Young men and Finasteride (Propecia)

[siemprefuertes]

finasteride isn't even strong, I started taking it at 16 lol. It's crazy how finasteride can give people E.D. 17 now and I've never experienced a side effect and it's not maintaining my hair either.

ARe u serious? Have you grown in height while taking propecia? Has your penis growth stopped?

I'm concerned about taking propecia at young age.

 

[Rudiger]

I agree with OP generally, but the main problem is, as far as I'm concerned there has never been a conclusive independent research study on finasteride. If anyone thinks they have one, please send it this way.

I'm very happy with my results on finasteride, after 4 or 5 years on minoxidil, and realising it's effectively doing nothing, finasteride has grown my fringe and even temple points (which I thought was rare, but I've been a good responder with the temples) in less than a year.

It's still thin though all over, there's no real density under harsh lighting, it's really hard to tell if this is improving or not. Nonetheless, the central part of the fringe was only 1-2cm wide a year ago, now it's probably 4cm wide (I've never thought about this before so it feels weird guessing) and it's moved forward as well, there's even sparks of a few hairs a centimetre further down my forehead, where my hairline was when I was probably 15 or something.

"Sides" (if you can call it that) were increased libido, initially insanely increased, to the point if I was laying in bed with a girl and she so much as breathed in my direction, it would be on it's way, and any kind of touching or kissing being full boner within half a minute, and since then it still stays 100% hard at all times, during foreplay, eating her out, switching positions etc there's never any need to yank on it to keep it going.

Keep in mind I am a 29 year old male who smokes, drinks, used to do a lot of drugs and still do sometimes, I've never had any major issues with ED to the point of a woman noticing, but like most guys I felt like for some days my erection was less strong for different reasons, for example if I've eaten too much or felt bloated, had indigestion etc. or understandably if on drugs or alcohol there's more effort to perform, but actually some days for no reason at all. I haven't had this sort of feeling in quite a while now.

Obviously I have little to complain about, and keeping others in mind, I feel for anyone who's had sides, I'd react emotionally very badly to that, especially if it's been working on the hairline. I've lucked out basically, more hair, increased libido, and other people haven't been so fortunate, but how many other people? Is the risk for most of us worth the reward?

I really think it needs to be looked at extensively. For example, DHT levels are hard to measure but there may be some correlations, I've heard people suffering from finasteride sides as having "beta genes" which sounds facetious but it's pretty much true, and it's not slandering, we can't control our genes, it's just factual. For me personally I have a lot of chest and body hair (or I would if I didn't completely trim it away every fortnight) and have had since only age 14 or 15, I probably had pubes when I was only 9 or maybe 10, that when I got to high school and they explained in biology what puberty will be when it hits us, I was really confused because I was already used to this.

Anyway, would there possibly be a correlation between this and how we respond to hormone treatments? That I'm lucky enough to have "alpha" genes and get stronger erections and hair, but some people's biological make-up can't deal with it and become effeminate, gynecomastia, ED, etc.

It would be helpful in determining who would be viable candidates to get on finasteride, but for the time being, it's just a lottery. I don't mean this post to discourage anyone who was late in hitting puberty or has no body hair, I'm simply saying we don't know because there's no real studies being carried out. My point on my "alpha genes" is simply theorizing and if anyone has anything to contradict it, even just anecdotal experience, that would be interesting.

And then again maybe in a year I'll be crying about man tits and my dick shrinking to a prawn, who knows.

 

[mitch1211]

I agree with OP generally, but the main problem is, as far as I'm concerned there has never been a conclusive independent research study on finasteride. If anyone thinks they have one, please send it this way.

I'm very happy with my results on finasteride, after 4 or 5 years on minoxidil, and realising it's effectively doing nothing, finasteride has grown my fringe and even temple points (which I thought was rare, but I've been a good responder with the temples) in less than a year.

