4 ms·

> The majority of men can fully stop hair loss with oral finasteride. I did that, and it completely ruined my libido for almost 3 years. Never again.

baldieburner 2y ago
Same. I took finasteride (propecia) for a week and it caused ED for 60 days in my early 20s when libido was usually strong. Would not recommend finasteride. Hair did grow back thick, but it was not worth it. Scariest 60 days of my life. Also felt strange because I think it reduces testosterone; I felt more easily upset and different to usual. Difficult to describe and I'm no expert. I was suddenly very happy to be bald, as the finasteride alternative was far worse and a scary experience.
- chakintosh 2y ago
  For me it wasn't just ED. It outright shut down my libido. I had absolutely no interest in sex whatsoever.
zdc1 2y ago
I've been taking 1mg orally for 2-3 years with noticeable side effects
- stavros 2y ago
  What are the side effects you've noticed?
Traubenfuchs 2y ago
The funny thing is, the same happened for me. I could only get it up with tadalafil. Yet half a year later I decided to take the deal with the devil: What good is my libido if I can't get hookups anymore due to hair loss? I'd rather keep my hair and lose my libido. And so I went on finasteride again. The most feared and vilified medication in existence. I just took the finasteride and swallowed lots of tadalafil every day and things just worked that way. Half a year ago I decided to switch to dutasteride because I felt like I was slowly losing ground again. I still couldn't get it up without my penis pills and was always nervous about timing them correctly to not be embarrassed during sex. But then I ended up in a relationship which kind of reduced this stress. If I can't get it up, I can't get it up and I don't care. There are other ways to satisfy my partner. And guess what: My penis actually works and I can have sex -any time I do not plan it. What I want to say is: I read all this nightmare fuel about fin and dut and suffered from severe nocebo. People worrying about hair loss are neurotic. Those that take fin or dut after reading all their scary side effects must be super neurotic. We are easy prey to the nocebo effect and playing mind games with ourselves.
- pcthrowaway 2y ago
  On the other hand, I hadn't heard of ED as a side effect until I experienced it. Personally I care about my libido much more than a head full of hair. And preferences around hair vary.
- kelnos 2y ago
  > People worrying about hair loss are neurotic. I think it's a bit uncharitable to label people who are losing a physical feature they like as "neurotic". I agree it's not the end of the world (been shaving my head bald for 15+ years now and mostly like it better this way), but c'mon, just because you've made peace with your hair loss, it doesn't mean people who haven't are mentally defective. > Those that take fin or dut after reading all their scary side effects must be super neurotic. I don't think "neurotic" means what you think it means. I'd probably say "reckless". I tried fin and dut in my 20s, and even though I was lucky and never saw those side effects, I do regret taking something like that without doing my homework first.
pcthrowaway 2y ago
Also same, though fortunately only for 6 months or so.
b3ing 2y ago
I read it can make you grow man boobs
- Traubenfuchs 2y ago
  5ari like fin and dut inhibit the conversion of testosterone to DHT, meaning you have more testosterone. The more testosterone you have, the more estrogen you have, because testosterone is aromatised to estrogen. Estrogen causes breast tissue to grow. Some men naturally almost have enough estrogen to cause them breast growth, either due to being an estrogen super-responder or already having a high estrogen level. If they increase their estrogen level just a bit they will grow breast tissue.
brabel 2y ago
Hm, maybe that solves two problems then: my bald head and suffering from my wife's complete lack of interest.
- tasuki 2y ago
  Ouch. One of these is a problem.
at_a_remove 2y ago
It seems what would be best is something topical that did not "go systemic," which blocked androgen receptors from receiving DHT. I have been tiptoeing around this topic because, while I desperately need testosterone supplementation (my levels have never been high and they're now in the toilet), my situation is made more complex by having a metabolic disorder wherein I must avoid the estrogens (and since testosterone is partially metabolized to estradiol, I would need an aromatase inhibitor) and one of the few attractive features I have is a head full of thick wavy/curly hair, nice enough that it had been requested I grow it out and donate it for wigs. I am hesitant to gamble with one of my scarce obvious assets. So, yes, I definitely want to find a counterbalance that would not kill the libido (I have almost always lacked) I would like to, uh, relaunch more successfully.
- Traubenfuchs 2y ago
  My best friend tadalafil got you covered: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16839328/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16839328/ Daily tadalafil reduces estrogen by 16.5 percent. Finasteride increases it by about 15%. That should cancel itself out + increases libido. IMHO a finasteride 1mg and tadalafil 5mg combination pill should be offered, as it would mostly eliminate libido and breast growth side effects.

