Brooklyn, NYIn one of the more radical Propecia finasteride stories, a former entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley has alleged that his use of a widely-adopted drug to minimize male pattern baldness was responsible for enlarged breasts and other feminine-like changes to his body.
According to a story in The New York Post (7/22/12) since starting on finasteride in 2008, William McKee has since divorced from his wife and is now attracted to men. While more well known Propecia side effects include impotence and other problems with normal sexual function in affected men, McKee's story appears to push the limits of the Propecia basket of adverse reactions, almost to the point of bizarre.
However, The Post referenced comments from a Brooklyn attorney who noted that animal studies on Propecia demonstrated an increased propensity for homosexuality. What's more, it has been reported that Propecia works by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone, which results in an increased level of estrogen, the female hormone.
In McKee, the estrogen appears to have run amok.
In an interview with The Post, McKee said that male pattern baldness runs in his family. The 38-year-old software engineer noted that he had begun to lose his hair in his 20's—and after hearing about Propecia help for some time, finally decided to order generic finasteride from an online pharmacy based in India. He took a single pill per day for a period of nine months, and while his hair growth was minimal, the changes to his body were dramatic.
McKee alleges to have begun to lose his normally tight, masculine muscle tone. His chest muscles softened and began descending into feminine-like breasts. "My shoulders were literally falling into a more feminine position, and my hips were loosening and becoming wider, as on a woman's body," he said of his Propecia side effects.
Once known as William, McKee has now taken the given name 'Mandi' and conducts his life now as a woman. Mandi, according to The Post report, is barred from joining a Propecia lawsuit, as the drug involved in the alleged feminization of his body was a generic form.
In spite of lawsuits in 27 states alleging the use of Propecia finasteride caused sexual dysfunction and other problems, Merck takes the position that "no causal relationship has been established between Propecia and persistent sexual side effects."
Propecia long-term side effects have been found to include cognitive impairment, as well as impotence, reduced libido, and even genital shrinkage.
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