Dutasteride side effects: can they last?
Dutasteride (Avodart) can lower sex drive and cause erection problems. The UK leaflet says these may continue after stopping. Patients call it PFS.
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Dutasteride (Avodart) can lower sex drive and cause erection and ejaculation problems. The UK leaflet lists each one as a side effect that may continue after you stop taking it. Patients call lasting effects like these post-finasteride syndrome, or PFS.
PFS is more than sexual problems, even though the drug’s leaflet focuses on them. Doctors who proposed criteria for it in 2022 also describe cognitive impairment, depression and suicidality, which “can occur independently of any sexual difficulties”.
It’s named after finasteride, an older drug that works in a similar way. The NHS website has no medicines page on dutasteride, so the leaflet in your pack is where these side effects are listed.
The story in 3 lines
- Dutasteride works in a similar way to finasteride, says the UK medicines regulator (MHRA, May 2026).
- The UK leaflet lists erection problems, a lower sex drive and ejaculation problems, and after each one adds: “this may continue after you stop taking Avodart”.
- The UK and US texts for prescribers say the role of dutasteride in the lasting problems “is unknown”. Patients call the condition PFS.
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Matt used dutasteride on his scalp for about eight months. Near the end, sexual side effects began, and he stopped using it.
They didn’t ease. He says they “have progressively gotten worse” in the five months since he stopped, and the worst is the genital numbness. “I wish I never took this medication.”
Can dutasteride side effects last after stopping?
For some men, yes. The UK leaflet names erection problems, a lower sex drive and difficulty with ejaculation as common side effects. Each one comes with the same line: “this may continue after you stop taking Avodart”. In Canada, the text for prescribers also has a paragraph in its warnings section on reports of sexual problems that continued after stopping medicines of this kind.
There’s no reliable figure for how often it happens. One US study of medical records found about 1 in 70 men who took finasteride or dutasteride had erection problems that lasted at least three months after stopping. Records like these can’t prove the drugs were the cause.
For some people it has lasted years after stopping. Nobody knows yet who will be affected, or whether it will ease.
Patients call the condition post-finasteride syndrome. The official term regulators use for reports names the whole drug group instead: Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome.
Mark Moyad, a US doctor, isn’t against the drug. He says he’s “very glad that we have this agent” for men with an enlarged prostate. He also says the loss of sex drive “could be long lasting”, while adding that this isn’t proven.
How common are dutasteride side effects?
Common, says the UK leaflet. In the trials behind the US label, about 5 in 100 men on dutasteride had erection problems in the first six months, against about 2 in 100 on a dummy pill. These were older men with an enlarged prostate, the UK licensed use.
Younger men take it too: a 2022 review says doctors are increasingly prescribing it off-label for hair loss, and Japan has approved it for that.
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In one small trial of men taking it for hair loss, run by its maker, sexual side effects were more common than on a dummy pill. In the dutasteride group, they had all cleared by the end of the study, some while the men were still taking it.
Could it just be dutasteride still in my body?
For the first few months, it could be. Dutasteride leaves the body very slowly. Its US label says it can still be found in the blood up to 4 to 6 months after the last capsule.
Years later is a different matter. Doctors and researchers who proposed criteria for PFS in 2022 say dutasteride, like finasteride, “can trigger an enduring sexual dysfunction”.
One sign they list is a lasting drop in genital feeling. Matt describes that numbness five months after he stopped.
Dutasteride after the last capsule
What can I do?
These medicines help many people. If you have side effects, that’s a decision for you and your prescriber.
The MHRA says to contact your doctor if you have sexual problems on dutasteride. If you develop depression or suicidal thoughts, contact them as soon as possible. The Samaritans are on 116 123, free, at any hour.
If the problems haven’t lifted since you stopped, tell your GP and give your dates: “Avodart, one capsule a day, from January 2023. Last capsule March 2024.”
Questions to take to your GP
You could open with: “My symptoms started on dutasteride and haven't gone since I stopped.”
- Could anything else explain these symptoms, and which tests would check?
- Can you note in my records that they began on dutasteride?
