Propecia made my weiner fall off.

[Mew]

I wonder if the side effects from finasteride are sometimes caused by certain interactions, caused by mixing finasteride with other prescription medication, if this were the case it may explain why finasteride only effects certain people adversly

No, the side effects are not caused by any interactions with other drugs.

For lots of guys, self included, the only pharmaceutical drug we've ever taken in our lives has been Finasteride, and so there was nothing else for it to interact with -- yet, we still got hit with side effects listed by Merck, and others which are unlisted yet explained by various other research papers based on Finasteride's true mechanisms of action.

As mentioned in a prior thread (please lookup our past debates, I don't want to have to keep reiterating the same things over and over), the reason Finasteride probably affects some guys more adversely than others is likely due to their genetic and hormonal makeup, especially when it comes to 5AR2 allele variants and Androgen Receptor CAG repeats.

http://www.hairdx.com/
viewtopic.php?p=493814#p493814

 

[Mew]

I just cant help but wonder if people with a predisposition, to these problems, may be effected adversly from finasteride, especially if it has an effect on neurotransmitters.

Yes, some people may have a predisposition to the mental side effects, which is exacerbated by Finasteride use.

-----------

http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/27/9/2155#B25

"... These changes in males as well as ovarian cycle-induced changes in females can be blocked by finasteride, an antagonist of neurosteroid synthesis from progesterone."


"...We have shown that elevations in neurosteroid levels associated with an acute stressful episode induce alterations in GABAARs, which may function to maintain the balance between excitation and inhibition after stress.

The duration of neurosteroid exposure and the rate of decline of neurosteroid levels may be critical for the regulation of GABAARs. The key to the regulation may be a relatively rapid rise and fall in neurosteroid levels, because long-term exposure to positive allosteric modulators such as benzodiazepines, alcohol, and even neurosteroids result in a downregulation of receptor function (Bateson, 2002; Krystal et al., 2006; Reddy, 2006).

Disruption in the regulation of GABAARs in response to stress may underlie the stress-induced exacerbation of many psychiatric and neurological disorders.

The upregulation of GABAAR subunit expression after an acute stressful episode may be a protective mechanism to prevent an imbalance in neuronal excitability. Our results demonstrate that, in addition to the direct allosteric modulation of GABAARs, neurosteroids also regulate GABAARs on a longer timescale by altering the expression of specific GABAAR subunits.

This may have implications on the clinical use of neurosteroid synthesis inhibitors such as finasteride (Propecia), because certain neurological disorders related to steroid hormone changes may be worsened by finasteride treatment (Herzog and Frye, 2003)."

---------

Read those key sentences again carefully:

- "neurosteroid synthesis inhibitors such as finasteride (Propecia)"

- "certain neurological disorders related to steroid hormone changes may be worsened by finasteride treatment"

- "These changes in males... can be blocked by finasteride, an antagonist of neurosteroid synthesis from progesterone"



I really don't know how much clearer the information can be, so if you intend to argue with it, argue with the authors themselves.

This is not me personally saying this or making things up, this is from qualified medical researchers... and this translates to another unlisted mechanism of action of the drug which Merck does not disclose, once again.

 

[Bryan]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I wan't to clarify my logic, Dr. rassam has stated multiple times, on balding blog, that five millagrams of finasteride has more side effects than one millagram.

Yes, but "the Devil is in the details", as they say. I _also_ believe that five milligrams has more side effects than one milligram, it's just that I think the difference is minor. I'm sure Dr. Rassam feels the same way.

 

[Drummeur]

Mew, you fight against finasteride for hair. But why is that bad if the doctors can easily prescribe for hair? Anybody asks a question prescribe such medicatie for young people?

The doctor does not read all these negative studies on Propecia?


i took 1 / 4 of Proscar since 3 years every day and for now I think have no probleme but I still fear for years to come...




*not my native language

 

[Mew]

Mew, you fight against finasteride for hair.

Sigh...

No, I already explained my reasoning for responding to these types of posts. Did you read this entire thread? If not, here is my explanation:

viewtopic.php?p=504125#p504125

I never said Finasteride isn't good for saving hair, and that's not the point here at all.

The doctor does not read all these negative studies on Propecia?

No, doctors do not have the time nor the interest to read up on every single drug they prescribe.

The onus is on YOU, the individual, to do the digging on what the medication you are taking does, if you are AT ALL CONCERNED about the manufacturer's or FDA's claims are when it comes to the drug. If you're not concerned, then by all means continue happily taking the drug and being blissfully ignorant and unaware about how it works or what it can potentially do.


