my experience with propecia

[tmartin92]

Hey folks,

Kinda new to this post, but wanted to share my experience. I started taking Propecia on 4/12 and experienced a dramatic loss of libido. So much so I decided to stop taking it after one week, on 4/18.

Well, it's 5/18 and I'm still experiencing this side effect. In fact, it's almost unchanged. I didn't think anything like this could happen after only being on it for a week. Needless to say, I'm starting to get pretty worried.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[BadHairDecade]

Only one week shouldn't have that effect. Not saying it's not happeneing to you. I'm assuming with such a major issue in such a short time you've seen a doctor already right? What did he say?.
If you haven't....You should. Nobody here is going to be able to answer your questions. I've only heard of one other case of this here and the guy never responded to anyone elses posts. So I assume everything worked out for him.

BHD

 

[Brasileirao]

Not to worry

Hey Bro,

I dont think you have anything to worry about. I have been on Propecia for about 2 and 1/2 months and I have had my libido go up and then down. But it eventually became balanced. I think that, if you really are sufferening from male pattern baldness, you should of kept on the drug. It takes time for your body to adjust and if you really arent going to take it anymore, give it a few weeks to see what happens. Things should go back to normal. If not, go to the doctor, but Im sure you will be ok!

Regards,
Tony

 

[flux]

Serious sexual side effects have been known to occur (its rare, but it happens), though anyone who's complained about permanent erectile dysfunction that I'm aware of has been on it for more then just a week. Considering you're not even at that point (libido is low, but at least its there), I would be that things will return to normal.

Try taking L-Arginine suppliments. That should help you get back on track.

Generally these things balance out with continued use, but it does sound like you experienced something significantly stronger then the dip in libido many of us complain about. I'd say quitting the finasteride was probably a good call.

Hey, theres always the spironolactone/Revivogen combo.

 

[tmartin92]

Thanks, folks. Unfortunately, I haven't been to a doctor yet. (I was laid off from my gig last year and my benefits have dried up.) I wanted to wait a while before I went anyway, because I was afraid the doctor would just tell me to give it time.

I'll keep you posted as things progress. Some people say that this stuff can be "in your head." Maybe - maybe not. But I tell you what, it's starting to get into my head now. A month seems like a long time for these side-effects to persist, especially after taking it for only a week. It's starting to get a little scary.

Good luck, folks. I'll keep you posted.

 

[tmartin92]

Hello again,

Sorry I haven't posted a reply in a while. After speaking with a hair restoration surgeon and a general practitioner, I was told that my symptoms were psychosomatic. Both said that such a low dose of Propecia taken for such a short period of time could never cause the side effects (impotence) that I was experiencing.

I decided, however, to get a blood test. While my thyroid tests came back normal, my testosterone levels were indeed low. In fact, the GP recommended that I see a urologist.

The urologist concurred that my levels were low -- even after two months. He told me it might even take three months. While he insisted that Propecia couldn't cause permanent damage, he couldn't tell me why I'm not yet back to normal. He told me to wait one more month, and then perhaps undergo hormone therapy.

Of course, I'm very worried. I'm writing this post to tell you all to be careful. The anxiety I'm experiencing now is 100 times worse than the anxiety I had over hair loss. Really.

My advice would be to have your testosterone levels checked BEFORE you begin taking Propecia. I did not. Now I have no way to prove that this drug caused my problem.

I'm not trying to scare anyone off. I just felt obligated to share my experience. After taking Propecia for just one week I have no libido, an inability to achieve an erection, and a major loss in ejaculate -- more than two months later. I truly hope I can write to you in one month and tell you all's well. Until then, I urge you to be very careful.

Best Regards . . .

 

[dr spock]

please keep us posted on how your situation turns out. I have heard of this happening (people on forums like these), but only about two people, and I believe they took it far longer than you have.

 

[drinkrum]

You probably had low T levels pre-Propecia, seeing as finasteride (Propecia) actually increased T levels by up to 15-20%.

