Sumair's story: 4 doses of finasteride

Four applications of topical finasteride

Sumair was 21, a college student in Chicago studying history, when he noticed very mild thinning at the crown. There was hair loss in his family, so in October 2022 he decided to try finasteride.

It was prescribed through a telehealth service. He says he was told the side effects were rare and would clear once he stopped.

After four applications of the topical form he felt an intense burning in his genitals. The burning eased after he stopped, but he says his health then got worse over the following weeks and months.

What Sumair describes

• Genital numbness and changes, erectile dysfunction, and complete loss of libido.
• Anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure), insomnia and anxiety.
• Memory and concentration problems, and heart palpitations.
• Moving back home and switching to online schooling as things got worse.
• Losing his pleasure in music, in relationships and in being around people.

He says a doctor first told him his symptoms were probably psychosomatic, and that a urologist later recognised Post-Finasteride Syndrome but said there was little to be done.

He says he was aware that side effects were possible, but that he was told they would clear up once he stopped. Lasting harm, he says, was never meaningfully put to him before he began.

Thank you to Sumair for telling this story. This interview was recorded by Moral Medicine, who have filmed more than ninety of these conversations.

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