Hair loss drug taken by XMILLION Americans destroyed men’s sex lives

The healthy 22-year-old who noticed his testicles were mysteriously shrinking. The 23-year-old suffered from sudden erectile dysfunction which later ruined his relationship. And another man in his twenties who was suffering from excruciating pain in his genitals.

These men share one thing in common: Like 2 million Americans, they took the hair loss drug finasteride in an effort to restore their bald locks.

In letters sent to DailyMail.com, men around the world described the devastating effects the drug, while effective in reversing hair loss, had on their libido and ability to function in bed.

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

These patients described a complete loss of their libido – a symptom that did not go away even years after they stopped taking the drug.

Disturbing side effects of finasteride include infertility, erectile dysfunction, reduced libido, decreased ejaculate volume, and loss of sensation below the belt.

Finasteride is a prescription medication that stops hair loss by blocking the production of a chemical called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes 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 typical dose taken is one milligram. But some customers say that even at this low dose, they experienced sexual side effects that affected their personal lives and relationships.

Sumair Ahluwalia, 22, of Illinois, says he was injured by the topical version of the drug, possibly permanently.

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

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

When he stopped the medication, the burning stopped. But he later noticed sexual apathy, “almost like 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 his type 1 diabetes caused him to lose his hair.

He said: “(The doctor) didn’t discuss anything about the side effects and said it was a very safe medicine…I wasn’t worried at all since I asked my doctor about the sides and he said there was no side to think about.”

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

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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 refused, but I told him I trusted that it wasn’t the medication that was causing the problems.”

He stopped taking it in October 2023 when he learned a friend had a similar problem, but by then he had started showing neurological abnormalities.

Erik added: “My doctor has since discovered neurological problems, damage to my brain, inflammation in my eyes, intestines and sinuses, which he believes is because my body reacted to finasteride and is in a state of panic after stopping the medication.

“The drug has shown a positive effect on hair loss, but its harms are so underestimated that it makes no sense.”

Several men wrote anonymously to DailyMail.com. One person said the drug had a profound effect on her sex life every time she took it.

He said: “The first time I took Fin (sic) it took me about 18 months before I had erection problems. I could still get an erection, but it was about 75-80% stronger…I panicked and quit smoking and within three months things were back to normal.

“I picked up Fin at the end of last year to see if things would be the same, and they were.

He added: “While I had sex while on an oral fin, the sex itself was noticeably worse. I could still finish, but maybe I should take a little break.

Another 37-year-old Turkish man said that after taking finasteride for four years, he had a lower libido and difficulty achieving a full erection.

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

Interestingly, Jose Alferez, a personal trainer, said he initially felt an increase in his libido about a month after starting finasteride.

He said: “It wasn’t until four months later that I started experiencing the side effects of a low libido.”

“My doctor pretty much 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 decision has been made and the drug remains available.

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

Some experts believe that erectile problems could be linked to other medications they are taking, such as antidepressants, or could be linked to an untreated mental health problem.

Yet a 2011 report in the journal Sexual Medicine found that “prolonged adverse effects on sexual function, such as erectile dysfunction and decreased libido, are reported by a subset of men, which raises the possibility of a causal relationship.

Another report, this time in the journal Fertility and Sterility, said: “Finasteride, even at low doses, may cause a reduction in sperm count in some men. In this population, counts improved dramatically for the majority of men after stopping finasteride.

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