Propecia Sides- Should I Continue or Stop? Opinions Please!

[Jack547]

Hey guys,

Wanted to get your opinions on sides. I've been taking brand name Propecia for around 2 weeks. I have encountered a surprising amount of mild side effects. I really want to continue Propecia as I see it as my only realistic way to save my hair (I'm 30) but the side effects are troubling.

My sides started surprisingly within hours of taking my first pill. I noticed mild testicle pain, frequent urination and dry mouth. By the beginning of the second week I began having slight chest swelling and tender sore pain in my left pectoral/breast. This concerns me most. What is up with that and so soon? Lastly, I started getting a little dry eyes and noticed slightly weaker erections but no issues with getting it up when needed. Really my main concern is the breast pain. I've never had gyno probs during puberty or anything and b**ch tits are a very bad look. Worse than balding.

Have any of you guys encountered this so quickly into treatment and if so did soldiering on resolve it? I'm worried to bring this to my doctors attention for fear of him cutting me off. They already don't want me on it as I do have Thyroid disease (Graves' Disease) and they aren't sure if it's just my hyperthyroidism that is causing my aggressive hair loss instead.

Thanks!!

 

[myhairbegone]

You noticed sides within a few hours? sounds like nocebo.

Also you are taking it even though your doctors told you not to? Doesn't seem wise..

 

[NormanNorwood]

Hey guys,

Wanted to get your opinions on sides. I've been taking brand name Propecia for around 2 weeks. I have encountered a surprising amount of mild side effects. I really want to continue Propecia as I see it as my only realistic way to save my hair (I'm 30) but the side effects are troubling.

My sides started surprisingly within hours of taking my first pill. I noticed mild testicle pain, frequent urination and dry mouth. By the beginning of the second week I began having slight chest swelling and tender sore pain in my left pectoral/breast. This concerns me most. What is up with that and so soon? Lastly, I started getting a little dry eyes and noticed slightly weaker erections but no issues with getting it up when needed. Really my main concern is the breast pain. I've never had gyno probs during puberty or anything and b**ch tits are a very bad look. Worse than balding.

Have any of you guys encountered this so quickly into treatment and if so did soldiering on resolve it? I'm worried to bring this to my doctors attention for fear of him cutting me off. They already don't want me on it as I do have Thyroid disease (Graves' Disease) and they aren't sure if it's just my hyperthyroidism that is causing my aggressive hair loss instead.

Thanks!!

What is your hair loss pattern? Is it classic male pattern baldness or not just from Hypothyroidism? If it's your thyroid and not male pattern baldness then you likely don't need to be on Propecia and hopefully your hair loss will return once you get your Thyroid hormone levels to normal. That would take a few months though.

Just out of curiosity what has your doctor said if anything about Propecia and your thyroid levels/hyperthyroidism?

 

[Jack547]

Myhairbegone, yeah, man. I'm not one of those Propecia help loons. I'm just telling what I experienced. If someone told me that happened so quickly, I'd be skeptical too but that's what happened man. Mild testicle pain within 6 hours of first pill. From a quick search it appears to be somewhat common.

As as for my doctor, both derms refused to put me on it due to thyroid disease. My GP did, however. I felt that if I went back and complained they would obviously tell me to stop.

- - - Updated - - -

Hey NormanNorwood, you seem to be rather educated on thyroid disease and that's impressive! Most people aren't. You're right, it does take months of being stable which is harder than it sounds. It seems thyroid sufferers are always chasing levels and adjusting medicine.

My hair loss pattern is diffuse but with some focal points in the middle of my head and the crown. Nothing balding yet though definately thinning. But even on the sides/back it sheds a lot. It always would shed when my hormones were off then stop when stabilized. However, about this past September it started to aggressively shed and hasn't stopped. I haven't been stable on meds for more than a few months at a time (if that) but my thyroid is so severely hyperthyroid that it never is. Usually though once I was in normal range or even hypo the shedding would stop. This time though even in hypo range the shedding continued. Now, I know that hair loss is a symptom in both hypo and hyper sides of the scale but for me traditionally it had been only shedding during bouts of hyper.

As for the two derms I went to, they both refused to give me Propecia stating that they weren't sure what was causing my shedding but suspected it may have been my thyroid or possibly my thyroid jump starting slightly early onset of male pattern baldness. In fact, thry even we're sure if I in fact had male pattern baldness (2 said I didn't & 1 said I did). Thry only suggested Rogain.

As for my Endocrinologist, I wouldn't dare bring Propecia up to her haha. I had my GP do my dirty work lol. Most people on here seem to almost wish to find out they have thyroid disease to explain away their hair loss but trust me it only makes things more complicated.

 

[NormanNorwood]

Myhairbegone, yeah, man. I'm not one of those Propecia help loons. I'm just telling what I experienced. If someone told me that happened so quickly, I'd be skeptical too but that's what happened man. Mild testicle pain within 6 hours of first pill. From a quick search it appears to be somewhat common.

As as for my doctor, both derms refused to put me on it due to thyroid disease. My GP did, however. I felt that if I went back and complained they would obviously tell me to stop.