It's still thin though all over, there's no real density under harsh lighting, it's really hard to tell if this is improving or not. Nonetheless, the central part of the fringe was only 1-2cm wide a year ago, now it's probably 4cm wide (I've never thought about this before so it feels weird guessing) and it's moved forward as well, there's even sparks of a few hairs a centimetre further down my forehead, where my hairline was when I was probably 15 or something.

"Sides" (if you can call it that) were increased libido, initially insanely increased, to the point if I was laying in bed with a girl and she so much as breathed in my direction, it would be on it's way, and any kind of touching or kissing being full boner within half a minute, and since then it still stays 100% hard at all times, during foreplay, eating her out, switching positions etc there's never any need to yank on it to keep it going.

Keep in mind I am a 29 year old male who smokes, drinks, used to do a lot of drugs and still do sometimes, I've never had any major issues with ED to the point of a woman noticing, but like most guys I felt like for some days my erection was less strong for different reasons, for example if I've eaten too much or felt bloated, had indigestion etc. or understandably if on drugs or alcohol there's more effort to perform, but actually some days for no reason at all. I haven't had this sort of feeling in quite a while now.

Obviously I have little to complain about, and keeping others in mind, I feel for anyone who's had sides, I'd react emotionally very badly to that, especially if it's been working on the hairline. I've lucked out basically, more hair, increased libido, and other people haven't been so fortunate, but how many other people? Is the risk for most of us worth the reward?

I really think it needs to be looked at extensively. For example, DHT levels are hard to measure but there may be some correlations, I've heard people suffering from finasteride sides as having "beta genes" which sounds facetious but it's pretty much true, and it's not slandering, we can't control our genes, it's just factual. For me personally I have a lot of chest and body hair (or I would if I didn't completely trim it away every fortnight) and have had since only age 14 or 15, I probably had pubes when I was only 9 or maybe 10, that when I got to high school and they explained in biology what puberty will be when it hits us, I was really confused because I was already used to this.

Anyway, would there possibly be a correlation between this and how we respond to hormone treatments? That I'm lucky enough to have "alpha" genes and get stronger erections and hair, but some people's biological make-up can't deal with it and become effeminate, gynecomastia, ED, etc.

It would be helpful in determining who would be viable candidates to get on finasteride, but for the time being, it's just a lottery. I don't mean this post to discourage anyone who was late in hitting puberty or has no body hair, I'm simply saying we don't know because there's no real studies being carried out. My point on my "alpha genes" is simply theorizing and if anyone has anything to contradict it, even just anecdotal experience, that would be interesting.

And then again maybe in a year I'll be crying about man tits and my dick shrinking to a prawn, who knows.

There have been conclusive independent studies though?

 

[Greybeer]

Hi Everyone,

I am addressing this post to all men, especially younger men who are considering Propecia but are scared to take the plunge. Just a forewarning this is going to be fairly lengthy.

MY STORY

I am a 23 year old male and have been losing my hair since I was about 17. I didn't notice until I was 21 or so, but now looking back at pictures it's pretty clear to see. Really I have no idea how I didn't see it. Anyway, nowadays I am sitting at about a norwood 2.5-3. A lot of you reading this have probably caught your hair loss fairly early and are exploring your options. I'm sure that almost all of you will give Rogaine a chance first because there are relatively few side effects, no prescription needed, you've heard of it before, etc. I can't speak for everyone, but in my case it did very little to help. I started Rogaine at 21 when my hair was still looking pretty decent because I didn't want to take the "risk" that comes along with Propecia. I used Rogaine alone for a year, and all I did was lose a good bit more hair.

Around the time that I noticed my hair loss, I started reading these forums and was terrified about the thought of Finasteride. Terrified because I was a 21 year old, very social, not too bad with ladies and I couldn't take the thought of any sexual side effects. For months and months and over a year I read these forums and just got more and more scared but more and more aware that what I was doing (rogaine) wasn't helping and I needed to try something different. I did research on finasteride through these forums, google, youtube and other sources and even eventually asked my sister who is a Physician Assistant. You could find conflicting opinions everywhere! I mean literally every source shows different statistics and different opinions. I waited and waited and WAITED until my hair loss just was bothering me beyond belief.