D.

 

[NeedSomeHelp]

You should get other bloodwork done as well. Important ones are Free T, Estradiol, FSH, LH, Prolactin, and total T. Make sure before u jump into HRT u are aware of all the risks associated with it, including being on it for life. Uros might not be the best option for this because they are not always the most educated on HRT. Best thing to do first is see if it will solve itself naturely.

 

[tmartin92]

Thanks for your replies. Just want to respond to:

"You probably had low T levels pre-Propecia, seeing as finasteride (Propecia) actually increased T levels by up to 15-20%."

"Probably" doesn't cut it. I never had these symptoms before.

 

[drinkrum]

Well, finasteride treatment increases T levels by about 15-20% (with a subsequent increase in estradiol, E2). This is achieved because finasteride inhibits the conversation of T into DHT, resulting in more unbound T and significantly less DHT, the more potent androgen that causes male pattern baldness.

So, your sexual symptoms can most likely attributed to low levels of DHT or high levels of E2. Another theory is that your body might be reacting in shock and adjusting rather slowly to the sudden stop in finasteride intake and this could potentially lead to lower T levels. Either way, I would go to an endocrinologist and get a full hormonal workup, specifically measuring T, DHT, and E2.

Remember that your brain is very good at dealing with change by rebalancing hormonal output. So if you take a drug like finasteride which increases T levels, your body might respond by decreasing T output in the testes. And you might not have snapped out of this yet. Perhaps, before you go to the endocrinologist, you could try this: start taking Propecia again but start reducing your dosage slowly until you're not taking it at all anymore. This would not shock your system and give your body a better shot in readjusting itself.

D.

 

[hair mchair]

Tmartin,

Send me a private message so we can share our experiences. I also have low T, and I too believe it to be from Propecia. In fact, I might be able to help you out, as I've been dealing with this much longer than you.

On a side not, I agree that it's a good idea to get a full hormone profile done before you get on Propecia. As Propecia obviously has an effect on your hormone levels, I just really think this is a wise precaution. That way, on the slim chance anything goes wrong, you'll have a much better idea of how to approach the problem. It really would've helped out people like tmartin and myself. In fact, I wish all the major hairloss sites would recommend this to people who wish to start taking Propecia.

 

[tmartin92]

Hello again,

Sorry I haven't posted an update in a while, but I was waiting on a few more blood tests to come back. In short, the last four months since taking Propecia have been a nightmare.

I won't go back and restate everything from my previous posts, but just to quickly reiterate: I took Propecia for one week in April and immediately began to experience sexual side-effects (impotence). Before taking Propecia, I'd never experienced any similar problems. After seeing a GP and a urologist very low testosterone levels were detected. I was referred to an endocrinologist, who after further tests found that I also had very high prolactin levels. Needless to say, I'm still having the same problems.

All of the doctors I've mentioned have told me that it is unlikely that Propecia has caused my problem. However, they cannot tell me why my symptoms started on the SAME DAY that I began treatment. When I ask that question specifically, they all say it was just a coincidence.

Obviously, I do not accept their "explanation."

The endo suspects a pituitary tumor, but I haven't decided whether or not to go for the (very expensive) MRI. It just doesn't make sense to me that I would have a prolactin-secreting tumor and not realize it until the day I took Propecia for the first time. Plus, my prolactin is 135; most doctors feel that it must be over 200 for a tumor to be present. In addition, I'm not experiencing any other symptoms of a pituitary tumor -- headaches, dizziness, vision problems, etc.

If anyone has had a similar experience and can offer advice, I'd be glad to hear it. The medical treatments my doctors have offered are very expensive and ripe with side-effects of their own. I'm now under the care of a more holistic-type MD who's trying to help my body regulate its own hormonal levels. While my overall health has improved slightly, the loss of libido and impotence hasn't changed at all.

