Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I've recently read about the emerging concern regarding use of finasteride and dutasteride and wondered regarding it's veracity or reality—bogus or actual?  <--because I've taken it forever!

You see, more than 20 years ago I began taking finasteride.  More than 4 years ago I substituted dutasteride for finasteride.  I had watched my father, in his late 80s begin to catheterize himself daily when his doctor recommended doing that, rather than undergoing a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) to improve the urine flow.

I saw him undergo the pain and bother and realized that many, many men either had to undergo a TURP or deal with increasing issues with prostate enlargement.

I wondered whether there wasn't some other answer and I found it in finasteride.  It was early.  Finasteride had come out of clinical trials but was still relatively untested.  I decided to make myself a guinea pig—because after seeing what my father went through before he passed on... well I wanted to have nothing to do with BPH or prostate cancer.  I reasoned that limiting my dihydrotestosterone was the way to go.

Soo, fast forward 20 years.   I've had no negative impact that I know of taking the finasteride and of late, dutasteride.  No impact to sexual performance or erection—and yes, I've been married. No mood disorders or clinical depression or loss of memory or confusion.  Positive impacts are that in my late 60s: my prostate is the size of a walnut; I have a full head of hair, my skin is smooth, and I look far younger than my years—really not at all like my peers.

I finally told my primary care physician, in his 40s, who retorted, "Maybe that's what I should do."
I don't know if there are negative impacts for some, but for me there have been none.  Having said that, my BMI is 23; I exercise regularly and eat a healthful diet. I've seen very stable periods during a wonderful marriage; I've contended with divorce and a turbulent time with children.  There has been no need for medication—anti-anxiety meds like Prozac. I don't see a therapist regularly.  I am not depressed or unreasonably unhappy and have no suicidal ideation.

When I read about "post finasteride syndrome," I wondered, "Where are the control studies?"  "Doesn't the general population experience comparable life challenges and difficulty?"  Yes, finasteride or dutasteride changes things, but in my case only for the better!  The conclusion in the Journal of Urology was, "Whether or not PFS is real or imagined is not discernable..."  !  https://www.jurology.com/article/S0022-5347(16)02757-9/abstract (https://www.jurology.com/article/S0022-5347(16)02757-9/abstract)  But I do know that BPH is real and preventable.  If you have any questions regarding my experience, feel free to contact me.

The side effects are limited to a small portion of the population. Most people can take the drugs without harm and benefit from them. The remaining small portion of the population experience severe issues while on the drug and may continue to see them after discontinuing the drug. About 2.5 years ago I looked into Saw Palmetto (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,195367.0.html) and because the symptoms were so similar to this class of drug, I looked into the side effects quite a bit. If you going to use any of these drugs, use them under doctor supervision and if you have any side effects, discontinue them as soon as possible.

While there are a few people with adverse reactions to Finasteride, there are many more who take it daily without  problem. Of the few who do have an adverse reaction to Finasteride, almost all have tolerated Dutasteride without problem.

Post Finasteride Syndrome is real only if you exhibit one of the known side effects.

I developed gynecomastia from Finasteride and Spironolactone without any Estradiol. For me, this was not an adverse drug reaction.  ;)

I have been taking Dutasteride for about 5 years and haven't noticed any serious adverse reactions. 

Noelle

Its a small portion of finasteride patients who experience emotional issues related to the reduction of alpha5-reductase production. Duteraside has a greater potential for emotional issues as depending on dose, it can reduce a5-reductase by over 90% where as finasteride only blocks production of type2 and type3 a5-reductase and reduces body levels by 60%.

Finasteride effects the specific tissue production of the enzyme in the prostate and skin which is why it can be effective for preventing hair loss and prostate enlargement and cancer growths. Alpha5-reductase is also needed for production of neuro-regulating hormones like allopregnanolone. For some people just finasteride can drop this hormone levels and cause mental issues. Saw Palmetto berry extract has a similar effect as finasteride and duteraside.

Post finasteride syndrome is real for some people. They do not know exactly why it happens. Somehow the persons body chemistry gets messed up and after stopping the drug. For a cisgender man it is a problem as their body does not respond to testosterone correctly and DHT production is near zero.

Quote from: Nova_Noelle on May 22, 2018, 09:22:25 PM
I have been taking Dutasteride for about 5 years and haven't noticed any serious adverse reactions. 

Same here, but I've only been on it for a bit over a year.

I take Dutasteride have only been using for 3 months....No major side effects....The first day I felt kinda weird like a panic attack was building.  It probably wasn't the Dutasteride....