MY FINASTERIDE RIDE SO FAR

Finally, on my 23rd birthday I scheduled a doctors appointment (what a celebration) and got prescribed Proscar. He said that I would be surprised about how many patients my age he has taking finasteride in one form or another and that he has many patients who have been on it for 15-20 years with great success. By the way, this is just my family doctor - he is not a hair restoration doctor trying to convince me of anything. I've now been on finasteride for several months and can happily say that my hair loss has STOPPED. If it hasn't stopped, it has slowed to an extreme crawl. The day that I started finasteride, I shook my hair pretty rough over a sink and had about 50-60 hairs fall in just 30 seconds. Today I can do the same and have maybe 5 or 6 hairs fall in an even longer time period. As for SIDE EFFECTS, the part everyone cares about, this is what I experienced:

2 weeks of slight testicular discomfort (completely bearable)
2 weeks of extremely extremely INCREASED libido (this has since returned to normal or maybe even a little better than normal)
2-3 weeks of restless sleep (not even sure that this was caused by Finasteride)

All of these have completely gone away and my sexual life is completely fine!

THE POINT OF MY MESSAGE - I do believe that people have poor experiences with Finasteride. However, there is absolutely 100% a bias on these forums. You occasionally see someone suggest that maybe the people that Finasteride works for stop posting on these forums. I am a testament to that. I do not post often, but since I started Finasteride (even before I knew it was working) I've completely stopped viewing the forums. Maybe it's just because of peace of mind that I am doing something. Anyway, today I thought it'd be a good idea to post out here just to let people know.

MY REAL POINT - I would be willing to bet that you won't regret giving Finasteride in some form a try. But I guarantee you that if you are just starting to see thinning/recession, it's going to get worse. If you do nothing about it, it WILL get worse. Don't let these forums scare you about Finasteride without giving it a shot yourself.

I'll try to answer any questions that anyone has on this thread. Please for everyone else, don't start posting about the "evils of finasteride" - there's enough of that out there already.

Any Watery semen? Still get morning wood?

 

[Rudiger]

I agree with OP generally, but the main problem is, as far as I'm concerned there has never been a conclusive independent research study on finasteride. If anyone thinks they have one, please send it this way.

Mitch I literally couldn't be any clearer.

 

[Rudiger]

I am pro-finasteride but you'll find a lot of the regular influential members of this forum have had sides on finasteride and express that regularly, at the same time they also say they wouldn't put anyone off finasteride, but it's been their experience.

There's been a thread recently about finasteride and if I see it I'll post it here, but the general response from that, I don't know how you could call this forum "pro-finasteride". Nobody is doubting there are potential sides on finasteride, but some of the "research" that gets posted is absolutely insane, it's ridiculous anyone could believe it, and I'm guessing this is the kind of research you like to believe Vincent.

 

[patienceiskey]

SAme, it seems I am immune to propecia and other AAs

 

[johnqy]

I'm currently on minoxidil and nizoral for about 6 months, but just too scared to try finasteride, i don't know, i've had a great improvement on minoxidil, i am really happy with it, but everywhere i read it says it won't be enough too keep my hair, atleast not for so long. I'm shedding, after applying minoxidil there are hairs on my hand but i guess it's not that bad, if i would get even better results on finasteride my hair would be like the best it has been in years, but i'm 22, the risk of getting decreased libido and erections sounds really scary, but so does losing hair, really a tough choice. And when i heard that there's that thing called post finasteride syndrome where some side effects don't go away, that was probably a dealbreaker, i mean, i don't know how will i react if i see minoxidil losing it's effectiveness, maybe i'll jump on finasteride in a minute, but for now i am happy with minoxidil and it's hard for me to go on finasteride when i don't feel it's necessary with it's risks. :ermm:

 

[Wowjpk]

A little less than a month ago I started taking finasteride. Immediately after I noticed the inability to get an erection... This was all in my head. It lasted for about a day but once I got my first solid erection I worried about it less and now I get random boners all the time. I have no decreased libido, and for a matter of fact for about a week or week and a half I had a doubled my libido. It's back to normal but still no sexual sides. I forgot to mention I'm only 17

 

[Waqas Iqbal]

Hi Everyone,

I am addressing this post to all men, especially younger men who are considering Propecia but are scared to take the plunge. Just a forewarning this is going to be fairly lengthy.

