Gained Back His Hair, But Lost Job and Fiancée to Propecia

Washington, DCA man's sexual identity is such an integral part of who he is, that anything that proves a threat to that identity is a big deal. To that end, Propecia finasteride has sparked a wide-ranging debate and continues to foster research into the link between the popular treatment for male pattern baldness and Propecia sexual dysfunction.

To that end, many men have found that use of finasteride to treat their hair loss has led to Propecia impotence. In many cases, the sexual dysfunction has continued long after Propecia patients have stopped using the drug. One young man of 22 committed suicide, allegedly due to unforeseen impotence stemming from finasteride after the young man sought Propecia help for his receding hairline.

The man's parents have launched a Propecia lawsuit.

Another man, Kevin Malley, is still getting mileage from interviews he did with some of the big American networks in July. Late last month the Australian Financial Review (9/26/12) wrote of Malley's efforts to attract attention to a problem Malley says a lot of finasteride patients are having—sexual dysfunction, perhaps the worst of all Propecia side effects for men.

Among Malley's efforts have been a hunger strike, and a weeklong protest outside the headquarters of Merck & Co., the manufacturer of Propecia. Malley, who is now 30, told the Financial Review that he was prescribed finasteride after consulting a doctor about his hair loss. He stopped taking the drug within five months after he encountered serious, long-lasting Propecia side effects.

One of those adverse reactions was Propecia sexual dysfunction.

"Before, I would get up at eight in the morning, go to work, go to school, go to the gym, come home, have sex with my girlfriend," Malley said in a statement to ABC News in July. "I had a lot of ambition, I had career goals," he continued. "Now basically I just sit in my room all day and don't talk to anyone."

At the time of his hunger strike, Malley had been off Propecia for eight months. And yet, the Propecia long-term side effects continued. According to ABC News (7/13/12), some patients have encountered sexual dysfunction for more than a year after stopping Propecia. Many a Propecia lawsuit has followed.

The Financial Review reported that Malley also suffered from severe memory loss and disorientation that ultimately led to his resignation as a pubic health researcher for a university in Las Vegas.

The Atlantic noted in a column by editorial fellow Lindsay Abrams (7/13/12) that while various small studies have suggested a link between finasteride and sexual dysfunction, more studies with a much larger sample rate need to be done. The Atlantic also noted that stress could also accelerate hair loss.

Thus, is finasteride a cause of impotence and Propecia sexual dysfunction, or a trigger? The debate rages, and time will tell. But from one who has first-hand knowledge of the dark side of finasteride, Malley has a strong message for men he shared with ABC News in July: that men should stay away from Propecia finasteride at all costs.