Are Finasteride and man boobs directly related? It is known that some drugs can cause man boobs and every time this matter is raised, Finasteride is mentioned. But what is exactly Finasteride and how can it cause gynecomastia?
Finasteride, present in the drugs Finastid, Propecia, Proscar, Prostide in a dose of 5mg is a medication originally formulated for the treatment of prostatic hypertrophy disorders. The benefit obtained by the taking in of 1 mg of Finasteride in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia was verified only later. Several clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment in helping the hair regrowth in case of moderate androgenetic alopecia and in young subjects (18-41 years) without highlighting long-term effects so to monitor its use. The possible known adverse effects of Finasteride are mainly related the sexual sphere and are: decreased libido, erectile dysfunction and ejaculation disorders. These adverse reactions are transient or resolvable with the discontinuation of the drug, and affect about 1, 5% of the patients treated.
It is a common theory that Finasteride can also cause gynecomastia. Actually this can be true, but there are so little possibility taking 1 mg that the most common scenario, take in of Finasteride to stop hair loss, can be described as safe. This theory exists because Finasteride reduce a male hormone, called DHT (which is responsible of hair loss) and it is know that hormone imbalance, such as reduction of male hormones with consequent proportional increase of female hormones, can eventually, in case of a massive and continued take in, cause man boobs.
The rare cases of man boobs found in patients taking in Finasteride are characterized by pain in the nipple area due to hypersensitivity. The man boobs are not developed too much and there’s a common presence of nodules in the chest. Of course man boobs are reduced if the take in of Finasteride is stopped.