A lot of men suffer from hair loss and are desperate to get their hair back for a variety of reasons — say, to get the girl or land on that dream job. The oral drug, finasteride is a popular choice among many balding men. However, in exchange for hair, there is a high price to pay at the same time — sexual health. Many men who took finasteride suffer from impotence infertility, loss of libido, changes in the genitals, and other sexual dysfunction. Worse, these side effects linger even after stopping the therapy.
Indeed, while others use the drug to get the girl, there are some who wants to be the girl. Such is the case for William McKee, a transgender woman who now fancies herself as Mandi.
Mandi had a wife and a kid. However, she doesn’t deny having bi-sexual tendencies before. It was when she experienced the side effects of finasteride when she finally realized what she truly wants to become.
Finasteride (generic name for Propecia) is an orally administered medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia. It is available through prescription by a physician.
Finasteride is a highly potent anti-androgen that inhibits the action of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase on testosterone to convert it into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the cause of male pattern baldness. But while it can be effective, finasteride is actually more infamous (than it is famous) for producing notorious side effects that usually linger even after stopping the medication. Because finasteride can slow down the production of testosterone, it may cause feminising effects among its other potentially permanent side effects.
Mandi was using the drug for nine months. During the therapy, her once masculine physique transitioned into a woman’s body. She reportedly developed soft breasts, claimed that her hips were loosening as her shoulders fell into a more feminine posture. Furthermore, she felt she has become more attracted to men than of women. And that is not all. She also experienced a decrease in mental alertness at work that she lost her work. Mandi blames the drug for this full-blown transformation.
Mandi joins hundreds of men who suffer the side effects of the finasteride — some of them are irreversible. Maker of the drug, Merck is facing lawsuits on the said grounds.
