Generic Name: Finasteride for Androgenetic Alopecia (finasteride)
Finasteride for Androgenetic Alopecia Reviews
"Hair up, little bro down. I have been taking 1 mg of finasteride for about three months and boys, the hairline came back, and the thickness was awesome. But I kid you not, I went from a very good partner who never had an issue with erections to a self-conscious, scared, full of thoughts 36-year-old soft dude. I was reading a lot of bad reviews, and the fact that my sperm turned more liquid didn’t help. However, in situations where I wasn’t thinking about it, I could still perform decently, and my body responded well. I decided to reduce the dosage to 0.25 mg every 2 days following a few threads online suggesting microdosing, and that massively helped! I convinced myself that microdosing could really help me psychologically, with very positive effects. The problem is that it's quite hard to track microdosing, and I am thinking about using my mobile development skills to create an app for that. If this post reaches more than 100 likes, I will do it! Thanks :-)"
Propecia (finasteride) "I have PFS (Post-Finasteride Syndrome). I cannot sustain an erection during sex, suffer from genital anesthesia and/or numbness, have muted/blocked/pleasureless orgasms when I masturbate, and suffer from brain fog, memory loss, and thinking at times. I have low testosterone, extremely high FSH, low cortisol, low vitamin D, adrenal issues, and pituitary problems as a result of being on Propecia on and off for years. I've been off of Propecia for a year. Although I've had shockwave therapy to remove penile scar tissue and improve nerve damage and had testosterone replacement therapy, my sexual functioning and cognitive issues persist. Oh! And I became infertile on Propecia too. Fortunately, I had enough sperm left to have a baby with my wife via IVF. Stay away from this toxic and poisonous medication! It will potentially destroy your life."
"Reading the awful experiences other guys have had with finasteride is pretty scary. I've been on it for about 10 months and have honestly noticed no side effects at all and I've been reaping the hair growth benefits. From reading cited studies, I've found the incidence of complications is very low (2% of men or something). If you're unsure, jump on Google Scholar and give a few a read! Definitely helped me :)"
"I took this drug for only 4 days in May 2019. I had mild hair thinning and went to a dermatologist who recommended it. I had done research beforehand and knew about finasteride already, and how for some men the drug could have serious side effects, but decided to listen to a doctor who assured me it was safe. It’s not, and I had to learn the hard way. This poison has completely ruined my life. I’ve completely lost my sleep and have total insomnia, no libido, ED, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, penile tissue changes, muscle wastage, and weakness... The list goes on. I’m not making this up, this drug should be avoided. I’m 23 years old, I was healthy before I took this. There is no reason to believe this drug won’t mess your life up. Please avoid it. I don’t even feel like the same person and regret my decision every single day and am having trouble adjusting to this new life. I hate myself for taking this risk."
Propecia (finasteride) "If you want a full head of hair, then go for it. That full head of hair will, of course, help you with the ladies. However, once you get a lady, you will be up the creek without a paddle because your old John Thomas will not work. I took Propecia for 8 years. The side effects came on slowly and I ignored them at my peril, choosing vanity over health and happiness. I still have fatigue, anxiety, and issues with the old meat and two veg. Avoid this drug at all costs, buy a razor or trimmer and shave your head."
"I took finasteride for 6 months. It works for making your hair thicker (after 3 months) and it does regrow a lot. I mean it, it works and it is amazing! The trade-off... you lose your sex life and an unbelievable depression comes with it. They say 4%ish of men have these side effects. Don't believe it. It is a lot more than that. Some never recover. I recovered after 2 weeks of stopping. It sucks losing your hair. I wear a hat everywhere, my self-image and confidence are shot, it's depressing. I feel ugly, embarrassed, and ashamed of myself. But that is nothing compared to the horror you will feel being sexually broken, lack of interest in sex, shrinkage on your testicles and penis, and dry orgasm. If the only thing you have to look forward to is going as Capt Picard on Halloween, at least you are still a functioning man. Hopefully, this drug and its dosage can be better refined one day as to not produce the side effects. Until then, stay away from this."
Propecia (finasteride) "At the tender age of 25, I noticed that my hair was beginning to thin. Not wanting to look like my dad or brother, I got a prescription for Propecia. So far, it's been working. In fact, if I miss a dosage, I'll notice little bits of my hair fall into my keyboard or the pages of a book I'm reading! Yes, this medication is expensive. My insurance won't cover it at all. (Funny that they cover Viagra, though). The only side effect is that I do notice a slight decrease in my sex drive - but honestly that's probably good. Keeps me out of trouble."
