Hair Loss Drugs

[bew3994]

Has anyone had an experience or heard of a hair loss drug causing gyno?  I just started taking Propecia 2 months ago and am just a little worried about it.  

[brm]

Yes. I took prpecia from 1999 to 2004 with no problem of gyno. Then, in 2004 I decided with my doc to increase the daily intake o f finasteride from 1mg to 2.7mg (1 propecia + 1/3 proscar. There again, no problem o f gyno but a sex drive near bottom (if  I may put it  so). Then in may 2005, replaced the 1/3 proscar with 1 avodart every 3 days.  After 5 months, that is last october, gyno shot out. A mild case. I responded immediately with an aromatase inhibitor (1/2 arimidex EOD) + andractim and reversed to 1/3 proscar (+1 propecia). The situation (a mild case in fact) may be improving. So th e morale is: As lon g as you're on propecia on its own, everything' s OK If you switch on higher finasteride doses or  dutasteride (avodart), Take some aromatase inhibitor to prevent gyno. + visit hairsite.com forums on durasteride and propecia. You'll find a good dea l of  gyno sufferers and their adv ice. Look out .

[bew3994]

Thanks for the message.  Did you ever have blood tests done to monitor your estrogen levels while on propecia?  If so, what did the doc test for that would show bad sides that could lead to gyno?

[brm]

YES. I had an estradiol test after 5 years on propecia. The value was UNDER the minimum average range! So, no gyno was within sight. I have a couple of friends that use propecia, too. None of them has ever told me of any gyno problem. The one clue is this one: if some soreness turns up (in the nipples when you just tou ch it), take some aromatase inhibitor. Anyway, don't forget that propecia doesn't rank in the list of easy gyno inducing drugs.Nor Proscar.  But Avodart does.

[orrible]

Did the hairloss drugs work in terms of maiintaining? I took herbal tabs saw palmetto and beta sisterol and got a mild case of gyne. I think if your prone to it you will get it.

[brm]

In my personal case, it did actually work. The haircount has been maintained. But i fear that the daily use of andractim against the gyno might induce some further loss in 3 or so months; i'm not happy with my (mild) gyno but i cannot deny that stepping from 1mg  finasteride to 2.7mg got some new hair to grow in the crown. What do you do against your gyno, stonecold? Does it work?

[orrible]

well i took my hairloss meds for two weeks and then got a mild case. tried nolvadex without success. After 9 or so months i had surgery as i couldnt see a solution.

I know 2 weeks seems like a joke to get it, but it happened.

[Paa_Paw]

Finasteride is bad news regardless of what it is called.( Propecia, proscar etc)

It is one of the drugs that is on the list the local Blood Bank uses to eliminate people as donors.

Women who are pregnant or who could get pregnant are not supposed to even come in contact with the drug or handle it or the powder of broken tablets.  It can cause serious problems with a developing fetus such as malformed genitalia.

There are no doubt many men take it without serious side effects but it is very commonly mentioned here are a contributing factor in many mens Gynecomastia and often also is implicated in sexual dysfunction.  

Male pattern baldness is something that affects men;  Not little boys and not women.  If you choose to retain the hairline of a little boy, you might have to accept the sex drive of a child and the problems of early puberty (including Gynecomastia ) as a part of the package.

It might be better to accept ourselves as we are and not mess with our body chemistry.  

[orrible]

Paw Paw you are right but its hard to lose hair particulary at a younger age. However i agree that the side effects are to much. I think that the vast majority of people who take it get some side effects but usually they are so minor they can live with them. However as its a drug you have to take for the rest of your life to maintain your hair count, then who knows what will happen long term. I think the 2-3% quoted as those who experience side effects is a very optimistic exageration by merck who make the drug.

[Hypo-is-here]

Finasteride lowers the potent male hormone dihydrotestosterone.

Dihydrotestosterone is required for erections and libido.

So as you can imagine that isn't good :-/

Hypogonadism is termed as a deficiency of testosterone and/or its metabolites.  Dihydrotestosterone is a metabolite of testosterone.

In other words Finasteride can and does cause hypogonadism.

Finasteride is used as a treatment for prostate cancer. to chemically castrate men- instead of physical castration.

I know of a number of men who have developed hypogonadim as a result of taking propecia.

According to Eurgene Shippen one of the worlds leading authorities on hypogonadism and male hormones- Propecia and other drugs containing small amounts of Finasteride can in a minority of men cause a form of hypogonadism that is very difficult to treat.

Here is one such person who has ended up with hypogonadism as a result of the use of Propecia (story is on the testosterone deficiency Centre);

http://www.androids.org.uk/stories.html

Here is his website and a link to other men who have suffered as a consequence of using finasteride based products;

http://www.propeciasideeffects.com/


P.S

Do not touch Propecia or any product containing finasteride with a barge pole- avoid like the plague and use at your peril.

It you are suffering from a loss in libido or erections- contact an endocrinologist who specializes in reproductive endocrinology.

If you want help obtaining contact details of such just send me a pm.

[brm]

I also believe that the 2% gyno or hypogonadism cases isn't a credible datum. This must lie in the way things are "gotten round" by scientists. That is, the hypogonadic case is attributed to the tested drug only if it was possible to prove that this drug was the only possible inducer; In all remaiming cases, things are disregarded and discarded in tne "no direct risk category". It means that a good deal of "positive" cases (that is, negative when it cmes to our point of view) are simply erased from the official data. That seems to me the only way that labs can turn things over perfectly legally...

[Hypo-is-here]

I'm sorry but you'll have to explain your thoughts more clearly, as it stands I have no idea what it is you are trying to say.

I noticed a statistic in there, I would also be interested in where that comes from as part of further details.

[brm]

What  i mean is this. We k now that the tests for propecia were carried out on individuals aged 18 to 41. Let's suppose a guy aged 18, still having gyno from puberty, is among tne testees. let's suppose now that after a one year test, his gyno worsened because of the medication. The lab docs will eliminate his case from their statistics because they will argue that this gyno case may still be attributed to some (more) late puberty gyno and not for sure to the drug. Some other similar cases may be imagined. That's why, to my mind, the final outcome of the statistics may be so strangely low.

[Paa_Paw]

brm,

I suspect your opinion is valid, and they managed to blame something else for the gynecomastia when the cause was actually Propecia.

[bew3994]

Interesting points guys.  I have read quite a bit about the drug online the last couple of months.  I have taken Propecia for about 3 months now with no extreme side effects.  No loss in libido.  However, did get acne on my shoulders and back that I never had before.  The gyno problem seems to be more of a worry to people than people actually getting it.  They find or see the possibility of gyno after reading about the possible side effect and start to wonder.  They could have had it before and just not realized or thought about it.  

But, I do believe the increase in estrogen can obviously happen.  Anyone have a problem with weight gain?