March 30 2011, 2:57 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs
Time to say good bye to propecia …
after 3 years on propecia, all this venture end with a gynecomastia surgery ! According to my surgeon the breast gland size was like a lemon…
He also said to me that finasteride drug is also gives to men who want to be a female (transgender…). according to the drug compagny, gynecomastia is a rare side effect… Now i think it is more a common side effect but impossible to really know at least at the beginning of taking this drug… like me….
Anyway this is my own story, i simply want to warning those guys that might thinking of taking this drug…PLEASE READ TWICE THE SIDE EFFECT SECTION, ESPECIALLY THE “RARE SIDE EFFECT SECTION” BEFORE ENROLL TO PROPECIA.
While I’m not entirely familiar with medications transgender patients might take, consider this — most male to female transgender patients do not want male pattern baldness, so finasteride is a good choice to prevent that. Propecia is not a medication to make you transgendered. In other words, transgender people do not take Propecia to make them “more” transgendered.
One of the potential side effects of Propecia is gynecomastia. This side effect is rare (my recollection is 1 in 300 or 500). Most of the time it is reversible, at least in my 14 years of experience… and most men will complain of breast enlargement when it is early, way before their breast turns to the size of a lemon.
In general, for older men (not taking Propecia) the prevalence of gynecomastia is 24-65% (source: eMedicine). But statistics aside, if it happens to YOU it is 100%, right?
Drugs other than Propecia that can cause gynecomastia are:
- Cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), to treat heartburn
- Nifedipine (Adalat, Nifedical, Procardia), to treat high blood pressure
- Spironolactone (Aldactone), to treat high blood pressure and heart failure
This is peculiar. I have never personally heard that finasteride was given to help men transition to female post sex change operation but I know that finasteride was created when a group of Dominican hermaphrodites that lacked 5-alpha reductase were found to have smaller prostates.
I’m not sure if Dr. Rassman is joking, but if the likelihood of developing gynecomastia is 25-65%, and you get it, the probability does not change to 100.
Sorry, maybe I should have been more clear. Merck realized that a 5-alpha reductase deficiency in a Dominican population caused a form of hermaphroditism but the subjects also had diminished prostates and a lack of hair loss. The company decided to create a drug to inhibit 5-alpha reductase to capture the benefits of smaller prostates and hair growth. I’m not sure what they decided to do with the hermpahroditism though.
Quote from above … “THIS IS VERY WORRYING.”
No, it isn’t. How is this “worrying”?
It should be pointed out that the original post is extremely misleading. More half-truths and misinformation being spread. I am getting so tired of this.
While it may be true that men looking to transition to female may use finasteride; it must also be realized that it only one of several different drugs that they use in their regimen. The implication that is being made here is transparent and false.
I have officially heard it all LOL. Lets balme the economic crisis on finasteride as well. Everything thats wrong in life must be finstaateride fault. Im suing.
Dr. Rassman, what foods exactly are rich in finasteride?
If finasteride can cause hemphroditism in children will there be any effects in adults? Does DHT serve no function in adults other than baldness? It would be great if you could elaborate upon that fact.
Thanks.
Also, I thought the hermaphrodites suffered from a genetic defect and did not end up that way by consuming finasteride.
I thought finasteride was an artificial chemical created in a lab and did not occur in nature.
Spironolactone gets a bad rap in my opinion. I am prescribed as a diuretic and for my very oily skin. I’ve been on it for a long time and show NO signs of feminization or loss of libido.