As usual, I must state that I'm not trying to scare anyone or change any minds. I feel obligated to honestly share my experiences on this post because of the seriousness of the topic. If I could go back to the day before I started taking Propecia, it would be like Heaven.

One final note, just to bring the conversation back to hair loss: Worrying about losing my hair is a distant memory now that I'm going through this. It's like instant perspective. I now see hair loss is an opportunity to be strong and committed to who I really am. It's only devastating when I commit to the misguided values of the world around me. I bought into those values and tried taking a drug to grow my hair back. Now, at 37, I'm facing something far more devastating than hair loss could ever be.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[Thinning]

Honestly I think the highest percentage possibility is that your problem is phychological. Especially since it happened the very day you started finistride. Perhaps you were so concerned that this might happen that it did? Or perhaps the anxiety of you not being able to perform when on the drug caused the problem and continues to this day? Im not trying to sound like a dick, the brain is more powerfull than we sometimes give it credit for.

I had a relative close to me seek medical advice from scores of doctors for an ailment that turned out to go away when they gave him what turned out to be Xanax - an anti-anxiety drug. He was so worried and convinced that he had a problem that his body gave him the symptoms. Hes fine now.

They have ways to tell if you have had an erection in your sleep, A good way to determine that it is a physical problem is to see if you continue to get erections at night, most people have 2-3 and never know.

If your testosterone was abnormally low I doubt you would lose your hair. It still continues to fall our correct?

 

[youngguy_uk]

hey. if i were you personally id get on finasteride and stay on it for 1-2 months and see if you can ride out the libido effect. in fairness, just jumping off finasteride after a week probably wasnt the best idea - its just mucking about with your hormones, off then on, etc. let it settle, the body takes time to adapt to hormonal changes but it can adapt. thats why a lot of people see ups and downs when just starting finasteride. why did you drop it after only one week? should have ridden it out in my opinion, i think you should get your hormone levels tested then give it another go.

 

[youngguy_uk]

ps i feel my libido dropped a little after starting finasteride in just the first week. maybe a lot of it was psychological, i dont know. but i still had a tiny bit of a dropped libido at about 1 month, i dont think its impossible by any means. but i rode it out, not that it was that hard, it got better all the way along. never had any problems since, if you could call my initial little dip a problem even.

 

[NeedSomeHelp]

Hey Tmartin how bad is your impotence? If u go to the right uro they can hook u up with something called the Rigiscan...it will measure how hard and how many erections u have during REM sleep. This way at least u will have positive confirmation whether or not its in ur head or something physical/hormonal.

 

[tmartin92]

Thanks so much for your input. For the record, these are some of the results of my blood tests:

Total T was 162 (normal range is 270-1200)
FSH = .7 (normal is 5-20)
LH = 1.4 (normal is 2.4-5.9)
Prolactin = 130 (normal is 2-17)

As you can see, my hormonal system has definitely been affected drastically by something. At first, I did consider anxiety and psychosomatic issues. (In fact, I hoped it was "in my head" because I didn't want to consider the alternative.) Unfortunately, my problem is all-too-real and even my endo now says I have cause for concern.

My biggest problem right now is that none of the doctors know why my hormonal levels got this way. They all say that it is "unlikely" that the Propecia caused it, yet at the same time they can't say what did. To me, it's way too much of a coincidence that I starting having these problems the same day I started the Propecia, and then for them to suggest that there's no correlation.

 

[pharoh]

if I was 37 I wouldn't give a sh*t about starting to lose my hair...atleast not to the extent to try some medication that fucks with your hormones

I came off finasteride a good 5 months ago after being on it for 2 months due to loss of sex drive, and personally I don't beleive it is anywhere near back to the stage it was pre-finasteride. However, I have started it again now but with a lwoer dose, I still noticed the fluctuations in sex drive (which a lot of people get at the start) but atleast I can still get it up

good luck with sorting things out

 

[shizzel]

I heard some people taking .5mg of propecia every eight hours or so to minimize the side effects, i havn't read up on that yet but, i am thinking about doing it.