A common hair loss drug messed with my erections and libido — things got even worse once I stopped
Speaking on the podcast 'Moral Medicine,' a man who goes by Chirag said he was living the good life before he started popping finasteride in June 2023 to deal with hair loss.
3 Chirag, 28, told the 'Moral Medicine' podcast that he experienced muscle loss, impotency, insomnia and skin rashes due to post-finasteride syndrome.
YouTube / Moral Medicine
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He knew friends who had been on it for years without issue, and most of the internet research that he did indicated that post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) — a condition in which someone experiences severe side effects after they stop using finasteride — 'wasn't real.'
He acquired the medication through Hims, claiming the telehealth company 'gives it out like candy — there's no process for it.' The Post reached out to Hims for comment.
'I didn't know what I was getting into,' Chirag said.
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He took one pill a day before he began to experience side effects — most of which were sexual — so he decided to stop taking the drug, and in a few weeks he felt normal again.
He did some more research, at which point he made the 'huge mistake' of deciding he had simply been taking too high of a dose.
'I feel like if there was more education related to this, I could have been saved from this syndrome,' he said.
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After tinkering with the dosage, he noticed he was no longer getting erect in the morning, so he discontinued use again in January 2024.
Three months later, he experienced a 'sharp, burning pain' in his pelvic area — a symptom that intermittently persisted for months before going away.
All of a sudden, he had a 'crazy high libido,' so he assumed it had just taken six months for the drug to fully flush out of his system.
Then, on July 9, 'something just turned off,' he said. 'I was literally impotent for three weeks.'
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3 Chirag experienced a 'sharp, burning pain' in his pelvic area — a symptom that intermittently persisted for months before going away.
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And then things really took a turn for the worse.
'A month later, I started getting crazy insomnia — I literally didn't sleep for 10 days straight,' he said. 'It was hell. I was s–t-scared.'
He also experienced severe weight and muscle loss, his 'genitals changed,' and the pelvic pain returned with a vengeance, rendering him unable to 'sit properly.'
He saw a urologist, who seemed to disregard PFS, but prescribed him Cialis and told him to see a pelvic floor specialist.
He changed his diet and began physical therapy, which appeared to help with the sexual dysfunction and muscle loss — and then he 'crashed' again.
'I feel like I've fully regressed,' he said. 'My bones creak like crazy — which is terrifying… I can't sleep again… I have these rashes that come on my skin now… and the sexual function has regressed.'
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3 The FDA recently issued a warning about finasteride products distributed by telehealth companies.
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'Every month, I feel like there's a new side effect,' he added. 'It's really changed my life completely.'
Chirag was interviewed by Mark Millich — the host of the podcast — who made headlines last month by telling the Wall Street Journal that he experienced debilitating side effects after buying finasteride through Hims.
Some of the side effects included anxiety, dizziness and slurred speech. His sex drive also plummeted, and his genitals shrank and changed shape.
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'Thirty years this drug has been on the market, and people have been dealing with this this entire time and nothing has been done,' Millich said on the podcast. 'There are no excuses anymore for the medical system. This is disgusting.'
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about topical finasteride products distributed by telehealth companies, citing several reports of adverse events such as erectile dysfunction, anxiety, suicidal ideation, brain fog, depression, fatigue, insomnia, decreased libido and testicular pain.
The warning specifically targets a spray-on formulation of finasteride, the active ingredient also found in the oral drug Propecia.
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The FDA said these topical versions have not received official approval, and no comprehensive safety data has been submitted for them.
Telehealth companies have also come under fire for allegedly failing to sufficiently screen their customers for the drugs in the interest of pushing product, as well as for not adequately informing them of the drug's potential side effects.
None of the 17 male telehealth customers the WSJ spoke to who reported severe side effects believe they were properly informed of the risks.
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A Hims spokesperson told the outlet its customers 'go through a comprehensive intake that is reviewed by a licensed provider who makes a clinical determination about the patient's eligibility for medication' and that the company communicates 'about all essential details and safety information.'
As for Chirag? 'I just want my life back,' he said.
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