This applies to all medications, not just Finasteride. It is not uncommon for drugs to be marketed in the best possible light in order to sell/make the manufacturer's money, while trying to downplay the potential for side effects.

Just because something is "FDA approved" doesn't mean new research won't come out about negative consequences of use, or that the drug might not get pulled off the market in the future due to more and more people having negative reactions to it.

That's why YOU need to take responsibility for your own health and life, and do the proper research before trying things. Unfortunately most people don't have the time or interest to do such research, so they just take the drug company's claims at face value.

Reality check: you are expendable to drug companies, they don't give a rat's *** about you, and only care about your money... wether you die or get lifelong health complications from their medications, makes no difference to them. Only lawsuits and negative publicity that might affect their revenue and stock price is of concern to them.

Conspiracy theory aside, all of the materials I've brought to your attention in this thread are freely available on the web. Anyone can find this stuff if they do a Google Search... I've simply done the legwork for you. If some people have a problem with that and want to shoot the messenger, they've got it all wrong... they should be arguing with the authors of these studies themselves, not the person who brings it to their attention.

Read the data, read the FDA reports, read Merck's claims, read the studies, read as much as you can... and make an informed decision, no matter what drug, product or service you use in your life.

But when it comes to something that may have negative consequences on your health and quality of life, however rare that risk may be... just be damn sure about your decision, and base it on as much info as you can find, so you can make an INFORMED decision about the benefits vs risks of the drug you are taking.

 

[Mew]

Well if you look at his blogs, you might feel otherwise

Not directly related to your concerns, but I found this quote of Dr. Rassman's interesting...

-----------

http://www.enotalone.com/article/5711.html

"William R. Rassman, M.D., a leading hair specialist who with his colleague Robert M. Bernstein, M.D., perfected the follicular hair-transplant technique in the United States, believes that Propecia can be used alone or as an adjunct to other treatments, including hair-transplantation surgery, but he reminds us that as with many drugs, even those that have been used for a number of years, "all the long-term risks may not be known yet."

 

[Bryan]

Well if you look at his blogs, you might feel otherwise. I can provide examples if needed.

Give me some examples.

 

[Bryan]

Dr. rassam-

'' I would reduce the dose of Propecia to 1mg taken in the mornings. The higher the dose, the more side effects you are likely to see. ''

That's not the least bit convincing to me. It's the same thing that even _I_ would probably tell someone who was complaining about "side effects" from finasteride. I mean, come on....you have to tell the person SOMETHING that might be a little comforting to him and give him a little encouragement, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense from a purely scientific point of view. And who knows? Judging by that "nocebo" study of finasteride I've posted about recently, maybe if he reduces his dose a little bit, he'll trick himself into believing that his "side effects" are minimized!

 

[yvakin]

Mew, you fight against finasteride for hair.

[quote:110r91go]
The onus is on YOU, the individual, to do the digging on what the medication you are taking does, if you are AT ALL CONCERNED about the manufacturer's or FDA's claims are when it comes to the drug. If you're not concerned, then by all means continue happily taking the drug and being blissfully ignorant and unaware about how it works or what it can potentially do.


This applies to all medications, not just Finasteride. It is not uncommon for drugs to be marketed in the best possible light in order to sell/make the manufacturer's money, while trying to downplay the potential for side effects.


Reality check: you are expendable to drug companies, they don't give a rat's *** about you, and only care about your money... wether you die or get lifelong health complications from their medications, makes no difference to them. Only lawsuits and negative publicity that might affect their revenue and stock price is of concern to them.


Read the data, read the FDA reports, read Merck's claims, read the studies, read as much as you can... and make an informed decision, no matter what drug, product or service you use in your life.

But when it comes to something that may have negative consequences on your health and quality of life, however rare that risk may be... just be damn sure about your decision, and base it on as much info as you can find, so you can make an INFORMED decision about the benefits vs risks of the drug you are taking.

[/quote:110r91go]

Damn right. Even drug like Lyrica, read the sides from that or try to use it yourself. Then when you tell about the sides you experiencing to your Doctor he would just say:"At least it helps you to fall asleep". I wonder how much money Docs making out of selling those drugs. 60pills=300$=1month.

 

[Bryan]

I'm not sure what Dr. Rassam really means by that, or if he's just talking off the top of his head.