Just wondering if there are some men who can comment on this drug. My Urologist wants me to take it to reduce the size of my prostate. I have very mild bph symptoms. I even sleep through the night without having to get up. His concern is my psa score has gone up 2 points in 3 months. I did a 3T MRI which shows no areas of concern. So he gave me three options.
1) Do another psa in three months.
2) Do a biopsy to see if there is any sign of cancer.
3) Take Finasteride for 6 months to shrink the prostate so if the psa score continues to increase, the prostate is smaller and therefore less samples from a biopsy are needed.
I was in favor of the Finasteride as a smaller prostate would be nice and the Urologist said there were no bad side effects. However, from what I have read, there are side effects that are not very appealing.
I am now thinking of just waiting to do another psa in 3 months but if the score continued to rise, I will need to make some decisions.
Anyone with thoughts regarding my three options are welcome. Plus If anyone is taking Finasteride (or a similar product), I would like to hear your experience.
I take finasteride to shrink my prostate. I don't have side effects from it maybe decessed libito. My prostate is ~ 120 cc but I pee pretty good. I'm not sure why your uro thinks taking it will help your PSA levels. Yes finasteride lowers your PSA by about half. I don't know if that changes your cancer risk though. I thought rising PSA MAY indicate cancer but I don't think a high PSA causes cancer. No way would I have a blind biopsie. It better be guided by ultrasound or MRI. If Iwasn't having trouble peeing I would not go on finasteride. You PSA level is effected by a lot of things. Google it and avoid those things prior to your next PSA test. Has your uro measured your prostate?
Hi,
My bph is a little worse than yours and I took Finasteride for 6 months. It didn't do anything for me, but no side effects either. I would either just wait or take Finasteride. I wouldn't do a biopsi unless your psa keeps going up. I hope this helps.
Mark
The F drug, like tamulosin, is likely to reduce your libido and ejaculation - but maybe you have reached an age where that is not so important?
I took it for about a year. My urologist hoped that it would shrink my bladder, enabling me to void naturally again. I was retaining urine in my bladder, and I have been self catheterizing for a year now to empty my bladder. The finasteride did not improve things, so my urologist had me discontinue it last month. I did not have any side effects from taking the drug.
I took it for 7 months. PSA did decline from about 3 to 2. No side effects. Did help just a little so discontinued. Planning to take it again if things get worse. Hank
I strongly advise against Proscar/Avodart in your case. Yes - these drugs help in the short term but over several years they stop helping and destroy your libido and energy. Also after 5 years you cannot stop them because if you do your prostate will rebound and grow like crazy.
Also it is important to NOT have blind biopsies looking for trouble. If your MRI and DRE are ok then you most likely are ok too. There are many reasons why a PSA is elevated. What is more relevant is your PSA density which should be under 0.15. Use your prostate size to compute this.
Finally, ask your urologist to do the SelectDX test on you. You can look it up. It analyses your pee after a DRE to look for DNA relevant to prostate cancer. It is very definitive and easy and cheap. It is used to screen men like you with a rising PSA to decide if a targeted biopsy is necessary. But without a target from your MRI you should be ok.
I took finesteride for a couple years. It did help me especially on hesitation. No real side effects, but it did effect my libido and climax was strange at times. No biopsi without MRI guided.
Jim
The DNA test is Select MDX.
Took it for about 3 months for prostatitis and BPH and experienced very bad side effects - Libido/ED, lack of energy, mental fog and very bad insomnia. Most went away after I stopped, but it took me months to get over the insomnia. Everyone reacts different though, many don't have problems, others do. I recommend doing some internet research.
Hank- how are you doing? Are you still doing CIC?
What is your PSA score? Mine is 12 and my Canadian urologist is not overly concerned. Have had a biopsy -- benign. He claims that his American counterparts are over-aggressive. I self-cath successfully now for two years.
I would not!! Read the studies about diminished libido! My urologist had me do the same and stopped it do to libido issues.
My psa is 10. Was 8 three months ago so that was a jump of 2 points in 3 months. but was 16 before that. The higest was 2 years ago 18.5 just before I had the HIFU procedure for cancer. According to the last 2 MRI results, there are no signs of cancer and it also has pretty much taken care of my bph issues. It also reduced my prostate from 98cc to 90cc. My libido is good and everything sexually works as it did before the procedure. I was just considering the Finasteride to reduce the size of my prostate but there are too many downside side effects
I think from what I am hearing from everyone, I will just do another psa test in 3 months and will look into the SelectDX test. I will NOT do a biopsy unless/until an MRI shows an area of concern.
I've been having high numbers on my blood tests for PSA numbers. I've been having blood tests because of other health issues. Not a lot; the last one was to test my psa. This sounds like something I may have to do. What is a DRE?
There is some controversy with respect to Finasteride, stemming from the PCPT, which was undertaken about 30 years ago. Google it and educate yourself. There's some indication that the AUA finds Finasteride safe, despite PCPT's position that it increases the probability of Gleason 7+ cancer.
Finasteride has a host of side effects. Loss of libido and ED are not rare; gynocomastia is also a concern.
In about 6 months it can reduce the prostate 25% or more. A new PSA baseline would need to be set as it will nearly halve PSA readings. Make sure you test % free PSA if total is between 4-10.
As others have said, I would not recommend a blind 12 core TRUS Bx. That is a shot in the dark, and especially since you did not have a PIRADS 3 or higher on your MRI reading. Also, a history of negative DREs to go with a negative MRI suggests there is no clinically significant cancer.
Know your PSA density. Take total PSA and divide it by prostate volume measured in cc's. Example: total PSA = 10, prostate measures 100 cc. 10 divided by 100 gives 0.1. You want PSA density to be 0.1 or lower. A man with a PSA of 15 and a very large prostate of 150 cc would have a PSA density of 0.1, but a man with a PSA of 15 and normal-sized prostate of 25 cc would have an alarmingly high PSA density of 0.6. The latter would be a potential warning sign of cancer; the former might just be the result of a huge prostate (normal prostate cells also express PSA into the bloodstream).
Also, look into other tests before thinking of a biopsy: MiPS (University of Michigan genetic markers in urine); 4Kscore (I think this was developed by Memorial Sloan Kettering); PHI (developed by Dr William Catalona at Northwestern Memorial).
Keep us posted. God bless you.
Michael
Hi, ES,
I spent one month on Finasteride but did not stop to find out if it was beneficial for my prostate. My breasts
eveloped alarmingly over this short period, and that was enough!!!.
Warm regards. alan86734.
DRE = Digital Rectal Examination (doctor puts gloved, lubed finger up patient's anus to feel changes in size and texture of prostate).
Last test was about 9 months ago, and I can't remember exactly, but it was very low after taking the finasteride, which I understand does reduce the PSA numbers. Prior, to taking finasteride, I believe the PSA was in 3 - 4 range. 12 seems high to me.
Hi ES28567,
I had a cystoscopy in October 2016 after which my urologist prescribed Finasteride, telling me that possible side-effects included breast growth, loss of libido and the inability to get an erection. I had to stop taking Finasteride because it gave me palpitations. I would wake up in the middle of the night with a heart rate of 120 or more so my GP referred me to a cardiologist. Both my GP and cardiologist agreed that Finasteride was the cause. It's not a drug that I would take again. It undoubtedly works for some people but not for me.