- Will you report it to the Yellow Card scheme, or should I?
- Who can I see about changes in mood, thinking or feeling, not only sex?
Many people say it took time to be taken seriously. Bring the leaflet line. You can report it without a doctor agreeing, and our page on post-finasteride syndrome explains the symptoms.
Report it: it helps everyone
A doctor’s note helps you. A report to the medicines regulator helps everyone else: it is how patterns get noticed.
- No proof needed. A suspicion is enough, even years after stopping.
- Where: the Yellow Card scheme in the UK, MedWatch in the US.
- Use the right words. If symptoms continued after stopping, write Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome (MedDRA 10082430).
Our reporting guide walks you through it
What else do people ask?
Can dutasteride affect your mood? The UK leaflet lists depression as a side effect, but can’t say how often it happens. It also warns that suicidal thoughts have been reported with another medicine of the same kind, which the MHRA names as finasteride. The MHRA calls this a precaution, as the data for dutasteride was very limited.
Is dutasteride on the scalp safer? Not necessarily. The UK prescribing information says dutasteride “is absorbed through the skin”, which is why women and children mustn’t touch a leaking capsule. Matt put his on his scalp, and his symptoms began while he was still using it.
How is dutasteride different from finasteride? Both lower DHT, a hormone made from testosterone, by blocking an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. A 2022 review says dutasteride blocks both main forms of it and finasteride mainly one, so dutasteride lowers DHT further. Our summary of a review of long-term use covers other possible effects of both drugs.
Matt says he’s “scared about the future”. If your symptoms have outlasted your last capsule, report it under the term that covers dutasteride too.
Sources
Every source below was checked on or after 10 October 2026.
- Avodart 0.5 mg soft capsules, patient information leaflet, Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC 6758), last revised March 2026. Section 1: a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, for an enlarged prostate. Section 2: mood changes and depression reported with “another medicine from the same therapeutic class (5-alpha reductase inhibitor) by mouth”. Section 4: common side effects (“up to 1 in 10 men”), each sexual one followed by “this may continue after you stop taking Avodart”.
- Avodart 0.5 mg soft capsules, UK summary of product characteristics, revised 11 August 2026. Section 4.1: licensed for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Section 4.4: “Dutasteride is absorbed through the skin”, and mood alterations. Section 4.8: “These adverse events may persist after treatment discontinuation. The role of dutasteride in this persistence is unknown.”
- Avodart (dutasteride), US prescribing information and patient information, revised October 2023. DailyMed, US National Library of Medicine. Section 6.1, Table 1: impotence in months 0 to 6 in 4.7% of 2,167 men on dutasteride and 1.7% of 2,158 on placebo. Its footnote covers persistence. Section 5.5: no blood donation until at least 6 months after the last dose. Section 12.1: inhibits type 1 and type 2 5-alpha reductase. Section 12.3: half-life about 5 weeks; detectable in serum for up to 4 to 6 months after stopping. Patient information: “Some of these events may continue after you stop taking AVODART.”
- MHRA, Finasteride and dutasteride: updated safety warnings for psychiatric side effects and sexual dysfunction, Drug Safety Update volume 19, issue 10, 11 May 2026. Dutasteride “works in a similar way to finasteride”. For dutasteride, a mood warning “will be added” to the product information “as a precaution”, and “The data for dutasteride was very limited”. Advice to patients on sexual side effects, depression and suicidal thoughts.
- NHS, Medicines A to Z, checked 10 October 2026: pages for finasteride and tamsulosin, none for dutasteride. Dutasteride is named on the NHS prostate enlargement treatment page.
- Kiguradze T, Temps WH, Yarnold PR and colleagues. Persistent erectile dysfunction in men exposed to the 5α-reductase inhibitors, finasteride, or dutasteride. PeerJ 2017;5:e3020. Northwestern Medicine records: 167 of 11,909 men (1.4%) had erectile dysfunction lasting at least 90 days after stopping, median 1,348 days. Single-group design; association, not proof of cause.
