Reviews and Comments on Propecia Side Effects and Usage, page 37

Propecia Reviews

If you’ve used Propecia, please help others by adding your feedback. What would you tell your best friend about this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history.

Subj: Propecia panic
Date: 12/28/2006
As with most people who have posted, I started taking propecia cause I couldn’t bear losing my hair. Due to the documented side effects, I wanted to study as much as I could before I started my propecia regime. I spent hours on end reading and studying the product . There are many people out there that swear by it and there are equally many people who have complained about severe side effects and many of them complaining that the side effects didn’t disappear once stopping propecia. This undocumented long-term side effect did worry me, but the thought of loosing my hair was greater and so I persisted on the propecia road. To try and ease my body to the drug, I decided to start taking propecia by splitting the pill into 1/4 and consuming a quarter a day. Therefore a 0.25 mg dosage.

My theory was if I had any side effects on 0.25mg dosage, ceasing propecia would give me a better chance of going back to normal than taking the 1mg dosage. There are posts by people that recommend taking 1mg and if side effects develop, drop to .5 and then 0.25. This method looks flawed to me as I believe that there is greater chance of getting these “undocumented” long term side effects. So I started taking the 0.25mg dosage some weeks back. Initially I felt normal. My goal was to start upping the dosage to 0.5 in a couple of weeks. A couple of days past and the first thing I noticed was that I didn’t get any morning erections. This was fine as I thought my body was now adjusting to the drug. During this time I would get watery eyes(??) and did feel quite moody.

Next week is when panic bells started for me. During intercourse my penis wouldn’t get as hard as it would, moreover ejaculating was severely hampered. This was the final straw for me. No morning erections, water eyes, mood swings and more importantly impotence symptoms lead me to stop taking the drug. Luckily within a week and half I believe I have got back to normal. Trust me the difference from taking propecia to ceasing was drastic!

My conclusion: My body doesn’t agree with it. I’m sure there are many people out there that can take this drug with no issues, however for me it was unbearable. I’d suggest to any “to be” propecia users to take extreme caution, start with 0.25mg and work your way up. I’m now on rogaine to slow down my hair loss. Rogaine has worked great for me with no side effects. I know it’s a point solution and it doesn’t tackle the root cause of hair loss(DHT). However it’s successfully slowed my hair loss….

Roger

Subj: Safely become pregnant?
Date: 1/4/2007
I’m a woman taking Propecia for 8 months with no changes. I have decided to have another child and I would like to know how long it would take for Propecia to leave me body and I can safely become pregnant. My pharmacist and doctor are not sure of the answer.

Maria

AskDocWeb: We aren’t sure either. Our guess would be three months, but then we want to error on the side of safety.

Subj: Face this dilemma
Date: 1/7/2007
I have been taking propecia for 2 years now, I have had definite erectile dysfunction and loss of libido. I also have grown significant breast tissue. I have also noticed a decrease in strength an inability to train to the levels I used to and longer recovery from injuries. I would speculate that this could be due to lower circulating levels of DHT, it being an anabolic steroid…I would be interested to know if any research has been conducted. I now face a dilemma, poor sex life, boobs and reduced fitness levels or go bald? I think I might just decide to go bald.

JL

AskDocWeb: You got that right! As far as research goes, the FDA seems to have closed the door on this and no longer pays attention to negative comments.

Subj: Satisfied Propecia user
Date: 1/8/2007
I am a satisfied Propecia user. I’ve been taking it for 3 years with no side effects at all. I have stopped losing hair and regrown virtually all I had lost. I have conceived 2 children during that time with no problems. The only downside I see is that I have to take it forever and it’s up to sixty bucks a month

Gian

Subj: Are bad experiences true?
Date: 1/8/2007
I am 19 and I have bought propecia two days ago and I took drug twice but I read lots of bad experiences in Internet and I got worried and didn’t take this drug today. I wrote if you stop taking this drug; you may have side effects during all life. Is this true if I continue to take; may I have lack of orgasm and be infertile during all my life? Because I am not married yet and it’s important for me…

Kankee

AskDocWeb: According to the manufacturer you have less than one chance out of 100 of becoming impotent. How long that would last is not known but the effects are real.

