Propecia problems?

Yes. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with an erection. And on some days I have them upon awakening in the morning, too. I just think some of our members put too much stock in having them even when they have normal erections at other times. There are many reasons not to have nocturnal erections and my opinion is that it’s not necessarily bad if you don’t have them.

You still using this stuff Dino?

I went back on it for awhile. Contemplating going off again, well I’m actually kind of off it the last few months as I’ve only been taking it every few days. I’m tempted to dump the rest out and just be done with it.

Yeah bro. I’m still on it, it’s the only thing that really works well. So I sacrifice a small drop off in my sex drive to have hair. Wish they had something topical that worked as well but I haven’t found it yet.

hever heard of RUM?

Sounds like it has promise if someone makes it for sale.

I’ve been using Propecia now for about a year and a half. No side effects and my hair loss stopped in it’s tracks and I regrew some on top (although unfortunately it didn’t lower my hairline back down).

I got premature ejaculation and low libido so I had to quit :(

Did it go away when you stopped?

Propecia Problems: Baldness Drug Linked with Long-Lasting Sexual Side Effects
The adverse side effects of the anti-baldness drug could last for months or even years for some men
By Alexandra Sifferlin | @acsifferlin | July 12, 2012 | 3

In April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the warning to finasteride, Merck & Co.’s drug marketed to treat both male pattern baldness (Propecia) and enlarged prostate (Proscar). The new warnings noted that the sexual side effects associated with the medication, including problems with libido, ejaculations and orgasm, could last even after patients stop taking the drug.

Now a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine finds that side effects may not only continue after stopping finasteride, but they may last for months or even years.

In the study, Dr. Michael Irwig of George Washington University and his colleagues surveyed 54 men under age 40 who reported experiencing side effects for three months or more after stopping the medication Propecia. The patients reported a variety of sexual problems including erectile dysfunction, low libido, trouble having an orgasm, and shrinking and painful genitals. Some men also reported neurological problems like depression, anxiety and cognitive haziness.

For 96% of the men, the sexual problems lasted more than a year after they quit using the drug. None of the men had sexual, medical or psychiatric complaints before taking Propecia.

(MORE: Could the ‘Cuddle Chemical’ Oxytocin Improve Male Sexual Function?)

The study sample was small and the authors acknowledge that it may be skewed to include only men who were most negatively impacted by the drug. Most of the participants were recruited through an Internet forum called Propeciahelp.com, for men experiencing persistent side effects.

Still, the authors argue their findings may signal potentially serious risks for men using finasteride. “Our findings make me suspicious that this drug may have done permanent damage to these men,” Irwig told ABC News.

The FDA’s updated warning labels for finasteride were based on a review of post-marketing reports of sexual dysfunction. The agency reviewed 421 post-marketing reports of sexual side effects related to Propecia from 1998 to 2011; out of these cases, 59 reported adverse sexual effects lasting over three months after discontinuing the drug. For Proscar, the FDA reviewed 131 cases of erectile dysfunction and 68 cases of decreased libido from 1992 to 2010. As Healthland reported in April:

Finasteride labels will now warn users that Propecia’s side effects can include libido disorders, ejaculation disorders, and orgasm disorders that continue after discontinuation of the drug and that Proscar can lead to decreased libido that continues after quitting the drug. Both medications will receive a new description of reports of male infertility and poor semen quality that normalized or improved after stopping therapy.

“Despite the fact that clear causal links between finasteride (Propecia and Proscar) and sexual adverse events have not been established, the cases suggest a broader range of adverse effects than previously reported in patients taking these drugs,” the FDA said in a statement.

(MORE: Study Finds Pattern in Male Baldness: Could There Be a Cure?)

Irwig acknowledges that the number of men experiencing long-lasting side effects from finasteride is small, although the incidence of sexual side effects in clinical trials was around 2%, the incidence of persistent sexual side effects is unknown, but likely less than 0.1%. “But because the medication is prescribed so commonly, it’s still a lot of people, likely several thousand men around the world,” Irwig told ABC News.

