Propecia Side Effects – Details of Possible Propecia Adverse Effects
Last updated 05/12/2012
The facts
Propecia is a drug licensed in the UK and USA for the treatment of hair loss; this means that it has been deemed safe and effective by the government medical regulatory bodies (MHRA and FDA respectively) following extensive clinical trials on more than 1,000 candidates.
In clinical trials under 2% of Propecia users experienced mild side effects which included less desire for sex, difficulty in achieving an erection and a decrease in the amount of semen.
Most importantly
because of finasteride’s short half-life (the amount of time it takes for half of the product to leave your body) of 6-8 hours, side effects were reported to have worn off quickly when the users stopped taking Propecia, or with continued use.
The following is stated on page 3 of the Propecia information leaflet (provided below): ‘The side effects above may disappear after a while if you continue taking Propecia. If these symptoms persist, they usually resolve after stopping Propecia.’
Finasteride to treat BPH (enlarged prostate)
The active product found in Propecia, Finasteride, was first used in a much larger dose (5mg compared to 1mg) to treat benign prostate hyperplasia 20 years ago and it is still one of the treatments for this condition. In June 2011, the FDA announced that a randomized controlled study on finasteride found that daily use of the product for several years decreased the chance of getting lower-risk forms of prostate cancer but made it more likely that patients would get a high-grade prostate cancer. They also said the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks.
Reports have suggested that Propecia can mask symptoms of prostate cancer, so it is important that those having tests for prostate cancer stop using Propecia 1 week before.
In December 2009 following a public assessment report, the MHRA deemed it necessary to add the following statement to the Propecia information leaflet:
Possible side effects
You should promptly report to your doctor any changes in your breast tissue such as lumps, pain or nipple discharge as these may be signs of a serious condition, such as breast cancer.
No cases of male breast cancer associated with Propecia have been reported in the UK to date (December 18th 2009). A summary of the MHRA public assessment report can be found here.
Reports of Long-Term Side Effects
There are a number of online reports of various long-term side effects that remained after stopping Propecia (search ‘Propecia side effects’ in Google). Over many years, treating tens of thousands of patients with Propecia, Belgravia has only received a very low number of reports of suspected long-term side effects related to lowered libido and mental health. These reports equated to about 0.01% of patients that use Propecia (1/10,000). We have no medical reason to believe that these effects were actually related to the usage of Propecia even though this is what the users reported. Judging by the statistics, there is a possibility that the side effects were caused by something other than Propecia but happened to coincide with the patients’ usage of the medication. This has however not been proven nor dis-proven.
The MHRA‘s strict rules ensure that all side effects for each medication are listed in the leaflet provided with that medication. They have not instructed Propecia to provide such details for long-term side effects which means they have not seen sufficient evidence that the product causes any such effects. At Belgravia we keep a close track of any updates from the MHRA about medications and would act immediately and accordingly on any rulings that the MHRA were to bring in. This page is updated regularly with any important information.
If you have experienced suspected side effects from Propecia you are encouraged report it to the MHRA (UK) or FDA (USA).
Alternative to Propecia
For those who are not comfortable with using Propecia for hair loss, Belgravia offers medically proven alternatives and hair growth boosters that have proven in many cases to offer parallel results for hair loss stabilisation and hair regrowth. More information on all treatments (including Propecia) can be found on our hair loss treatments page.
Below is a copy of the Propecia information leaflet, provided with each box of Propecia in the UK and including details of side effects. Please click on an image for a readable version.
More information on Propecia can be found on our PROPECIA page.
This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Hair Loss, Hair Loss Product Reviews, Male Hair Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.