tender nipples on finasteride

[kikoman]

I'm 26, and just started a second attempt at finasteride. I'm taking it slow .5mg a day for 10 days now..

I've been noticing ever since the first day some nipple tenderness/sensitivity. At first I thought it may be placebo (having read way too many stories on here) but now i'm pretty sure it's real.

Do these kinds of sides go away with time? Or, should I be freaking out about growing man boobs and stop right away? (this was the reaction during first attempt which lasted for 3 days)

Plan so far is to continue for another week at .5mg and see if anything changes.

 

[pidda]

I got those symptoms on day one but that went away. But it was scary enough on my first finasteride attempt that i stopped taking it right away. Now I am about 2.5 months in and the sides from finasteride are roughly at least 98-99% gone as far as I know.

 

[berserker69]

Psychosomatic effects are very real. I believe you can will yourself ill or will yourself better, to an extent...

having said that, I do suggest using, or at least having to hand, an aromatase inhibitor such as Arimidex (anastrozole) or SERM like nolvadex.

DHT plays a big role in the male body in inhibiting estrogen. So by inhibiting DHT you are freeing up lots more estrogen to do it's thing, which IMO is a big factor in many of the side effects experienced by finasteride users....

.brsrkr69

 

[Wuffer]

I experienced the same thing when I started, but I believe it was psychosomatic. For a while, I was extremely anxious about side effects on finasteride, and focusing so much on this I believe actually caused pain. Not to mention I was obsessively feeling my chest to make sure there weren't any lumps forming probably made it tender.

Anyway, breast/nipple pain does NOT indicate gynecomastia. This will likely go away over time, but also keep an eye on it. If lumps are growing in your breast tissue, it won't happen overnight. Check every couple days and make sure nothing new is forming, especially directly behind your nipples.

 

[kikoman]

Anyway, breast/nipple pain does NOT indicate gynecomastia. This will likely go away over time, but also keep an eye on it. If lumps are growing in your breast tissue, it won't happen overnight. Check every couple days and make sure nothing new is forming, especially directly behind your nipples.

Thanks for the info, Wuffer. Good to know that chest paint does NOT equal gyno. There are no lumps, but my chest does feel fuller ...I'll continue monitoring it.

UPDATE:
It has been over a month on .5mg of finasteride daily. I've skipped 5 days on vacation, and noticed a reduction in chest fullness & tenderness by day 3. After a 2 weeks of continuing finasteride at .5mg
side effects are as follows: chest fullness and tenderness - mostly noticeable in the morning, libido is high, semen normal, and nips are extra sensitive.

 

[Hairforever]

Tender nipples is not psychomatic if you haven't had this before finasteride. finasteride can do this and it can be an early sign that you will get gyno which can creep up on you if you're not careful. finasteride drastically reduces dht which as a result has a femanizing effect on the body. For some men it is apparently negligible, for others it is significant. Never forget that when using finasteride to treat hairloss you are playing with your hormones.

 

[pidda]

ya i got less bodyhair now... it doesn't fit into my plans of being a werewolf.

 

[Wuffer]

Nipple pain can absolutely be psychosomatic. In fact, any sort of body pain could be psychosomatic. Even chronic and severe pain can be mental in nature. The brain has a few aces up it's sleeves.

But obviously finasteride can and does cause real nipple pain too, but it's difficult to distinguish unless you can run some sort of placebo control test on yourself.

As I said, pain does NOT necessarily indicate tissue growth. What I would do is take some good pictures of your chest from different angles. Feel your chest tissue and make note of any lumps or bumps, and write down a 'map' of where these are (including size, location, firmness, etc, if any) and re-check every couple weeks.

Gyno develops slowly, so yes it could happen without you really realizing it. If you have a consistent baseline to refer to, your mind wont be able to play tricks.

Hopefully the pain eventually subsides. If it is psychosomatic, possibly the realization that your chest looks exactly the same could put the fears to rest.

 

[nagan]

i wouldnt worry about the gyno thing.. i think most girls like it... my girlfriend infact wants me to grow my moobs... i dont think id wanna intentionally grow it but unfortunately its part of finasteride.

 

[Fear21F]

It is real and giving the process of propecia it sounds not like a fable. It was terrible for me the second month.

I agree, breast tenderness does not mean necessarely gyno.
I personnaly encountered breast tenderness during the adjusting period and it went away. My chest is also a bit more swollen and pointing while on finasteride but it goes away after 1 week off.