Propecia and Testicular Cancer

[perga]

Hey everybody,

I have been on propecia for 16 months and I can say that it (finally) has stabilized my hair loss to a degree. There ARE noticeable sides though, including infrequent testicular pain, reduced sensitivity during orgasm and in general, and brain fog. There was a brief period in the beginning where I had some ED, but that passed a long time ago.

My question though is, has propecia ever been linked to testicular cancer? Due to the testicular pain I mentioned above, I have become much more aware of my swinging pair, and the left one (which is the one where I have had the pain I currently attribute to Propecia), is a different shape than the right one; it's slightly bean shaped instead of an oval.

So basically... could you guys check your balls and give a full report of your findings? hahaha... Are they all perfectly oval? Or have you ever heard of Propecia causing TC?

[Whoop]

I'd rather see a doc and let him make conclusions than debate about everyone's shapes over the internet Btw, testicular pain is indeed a side effect of propecia, but please do not instantly blame it on it. It might be something different, so better be safe than sorry and go to a doc about it

[astro_boy]

Sometimes I get mild infrequent testicle pain, I too thought it could be the Finasteride but there's a lot of other causes to consider, everything from stress to sudden or constant temperature changes. I found out I get it mostly from stress and sitting and working too long, which most often come together.

Nothing makes you panic like problems with your junk so it's hard not to haha...

[HairLossFight.com]

Every time I started a propecia or fin, within a few weeks I would get testicular pain. I have been on and off the stuff for yours... I know, not ideal, but whatever.

[stan21]

Sam are you having any nut ache now that you're on Avodart?

[HairLossFight.com]

Nope. So far so good.

[Rich]

I had some mild left testicular pain within the first month of taking propecia (finasteride) but this sunsided after a week or two. Took tablets for about 1.5-2 years then stopped use as we had heard that it was inadvisable to tru to conceive until it is at least 3 weeks out of your system. After 5 months a lump developed in the lef testicle which was diagnosed as a non-seminomatous germ cell tumour, aka testicular cancer. I have no idea if the two things are at all related, certainly this is not being admitted as a side effect of the medication. As a child I had an operation for a hydrocele hernia on this side (and any previous surgery in this area can predispose to testicular cancer), but had been completely normal since. Did not suffer any side-effects at all from finasteride during or after taking it but am still left wondering if the hormone fluctiations after stopping this medication might have been a tipping factor. Either way it just shows, forget monthly (tumour can double in this time) check yourselves weekly fellas and if anything is even slighly questionabe get to your doctor within days time makes all the difference and could save your life!
Rich (age 31)

[HairLossFight.com]

Hi Rich and welcome,

Sorry to hear about your testicular cancer. Thanks for sharing this with us and I know I for one will follow your advice!

Best,
Sam

[p__]

Really sorry to hear about your cancer too! And thanks for the good advice regarding self-examination!

I was wondering where your heard that you should stop using finasteride when trying to conceive? As far as I know, finasteride is not passed through semen in any significant amounts. So, as long as your girlfriend doesn't touch (or eat) the pills there should be no impact on a fetus.

[aviador]

Hey Rich, I am also sorry about your testicular cancer. Hope everything goes nice for you.

About testicular shape, biologically one of the testicles is usually a bit bigger than the other. Anyway we should self-examine our testicles from time to time the same women do with their breast.

I was on Propecia for one year and half before I stopped it. I had some testicular pain after the first 3 months but it dissapeared shortly. I didn´t have any sexual problem with Propecia at all, but it caused me other problems. Brain fog, acne, and developed a thyroid problem I am ok now after 2 years without Propecia. I remember during the time I was on Propecia my mood turned to depressive pesimistic one and felt tired most part of the time.

[Anxious1]

hey thanx for the story, ur obviously ok though.

on a lighter side, i dont see wat the problem is with self checking down there. alot of men complain and dont want to do it, but lets face it, most guys have there hands down there half the time anyway, is it really that hard just to feel around a bit to save ur life.

[Rich]

Whist there seems to be little substantive evidence to support this, my Doctor and my prescribing pharmacist suggested that it would be safer to stop propecia and leave at least 3 weeks to get it out of your system before trying to conceive. The reason for this seems to be a suspected impact on sperm formation and motility. If propecia does impact on sperm formation it may potentially lead to errors in DNA replication within the sperm, which could lead to genetic abnormality/deformity or more subtle damage to any potential offspring. I am completely fine so far post-surgery and am at the 10 month stage now. I do think propecia works well though and it certainly worked well for my brother who went from quite noticable thinning to now not even looking like he has any problem at all. With any medication that has to build up in your system, particularly anything involving hormones it is important to use it consistently to avoid complications and phasing out use gradually may be advisable.