It's a possible side effect of finasteride and as far as I'm aware its prevalence hasn't been established, but based on comments online, people are getting it. Yet it also seems that the vast majority of comments on finasteride sides by those concerned but not necessarily yet affected by finasteride are about things like ED, decreased ejaculatory volume, etc. Basically genitalia issues. I haven't started finasteride yet but am pretty sure that I already have a mild case of ED. Personally I don't see what the big deal is, unless someone is urgently trying for kids; but I bet most on finasteride aren't. I would take ED over man boobs any day, and am certain that any sane man would, which is why I'm surprised that almost every comment by the aforementioned regarding finasteride sides apparently has to do with having erection/ejaculation troubles. Have you seen stats on gyno prevalence, etc.?
Why wouldn't people be more scared of gyno?
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Quantum Cat
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that should answer your question
The comments about gyno that I found were by people who already had it. I was wondering about the people discussing sides in general. Seems like there are very few if any comments about gyno compared to comments about erection issues. I thought that maybe people had come across some stats that I hadn't seen yet, suggesting that the prevalence of gyno from finasteride is very low. Or perhaps it's the opposite - there aren't any stats publicized and that's partly why it currently isn't high on the radar.
Yeah who says they are not? Believe me when people cite the low sales of propecia the sexual sides and chances of gyno are a big part of that. Does not take rocket scientist to realize your gambling with your health taking any drug. What does it do exactly long term? No one knows maybe DHT plays a role in cancer or any number of hundreds of badly understood diseases. Health is not a very well understood area so dont mess with it unless you have too.
Low sales could easily be explained by poor marketing, the fact that the patent on Propecia is gone (so people go generic) or the fact that people opt to take Proscar. SSRI's are way more likely to cause sexual dysfunction (among a myriad of other side effects) but that doesn't hurt sales. DHT is pretty well understood. Some people are born without the 5AR enzyme, meaning that they live their lives with almost no DHT. They grow up and live perfectly healthy lives aside from underdeveloped sexual organs, which is why males shouldn't take finasteride before puberty. It's strange that finasteride is made out to be so dangerous to your sexual health by the media, but SSRI's, which are 3-5 times more likely to cause sexual dysfunction, never get a mention.
But to the OP: gyno can be essentially cured, and hair loss can not. Plunk down a couple thousand dollars and you can get gyno removed without much down time. It seems to be a very rare outcome with Propecia, since younger men generally take it and gyno isn't as common in young men as it is with older ones. Lastly, it's not like you're going to wake up one morning with a set of DD's. It's a very gradual process, and if you see it coming, you can discontinue finasteride and it will probably go away. Even on forums, I've never seen anyone post before / after pictures of gyno that they got while on finasteride. I've only seen a couple case reports of young guys getting gyno from Propecia, and I recall from the pictures that they were already quite overweight, meaning that they were already at risk for it. Yes, it seems like "everyone" is getting it, but people are also claiming it caused their penis to shrink 3 inches, or caused their testicles to shrivel up to the size of raisins.
Well yeah could be many reasons for poor sales. Im just saying the possibility of sexual sides does not sit well with most men as evidenced by success of v**** its pretty important. I would still argue DHT as well as other hormones are not that well understood. I know of the guys that follow the biological model of finasteride, but its just all so complex with so many interrelationships I just doubt our understanding in how DHT factors into thousands of possible diseases that happen over many decades in people. Given that I just question taking an arguably unneeded risk to your health to try saving hair, but if its really hurting your life or esteem you have to do what you have to do I guess.
Also keeping in mind propecia does not exactly mimic people born without that enzyme because you still have DHT, your lowering it after having normal enzyme levels, changing estrogen, T levels and so on. So in actuality its much more complex than that model
Also keeping in mind propecia does not exactly mimic people born without that enzyme because you still have DHT, your lowering it after having normal enzyme levels, changing estrogen, T levels and so on. So in actuality its much more complex than that model