Post Finasteride Syndrome Posted on 10 Apr 20:59 , 0 comments

[caption id="attachment_922" align="alignnone" width="259"]IMG_2345 I've used finasteride. Had to explain what it was to get a prescription for it but i've used it. No more depressed after using it than before...[/caption]

By Todd Lee M.D.

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Post Finasteride Syndrome is a collection of psychological and physical symptoms allegedly related to the use of Finasteride, A 5 alpha reductase inhibitor released as prostate medication by the name Proscar and a male hair loss medication by the name Propecia.

The syndrome includes but is not limited to loss of sex drive, sexual dysfunction, lack of erections, problems ejaculating, decreased sexual pleasure, decreased semen volume and force, decreased erection size, and decreased testicular size. Obviously most symptomatic males endure relationship difficulties and failure.
Other less important symptoms include depression, anxiety, loss of memory, and suicidal thoughts as would anyone who could not perform and is on the verge of losing the woman they love.

The saddest part is this is a prescription medication that is taken orally most frequently for hair loss, something men dread because they want to stay attractive for the end result of sex. It’s twisted Irony that they may keep their hair and no longer perform. To add insult to injury the 5 alpha reductase inhibitors can be added to the scalp topically and will work in conjunction with other hair preservation mechanisms to accomplish the goal. But in the United States the pharm companies pay the med schools to educate doctors to use pills first, alternative methods never.

It’s Worse

5 alpha reductase doesn't just act on testosterone to convert it to DiHydroTestosterone (DHT), the hormone that binds to the hair follicles to cause hair loss, it also converts all other steroid hormones in the brain to other hormones which it is hypothesised has neuronal plasticity effects in the parts of the brain that control memory and sexdrive.

To Clarify

A drug is prescribed by doctors to men who are losing their hair. This drug could be applied to the scalp thus working only where it is supposed to, but instead it’s a pill administered orally. Since its a pill it acts on the entire body and hormone system causing horrible side effects in the brain and genitals. 6-9% of men who take this pill have depression and suicidal thoughts because their penises stop working and the lose their women.

What if you stop the pill?

Men with PFS claim the symptoms get worse after they stop use of the drug. This is the only red flag to me that this whole syndrome is psychological in origin. There is physical evidence of the effects of long term 5 alpha reductase inhibition, products of this enzyme are in lower concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid. If PFS is what these help organizations claim then finasteride damages the 5 alpha reductase enzyme permanently and there should be no difference if you're on the drug or not. The studies found that age of the finasteride user and duration of finasteride use had absolutely no bearing on the symptoms and the symptoms persist indefinitely.
This means that the subjects of these experiments self report that even use of the drug in theory one time results in lifetime of sexual dysfunction and suicidal depression. That makes no sense.

My 2 cents

Since the discontinuation of the drug makes the problem worse, and there is no proven mechanism only hypothesis and conjecture, and there is a class action lawsuit against Merck, the manufacturer, I am doubtful of this issue being as severe as it’s presented. Whenever money is involved science goes out the window.

Treatment

There is no known treatment or cure as there no discovered mechanism of permanent alteration to the 5 alpha reductase enzyme. The decrease of DHT results in estrogen levels raising as DHT inhibits the aromatase enzyme, the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen. Then the higher level of estrogen inhibits testosterone production indirectly through inhibition of LH. This in turn means there is less testosterone, the substrate for DHT production and the negative feedback loop continues until eventually there is no appreciable DHT. That’s just how finasteride works. upon cessation of Finasteride use the 5 alpha reductase levels should slowly increase and the reverse feedback loop begins but extra slow. This is why it would seem permanent damage of the 5 alpha reductase enzyme and it's production must be caused by finasteride in this 6-9% of users. But even in this case symptoms should not worsen after the drug is discontinued.
My proposed mechanism of treatment is simple. Reduce the Aromatase enzyme and block the estrogen receptors with an anti-estrogen like Thor's Hammer. Then if that doesn’t work to regenerate testosterone level and some Testosterone can be added. This will hopefully convert to some DHT and since you blocked estrogen conversion it should ,force the reaction to DHT conversion. To replace missing DHT Masteron can be used. But please don't do this without supervision of a competent individual. And unfortunately I know of only one.

You see, all of these things have been issues with bodybuilders for decades and manually altering your hormones can allow you to turn up or turn down your sex drive. In modern medicine this type of fine tuning is unheard of, they simply try to fix a symptom of a problem without concern of how many more problems they create because they can just prescribe more drugs to fix those symptoms. When the patient gets really sick they are desperate, and will do whatever the doctor says and spend all they have to get better.

Who am I? Click here for my Bio!

NEED HELP? GET A PHONE CONSULTATION OR COACHING!

Disclaimer

Nothing in this article or on this site should be considered medical advice or as an endorsement to violate any law of the country in which you reside. The information given is for fun and entertainment purposes only. All statements are 100% dependent upon proper diet and exercise. Please consult a medical practitioner prior to any diet and exercise program.

REFERENCES

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02846.x/abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21176115

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12269/abstractdeniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false