- Gupta AK, Talukder M, Williams G. Comparison of oral minoxidil, finasteride, and dutasteride for treating androgenetic alopecia. J Dermatolog Treat 2022;33(7):2946-62. Off-label use for hair loss is increasing. Approved for male hair loss in Japan and South Korea. Dutasteride inhibits type I and II, finasteride type II; “Thus, dutasteride suppresses DHT levels more than finasteride in the serum and scalp.”
- Tsai TF, Choi GS, Kim BJ and colleagues. Prospective randomized study of sexual function in men taking dutasteride for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. J Dermatol 2018;45(7):799-804. Sponsored by GSK. 117 men aged 23 to 50. Sexual adverse events in 16% on dutasteride and 8% on placebo over 24 weeks. Those on dutasteride all resolved, during treatment or 2 to 6 weeks after the last dose; one that began after placebo was still resolving when that man left the study. Follow-up lasted up to 24 weeks after the last dose.
- Healy D, Bahrick A, Bak M and colleagues. Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin. Int J Risk Saf Med 2022;33(1):65-76. Section 5, post-finasteride syndrome: cognitive impairment, depression and suicidality that “can occur independently of any sexual difficulties”; criteria include prior treatment with a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor and an enduring reduction in genital and orgasmic sensation, present for at least 3 months after stopping.
- Moral Medicine, Topical Dutasteride Left Me With Persistent Sexual Side Effects, Matt, 26 August 2026, quoted from YouTube’s automatic captions. “Have progressively gotten worse” at 0:28 (“That was 5 months ago”); “The worst is the genital numbness” at 0:39; “I wish I never took this medication” at 1:06; “I’m scared about the future” at 1:09.
- Prostate Cancer Research Institute, How Avodart and Proscar Affect Libido, Mark Moyad and Mark Scholz, 3 May 2021, quoted from YouTube’s automatic captions. Moyad from 1:24; “very glad that we have this agent” at 2:39; “perhaps it’s not proven but perhaps it could be long lasting” at 2:53.
- MedDRA term and code: Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome, 10082430.
- Avodart (dutasteride), Canadian product monograph, Health Canada Drug Product Database, date of authorization 12 August 2026, checked 20 October 2026. Section 7, Reproductive Health, “Sexual Function:”: post-marketing reports of sexual dysfunction “where the symptoms have continued despite discontinuation of 5-ARIs”. Section 8.2: the same footnote as the UK text. Patient part: a “Sexual Function:” paragraph under “Other warnings you should know about”.
- Images: Editor182, Avodart, public domain; melvil, Dutasteride (ZAGALLO Capsules), 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0. Both via Wikimedia Commons, served from this site.
This information does not replace medical advice. Talk to your doctor before you make any decision about your treatment.
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Dutasteride: what the official texts say, country by country
For the 5α-reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart), the product information we read in the United Kingdom, in the United States, in Canada, in Australia, in France, in Italy, in Spain (where it is called Avidart) and in Brazil, and that of another product in India, says that the sexual side effects linked to dutasteride may persist after treatment is stopped, and that it is not known what part dutasteride plays in this. In each of those texts the sentence is a footnote to the sexual side effects in its tables of side effects. In Canada, the text also has a paragraph in its warnings section saying there have been reports of sexual dysfunction that continued after medicines of this kind were stopped. Patients call lasting effects after dutasteride and finasteride post-finasteride syndrome (PFS). The wording a European Commission decision set for the EU in 2025 is about mood, and has no sentence about sexual side effects continuing after the medicine is stopped.