baldieburner 2y ago

Same. I took finasteride (propecia) for a week and it caused ED for 60 days in my early 20s when libido was usually strong. Would not recommend finasteride. Hair did grow back thick, but it was not worth it. Scariest 60 days of my life. Also felt strange because I think it reduces testosterone; I felt more easily upset and different to usual. Difficult to describe and I'm no expert. I was suddenly very happy to be bald, as the finasteride alternative was far worse and a scary experience.

chakintosh 2y ago
For me it wasn't just ED. It outright shut down my libido. I had absolutely no interest in sex whatsoever.

zdc1 2y ago

I've been taking 1mg orally for 2-3 years with noticeable side effects

stavros 2y ago
What are the side effects you've noticed?

Traubenfuchs 2y ago

The funny thing is, the same happened for me. I could only get it up with tadalafil. Yet half a year later I decided to take the deal with the devil: What good is my libido if I can't get hookups anymore due to hair loss? I'd rather keep my hair and lose my libido. And so I went on finasteride again. The most feared and vilified medication in existence. I just took the finasteride and swallowed lots of tadalafil every day and things just worked that way. Half a year ago I decided to switch to dutasteride because I felt like I was slowly losing ground again. I still couldn't get it up without my penis pills and was always nervous about timing them correctly to not be embarrassed during sex. But then I ended up in a relationship which kind of reduced this stress. If I can't get it up, I can't get it up and I don't care. There are other ways to satisfy my partner. And guess what: My penis actually works and I can have sex -any time I do not plan it. What I want to say is: I read all this nightmare fuel about fin and dut and suffered from severe nocebo. People worrying about hair loss are neurotic. Those that take fin or dut after reading all their scary side effects must be super neurotic. We are easy prey to the nocebo effect and playing mind games with ourselves.

pcthrowaway 2y ago
On the other hand, I hadn't heard of ED as a side effect until I experienced it. Personally I care about my libido much more than a head full of hair. And preferences around hair vary.
kelnos 2y ago
> People worrying about hair loss are neurotic. I think it's a bit uncharitable to label people who are losing a physical feature they like as "neurotic". I agree it's not the end of the world (been shaving my head bald for 15+ years now and mostly like it better this way), but c'mon, just because you've made peace with your hair loss, it doesn't mean people who haven't are mentally defective. > Those that take fin or dut after reading all their scary side effects must be super neurotic. I don't think "neurotic" means what you think it means. I'd probably say "reckless". I tried fin and dut in my 20s, and even though I was lucky and never saw those side effects, I do regret taking something like that without doing my homework first.

pcthrowaway 2y ago

Also same, though fortunately only for 6 months or so.

b3ing 2y ago

I read it can make you grow man boobs

Traubenfuchs 2y ago
5ari like fin and dut inhibit the conversion of testosterone to DHT, meaning you have more testosterone. The more testosterone you have, the more estrogen you have, because testosterone is aromatised to estrogen. Estrogen causes breast tissue to grow. Some men naturally almost have enough estrogen to cause them breast growth, either due to being an estrogen super-responder or already having a high estrogen level. If they increase their estrogen level just a bit they will grow breast tissue.

brabel 2y ago

Hm, maybe that solves two problems then: my bald head and suffering from my wife's complete lack of interest.

tasuki 2y ago
Ouch. One of these is a problem.

at_a_remove 2y ago

It seems what would be best is something topical that did not "go systemic," which blocked androgen receptors from receiving DHT. I have been tiptoeing around this topic because, while I desperately need testosterone supplementation (my levels have never been high and they're now in the toilet), my situation is made more complex by having a metabolic disorder wherein I must avoid the estrogens (and since testosterone is partially metabolized to estradiol, I would need an aromatase inhibitor) and one of the few attractive features I have is a head full of thick wavy/curly hair, nice enough that it had been requested I grow it out and donate it for wigs. I am hesitant to gamble with one of my scarce obvious assets. So, yes, I definitely want to find a counterbalance that would not kill the libido (I have almost always lacked) I would like to, uh, relaunch more successfully.

Traubenfuchs 2y ago
My best friend tadalafil got you covered: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16839328/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16839328/ Daily tadalafil reduces estrogen by 16.5 percent. Finasteride increases it by about 15%. That should cancel itself out + increases libido. IMHO a finasteride 1mg and tadalafil 5mg combination pill should be offered, as it would mostly eliminate libido and breast growth side effects.