For me I'll be going with Proscar, Nizoral and I might take up Rogaine Foam. I'm already taking multi-vitamins which are mega man from GNC, I can actually feel a difference in my health when taking them.

The Table below shows 77 Success regimen totaled up and broken out into 4 groups.

1. All the pills that have finasteride in them
2. The products that help simulate hair growth
3. Nizoral is mainly used with finasteride products for best results
4. Others (minerals and vitamins), MSM (not quite sure what that is) and Silca.

Proscar 23 (Full pill or broken into halves)
Propecia 30.5 * (Pill broken into 4 or 5)
Finscar 4
Finpecia 8
Finax 1
Avodart/dutasteride 3.5 *

- minoxidil %5 30
- Rogaine Foam 24

- Nizoral 45

Other 5
MSM 4 **
Silca 1 **

Notes -

* The 0.5 is because one guy took propecia one day and dutasteride the other.
** Men with huge success I also documented what they took.

For the conclusions is that most benefitted from using what they call the Big 3. For example using Proscar, minoxidil %5 and Nizoral. Multi-vitamins also contribute to success if taken right.

I hope this helps, I'm at your stage right now where I'm deciding what I want to do and learning about different products. I hope there isn't any mistakes in here and if there is just let me know and I'll edit them.

 

[amedias]

Thanks for the advice, I do get the impression that a lot of the horror stories are from the minority, but it is hard tot tell sometimes whether it is a small number of people shouting very loud, or a large number of people with genuine complaints...

Have any of your actually taken finasteride drugs and noticed any of the side effects?

thanks
ben

 

[Bryan]

There are possible side effects, such as softer erections and watery semen (note not less *fertile* semen.... although you should not use it if you are planning a pregnancy, for risks of birth defects. There is not enough science about whether the particular damaging chemicals are excreted through semen, and that's a risk I wouldn't take)

The FDA has removed all restrictions on the use of finasteride while fathering a child.

You should not pill-split if you live in a house with women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. If you do anyway, *never* split in a communal area, as even a little dust can penetrate the skin and have horrific consequences.

I think that's way overblown, and I mean waaaaay overblown. I can show you a study in which strong alcoholic solutions of finasteride were applied to the skin of women, with no noticeable effect on their hormones. I've even heard that it's probably okay for a pregnant woman to take a SINGLE Propecia tablet orally, although that's obviously not something she'd want to do on a regular basis. But touching a little DUST from a broken tablet?? Come on, man...

 

[BungleBungle]

There are possible side effects, such as softer erections and watery semen (note not less *fertile* semen.... although you should not use it if you are planning a pregnancy, for risks of birth defects. There is not enough science about whether the particular damaging chemicals are excreted through semen, and that's a risk I wouldn't take)

The FDA has removed all restrictions on the use of finasteride while fathering a child.

You should not pill-split if you live in a house with women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. If you do anyway, *never* split in a communal area, as even a little dust can penetrate the skin and have horrific consequences.

I think that's way overblown, and I mean waaaaay overblown. I can show you a study in which strong alcoholic solutions of finasteride were applied to the skin of women, with no noticeable effect on their hormones. I've even heard that it's probably okay for a pregnant woman to take a SINGLE Propecia tablet orally, although that's obviously not something she'd want to do on a regular basis. But touching a little DUST from a broken tablet?? Come on, man...

I hadn't read this recent research, so the risks may well have been discovered to have been over-cautious.

I still think that taking precautions is such a small effort vs. a massive potential disaster, a pregnant woman should never be exposed to the dust.

Basically, it's not a bizarre thought that someone could use a kitchen knife to split their pills and put it back in a kitchen without washing it. That's a pretty normal scenario. Over time, that could spell trouble.

 

[BungleBungle]

Checking Merck, they still have this warning:

"Selected Safety Information About PROPECIA

PROPECIA is for the treatment of male pattern hair loss in MEN ONLY and should NOT be used by women or children.

Women who are or may potentially be pregnant must not use PROPECIA and should not handle crushed or broken PROPECIA tablets because the active ingredient may cause abnormalities of a male baby’s sex organs. If a woman who is pregnant comes into contact with the active ingredient in PROPECIA, a doctor should be consulted. PROPECIA tablets are coated and will prevent contact with the active ingredient during normal handling, provided that the tablets are not broken or crushed."


Why take the risk of exposure? I'm not saying you should split and store your pills on the moon. But I think it's sensible to treat them like peanuts in a household of someone with a peanut allergy.

 

[amedias]

I'd be interested to read thaose articles and resaerch, every single website i've come across has pretty much the same warning on...