This is a record of what each text says and of the date it prints. A text is quoted in its own words, or summarised where the row says so. It is not a comparison of countries. All medicines and countries
Dutasteride: the official texts, country by country (29 texts read)
| Country or region | What the text says | Document | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8 Undesirable effects · AVODART AS MONOTHERAPY Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8 Undesirable effects · AVODART IN COMBINATION WITH THE ALPHA-BLOCKER TAMSULOSIN The same text also says5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties · Effects on sexual function: The words about continuing after stopping stand among the adverse reactions. The warnings section of this text has no entry on sexual function. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC): Avodart 0.5 mg soft capsulesAvodart 0.5 mg soft capsules, GlaxoSmithKline UK Limited · Read in a compendium of product information: emcAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence; 2 related documents, with no such sentence | Text revisedChecked |
| European Union | This text has no sentence about sexual side effects continuing after the medicine is stopped. This is wording for national product texts. There is no single EU product text for this medicine. | Document from the regulator Finasteride- and dutasteride-containing medicinal products, Article 31 referral: Annex III "Amendments to relevant sections of the Product Information"Read on the regulator's site: European Medicines AgencyAlso on record: 3 more related documents, with no such sentence | The text prints no dateChecked |
| United States | A general sentence about side effects that may continue. It does not name sexual function.5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS · 5.6 Effect on Semen Characteristics Sexual side effects that continue after stopping6 ADVERSE REACTIONS · 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience · Monotherapy · Table 1 Sexual side effects that continue after stopping6 ADVERSE REACTIONS · 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience · Combination with Alpha-blocker Therapy (CombAT) · Table 2 The words about continuing after stopping stand among the adverse reactions. The warnings section of this text has no entry on sexual function: the paragraph shown from it is about semen. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. On 20 October 2026 we searched the labels in openFDA, the FDA's open database. The footnote that these sexual side effects may persist after treatment is stopped, which this row shows, stood on 52 of the 72 labels in that database that name dutasteride, each time among the adverse reactions and in no warnings section. The line for patients that some of these events may continue after stopping stood on 63 of the 72. On 9 of the 11 labels that have that line and not the footnote, the tables are printed as pictures, so the footnote could not be searched in their text. | Text for professionals AVODART (dutasteride) soft gelatin capsules: Full Prescribing InformationAvodart soft gelatin capsules 0.5 mg, Waylis Therapeutics LLC · Read in the government's medicines database: DailyMedAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence | Text revisedChecked |
| Canada | Sexual side effects that continue after stopping7. Warnings and Precautions · Reproductive Health · Sexual Function: Sexual side effects that continue after stopping8. Adverse Reactions · 8.2. Clinical Trial Adverse Reactions · Dutasteride Monotherapy · Table 2 The same text also says8. Adverse Reactions · 8.2. Clinical Trial Adverse Reactions · Dutasteride Monotherapy · Table 2 Sexual side effects that continue after stopping8. Adverse Reactions · 8.2. Clinical Trial Adverse Reactions · Combination with Alpha-Blocker Therapy (CombAT) study · Table 3 Spelling and punctuation are the document's own. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals Product Monograph Including Patient Medication Information: AVODART dutasteride capsulesAVODART capsules 0.5 mg, GlaxoSmithKline Inc. · Read in the regulator's own database: Drug Product DatabaseAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence; related document, with no such sentence | Text approvedChecked |
| Australia | Sexual side effects that continue after stoppingSection 4.8Section 4.8 of Australia's product information for Avodart says, below its tables of side effects, that the sexual side effects linked to dutasteride may go on once treatment ends, and that it is not known what part dutasteride plays in this.Summarised, not quoted, because of the TGA's access terms. The regulator's site asks readers to accept its terms before it shows this text. | Text for professionals AUSTRALIAN PI – AVODART (DUTASTERIDE) SOFT CAPSULESAVODART, GlaxoSmithKline Australia Pty Ltd · Read in the regulator's own database: TGA eBSAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with no such sentence | Text revisedChecked |
| New Zealand | We could not open this text on 20 October 2026: the site did not answer. This says nothing about what the text contains. | Text for professionalsWe tried: www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datasheet/datasheet.htmAlso on record: patients' leaflet, could not be opened | Tried |
