Propecia = Scary Sh*t

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Hairy Dawgs
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Propecia = Scary Sh*t

Post by Hairy Dawgs » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:24 am

I'm new to the forums but have doing a lot of reading on Propecia, as I recently began taking it for my minor hair loss. The only reason I am writing this post is because I know there are a lot of people taking propecia and everyone needs to be educated about what i've found. I can always use more education, so if I am wrong or someone wishes to discuss their own views, by all means, let's have a nice discussion.

I've been asking random doctors, as I was very very hesitant to take a pill for anything, as i'm an athlete nearing the upper echelon in his sport. I asked all the questions I could come up with and everyone had the same answer, "Propecia will, more than likely, stop hair loss, with the chance of regrowth at some point and the only side effect you will have is decrease in libido and a decrease in semen. I was told this was because finasteride blocks DHT from forming." I'm sure the same freeze dried speech, we all received.

I didn't have much of a side effect at first other than some minor testical ache but that it fairly normal with me from the intensity of my training and racing. So, I didn't think anything of it and continued taking Propecia. The first week I took Propecia training, I noticed for some reason my usual burst of speed was harder to render. I tacked it up as an off week (with the minor thought that well, maybe my body just isn't making as much testoterone. I thought I would just train and make up the difference) and kept taking Propecia and continued to take Propecia until today. I had/am having a rough season, for many reasons that I could attribute to things OTHER than Propecia.

I've been reading and reviewing testimonials and on and on for a while and have come up with these conclusions. No one really explains what finasteride does. I came up with finasteride inhibits DHT from forming, just as the doctors but how does it inhibit DHT from forming? From what i've read, finasteride tells your brain to tell your testicles (or balls if you will) to not produce DHT. I do not know what your body uses DHT for without truly looking it up in a medical journal but just please bear with me and don't write this off. I've read the testimonials about guys, who were once sexually active having severe difficulties obtaining erections and even after stopping Propecia, still maintained problems. I contribute this to finasteride telling your brain to PERMANANTLY stop producing DHT. This tells me that finasteride rewires your brain to change to do what the pill wants and not your body.

I've heard of these systems: sleeplessness, inability to focus, inability to think of words, slurred speach, foginess in the head, irratibility, tiredness, fatigue, depression, anxiousness and others. The biggest one of these is the cognitive hendrances. I seem to be reacting a bit "slower" than I normally do and as I continued to think, I realised I had more of these systems than I previously thought and had chalked them up to "bad" days and pretty much anything other than Propecia. The only thing that was/and is different, is that i'm taking Propecia. I think this gives credence to my theory that Propecia/finasteride, changes your neurological pathways PERMANENTLY. I am stopping Propecia/finasteride immediately as I believe these are side effects that are unexplored by the medical community and no one tells me anything other than i'm one of the f****ed up few, who has side effects from it. Nevermind the fact that i'm a top athlete, who takes very very good care of himself. I am not a doctor or scientist and am sure there is another viable solution but I can't ignore the serious nature of these side effects that these other gentlemen claim to have but these unexplained side effects are pretty damn serious.

I would recommend if you have had even one of these side effects to seriously consider what may be happening to your body and ask these questions. Why does your body need DHT? Does your brain need DHT as you get older? Could your body have another use for DHT that the medical community is unaware of?

If you don't have one of these side effects, I still think Propecia is doing the same thing but I don't have the medical education to explain why. Weigh the odds and decide for yourself. We're all adults.

I will vehemenently try to keep my hair as long as I can. I am trying laser therapy, PRP, Revita and others but will forego using chemicals and other substances from now on. If finasteride and Propecia work for you, great! It worked for me to but please don't chalk up any bad moods or other emotional distress as bad days and please think about what could actually be causing it.

Please don't stop looking for hair loss solutions. One of US will find the solution!

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Re: Propecia = Scary Sh*t

Post by HairLossFight.com » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:40 pm

Hi there and welcome to the forums.

Thanks for sharing your experiences/thoughts on Propecia. I wanted to add that I personally have not read anywhere that Propecia acts by causing your testicles to produce less DHT. I have read that the way it works is by blocking the formation of DHT from circulating testosterone by preventing the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme from binding with T to form DHT.

Given the relatively low half-life of Finasteride, I doubt that you would see any "permanent" side-effects, at least after having stopped taking it over a long period of time (say 6 months or more). This is evidence from the immediate progression of hair loss in people that stop taking Fin. If the side-effects were permanent, then it would be likely that you would keep the follicles that you saved from taking Finasteride in the first place.

I do think it is possible that one can stop taking Finasteride and still KEEP side-effects that you experienced on Fin. but I don't think you can necessarily blame it on Fin. Afterall, erectile dysfunction is obviously a pretty common problem given the prevalence of drugs like Viagra and Cialis and their popularity. It is conceivable that an underlying propensity to develop erectile dysfunction could be exacerbated by taking Fin, or Dut, or anything that may alter the profile of hormones involved in sexual function. It's also possible that if you experienced the side-effect(s) for a long period of time, without halting the use of Finasteride, that it may take a while to get the "functionality" of the key organ in question back to working order even after your hormones are back in balance. Think of the "if you don't use it, you may lose it" school of thought. There may be a whole slew of reasons for any undesired effect or side-effect. I'm not just talking sexual function either, but even in mental or other physical functions. Your age, stress levels and environment have a part to play as well.

Sadly, there are no easy answers.

Hairy Dawgs
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Re: Propecia = Scary Sh*t

Post by Hairy Dawgs » Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:46 pm

I think your explanation of DHT blockage to be the correct way finasteride works. What has me concerned are all these guys: http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/

Not one of them has anything to gain by saying they have problems. I will agree that without knowing their specific circumstances, they could have pre-existing conditions, genetic or whatever to explain their problems and the rest could just be chalked up as "one in a thousand".

The one thing I am certain of is that no one really has explained to me, even when asked, how finasteride really works. What effects it has on the production of estrogen (yes, even in men and you do have estrogen guys!). We know finasteride decreases DHT and initially increases testosterone production but does your body increase the production of estrogen to compensate for this? I don't think i'd look good with tits! But seriously, estrogen plays a role with bone density and is that affected, as well? The increase in Estrogen production would explain the anxiousness and more emotional side effects i've been hearing about. I'm willing to look past a lot but when I hear you can't think of words and you start showing symptons that have not been explained, I have to raise an eyebrow.

I just think the psyiological questions i've read are too great to personally keep taking this drug and felt it important to pass it onto anyone, who may be interested in what i'd found.

I get paid based on how my body performs and it hasn't been performing well, since I started finasteride. For that reason, I must stop taking it. Everything I read just reiterated my thoughts and raised other concerns. I haven't had the "exteme" side effects of these guys and, to be honest, not even the sexual side effects (seriously knocking on wood here) but their warnings are enough for me. I'd rather have sex than hair. I however, do have other options because i'm relatively young with only small hair loss. I will begin exhausting those avenues.

doke
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Re: Propecia = Scary Sh*t

Post by doke » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:14 am

finasteride shrinks the prostate at 5mg,but at 1mg is only chicken feed,i took it for 5 years no sides and did not work on me only when combined with minox,minox gave me headaches.
The only thing ive used that worked for me is dutas and lazerfish on the regrowth com has been on dutas for 5years with no problems 0.5mg a day.
I myself are on a higher dose which i have said on another page with no sides and finally regrowing my hair.

tonyj
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Re: Propecia = Scary Sh*t

Post by tonyj » Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:41 pm

Doke,

How long were you on dutraside before you attained regrowth?

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