Latest news with #MoralMedicine
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Health
- Scottish Sun
My marriage became sex-starved then ended because of a common hair loss drug – I was so lonely I became suicidal
Read on for more side effects of the hair loss drug AT A LOSS My marriage became sex-starved then ended because of a common hair loss drug – I was so lonely I became suicidal A WOMAN has revealed that she left her husband after their marriage became sexless thanks to a common drug for hair loss. Thammika Songkaeo shared her heartbreaking story on the Moral Medicine podcast. 3 Thammika says the hair loss drug destroyed her marriage Credit: Youtube/Moral Medicine 3 Her husband had used the drug in the past but the ongoing sid effects were too much for her Credit: Getty Now a bestselling author, she revealed the dangers of the prescription drug that men rarely know about. Thammika said she noticed that her love life was nonexistent while they were still dating. Her then-boyfriend told her that it was because he had taken Propecia — the brand name of finasteride. Finasteride is a prescription drug that is commonly used to treat male pattern hair loss. It works by blocking the production of a male hormone that contributes to hair loss. However, it comes with a host of side effects, including: erectile dysfunction, decreased sex drive and ejaculation problems, including reduced ejaculate volume. At first, she figured it would only be a temporary problem, but that soon changed. 'I did not at all realise that it was permanent, serious [and] devastating,' she said. The pair still decided to stay together and ended up married for seven years. She even convinced her ex to take an erectile dysfunction drug to improve intimacy. 3 Now she hopes to raise awareness on the drug Credit: Youtube/Moral Medicine Taking lovers has improved our relationship but threesome on TV left me in tear The couple even welcomed a daughter, but the sex life never really improved and Thamika was feeling lonelier than ever. Eventually, she decided to call it quits on her sex-starved marriage. She said: "I couldn't really detach myself from this person because I saw what happened, and I said, "This is definitely not this man's fault." "And what I needed to do personally was move away from the relationship as a romantic partner because I couldn't do it, I couldn't live in a sexless marriage." Help for mental health If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support. The following are free to contact and confidential: Samaritans, 116 123 CALM (the leading movement against suicide in men) 0800 585 858 Papyrus (prevention of young suicide) 0800 068 41 41 Shout (for support of all mental health) text 85258 to start a conversation Mind, provide information about types of mental health problems and where to get help for them. Call the infoline on 0300 123 3393 (UK landline calls are charged at local rates, and charges from mobile phones will vary). YoungMinds run a free, confidential parents helpline on 0808 802 5544 for parents or carers worried about how a child or young person is feeling or behaving. The website has a chat option too. Rethink Mental Illness, gives advice and information service offers practical advice on a wide range of topics such as The Mental Health Act, social care, welfare benefits, and carers rights. Use its website or call 0300 5000 927 (calls are charged at your local rate). Heads Together, is the a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales. Now, she is trying to raise awareness on post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) - condition in which someone experiences severe side effects after they stop using finasteride. 'The depth of the loneliness I felt was to the point where I, myself, was becoming suicidal or having suicidal thoughts,' Songkaeo said. 'I had to call the suicide hotline because it became that bad for me — and, usually, I'm a pretty happy person.' She questions the ethics of distributing a drug that can have such potentially devastating consequences. 'Finasteride has the capacity to dissolve one person so much that it becomes this domino effect…there's just so much destruction around it — and it feels like unnecessary destruction,' she said.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Irish Sun
My marriage became sex-starved then ended because of a common hair loss drug – I was so lonely I became suicidal
A WOMAN has revealed that she left her husband after their marriage became sexless thanks to a common drug for hair loss. Thammika Songkaeo shared her heartbreaking story on the 3 Thammika says the hair loss drug destroyed her marriage Credit: Youtube/Moral Medicine 3 Her husband had used the drug in the past but the ongoing sid effects were too much for her Credit: Getty Now a bestselling author, she revealed the dangers of the prescription drug that men rarely know about. Thammika said she noticed that her love life was nonexistent while they were still dating. Her then- READ MORE REAL LIFE STORIES It works by blocking the production of a male hormone that contributes to hair loss. However, it comes with a host of side effects, including: erectile dysfunction, decreased sex drive and ejaculation problems, including reduced ejaculate volume. At first, she figured it would only be a temporary problem, but that soon changed. 'I did not at all realise that it was permanent, serious [and] devastating,' she said. Most read in Fabulous The pair still decided to stay together and ended up married for seven years. She even convinced her ex to take an erectile dysfunction drug to improve intimacy. 3 Now she hopes to raise awareness on the drug Credit: Youtube/Moral Medicine Taking lovers has improved our relationship but threesome on TV left me in tear The couple even welcomed a daughter, but the sex life never really improved and Thamika was feeling lonelier than ever. Eventually, she decided to call it quits on her sex-starved marriage. She said: "I couldn't really detach myself from this person because I saw what happened, and I said, "This is definitely not this man's fault." "And what I needed to do personally was move away from the relationship as a romantic partner because I couldn't do it, I couldn't live in a sexless marriage." Help for mental health If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support. The following are free to contact and confidential: Samaritans, CALM (the leading movement against suicide in men) Papyrus (prevention of young suicide) Shout (for support of all mental health) Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, Heads Together, Now, she is trying to raise awareness on post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) - condition in which someone experiences severe side effects after they stop using finasteride. 'The depth of the loneliness I felt was to the point where I, myself, was becoming suicidal or having suicidal thoughts,' Songkaeo said. 'I had to call the suicide hotline because it became that bad for me — and, usually, I'm a pretty happy person.' She questions the ethics of distributing a drug that can have such potentially devastating consequences. 'Finasteride has the capacity to dissolve one person so much that it becomes this domino effect…there's just so much destruction around it — and it feels like unnecessary destruction,' she said.