MY STORY

I am a 23 year old male and have been losing my hair since I was about 17. I didn't notice until I was 21 or so, but now looking back at pictures it's pretty clear to see. Really I have no idea how I didn't see it. Anyway, nowadays I am sitting at about a norwood 2.5-3. A lot of you reading this have probably caught your hair loss fairly early and are exploring your options. I'm sure that almost all of you will give Rogaine a chance first because there are relatively few side effects, no prescription needed, you've heard of it before, etc. I can't speak for everyone, but in my case it did very little to help. I started Rogaine at 21 when my hair was still looking pretty decent because I didn't want to take the "risk" that comes along with Propecia. I used Rogaine alone for a year, and all I did was lose a good bit more hair.

Around the time that I noticed my hair loss, I started reading these forums and was terrified about the thought of Finasteride. Terrified because I was a 21 year old, very social, not too bad with ladies and I couldn't take the thought of any sexual side effects. For months and months and over a year I read these forums and just got more and more scared but more and more aware that what I was doing (rogaine) wasn't helping and I needed to try something different. I did research on finasteride through these forums, google, youtube and other sources and even eventually asked my sister who is a Physician Assistant. You could find conflicting opinions everywhere! I mean literally every source shows different statistics and different opinions. I waited and waited and WAITED until my hair loss just was bothering me beyond belief.

MY FINASTERIDE RIDE SO FAR

Finally, on my 23rd birthday I scheduled a doctors appointment (what a celebration) and got prescribed Proscar. He said that I would be surprised about how many patients my age he has taking finasteride in one form or another and that he has many patients who have been on it for 15-20 years with great success. By the way, this is just my family doctor - he is not a hair restoration doctor trying to convince me of anything. I've now been on finasteride for several months and can happily say that my hair loss has STOPPED. If it hasn't stopped, it has slowed to an extreme crawl. The day that I started finasteride, I shook my hair pretty rough over a sink and had about 50-60 hairs fall in just 30 seconds. Today I can do the same and have maybe 5 or 6 hairs fall in an even longer time period. As for SIDE EFFECTS, the part everyone cares about, this is what I experienced:

2 weeks of slight testicular discomfort (completely bearable)
2 weeks of extremely extremely INCREASED libido (this has since returned to normal or maybe even a little better than normal)
2-3 weeks of restless sleep (not even sure that this was caused by Finasteride)

All of these have completely gone away and my sexual life is completely fine!

THE POINT OF MY MESSAGE - I do believe that people have poor experiences with Finasteride. However, there is absolutely 100% a bias on these forums. You occasionally see someone suggest that maybe the people that Finasteride works for stop posting on these forums. I am a testament to that. I do not post often, but since I started Finasteride (even before I knew it was working) I've completely stopped viewing the forums. Maybe it's just because of peace of mind that I am doing something. Anyway, today I thought it'd be a good idea to post out here just to let people know.

MY REAL POINT - I would be willing to bet that you won't regret giving Finasteride in some form a try. But I guarantee you that if you are just starting to see thinning/recession, it's going to get worse. If you do nothing about it, it WILL get worse. Don't let these forums scare you about Finasteride without giving it a shot yourself.

I'll try to answer any questions that anyone has on this thread. Please for everyone else, don't start posting about the "evils of finasteride" - there's enough of that out there already.

This is a made up story... can't believe that finasteride didn't decrease your libido...