Subj: Any tolerance studies?
Date: 1/12/2007
I have been taking propecia for 5 years now and I am just wondering if you know of any studies that are being conducted on individuals taking the drug for several years. Is research currently being done to see if the effect of propecia is still good after 5 years? Are there any tolerance studies being conducted? Thanks,

Alexander

AskDocWeb: No, the research seems to be closed on Propecia. We suspect that longer-term research might disclose more sexual side effects.

Subj: Long-term use of Propecia
Date: 1/17/2007
I have been taking propecia since December 1999. I am not loosing hair any more, it has been excellent, I have not had any side effect…My questions are: 1.How long can it be taken? 2.If I keep taking it forever, will it increase my risk of Cancer or any other illness? What do the studies show for men who have taken it for many years?

Ed

AskDocWeb: There seems to be a slight increase in the risk of cancer for long-term users. At the end of a 7-year trial, 6.4% of men had prostate cancer vs. 5.1% of men in the placebo group. Of the cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in that study, about 98% were classified as intracapsular (stage T1 or T2). If you have a PSA test done to screen for prostate cancer, you should tell your doctor that you are taking Propecia because it can the results of that blood test. There seems to be a relationship between the long-term use of Propecia and male breast problems but the extent is currently unknown. The manufacturer says that over 60% of those who experience sexual side effects recovered with continued use.

Subj: I couldn’t be happier
Date: 1/18/2007
I’ve been using Propecia for 9 months. Early on, I experienced sexual side effects for around 3 weeks. I also experienced several short periods of shedding, though it never resulted in very much extra loss (just a bit). This happened less and less, and by my seventh month, there was steady improvement. Here in my ninth month, I couldn’t be happier. It looks better than it has in years, and the hair loss process has clearly reversed. It was thinning all over and getting hard to manage, but it looks great now. I read a few explanations from different sources for the shedding and why Propecia takes a while to kick in. I’m glad I stuck with it. I hope this provides some hope for anyone just starting out. I know results vary, but even the Propecia literature says it will take at least 3 months.

Mark

Subj: Blood tests
Date: 1/22/2007
Can propecia affect other blood tests, Such as Protein, Total, Alburim or any others?

Joe

AskDocWeb: None have been reported. The manufacturer says that specific interaction studies of Propecia with other drugs were not performed. During the clinical studies some of those taking Propecia were also taking one or more of the following;

Acetaminophen
Alpha-blockers
Beta blockers
Analgesics
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
Anticonvulsants
Benzodiazepines
Calcium-channel blockers
Cardiac nitrates
Diuretics
H 2 antagonists
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors
Prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors (NSAIDs)
Quinolone anti-infectives

According to the manufacturer there was no evidence of clinically significant adverse interactions.

Subj: Propecia pimples
Date: 1/22/2007
Hello, I’ve heard that Propecia burns one’s hair and makes it look as if it’s thicker, but actually damages it in the long run. Are pimples a possible side effect? I’m 28, used to have pimples till 23 or so, then they disappeared, and now slightly coming back. Might it be propecia?

David

AskDocWeb: Yes, a small number of men have reported acne, less than l%.

Subj: Depression, loss of energy, or irritability?
Date: 1/29/2007
I have been taking Propecia for well over a year now, and I am wondering if side effects could include depression, loss of energy, or irritability. I’m also curious about what DHT does for men that is good/normal. In other words, by having lower DHT levels in my body with Propecia use, can mood or emotion, etc. be affected?

Davi’d

AskDocWeb: Yes, several other men have reported the same – and some wives.

Update December 2010: Merck has officially added depression to the list of possible side effects of Propecia.

Subj: Typical side effects of Propecia?
Date: 2/1/2007
I’ve been using propecia for over a year, I’ve become increasingly depressed, anti-social, moody, and having difficulty in sleeping at night. Are these typical side effects to using propecia?

Harry

AskDocWeb: No, these are not typical side effects of Propecia but they have been reported by other men.

Subj: Erection problem
Date: 2/5/2007
I am taking propecia for last four months and it is working. I had no problem first three months but since last one month I am having little erection problem. Now should I reduce the dose or stop taking it, give me a suggestion. Thank you,

Saidul

AskDocWeb: You can try reducing the dose but it won’t be as effective, most men would rather have a sex life. Read more feedback.
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