| Germany | We could not open this text on 20 October 2026: the holder publishes no text; the site asks visitors to accept its terms first, which we did not do. This says nothing about what the text contains. | Text for professionalsAvodart 0,5 mg Weichkapseln, GlaxoSmithKline GmbH & Co. KGWe tried: de.gsk.com/de-de/produkte/Also on record: 2 patients' leaflets, could not be opened; 2 related documents, with no such sentence | Tried |
| France | Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8. Effets indésirables · AVODART en monothérapie Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8. Effets indésirables The same text also says5.1 Propriétés pharmacodynamiques · Effets sur la fonction sexuelle The text itself prints no date of revision. The words about continuing after stopping stand among the adverse reactions. The warnings section of this text has no entry on sexual function. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals Résumé des Caractéristiques du ProduitAVODART 0,5 mg, capsule molle, Laboratoire GLAXOSMITHKLINE · Read in the government's medicines database: Base de données publique des médicamentsAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence; related document, with such a sentence; 2 related documents, with no such sentence | Updated by the regulatorChecked |
| Italy | Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8 Effetti indesiderati · AVODART IN MONOTERAPIA Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8 Effetti indesiderati · AVODART IN COMBINAZIONE CON L’ALFA BLOCCANTE TAMSULOSINA The same text also says5.1 Proprietà farmacodinamiche · Effetti sulla funzione sessuale The text itself prints no date of revision. The words about continuing after stopping stand among the adverse reactions. The warnings section of this text has no entry on sexual function. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals Riassunto delle caratteristiche del prodottoAvodart 0,5 mg capsule molli, GlaxoSmithKline S.p.A. · Read in the regulator's own database: Banca Dati FarmaciAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence | Made available by the regulatorChecked |
| Spain | Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8. Reacciones adversas · AVIDART EN MONOTERAPIA Sexual side effects that continue after stopping4.8. Reacciones adversas · AVIDART EN COMBINACIÓN CON EL ALFA-BLOQUEANTE TAMSULOSINA The same text also says5.1. Propiedades farmacodinámicas · Efectos sobre la función sexual Spelling and punctuation are the document's own. The words about continuing after stopping stand among the adverse reactions. The warnings section of this text has no entry on sexual function. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals Ficha técnica Avidart 0,5 mg cápsulas blandasAvidart 0,5 mg cápsulas blandas, Glaxosmithkline S.A. · Read in the regulator's own database: CIMAAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence | Text revisedChecked |
| Brazil | Sexual side effects that continue after stopping9. REAÇÕES ADVERSAS · Avodart® como monoterapia para HPB Sexual side effects that continue after stopping9. REAÇÕES ADVERSAS · Tratamento Combinado com Avodart® e tansulosina para HPB This is the holder's own copy. The regulator's database refused our requests (it blocks by country; we asked from Denmark). The words about continuing after stopping stand among the adverse reactions. The warnings section of this text has no entry on sexual function. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals Avodart®: Modelo de texto de bula – Profissional de SaúdeAvodart 0,5 mg cápsulas gelatinosas moles, GlaxoSmithKline Brasil Ltda. · Read on the holder's own site: GSK BrasilAlso on record: patients' leaflet, with such a sentence | Text approvedChecked |
| India | Sexual side effects that continue after stoppingUndesirable Effects · Clinical Trials Experience · Monotherapy This is the holder's own copy. This regulator publishes no database of such texts. The originator product's text could not be opened. This is the text of another product, the one named in this row. This text names sexual side effects in several places that this row does not show. Together those passages are too long to reproduce here. The document link in this row opens the text. That they are not shown says nothing about how common these side effects are. | Text for professionals DUPROST capsulesDUPROST dutasteride 0.5 mg soft gelatin capsule, Cipla Ltd. · Read on the holder's own site: Cipla (ciplamed.com) | Text revisedChecked |
Brand names
These are the brand names of dutasteride we saw in the official lists, compendia and regulators' pages we opened on or after 20 October 2026. A country may have more.
- Avodart
- United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, Italy
- Duagen
- Italy
- Prodirexan
- Italy
- Decuster
- Italy
- Vivister
- Italy
- Produxen
- Italy
- Produtal
- Italy
- Dutas
- Italy
- Durital
- Italy
What is not known
- The texts for professionals we read say these sexual side effects may continue after treatment is stopped, and that the part dutasteride plays in their continuing is not known. (source)
Code and reporting
In a report to a medicines regulator, the term is Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome (MedDRA code 10082430). Where to report, country by country
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