Topical Finasteride and Peyronies Disease

[HopefulSkeptic]

I've seen some older posts where people suspected that taking oral Finasteride was their main suspect in causing ED and then Peyronies Disease...I've never taken the Oral route - I've only used a finasteride spray (w minoxidil) and supposedly it has much lower side effects re: ED etc.
I recently noticed an indentation and had a Dr visit - he had me test my total and free testosterone...the numbers were great for someone my age (44)

TESTOSTERONE, TOTAL LC,MS,MS
Normal range: 250 - 1,100 ng/dL

My number for the Total T was 635

Free Testosterone
Normal range: 35.0 - 155.0 pg/mL

My number for the Free T was 108.6


I feel like if taking topical Finasteride for the past 2 years was going to have a direct detriment as described by those taking the oral method, I'd have much lower numbers

Does anyone else have anything to report re: topical finasteride spray?
 

[Mikel7]

I have only heard and read about the horrors of this awful drug causing sometimes permanent ED and hormone damage. There are some men who do just fine, but why take the risk. Now if it is used topically that is another matter. I am not sure of the blood barrier into your system.  Your T numbers are great for being 44 just as long as you are not symptomatic. Some Dr's only look at numbers and do not place any faith in a mans symptoms. Did your physician let you take the Adam questionaire? . I was placed on full hormone replacement in 2004 because my total T number was 110. I felt like a 99 year old.

[Pfract]

HopefulSkeptic:

I second Mikel7's post. And i leave you with some links that you may find interesting to read.

Post-finasteride syndrome: An emerging clinical problem
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7231981/

https://www.pfsfoundation.org/
Post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) describes persistent sexual, neurological, physical, and mental adverse reactions in patients who have taken finasteride, a 5-alpha reductase type II enzyme inhibitor used to treat hair loss (under the brand name Propecia or generics) and/or enlarged prostate (Proscar or generics). Unfortunately, PFS is a condition with no known cure and few, if any, effective treatments. As an increasing number of men report their persistent side effects to health and regulatory agencies worldwide, medical and scientific communities are only beginning to realize the scope of the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/@sdsexualmed/search?query=post+finasteride


I would stay away from anything pertaining this drug. Topical or oral, in my honest opinion it is just not worth the risk.

[Mikel7]

The very sad truth to it all is that this drug is prescribed to thousands of men without them ever realizing just what they could be setting themselves up for. It is a real $$ for the drug companies.  

[Lostand Looking24]

Finasteride actually indirectly increases your testosterone as it inhibits the 5 alpha reductase enzyme which converts testosterone in to dihydrotestosterone. So you have more testosterone in your blood stream since the amount that would've been converted into DHT by your body is no longer being converted into it because of the finasteride.

Dihydrotestosterone is important for libido and sexual function (in adults aswell, not just when going through puberty) and it contributes to the overall balance of androgens which influence sexual health.

DHT is good and important and it is there for a reason. Insecurities over hair loss are not worth disrupting billions of years of evolution.

Do not put that crap in your body. Male pattern baldness is normal. Peyronies disease is not.

[Pfract]

Fully agree with you, LostandLooking24.

[HopefulSkeptic]

I appreciate all the info - truly, but I can post this article as a retort:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35238144/

Also - it looks like Dr. Trost doesn't consider it directly related to Peyronie disease...ED and depression - no joke with those, but topical at least appears to have legitimate studies as recent as 2022 saying the sexual side effects are pretty nominal and not nearly as bad as the oral route.

It all does make me more paranoid though...

[Mikel7]

Everyone is free to choose there type of treatments. I'll provide this link to the Propecia forum -->Propecia Forum . I personally would never want to take a drug that blocks or lowers my DHT levels because of the possibility of permanently messing up my endocrine system.