- - - Updated - - -

Hey NormanNorwood, you seem to be rather educated on thyroid disease and that's impressive! Most people aren't. You're right, it does take months of being stable which is harder than it sounds. It seems thyroid sufferers are always chasing levels and adjusting medicine.

My hair loss pattern is diffuse but with some focal points in the middle of my head and the crown. Nothing balding yet though definately thinning. But even on the sides/back it sheds a lot. It always would shed when my hormones were off then stop when stabilized. However, about this past September it started to aggressively shed and hasn't stopped. I haven't been stable on meds for more than a few months at a time (if that) but my thyroid is so severely hyperthyroid that it never is. Usually though once I was in normal range or even hypo the shedding would stop. This time though even in hypo range the shedding continued. Now, I know that hair loss is a symptom in both hypo and hyper sides of the scale but for me traditionally it had been only shedding during bouts of hyper.

As for the two derms I went to, they both refused to give me Propecia stating that they weren't sure what was causing my shedding but suspected it may have been my thyroid or possibly my thyroid jump starting slightly early onset of male pattern baldness. In fact, thry even we're sure if I in fact had male pattern baldness (2 said I didn't & 1 said I did). Thry only suggested Rogain.

As for my Endocrinologist, I wouldn't dare bring Propecia up to her haha. I had my GP do my dirty work lol. Most people on here seem to almost wish to find out they have thyroid disease to explain away their hair loss but trust me it only makes things more complicated.

My doctor is telling me to keep an eye on my thyroid levels because mine have been slowly creeping up over the last year and mildly into the hypo-thyroidic range now. I even tried to rationalise with myself that I wasn't balding at 22 but it was my thyroid but my doctor said it was definitely male pattern baldness sadly.

If you're shedding from hormones are the hairs that fall out normal healthy hairs? Relatively thick in length?

male pattern baldness hairs tend to be a lot thinner because of miniaturisation. So I would guess (but I don't actually know) that a lot of what the hair that falls looks like may tell you if it's male pattern baldness or hormones?

Picking up on something else you said is it actually possible for male pattern baldness to "jump start" early from thyroid issues? Also why were they reluctant to give you Propecia given your thyroid history?

 

[Jack547]

Wow, yeah, 22 is tough. I thought 30 was young. I didn't have a care in the world about hair until this past year. Never thought I'd ever go bald as I always had a mop top. But the aggressive shedding the past year has me seriously worried. It's to the point if I comb it straight down you can see through to my scalp. I have to comb it to the side to cover everything. Not a traditional "comb-over" in the old man sense but similar in principle. Fortunately, the side part is the style these days lol.

Yeah, the majority are thick longer healthy hairs that fall out. Is that a good sign? I thought it was a bad sign lol. I do see thin miniaturized hairs every now and again though- no doubt.

I know you're in England so I'm not sure how the NHS is set-up but is all this information coming from your GP or an actual specialist whether it be a Dermatologist or Endocrinologist, regarding male pattern baldness and your thyroid disorder? I ask because you may have a multiple factor situation at hand where it's your thyroid and male pattern baldness. Possibly treating the thyroid would settle shedding some. There DEF is a connection with thyroid disease and shedding and boy do I shed when my levels are off. Do you know your lab numbers by a chance? TSH and FT4 are the gold standard metrics for thyroid disorders. For example 0.40-4.50 is considered normal TSH range here in the states. Anything below 0.40 is hyper and above 4.50 is hypo. To give you perspective I'm at 61.53 mIU/L right now lol. Severely hypo. I'm curious your numbers.

I've had Graves' Disease since 2007 officially but more like 1999 when I was 13 and noticed the first hallmark symptoms and I was always very underweight. So I've got some good experience if you have any questions regarding hypo or hyper. I've been both many times. It's like a pendulum when trying to find the correct dose of medicine.

You know, I don't know. This is what my Dermatologist said to me that it's possible the rapid hair cycles brought on by my thyroid- shedding/regrowth could have started male pattern baldness several years earlier than it otherwise would have. She was a Harvard Medical School grad for whatever that's worth? She seemed competent. But she also first diagnosed me as having the beginning of male pattern baldness and when I said another Derm said I didn't and I'm confused she backpedalled and said "well, your hair looks normal to me but I'm going by what your telling me your hair used to look like." It started making me think diagnosing male pattern baldness in someone who doesn't have traditional Norwood 2+ or obvious balding isn't an exact science.

To answer your last question, they all seemed to be reluctant to give me Propecia because as you know if your thinning thyroid disease is the very first red flag for cause. It's the first question/test they'll run. So when you say you have it and a serious case at that they claims of get nervous ascribing the loss to anything else. What they all told me is that my levels need to be stable for 4-6 months before they can rule out thyroid and I never hit 6 months stability. Since they all felt it was a drug known for sexual side effects they all said they were reserved to give it to someone my young age if they weren't sure it was the true remedy in my case. The Harvard doctor specifically told me if she gave it to me while my thyroid was out of range and my hair stopped shedding down the road she couldn't be sure if it was my thyroid stopping it or the Propecia. Basically, they recognized the drug while safe was a serious medication and didn't want to prescribe it until they were absolutely sure I exhausted all other avenues. My GP is just push over so I knew I could get it from him.