- Reaction score
- 2,032
N'importe quoi.
My response to this forum's attack on me.
- Thread starter WhiteWolfKevin
- Start date
Casse toi
- Reaction score
- 2,032
J'uis deja casse.
- Reaction score
- 44
@Pigeon
I thought I was being compulsive with my point by point rebuttal of the remarks against me, but I guess you are pretty OCD too. I do appreciate your (occasional) acknowledgement of agreement with me.
I started the channel as a sort of self-help channel documenting my fight against hair loss by outlining my experience with hair transplants and attempts of different therapies. I was challenged on the evidence for finasteride and minoxidil so I started looking stuff up and gradually got better at understanding the scientific jargon. People would ask "what about such and such an article" and I started trying to explain what was good or bad about different studies. You are right, I am not a scientist by training and not a doctor. I try to put disclaimers in the videos and in my comments about that. I think viewers are smart enough to know I am not a doctor without me having to state it each video.
Regarding the specific video on neurosteroids, I don't dismiss the rat studies out of hand. I do say that these effects are probably related to the side effect of depression that can occur with finasteride. I do critique the data because the rat model doesn't match the human model in terms of the effects of finasteride on the isoenzymes and the very high doses needed to see these effects on neurosteroids. I intentionally separate out the neurosteroid effects from the DHT effects, which the authors of the study also do by using a group of castrated rats. So what I thought I was doing was critiquing the study, not dismissing it. I know that this is not the only study on the effects of finasteride on neurosteroids, but it was a recent study and fairly representative of the state of the art. Unfortunately given the limitations of the format of my YouTube videos, which are already probably too long to begin with, it is not possible to review every relevant study, but I do try to answer as many of the comments that people leave on my videos that I can.
Regarding your point on DHT suppression being the same regardless of the dose, I think that's actually a good thing because that allows very low doses to be effective while at the same time minimizing sides, which I think are usually more related to neurosteroid effects or aromatization effects rather than effects from lack of DHT.
But rather than debate point by point the evidence you present, which I have already done in various videos, I think I should just say that while you are right that there are researchers who are concerned about finasteride effects there are also some who take my side and think that the science is not there, and that cases of purported PFS are more related to preexisting psychiatric conditions, nocebo effect, financial incentives, and literally mass hysteria. I know you don't agree with that, but can't we just continue to have that debate without wiping each other out? There is a lot of vitriol on both sides. And as to cherry-picking, many articles I review are articles that people mention in comments. And others I pick out to counterbalance the huge bulk of what I consider to be misinformation or propaganda put out by PropeciaHelp and the PFS. I'm trying to restore some balance to the universe, adding a little yin to a lot of yang out there. People don't have to pay attention to me or my videos, but I am not trying to misinform anyone. People can hear both sides and decide for themselves what to do.
Some people seem to like my "sense of humor" in the videos, others don't. Some things I attack are definitely scams that you would agree with me on, and I'm not afraid to call that out. If it is someone you support, like Hans, then I'm sure you would feel offended. But I think even you would see that he is probably as extremely pro-DHT as I am anti-DHT. So I get that people criticize me, and many who are impugning my character are doing far worse than I do with a few words or a stupid thumbnail.
Like you say, we are all battling hair loss, and we all end up with our own approach, based on the info that's out there. I really do try to analyze the quality of the studies I cite. It's sad that so much of the hair loss literature really is of abysmal quality. I do feel strongly that of all the treatments finasteride has the best supporting evidence, which is why I talk about it so much. Also it has been very effective for me. But science advances, and better treatments will eventually appear in the future. There will never be a treatment without risk of side-effects, and I do think that 5AR blockers are the best thing we have now. I think back to my dad's generation, and there were literally no options other than a toupee. So we are making progress, slowly but surely.
So I know I probably didn't address all your points, but I am tired of this thread and want to get back to making more videos. The reason I posted here was not to try to defend my channel but rather to defend my character against defamation. I hope that future discussions here and elsewhere will focus on the science and not on personalities.