"Don’t get scared off by some of the negative reviews on here. Yeah, there’s a small chance you may get erectile dysfunction, but the vast majority of men who take this drug don’t experience that. I haven’t experienced any kind of depression, ED, brain fog, or any of the other symptoms people mention on here."
"Let me start off by saying that I realize everyone has different reactions to drugs, but here is my experience. I used generic finasteride for 6 weeks, and although it helped my hair, the side effects were unbearable. This drug is straight poison to my body. I have extreme brain fog and memory issues, zero sex drive, numb penis, low semen volume, softer erections, smaller penis and testicles overall, very bad depression and anxiety. I genuinely feel like this stuff has caused brain damage that hopefully will reverse itself. I’m still suffering side effects even after being off it for 3 weeks."
"Been taking for just under two weeks and feel like my penis is numb. The amount of erections I get during the day has gone from many to none. Much harder time getting it up. Worried about going on a date tonight. Not sure I care about how my hair looks at this point."
"WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN before taking this drug: 1. Sexual side effects are common: 20% of men, says the Head of Urology of St. Louis Hospital in Paris. I believe it's 100%, see my next point. 2. This is not a drug you can 'try and see how it goes'. First, my side effects came so gradually... 'this must just be a natural fluctuation'... 'Is it just in my head?'... 'Oh wow, I'm half impotent now, at age 36, I guess it wasn't in my head.' 3. The side effects do NOT go away after quitting (it's been several years for me), and there is no known cure. 4. What is at stake, besides 'ED': less desire for your partner affects the affection/quality of your relationships and happiness. The drug damages your brain chemistry/regeneration (hello, depression and early Alzheimer's). And then, of course, the fact that sex/masturbation don't bring me all that much pleasure anymore."
Propecia (finasteride) "Complete brain fog, worse than anything you can imagine, literally can't get out of bed because of the brain damage that this drug induced on me. I feel completely, literally detached from the world now, not to mention even the less serious it caused, ED, no libido, head pressure, complete cognitive shift. Feel like I'm in a whole different world. NEVER TOUCH this drug EVER, EVER, EVER, unless you're old and have nothing else to lose and don't care about life anymore. I would trade this with ANY other disease just for my brain function to come back again. I feel like I'm in a coma, it's absolutely frightful, every day 24/7, it never leaves. Sexual sides are a joke compared to this."
Propecia (finasteride) "I took 5 pills from April 2-6. Over the course of those 5 days, I had worsening symptoms of brain fog, headaches, sleeplessness, suicidal ideation, ED/impotence, loss of libido, increased fat mass, and muscle weakness that didn't dissipate for a month and a half. Even now (July), I still have increased fat mass, increased tissue on the breast, peripheral edema (mild), and difficulty (mild) with erections. I'm not as focused or driven due to ongoing sleep difficulties (mild/moderate) and the intensity of these effects. Every day, I regret taking this drug. I took this drug without researching any side effects, I really regret not looking into possible side effects. Please be aware that the consequences could be extremely negative and persistent."
"Please do NOT use this drug. I took it at a healthy, sexually active 19-year-old because I wanted to stop losing hair. My girlfriend broke up with me six months later...because I could not get an erection. My penis is not the same. I told myself everything would be the same after I stopped. I quit this poison six months later and have not had a girlfriend since. Thought the side effects would go away, but they haven’t. Please don’t."
Propecia (finasteride) "Started the drug in January 2020 and now almost May. Took a while for me to know if the drug was working since I saw no visible improvements until after I had been on it for 3 months. Adding on to that, during those 3 months I had no clue if I was even responding to the drug since I had absolutely no side effects whatsoever, not even minimal side effects, just nothing (I typically view side effects as a way of knowing if the drug works, and having absolutely none was concerning). Despite delayed positive effects, I consider this drug to be the saving grace to my self-confidence. Only rating 8 stars at the moment since I am satisfied with what has happened so far, but I am hoping as I continue taking the drug I can get even better results."
Propecia (finasteride) "Don't take this drug. I used it for a few months, and it killed my libido. I did get some noticeable hair regrowth during that time, so at least that worked. It became very hard to get an erection, and I became completely disinterested in sex. I've read accounts that some people never regained their libido and suffered lasting erectile dysfunction. This is not natural. Your libido is part of who you are, and so is hair loss. Be a man and accept the loss of your hair as part of who you were meant to be."
