Warning to millions of Americans prescribed popular hair loss drug, as patients report PERMANENT sex problems that destroys relationships

The healthy 22-year-old who saw his testicles mysteriously shrink. The 23-year-old with a sudden onset of erectile dysfunction that subsequently ruined his relationship. And another man in his twenties who suffered from painful pain in his genitals.

These men have one thing in common: They, like 2 million Americans, have used the hair loss drug finasteride in an attempt to restore their balding locks.

In letters sent to DailyMail.com, men from all over the world have described the devastating effects the drug, while effective in reversing hair loss, has had on their libido and performance in the bedroom.

The swarm of emails follows DailyMail.com’s recent report on long-term sexual side effects in men and women who have taken antidepressants such as Zoloft and Effexor.

These patients described completely losing their libido – a symptom that did not disappear even years after they stopped taking the drug.

The troubling side effects of finasteride include infertility, erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, decreased ejaculation volume, and loss of sensation below the belt.

Finasteride is a prescription drug that stops hair loss by blocking the production of a chemical called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is responsible for male pattern baldness.

It is sold online by men’s health companies, such as Hims, for as little as $22 for a month’s supply and is available in pill or topical form.

The usual dose is one milligram. But some customers say that even at that low dose they have had sexual side effects that have affected their personal lives and relationships.

Sumair Ahluwalia, 22, from Illinois, says he was injured by the local drug, perhaps permanently.

He told DailyMail.com that he was prescribed the drug through the online prescribing platform Hims, and that his symptoms started just two days after his prescription.

“At first I experienced a burning pain in my genitals,” he said. “But since then I’ve developed genital atrophy, low libido, brain fog, slowed beard growth, muscle loss, twitching, jaw recession, and more.”

When he stopped taking the medicine, the burning stopped. But later he noticed sexual apathy, “almost as if that part of my brain had been ripped out.”

Meanwhile, a young man named Erik, 23, who lives in Sweden, started taking the drug in October 2022 after type 1 diabetes caused his hair to fall out.

He said: ‘[The doctor] I didn’t discuss any side effects at all and said it was a very safe drug… I wasn’t worried at all because I asked my doctor about the side effects and he said there were no sides to think about.’

The following May, he began experiencing brain fog and erectile dysfunction.

He said: ‘The problems got worse over the next few months and I asked my doctor and his response was to increase the dose to five milligrams a day, which I declined, but confided to him that it wasn’t the drug that was causing the problem. caused problems.’

He stopped taking it in October 2023 when he heard that a friend had a similar problem, but at that point he started showing neurological abnormalities.

Erik added: ‘My doctor has since diagnosed neurological problems, lesions in my brain, inflammation in the eyes, intestines and sinuses, which he believes is because my body reacted to finasteride and panicked after stopping the drug .

‘The drug has shown a good effect on hair loss, but the disadvantages are so underexposed that it is insane.’

Several men wrote anonymously to DailyMail.com. One person said the drug had a profound impact on his sex life both times he took it.

He said: ‘The first time I took fin [sic]It took about 18 months before I started having erection problems. I could always get an erection, but it was about 75-80 percent as strong. I panicked and quit and within three months everything was back to normal.

‘I started Fin again at the end of last year to see if things would be the same, and they were.

He added: ‘During the time I had sex while using the oral fin, the sex itself was noticeably worse. I always manage to finish, but maybe I need to take a break.”

Another 37-year-old man from Turkey said this after taking finasteride for four years he has had a lower libido and difficulty getting a full erection.

He said, “Wood is not as strong as it used to be.

Oddly enough, Jose Alferez, a personal trainer, said he did initially experienced an increase in his libido about a month after starting finasteride.

He said: ‘It wasn’t until four months in that I started experiencing the side effects of low libido.’

“My doctor almost told me you have to choose between your hair and your gonads.”

In 2017, consumer watchdog group Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on behalf of patients asking the FDA to add a warning to the drug about sexual side effects or remove it from the market.

So far no ruling has been made and the drug is still available.

The scientific evidence supporting the legitimacy of men’s claims is mixed.

Some experts believe that erection problems may be related to other medications they are taking, such as antidepressants, or may be related to an untreated mental health problem.

Yet a 2011 report in the magazine Sexual medicine found that ‘long-term adverse effects on sexual function, such as erectile dysfunction and reduced libido, are reported by a subgroup of men, raising the possibility of a causal relationship.’

Another report, this time in the news Fertility and sterility, said: ‘Finasteride, even at low doses, can cause reduced sperm count in some men. In this population, rates improved dramatically for the majority of men after discontinuation of finasteride.”

The safety of the drug is uncertain and requires more thorough research and documentation.