Both the FDA and Merck maintain that finasteride is safe and effective.
Read other related stories about this:

For Some Men, Propecia’s Sexual Side Effects May Be Long-lasting ABC News

Propecia Problems: Baldness Drug Linked with Long-Lasting Sexual Side Effects | TIME.com

…could last for months or even years for some men

That’s what they say, it needs to be told to people that they have a small chance of causing some serious problems to themselves. I don’t have any serious issues from it, a small decrease in my sex drive and less cum are the only things I notice. But had I known when I started about the small but serious risk even if I stopped I may not have tried it.

So two years on…are you guys still using it? Is it worth using or is there a better option now? I used it a few years back and didn’t have any decreased sex drive but I’m convinced it made my nipples more puffy! I did get it off of an internet drug site though so I guess it may have been a dodgy batch (crazy I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures- couldn’t get it on the NHS so I had to buy it online.)

Anyway, I’m thinking of going back on to it and possibly also getting a hair transplant this year so I’m in the early stages of researching it all again after trying to forget about it for so long. I thought I could just accept I was losing my hair but I obsess over it and know I’m not enjoying life as much as I could so I’ve decided if I have to pay a few thousand for my sanity then I’m going to do it.

I tried finasteride a couple of years ago when my temples began to show significant recession. It worked great with only mild sexual side effects, but after several months, I had some erection problems, freaked out, quit the fin, and committed to never using it again, fearful of some of the horror stories from unlucky men. After that, I used only Nizoral, Rogaine, and topical spironolactone for about a year, and unfortunately showed continued temple loss over that period. I think the sexual side effects gradually subsided over the first few weeks or months off of the finasteride, but it’s hard to tell what was due to the medication and what was due to increased attention/anxiety about sexual function, as well as normal age-related changes.

A few months ago, overcome by vanity, I decided to go back on finasteride. I’ve been taking 0.25 mg daily, which research suggests should have about the same effect on hair (and sexual function…) as the typical 1 mg dose. Already the temple hair has been regrowing remarkably well. Like many guys, I have a love/hate relationship with this med. It works much better than anything else for hair, but it does seem to cause some sexual sides for me. Thus far any effects on my erections are pretty mild, other than decreased night wood, but I have had periods of majorly decreased libido that are unusual for me and no fun. My ejaculations definitely have less volume when I’m on fin, but I don’t care about that. I’m hoping that side effects will remain tolerable over time.

Ah that sucks Para-Goomba, I have just ordered some more finasteride but apparently the patent on propecia has expired as of this year (I think) so hopefully the price will be coming down soon. I’ve also read that .25mg is nearly as effective as 1mg and I seem to read that most of the issues come with the 1mg dosage. I have been reading up more on it recently and am much more aware of the chemistry around it so I’m going to try it again. Meanwhile I’m saving up for a hair transplant this year/next that I’m hoping I won’t need if all goes well with this dosage.

I’m still a bit unsure about this but if I’m wrong someone please correct me: Testosterone is converted to DHT by enzymes called alpha reductase. There are three currently discovered and 5 alpha reductase II is the one that causes men with MPB to lose their hair. What I figure is, if finasteride completely stops 5 alpha reductase II being produced then Testosterone is still converted to DHT by enzymes I and III but it is reductase II that is present in the prostate and genitals so preventing the production of it is clearly going to cause issues. Maybe in some people there is another enzyme that takes over and thats why they see no side effects but in some it causes the sexual issues.

So my plan is to take an even smaller dose for a couple of months- 0.125mg and see how it goes from there and slightly to 0.25mg if I’m comfortable to do so. I did try propecia a few years ago and was convinced that it caused puffiness in my nipples but I think that was just normal change as most guys seem to have this…I also read that 5 alpha reductase can effect body hair and skin dryness/greasiness- I have noticed lately that I am getting more hair on my body (some on shoulders that was never there before) and my skin has been fairly greasy ever since I started losing my hair so this will be another thing I look out for. If my skin is not as greasy as it is now in a few months I’ll consider that progress and hopefully hair will follow!

I used Propecia for roughly 2 years. About 4-5 months in, I noticed weaker erections, less frequent morning wood etc. After I stopped the drug, my libido and erections continued to decline.

9 years later, I still have ED and zero libido. I never recovered. I have to use Viagra or Cialis every single time I have sex, otherwise, I can’t perform.

Good luck to all of you.