I thought I was being compulsive with my point by point rebuttal of the remarks against me, but I guess you are pretty OCD too. I do appreciate your (occasional) acknowledgement of agreement with me.
I started the channel as a sort of self-help channel documenting my fight against hair loss by outlining my experience with hair transplants and attempts of different therapies. I was challenged on the evidence for finasteride and minoxidil so I started looking stuff up and gradually got better at understanding the scientific jargon. People would ask "what about such and such an article" and I started trying to explain what was good or bad about different studies. You are right, I am not a scientist by training and not a doctor. I try to put disclaimers in the videos and in my comments about that. I think viewers are smart enough to know I am not a doctor without me having to state it each video.
Regarding the specific video on neurosteroids, I don't dismiss the rat studies out of hand. I do say that these effects are probably related to the side effect of depression that can occur with finasteride. I do critique the data because the rat model doesn't match the human model in terms of the effects of finasteride on the isoenzymes and the very high doses needed to see these effects on neurosteroids. I intentionally separate out the neurosteroid effects from the DHT effects, which the authors of the study also do by using a group of castrated rats. So what I thought I was doing was critiquing the study, not dismissing it. I know that this is not the only study on the effects of finasteride on neurosteroids, but it was a recent study and fairly representative of the state of the art. Unfortunately given the limitations of the format of my YouTube videos, which are already probably too long to begin with, it is not possible to review every relevant study, but I do try to answer as many of the comments that people leave on my videos that I can.
Regarding your point on DHT suppression being the same regardless of the dose, I think that's actually a good thing because that allows very low doses to be effective while at the same time minimizing sides, which I think are usually more related to neurosteroid effects or aromatization effects rather than effects from lack of DHT.
But rather than debate point by point the evidence you present, which I have already done in various videos, I think I should just say that while you are right that there are researchers who are concerned about finasteride effects there are also some who take my side and think that the science is not there, and that cases of purported PFS are more related to preexisting psychiatric conditions, nocebo effect, financial incentives, and literally mass hysteria. I know you don't agree with that, but can't we just continue to have that debate without wiping each other out? There is a lot of vitriol on both sides. And as to cherry-picking, many articles I review are articles that people mention in comments. And others I pick out to counterbalance the huge bulk of what I consider to be misinformation or propaganda put out by PropeciaHelp and the PFS. I'm trying to restore some balance to the universe, adding a little yin to a lot of yang out there. People don't have to pay attention to me or my videos, but I am not trying to misinform anyone. People can hear both sides and decide for themselves what to do.
Some people seem to like my "sense of humor" in the videos, others don't. Some things I attack are definitely scams that you would agree with me on, and I'm not afraid to call that out. If it is someone you support, like Hans, then I'm sure you would feel offended. But I think even you would see that he is probably as extremely pro-DHT as I am anti-DHT. So I get that people criticize me, and many who are impugning my character are doing far worse than I do with a few words or a stupid thumbnail.
Like you say, we are all battling hair loss, and we all end up with our own approach, based on the info that's out there. I really do try to analyze the quality of the studies I cite. It's sad that so much of the hair loss literature really is of abysmal quality. I do feel strongly that of all the treatments finasteride has the best supporting evidence, which is why I talk about it so much. Also it has been very effective for me. But science advances, and better treatments will eventually appear in the future. There will never be a treatment without risk of side-effects, and I do think that 5AR blockers are the best thing we have now. I think back to my dad's generation, and there were literally no options other than a toupee. So we are making progress, slowly but surely.
So I know I probably didn't address all your points, but I am tired of this thread and want to get back to making more videos. The reason I posted here was not to try to defend my channel but rather to defend my character against defamation. I hope that future discussions here and elsewhere will focus on the science and not on personalities.
- Reaction score
- 0
Wow, I didn't know that I would see such drama at this forum, lol.