"I took this medication for over a year and had insidiously slow gradual sexual side effects until one day my penis and testicles went completely numb. For a year doctors thought I was crazy and I thought I had a spinal problem because I developed Pudendal Neuropathy from this drug. When I started it in 2020 I did tons of research, and PFS was not even talked about. About 5% of the studies showed permanent side effects. In the time I took it, countless studies were done showing how horrendous this drug is. Judge for yourself: well over 50% of these reviews are negative and those are only the reported ones. This drug will change you as a person and will steal your humanity from you. Conveniently I had to learn first hand the side effects are permanent. Say goodbye to your manhood and sex/relationship FOREVER."
Propecia (finasteride) "I took finasteride for hair loss in 2017. I experienced testicular pain and loss in semen volume. While on the drug I noticed a callous type knot in my left hand. I stopped the drug and within a week developed severe upward curvature from peyronies disease. I had bloodwork done and I'm now hypothyroid as well. Before I took this drug I was perfectly healthy. I'm now experiencing weight gain and feel like I'm 70 years old. I'm 36."
"I used this for many years and didn't realize how bad the sexual effects are until I started losing women and confidence. The scandalous thing about this drug is the misreported risk of side effects originally given by Merck who had the original patent on this med. They stated 2% but the reality is A LOT higher, I would be surprised if everyone on it isn't getting side effects as a percentage may not even be aware of them. I experienced ball shrinkage, ED, loss of libido, and loss of confidence, and in all of this, nobody is sure if hair loss is stopped or reversed. Most people cannot tell if the hair is lost or gained because the process is slow and unless we take photos daily in various lighting most, if not all, of our perceptions are going to be unclear. What I'm saying here is that you can't really tell if you get your hair back unless a bald spot gets coverage which I haven't seen."
"I have now used this product for the last 12 years, and fortunately, it suits me. I have 2 kids in the last 6 years, and my sex drive is normal. Highly recommend this product, as 12 years back, I had turned almost bald."
"I was given this drug finasteride by a complete imbecile of a dermatologist at the age of fifteen. I am now 30, and I am only just getting over the side effects after more than ten years of being off the drug. It is highly destructive, far more than the reported 2% of people. I suffered pretty much every symptom in the book: sexual, cognitive, muscular, sleeping, depression, gastrointestinal. Why potentially risk destroying your life? I can assure you from firsthand experience, it is absolutely not worth it! At one stage, I went eight years without any form of sexual activity, and as a former sports enthusiast, I can now no longer run more than a few seconds without horrendous leg pain. I piled on around three stone as part of a monstrous metabolic crash, and my university degree was absolutely ruined. Take this and mess with your hormones at your peril. Do not trust money-grabbing dermatologists or pharmaceutical companies. I was not provided with the facts/risks."
Propecia (finasteride) "I have been using this medication for just over a year now. Hair has regrown over my crown, but the top and temple areas are still quite thin, they have not regrown and have not responded in the same way. I guess these areas have not gotten any worse either. Certainly, I don't notice hair in the shower or in my hairbrush as much. On the sexual function side of things, I have noticed a decrease in performance, I guess there was always going to be a tradeoff. The main thing I think to watch out for is the effect the medication has on PSA levels. If you are already being monitored for this prior to starting Propecia, it is worth bearing in mind and reminding your physician about the PSA-lowering effect of Propecia."
"This drug moderately helped my hair loss, but it permanently damaged me. My penis has been completely numb for 16 months. I am 30 years old and i have to live with this for the rest of my life. I was perfectly healthy before. There is no cure for the sides that this causes. I don’t even have a family yet. Absolutely devastating."
Propecia (finasteride) "Do not use it! This is a very dangerous product. After 4 weeks of using it, I had a total loss of libido and almost became impotent. I have now stopped for three weeks and am still not back to normal. This product is a chemical castration! I don't understand how this product is available on the market. Use other alternatives such as regaine. Do not use, do not use, do not use!!!!! Giving a 1 rating is overrated."
"At the age of 23, I started losing my hair. I used Genesis (finasteride) 1 mg for 4 months, as recommended by my physician. I got 80% of my hair back. The side effects of the drug were temporary. Within a few weeks, all the side effects were gone and never came back."
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Related treatment guides
- Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
- Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy
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