EXCLUSIVE My genitals have been changed forever by common drug taken by millions - my warning to others
This week, the FDA issued a stark warning over a hugely popular hair-loss drug taken by millions of men — saying it may pose a 'potentially serious risk' to their genitals.
Now, men who took the drug, finasteride, are coming forward with disturbing claims — alleging it left them with shrunken or bent penises, burning testicles, and deep emotional scars.
In one devastating case, a grieving mother said the drug drove her son to take his own life.
Sawyer Hart, 28, revealed how the nightmare began last year when he turned to finasteride after noticing his hairline receding.
He was prescribed a medicated hair gel containing finasteride through Keeps, a telehealth startup offering hair-loss treatments.
But Sawyer claims the vetting process was so lax that he could have uploaded 'a picture of my dog' and still been approved.
Following the instructions, he began rubbing the gel into his scalp daily. But within a week, things took a dark turn.
He told this website: 'I got erectile problems that were like, really noticeable, and it's like, you know, I was a single guy.
'I could get an erection, but it was maintaining it that was very difficult. When you put the condom on or something, it just wasn't strong enough to maintain it.
'I knew it was a problem, but when I went to see an old girlfriend I knew it was a pretty big problem, so I stopped taking it.'
Finasteride stops the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone responsible for hair loss.
But about two to three percent of patients experience sexual function problems, according to doctors, including erectile dysfunction, decreased libido and reduced ejaculate.
Hart also started to experience pain in his testicles, describing it as if his genitals were 'burning like they were on fire.'
When the symptoms became too much, he stopped taking the drug — but the ordeal was far from over.
Just a week after quitting the gel, Hart said he was driving back from Napa Valley when he was hit by a wave of overwhelming anxiety — seemingly out of nowhere.
Then came the panic attacks. Daily, for weeks. He became so anxious he struggled to be around other people, often unable to make eye contact.
'It was odd,' he said. 'Maybe this makes me sound bad, but before this I didn't believe in anxiety, that it was a real thing. It doesn't sound like a real thing, you know?'
His panic attacks, once relentless, have now slowed to less than one a week. It took months for his erections to return to normal after stopping finasteride.
'I would say it's livable,' he said, speaking about his mental health issues. 'It's not like back to normal, but, you know, it is livable — and I am grateful for that.'
Hart said he was not warned by Keeps about the side effects before he received his prescription.
Keeps did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment, but they previously told the Wall Street Journal that they have treated more than one million patients and takes great care to disclose finasteride's side effects on its website.
'Patient safety and transparency are our top priorities,' a spokeswoman said, before adding that studies show it is rare for finasteride to cause side effects.
Online, the company has a page listing 11 side effects of finasteride, including problems with sexual function, and another detailing post-finasteride syndrome — or when patients say side effects from finasteride persist.
In 2011, the FDA had depression added to the list of side effects caused by finasteride after many users reported the complication.
The warning label lists at least seven potential side effects, also including impotence, breast enlargement, breast tenderness and a rash. There have also been reports of male breast cancer.
Studies say that this may be a result of lower levels of DHT in the body, with experiments on rats finding that those with higher levels of the hormone were less likely to be depressed.
Initially sold as a pill, around the 2020s it also became popular to use the drug topically, or as a gel, although this was not approved by the FDA.
Telehealth companies like Hims and Keeps sell the drug online for about $25 to $90 for a 30-day supply, using similar pricing for both versions.
Mark Milich, a 30-year-old veteran, has said this version caused his genitals to shrink and change shape.
He started taking the drug at the age of 26 after becoming worried about his thinning hairline.
He was prescribed an oral version of the drug by Hims after filling in a 14-question questionnaire online. He said he never spoke to a doctor.
After his first doses, however, he said he began to feel dizzy, anxious and slurred his words. Then he said his libido sank and his genitals started to change.
Speaking on his YouTube channel Moral Medicine, he said the drug caused him to develop Peyronie's disease when scar tissue forms in the penis causing it to bend or have curvature when erect.
'I got Peyronie's disease, that happened within a month or two after coming off finasteride,' he said.
His doctors could not say whether the condition was caused by the medication, with Peyronie's often linked to injuries sustained during sex that cause scar tissue to form in the penis.
A 2023 study showed that there have been more than 830 reports of 'penile curvature' or Peyronie's disease to the FDA's drug monitoring system among finasteride patients.
But scientists said the results were 'highly speculative' and 'very questionable', saying more research was needed to determine whether the drug could cause the condition.
It isn't clear how finasteride may cause the issue, but the Cleveland Clinic says the enzyme it blocks is mostly active in the genitals — suggesting it could possibly lead to damage in the area.
Milich said he initially did not believe that finasteride could have caused the complication, since his first symptoms were cognitive — and included insomnia and depression. A new doctor later warned him of the potential link.
He said that Hims never warned him about 'the vast majority' of potential side effects that could be caused by the medication, or that they could become permanent.
A spokeswoman for Hims said: 'The clinical framework our providers follow reflects decades of experience from our medical team and advisory board and is backed by rigorous quality standards.'
'Every customer is clearly presented with essential information, including potential side effects, in multiple places before they begin treatment and throughout their care journey to help them make informed decisions and use their medication safely.'
Hims has a webpage on finasteride side effects, listing decreased libido, erectile dysfunction and ejaculate disorder — though it says these occur in less than one percent of patients.
It also has a page on post-finasteride syndrome, saying a 'very small' percentage of men taking finasteride develop this complication.
In its alert, the FDA warned that the compounded topical finasteride sold by these companies had not been approved by the agency and that they had received 32 reports of adverse events linked to these drugs.
The side effects include: Erectile dysfunction, anxiety, suicidal ideation, brain fog, depression, fatigue, insomnia, decreased libido and testicular pain.
The UK's health authorities also urged men on finasteride to be 'vigilant' for possible psychiatric and sexual side effects in April last year.
Former finasteride patients also say the oral version — which doctors say is more popular — carries risks and can have severe side effects.
Scientists on the trial said, however, that clinical investigations would be needed to confirm whether finasteride can cause Peyronie's disease. The data is from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System, where events do not have to be confirmed to be included in the data.
In an extreme case, Erica Goyzueta said her son Henry had committed suicide after being prescribed the drug.
The 50-year-old father-of-one had suffered from a urinary tract infection after using a hotel pool and jacuzzi on a vacation.
He was prescribed antibiotics, but when problems persisted nurses at the hospital also prescribed him finasteride.
It is not clear why this decision was taken, given that finasteride is not used to treat urinary tract infections.
Within days of starting on the drug, he suffered from libido issues, saying his penis felt 'dead', like it was 'shrinking' and that there was 'nothing there anymore'.
Then, he developed mental health issues and severe anxiety.
His mother said he became agitated, and found it difficult to be around other people and started to feel depressed.
She said: 'Things got worse. He said, 'I feel, I feel worthless, I feel hopeless, I don't feel the love to my son anymore, mama, I can't feel anything'.'
The symptoms persisted after he stopped taking the drug, and then shortly after Thanksgiving, he died by suicide.
Several studies have investigated a potential link between finasteride and suicide, although the results have not been conclusive.
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