We have multiple posts on this site about guys who report sexual dysfunction which they claim started with TRT.
Sexual dysfunction is very common. It is possible that it is a coincidence that sexual dysfunction just hit them at the time they were starting TRT. That can be said for Finasteride as well.
You can also do this with Finasteride. It might take you a month to get back to baseline. In a study with about 3000 participants, a percentage of them did discontinue use after getting sexual side effects. All of them reported being back to normal after a short time off the drug.
The longest study I am aware of is 10 years of use. I think it was performed in Japan. In 10 years, there wasnāt any big negatives health wise.
The thing is that PFS just hasnāt been proven yet. Guys have gotten ongoing sexual side effects while taking aspirin for example. That doesnāt mean that the aspirin caused the sexual side effects. Should that be a warning on the back of an aspirin bottle?
That is also a possibility for the guys claiming PFS.
Have a look at the real world data on long term finasteride use > Google āHealth Risks Associated with Long-Term Finasteride and Dutasteride Use excel maleā. All the data, finasteride users versus non users is all there.
This is just the tip of the iceberg,
Known facts:
Finasteride and dutasteride induce liver lipid accumulation and steatosis
Finasteride and dutasteride induce insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
Finasteride and dutasteride impair ocular function and cause development of dry eye disease
Adverse effects of finasteride and dutasteride on kidney function
I am not claiming that there isnāt any side effect. All drugs have side effects. I already acknowledged that Finasteride can cause sexual side effects. What I donāt accept is that those side effects can remain years after the cessation of the drug.
None of these are sexual side effects. The discussion was around persistent sexual side effects after stopping the drug. I think that it is important to keep that in focus. A lot of people are scared away from using it because of the fear of ongoing side effects. If those donāt actually exist, and the sexual side effects go away in a few weeks, it is a lot easier to pull the trigger on trying the drug.
I mean you can replace Finasteride and Dutasteride with TRT and come up with a google search that has some pretty scary stuff (I tried it).
I think that is an oddly worded false dichotomy. I think you can get the benefits without the extra hairloss (perhaps less than you would have had as a natural) in most cases on TRT and a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor.
I just mean if I am to chose one or the other I donāt mind a completely bald head if I can do TRT. I guess not all guys can make a bald head work though.
Merks own data says exactly this, which they tried to hide by having a judge seal it, but was mistakenly published as public record.
If you have a particular gene, youāre destined to break after the first couple of doses or after ceasing the drug. There are guys with PFS for over 20 years.
Merk says the symptoms donāt always cease after stopping the drug, which they tried to hide and a percentage people taking the drug report the same thing.
They have data on guys that started finasteride during study, and got sexual dysfunction during the study that persisted (sometimes indefinitely) after stopping the drug. That data doesnāt support the claim that finasteride is what caused the persisting sexual side effects, or even the initial sexual side effects. There are things that would have to be ruled out to support that claim.
Think about the population that would be using finasteride. It is a lot of middle aged guys. That population is also prone to sexual dysfunction. Doctors hardly bat an eye when a 40 year old dude comes in for dick pills. Those guys are also commonly seeking out TRT for erection or libido issues.
If you do a year long study with 1,000 guys around 40 years old, how many do you suspect would report low libido or ED if you specifically asked them? What about if you told the that the drug you are giving them could have those effects? Letās say we were giving them a placebo pill the whole time?
They actually did this. About the same amount (the percent of reports on Finasteride was a bit higher, Iāll give you that) of guys reported sexual dysfunction on a placebo pill as what Merck found in the clinical trials. Some of that is likely a placebo effect, and some is probably naturally occurring sexual dysfunction. Here is the kicker though. The guys on the placebo pill had a higher chance of reporting ongoing sexual sides after cessation than the ones on Finasteride.
PFS has yet to be confirmed or replicated in a study. To me, that is enough to at least try it out and see if it works for me. I think it would be enough for almost anyone to at least try it if they understood the body of research out there. I think the fear is unjustified.
@systemlord I wanted to post this video. It is 10 minutes roughly. I think these guys are fairly objective, and have tons of experience. That doesnāt mean they are correct. I agree with their assessment, but perhaps there is something both I and they are missing?
They do bring up a few things I have, but I think they deliver it better than I do. If you have the time, Iād like your thoughts on it.
Unfortunately, I wasnāt the part of majority. My ED and libido were better before TRT. I think this is due to the fact that humanās understanding of how hormones work is still in infancy. There are probably many undiscovered hormones which get shutdown after T is introduced in abundance. And yes, I did TRT right, with HCG, anastrozole, cabergoline, doxazosin under one of the best TRT doctors.
