Need Some Advice. First Time Experiencing A Side Effect From Propecia

[Stick]

Hi everyone. I've been on and off this site since around 2013, but I never really felt the need to post. The reason for that is simple: I use propecia and nanoxidil (though it was minoxidil back then) ever since May 2014 – at age 22 – and never experienced any problems/side effects. I managed to halt my hair loss and thus am now (still) the owner of a healthy head of hair.

I’m 26 now and since around two weeks ago, I noticed that my erections aren't as hard as they used to be and when I have an erection it loses some of its potency every now and then (every few minutes) before retaining its harder state.

Now, to clarify, I also experience some stress at work the last few weeks, so there might be some correlation there, too.

Right now, I think it’ll be wise to stop propecia for a while and see if there are any changes. It’ll be a shame to have to stop taking propecia, but I much rather be able to have a healthy erection than a full head of hair. Hair transplants are getting better and better, so I might just get one when I’m around 30 if need be.

I hope some of you have been in this situation before and have some tips for me!

 

[realone]

It seems odd that after years of taking propecia, side effects would choose to show themselves now. As I'm sure you know, propecia side effects have been shown to decrease with time in clinical trials, not the other way around. Now, I'm not a doctor or a medical specialist, so who knows what could be happening-- it could be because of propecia, though to me it doesn't seem likely. Are there any other factors that could be affecting your sex drive? Could it be the stress you're describing, lack of sleep, diet, lack of exercise? Additionally, as men age they typically see their erections become weaker or softer, so it could be that as well.

Do what you need to do-- stop the propecia for a while and see what happens. It's just a shame to have to lose hair when you've turned yourself into a success story! Best of luck, report back to us if you can.

 

[GP004]

Only my opinion but head of hair or an erection that on occasion may not be as good as previous

Easy answer....head of hair 100000%

 

[reyl]

It's more likely that your T levels declined with age than it is the propecia if it took 4 years, many people after 25 experience ED from p**rn addiction and over-stimulation.

 

[INT]

Finasteride side effects can not be predicted. We cannot predict yet who will get hit and who will not. Neither can we predict when someone gets hit, even though it is obviously more common for it to develop early one, I have read many cases over the years of men developing side effects after many month and yes, sometimes years. Some people crash after a few weeks, some people experience a slow decline over a very long time.

 

[realone]

Bottom line, Stick, is that we don't know. DHT's role in sexual function in the male body has been really poorly established. All modern medicine's research has pointed to DHT's position as a 'garbage' hormone in the male body after it has served its role in fetal development and it's much more minor role in puberty-- western medicine can't find that it does anything except enlarge the prostate, cause acne, and minaturize scalp hair follicles in those with the genetic predisposition. With that being said, there are cases of some men that use DHT blockers and experience some amount of sexual dysfunction. Without a doubt these cases have been far overblown online, and the reality is that clinical trials show them to be far more minor than many would claim, but we see that they do exist at some level.

If you discontinue propecia and you feel more amorous again, it might be because of a return in DHT in your body. It might be because of some other factor that none of us are taking into account; sleep, fatigue, something else. None of us have any way of knowing. But we do know that if you drop propecia your hair loss will likely resume.

Like I said, do what you have to do and get back to us! Best of luck.

 

[INT]

Bottom line, Stick, is that we don't know. DHT's role in sexual function in the male body has been really poorly established. All modern medicine's research has pointed to DHT's position as a 'garbage' hormone in the male body after it has served its role in fetal development and it's much more minor role in puberty-- western medicine can't find that it does anything except enlarge the prostate, cause acne, and minaturize scalp hair follicles in those with the genetic predisposition. With that being said, there are cases of some men that use DHT blockers and experience some amount of sexual dysfunction. Without a doubt these cases have been far overblown online, and the reality is that clinical trials show them to be far more minor than many would claim, but we see that they do exist at some level.

If you discontinue propecia and you feel more amorous again, it might be because of a return in DHT in your body. It might be because of some other factor that none of us are taking into account; sleep, fatigue, something else. None of us have any way of knowing. But we do know that if you drop propecia your hair loss will likely resume.

Like I said, do what you have to do and get back to us! Best of luck.

Please link me some of the different researches that point out DHT as a 'garbage' hormone

 

[realone]

Please link me some of the different researches that point out DHT as a 'garbage' hormone

I'll attach a photo excerpt from the book "Androgens and Androgen Receptors: Mechanisms, Functions and Clinical Applications" that outlines the known functions of T and DHT as androgens in the male body. Apart from development and the formation of the testes, and the subsequent activation of body hair, auxiliary hair and pubic hair in adolescence, DHT provides no other known function other than the enlargement of the prostate, oiliness of the skin (that causes an increase of acne in males) and as the cause of androgenetic alopecia (in males and females). Again, we can't say we know for certain that it has no other function, we just haven't been able to find one. As far as we know, Testosterone itself is wholly responsible for libido and sexual function in males

Additionally below is a journal article in which genetic males who were born with a congential 5a-Reductase deficiency (which prevents their bodies from forming DHT) were studied as they entered puberty. Since they could not form DHT in the womb, their genitals show malformation, and some are even raised as girls. Upon reaching puberty testosterone activates their libido and male sexual characteristics in normal ways, even causing some enlargement of the penis. They were mostly shown to develop sexual preferences for women and have normal libidos.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM197905313002201

This is the best available information I have. The wikipedia article on DHT outlines all of this and more and also links to more interesting reading material. Like I said: nobody can officially rule out DHT's role in producing libido in the adult male body, but it doesn't seem likely

 

[g.i joey]

Wow f*** DHT

 

[INT]

I'll attach a photo excerpt from the book "Androgens and Androgen Receptors: Mechanisms, Functions and Clinical Applications" that outlines the known functions of T and DHT as androgens in the male body. Apart from development and the formation of the testes, and the subsequent activation of body hair, auxiliary hair and pubic hair in adolescence, DHT provides no other known function other than the enlargement of the prostate, oiliness of the skin (that causes an increase of acne in males) and as the cause of androgenetic alopecia (in males and females). Again, we can't say we know for certain that it has no other function, we just haven't been able to find one. As far as we know, Testosterone itself is wholly responsible for libido and sexual function in males

Additionally below is a journal article in which genetic males who were born with a congential 5a-Reductase deficiency (which prevents their bodies from forming DHT) were studied as they entered puberty. Since they could not form DHT in the womb, their genitals show malformation, and some are even raised as girls. Upon reaching puberty testosterone activates their libido and male sexual characteristics in normal ways, even causing some enlargement of the penis. They were mostly shown to develop sexual preferences for women and have normal libidos.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM197905313002201

This is the best available information I have. The wikipedia article on DHT outlines all of this and more and also links to more interesting reading material. Like I said: nobody can officially rule out DHT's role in producing libido in the adult male body, but it doesn't seem likely

Thanks will look into this later.

The problem with finasteride might not necessarily be its effect on DHT but its depletion of 5AR which is still relatively unknown. The body of evidence that the decrease of 5AR can have horrible effects in the male body is still relatively small but has grown in recent years.