Eight horrifying side-effects of tablets to reverse male baldness ‘revealed' by nation's drug watchdog
BLOKES taking a baldness medication have complained it shrunk their manhood.
Forty-one reported a smaller todger after using Finasteride, while more than 400 said they suffered impotence.
1
A further 306 men moaned of losing interest in sex — while two said their libido had risen.
They were among 2,778 reports of side effects logged with the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Others included wonky willies or 'man boobs'.
Scores more say the drug — often sold under the brand name Propecia — caused pain in their scrotums, flatulence, blurred vision or toothache.
Prescription-only pill Finasteride is one of the most common hair loss medications and is taken by tens of thousands in the UK alone.
It works by preventing testosterone turning into a hormone that can stop hair growing.
A Freedom of Information req-uest to drug watchdog MHRA also revealed there were 16 claims linking it to suicides and 200 people blamed it for depression.
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, said: 'Patient safety is our top priority.
'We have robust safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.
'When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk.
'It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card Scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have.
'On the basis of the current evidence, the benefits of Finasteride outweigh the potential risks.'
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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Warning issued to women over 'Mounjaro babies'
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'There is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby,' the MHRA said. The regulator added that, to date, it had received more than 40 reports relating to pregnancy among women on the drugs. Of these, 26 were related to Mounjaro, one of which was for an unintended pregnancy. Eight related to semaglutide, the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy. The reports related to pregnancy, recorded by medics and patients, include problems such as birth defects, miscarriages, and unplanned pregnancies. The regulator added in some cases women should continue to use contraception for up to two months after stopping the medications before trying to get pregnant. Mounjaro, which boosts levels of appetite-supressing hormones, is known to make The Pill less effective due to disruption it causes to the digestive system, flushing out the contraceptive. Patients taking weight-loss injections are already advised to use contraception, and to stop taking the drugs if they get pregnant, in leaflets that come with the drugs. Some 35,000 British women of child-bearing age were prescribed the jabs on the NHS in England in 2024, official figures suggest. However, this is likely to be an underestimate, given that many acquire the drug privately. The MHRA alert also warned against buying the medicines from unregulated and non-medical sellers such as beauty salons or via social media. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, said: 'Skinny jabs are medicines licensed to treat specific medical conditions and should not be used as aesthetic or cosmetic treatments. 'They are not a quick fix to lose weight and have not been assessed to be safe when used in this way. 'Our guidance offers patients a 'one-stop shop' for our up-to-date advice on how to use these powerful medicines safely. 'This guidance should not be used as a substitute to reading the patient information leaflet or having a conversation with a healthcare professional as part of the prescribing process.' Experts said it was suspected how weight-loss jabs work to help patients shed pounds, was also thought to be diminishing the effectiveness of contraceptives. Dr Channa Jayasena, an expert in reproductive health at Imperial College London, explained: 'We think that the absorption of oral contraceptive pills may be reduced with GLP-1 drugs which slow down emptying of the stomach, though more research is needed to confirm this.' He added, that the MHRA's alert seemed 'sensible'. 'We don't know how harmful GLP-1 drugs are during pregnancy; however, we know that other forms of weight loss like weight loss surgery can increase chances of a miscarriage,' he said. 'So, women are advised to do all they can to prevent pregnancy while taking GLP-1 drugs.' Professor Rebecca Reynolds, an expert in metabolic medicine at the University of Edinburgh, added that some studies had indicated the drugs could increase the risk of birth defects. 'There is hardly any available data from human studies to be able to advise if these weight loss drugs are safe in pregnancy. 'The data from animal studies suggests the potential for harm with low birthweight and skeletal abnormalities, though more evidence is needed to assess if there are risks of taking these drugs in pregnant humans.' Reacting to the MHRA's announcement Jasmine Shah, medication safety officer at the National Pharmacy Association, urged women using the drugs to take note. 'Community pharmacies have been experiencing unprecedented levels of interest for weight loss injections,' she said. 'It is therefore important that regulations and guidance keep pace with this demand and that patient safety is put at the heart of everything we do. 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She shared an image of her positive pregnancy test and wrote that weight loss jabs ' make it hard for oral medications (like birth control) to be effective'. Weight-loss injections belong to class of drugs known as GLP- agonists, which help encourage fullness by mimicking a natural hormone released after eating. Some, like Mounjaro, also act on a second hormone involved in appetite and blood sugar control. The alert comes as findings suggest taking Ozempic and similar drugs may raise the risk of a 'silent cancer'. Reports of suspected side effects for drugs in the UK are logged under the MHRA's 'Yellow Card' scheme. Officials use the same database, set-up in the wake of the 1960s thalidomide scandal, to track the safety of Covid vaccines. Although impossible to prove, it allows doctors, pharmacists and patients to report adverse reactions believed to be caused by drugs used in Britain. This can lead to them being reviewed, having warnings added to the labels or being taken off the market completely.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
GPs 'send urgent sex warning texts' after surprise pregnancy alert
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The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Weight-loss drugs and pregnancy, and do ‘skinny jabs' prevent the pill working
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