4 ms·

Over the course of a few years taking Propecia, in my late 20s, I completely lost my sex drive. When I started taking the drug, my doctor warned me of possible

Over the course of a few years taking Propecia, in my late 20s, I completely lost my sex drive. When I started taking the drug, my doctor warned me of possible side effects. I figured I could just quit if that happened, and things would go back to normal. Eventually, they updated the labeling to say that side effects can persist indefinitely. I’ve talked to men who have been on it for years without experiencing side effects. I cannot say for certain Propecia is the root cause to my symptoms, there’s really no way to know for sure, but I experienced a radical shift while on it. Taking a powerful but poorly-understood drug that rewires your sex hormones isn’t a decision to take lightly.

hfdgiutdryg 8y ago
I've read that it's only a problem if men ignore the side-effects and continue taking the drug. Is this not true?
- smittywerben 8y ago
  It's hard to separate from men who don't take the drug but have erectile dysfunction. But it is a problem that propeciahelp.com trolls scourge the internet and preach how destructive propecia is.
  - proaway 8y ago
    I’m not trolling, I just saw the drug mentioned here and decided to talk about my experience. I was a healthy guy in my twenties, and my sex drive went from high to non-existent while I was on the drug. Like I said, I can’t be sure Propecia was to blame, but personally I believe there was a connection. Anyway, if you take Propecia and don’t get side effects, that’s great! Nobody said all men will get side effects and nobody’s questioning your virility.
    - smittywerben 8y ago
      Oh apologies, I didn't direct that at you or anyone here. It's an known problem on several hair loss forums because male pattern baldness is a sensitive issue = trolling feeding ground. Mix this with self-image issues, depression, and even mental illness (some of the chronic trolls have this one), and you end up with one very vulnerable community. Yes, there are studies on this behavior in hair-loss forums. I think it's like half of young males experience a period of erectile dysfunction in their life, it's certainly common. (go ask any urologist). With the 3% reported side effects on finesteride, I've read there are 0.7% of cases which are not resolved in itself with therapy (most studies don't get this far). If you can believe this, then there are at least 4 people here have claimed this happened to them. Where are the 12 people that were resolved? Is there even one? Unless persons are skipping that second part in vivo, it could be fewer than 0.7% of users cannot be resolved on their own. Millions of people take the drug, and you don't find them near this topic for a reason. Not improbable, but where are those missing 2.3%? I ended up deleting a few studies but it's mostly psychiatric issues, with some hormonal and testosterone problems. You can't convince people like that though but it's unfortunately true. The endocrine issues happen everywhere just like ED, that's why they test your bloodwork in advanced during your routine physical. You did say you are a healthy guy though. I'm not the nicest guy, but I honestly don't mean to direct this at you. It's just a frequent topic, with an incredible amount of misinformation, and many anecdotes with common and often destructive themes. I think it's one of the stranger phenomenon of the internet.
    - hfdgiutdryg 8y ago
      Nobody said all men will get side effects and nobody’s questioning your virility. The problem is people implying that you may lose sex drive or the ability to get an erection for an indefinite period of time, essentially out of the blue. Hence why I asked if the ED and sex drive problems persist if one immediately stops the drug when the effects are first experienced.
      - pests 8y ago
        I'm not sure how long after discovering the new issues my friend waited before stopping. He was only on it for less than a year, maybe even a half year, to put some constraints.

hfdgiutdryg 8y ago

I've read that it's only a problem if men ignore the side-effects and continue taking the drug. Is this not true?

smittywerben 8y ago
It's hard to separate from men who don't take the drug but have erectile dysfunction. But it is a problem that propeciahelp.com trolls scourge the internet and preach how destructive propecia is.
- proaway 8y ago
  I’m not trolling, I just saw the drug mentioned here and decided to talk about my experience. I was a healthy guy in my twenties, and my sex drive went from high to non-existent while I was on the drug. Like I said, I can’t be sure Propecia was to blame, but personally I believe there was a connection. Anyway, if you take Propecia and don’t get side effects, that’s great! Nobody said all men will get side effects and nobody’s questioning your virility.
  - smittywerben 8y ago
    Oh apologies, I didn't direct that at you or anyone here. It's an known problem on several hair loss forums because male pattern baldness is a sensitive issue = trolling feeding ground. Mix this with self-image issues, depression, and even mental illness (some of the chronic trolls have this one), and you end up with one very vulnerable community. Yes, there are studies on this behavior in hair-loss forums. I think it's like half of young males experience a period of erectile dysfunction in their life, it's certainly common. (go ask any urologist). With the 3% reported side effects on finesteride, I've read there are 0.7% of cases which are not resolved in itself with therapy (most studies don't get this far). If you can believe this, then there are at least 4 people here have claimed this happened to them. Where are the 12 people that were resolved? Is there even one? Unless persons are skipping that second part in vivo, it could be fewer than 0.7% of users cannot be resolved on their own. Millions of people take the drug, and you don't find them near this topic for a reason. Not improbable, but where are those missing 2.3%? I ended up deleting a few studies but it's mostly psychiatric issues, with some hormonal and testosterone problems. You can't convince people like that though but it's unfortunately true. The endocrine issues happen everywhere just like ED, that's why they test your bloodwork in advanced during your routine physical. You did say you are a healthy guy though. I'm not the nicest guy, but I honestly don't mean to direct this at you. It's just a frequent topic, with an incredible amount of misinformation, and many anecdotes with common and often destructive themes. I think it's one of the stranger phenomenon of the internet.
  - hfdgiutdryg 8y ago
    Nobody said all men will get side effects and nobody’s questioning your virility. The problem is people implying that you may lose sex drive or the ability to get an erection for an indefinite period of time, essentially out of the blue. Hence why I asked if the ED and sex drive problems persist if one immediately stops the drug when the effects are first experienced.
    - pests 8y ago
      I'm not sure how long after discovering the new issues my friend waited before stopping. He was only on it for less than a year, maybe even a half year, to put some constraints.