Finesteride/propecia penis shrink?

[QuestionGuy]

ED2013 - I am assuming that your penis issues and subsequent implant occurred long before you began using Propecia (because if that is not the case, and the two co-incided, then you become the poster boy for Post-Finesteride-Syndrome) One of the issues with the substantiating PFS, is that most of us did not go around checking our hormone levels until after we had issues....so there is not a great baseline - Are you saying you had organic penis issues - tested testosterone levels and they were low -got an implant - started using FIN , and then retested T and it was higher?

[ED2013]

Your assumption is correct. I had organic ED long before I started finasteride. My testosterone was checked and it was normal. I got an implant, and began using finasteride after. I felt a boost in testosterone very shortly after starting finasteride. Many patients have reported the same. I had my testosterone checked and it was higher. Again, everyone is different. Everyone’s experience with finasteride, good or bad is equally valid.

[QuestionGuy]

ED2013 - Agree with you on the "all or nothing thinking" regarding FIN, and you are correct, everyone experiences is valid. That is why I stated a number of other factors with regard to my own situation. but Like most subjects today, seems like most folks tend to know the answer before they ask the question. on the hairloss forums: all FIN sufferers are hypochondriacs. On the Propecia forum, there are people who took one pill, and attribute all of their life issues to FIN. I guess that's why there are double blind studies. Do be aware : that although you have the erection issue solved, loss of sensational and/or loss of desire, are also things that are reported. And remember, there are many men with fake hair and shaved heads who have amazing sex lives....not so much for guys with screwed up endocrinology.

[ED2013]

Yes I understand what you are saying I am aware of potential side effects. I’m sure we can agree that it sucks to suffer from both hair loss and ED. Only suffering from one of them is hard enough.

[michaeleurope1]

@ Questionguy

when did you experience ED? I took Fin 1mg only 30 days, then stopped. All was fine, 9 month later I got suddeldy ED (but very likely from another cause). So my question is: Is fin a possible suspect in my case?

[QuestionGuy]

this is a good question Michael. the same one I ask myself as well, because propecia is not the one and only remarkable thing about me. If 10 percent of the population has peryronies, and a million people take propecia, could the 1000 guys who took propecia and got also peyronies be co-incidnece? If you go over to propeciahelp you'll get alot of info about the syndrome, but do keep in mind that its now a well known phenomenon, and each day, some number of genuine hypochondriacs are probably finding their way over there, so try to read between the lines of some of the posters. BrainFog, fatigue and depression must always be viewed with skepticism, simply because they are non-quantifiable and always show up on the list for miracle cures and hypochondriacs. I'm by no means saying PFS isn't real, just saying its hard to get a handle on it from a newsgroup of anonymous posters who may or may not have other issues.

[QuestionGuy]

Michael - I realized i didn't exactly answer your question (although my signature gives some info) I took FIN for about a year in 2006. i noticed numbness at first and eventually got ED by 2012ish. I can produce a rock hard erection with the proper stimulation - but the instant that stimulation stops, I begin to deflate.

[michaeleurope1]

This is also true for me. Almost no mental erections anymore (OK, they also happen sometimes, but not with my GF).

So I also dont think that your problem can be Finasteride related, when ED shows off 9 years later!
As far as I have read the studies, ED and all the side effect mess occurs during taking that drug and and might not go away although you stopped taeking it.

My question was only: Can there be a longer time gap between taking and the side effects? My theory is no, but I can be mistaken. In my case, in addition, I "only" experienced ED and no other (mental, physical etc) side effects...

[TANGERINE]

I had a long discussion about finestride/propecia with my local urologist last week; so, this is timely (though not totally implant related).

First, the issue of finestride and the impant: GOOD NEWS ! The most feared anecdotal complication of finestride (impotence) is a non-issue for us implantees since we have the ultimate fix.

Second, anecdotal concerns regarding shrinkage are also not-issues since the implant will maintain your length no matter what.

Third, from an anecdotal viewpoint, my local urologist said he was at a urology conference, and the quetion was asked "how many of you urologists are self prescribing finestride for yourself ? " ANSWER: 75% of the hands went up in the audience (they love the weight loss benefit, the prostate shrinking, and the hair preservation benefit).

Fourth, the best way to figure out what the real issues with a drug is to do a randomized controlled trial with the drug and with thousands of men. That study has been performed on 3040 men over a four year time and is named the " PLESS " study.

The results from the study show that the drug is safe, and it does cause a very mild INCREASE in serum testostorone. Shown below is an excerpt from the abstract from the study:

Results. Finasteride treatment led to a modest, but significant increase relative to placebo in serum testosterone, with this increase greatest in patients who had low baseline testosterone levels

The study also founfd that the finestride group lost some weight (and being thinner leads to higher testostorone).

I think the study was very well done, and do read the study at the following link:

https://www.goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(03)00661-7/abstract


the article reference is:

Effects of finasteride on serum testosterone and body mass index in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia
Roehrborn, Claus G et al.
Urology , Volume 62 , Issue 5 , 894 - 899

and shown below is the abstract text in full:

Objectives
To examine the effect of finasteride on serum testosterone in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods
The Proscar Long-Term Efficacy and Safety Study (PLESS) was a 4-year trial comparing the safety and efficacy of finasteride 5 mg with placebo in 3040 men with moderate to severe symptomatic BPH and enlarged prostates. PLESS included the prospective measurement of annual serum testosterone in a randomly selected subset of patients comprising approximately 10% of the randomized population (n = 301).

Results
Finasteride treatment led to a modest, but significant (P <0.001), increase relative to placebo in serum testosterone, with this increase greatest in patients who had low baseline testosterone levels. The larger testosterone increases seen in finasteride-treated patients in the lower baseline testosterone tertiles were associated with significant mean reductions relative to placebo at year 4 in body mass index (BMI), ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 kg/m2. No statistically significant between-group difference was found in BMI in the upper testosterone tertile. The sexual adverse experience profiles for finasteride and placebo were similar across the baseline testosterone cohorts examined.

Conclusions
Finasteride treatment led to a generally modest increase relative to placebo in serum testosterone, with the greatest increases occurring in men with low baseline testosterone levels. The physiologic significance of these changes in men with low baseline testosterone levels is unclear, but the associated reduction in BMI is intriguing and may be related, because BMI is known to be negatively correlated with serum testosterone levels in men.

[Ruktitan]

I had a long discussion about finestride/propecia with my local urologist last week; so, this is timely (though not totally implant related).

First, the issue of finestride and the impant: GOOD NEWS ! The most feared anecdotal complication of finestride (impotence) is a non-issue for us implantees since we have the ultimate fix.

Second, anecdotal concerns regarding shrinkage are also not-issues since the implant will maintain your length no matter what.

Third, from an anecdotal viewpoint, my local urologist said he was at a urology conference, and the quetion was asked "how many of you urologists are self prescribing finestride for yourself ? " ANSWER: 75% of the hands went up in the audience (they love the weight loss benefit, the prostate shrinking, and the hair preservation benefit).

Fourth, the best way to figure out what the real issues with a drug is to do a randomized controlled trial with the drug and with thousands of men. That study has been performed on 3040 men over a four year time and is named the " PLESS " study.

The results from the study show that the drug is safe, and it does cause a very mild INCREASE in serum testostorone. Shown below is an excerpt from the abstract from the study:

Results. Finasteride treatment led to a modest, but significant increase relative to placebo in serum testosterone, with this increase greatest in patients who had low baseline testosterone levels

The study also founfd that the finestride group lost some weight (and being thinner leads to higher testostorone).

I think the study was very well done, and do read the study at the following link:

https://www.goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(03)00661-7/abstract


the article reference is:

Effects of finasteride on serum testosterone and body mass index in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia
Roehrborn, Claus G et al.
Urology , Volume 62 , Issue 5 , 894 - 899

and shown below is the abstract text in full:

Objectives
To examine the effect of finasteride on serum testosterone in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods
The Proscar Long-Term Efficacy and Safety Study (PLESS) was a 4-year trial comparing the safety and efficacy of finasteride 5 mg with placebo in 3040 men with moderate to severe symptomatic BPH and enlarged prostates. PLESS included the prospective measurement of annual serum testosterone in a randomly selected subset of patients comprising approximately 10% of the randomized population (n = 301).

Results
Finasteride treatment led to a modest, but significant (P <0.001), increase relative to placebo in serum testosterone, with this increase greatest in patients who had low baseline testosterone levels. The larger testosterone increases seen in finasteride-treated patients in the lower baseline testosterone tertiles were associated with significant mean reductions relative to placebo at year 4 in body mass index (BMI), ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 kg/m2. No statistically significant between-group difference was found in BMI in the upper testosterone tertile. The sexual adverse experience profiles for finasteride and placebo were similar across the baseline testosterone cohorts examined.

Conclusions
Finasteride treatment led to a generally modest increase relative to placebo in serum testosterone, with the greatest increases occurring in men with low baseline testosterone levels. The physiologic significance of these changes in men with low baseline testosterone levels is unclear, but the associated reduction in BMI is intriguing and may be related, because BMI is known to be negatively correlated with serum testosterone levels in men.

Thanks for this great information. Im actually more nervous about the thought of taking fin than i was about getting the implant