New York Post
03-06-2025
- Health
- New York Post
A popular hair loss drug destroyed my ex-husband's sex drive — and ended our marriage
A bestselling author has shared a heartbreaking story about how a popular hair loss drug led to the demise of her ex-husband's sexual function — and their marriage. Speaking recently on the podcast 'Moral Medicine,' Thammika Songkaeo said she noticed they had no love life to speak of while they were still dating. Her then-boyfriend told her that it was because he had taken Propecia — the brand name of finasteride, which is commonly used to treat hair loss in men. One of the potential side effects is sexual dysfunction. 3 Speaking recently on the podcast 'Moral Medicine,' Thammika Songkaeo shared how post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) led to the demise of her marriage. Moral Medicine/YouTube At the time, she thought it was just a temporary issue — or that it would only be a problem intermittently. 'I did not at all realize that it was permanent, serious [and] devastating,' she said. They got married and stayed together for seven years, with Songkaeo convincing her ex to take an erectile dysfunction drug to improve intimacy. The couple welcomed a daughter, but Songkaeo's loneliness worsened. Ultimately, she decided to walk away from the sex-starved marriage. Noting that her ex was a wonderful partner outside of the bedroom, they remained great friends — and Songkaeo went on to write a novel about her experience, 'Stamford Hospital,' which became a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon Singapore. 3 'The depth of the loneliness I felt was to the point where I myself was becoming suicidal or having suicidal thoughts,' Songkaeo said. Gorodenkoff – Now, she's trying to spread the word not only about how post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) — a condition in which someone experiences severe side effects after they stop using finasteride — affects its victims, but also the ones they love. 'The depth of the loneliness I felt was to the point where I, myself, was becoming suicidal or having suicidal thoughts,' Songkaeo said. 'I had to call the suicide hotline because it became that bad for me — and, usually, I'm a pretty happy person.' She questions the ethics of distributing a drug that can have such potentially devastating consequences. 'Finasteride has the capacity to dissolve one person so much that it becomes this domino effect…there's just so much destruction around it — and it feels like unnecessary destruction,' she said. Songkaeo was interviewed by podcast host Mark Millich, who made headlines earlier this year by telling the Wall Street Journal that he experienced debilitating side effects after buying finasteride. 3 Mark Millich — the host of the podcast — made headlines earlier this year by telling the Wall Street Journal that he experienced debilitating side effects after buying finasteride. X/@Unstoppable218 Some of his side effects included anxiety, dizziness and slurred speech. His sex drive also plummeted, and his genitals shrank and changed shape. Millich previously interviewed a 28-year-old man who reported a roller coaster of side effects due to PFS, including sexual dysfunction, insomnia, severe weight and muscle loss, skin rashes and pelvic pain. 'Every month, I feel like there's a new side effect,' the man said. 'It's really changed my life completely.' In April, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about topical finasteride products distributed by telehealth companies, citing several reports of adverse events such as erectile dysfunction, anxiety, suicidal ideation, brain fog, depression, fatigue, insomnia, decreased libido and testicular pain. If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE My marriage and sex life was ruined by common drug taken by millions... please heed my warning
Thammika Songkaeo knew instantly her husband was the one when they met in 2011. The pair connected almost immediately and married two years later, welcoming a daughter into the world together. But despite how deep their emotional connection was, there was always one thought nagging away at Songkaeo: her husband was not that interested in sex. When they first met, her now ex-husband told Songkaeo how he had low libido and erectile dysfunction which he said started after taking finasteride, a drug used by millions of men to prevent hair loss. But she dismissed his problems as 'something temporary'. When he struggled to perform in the bedroom, she got him to take Viagra. Fearing being labeled a 'sex addict', she avoided discussing it with friends — but quickly started to feel isolated, and became depressed, and then suicidal. After seven years, she ended the relationship and filed for divorce. Finasteride is sold by telehealth companies for as little as $30 for a month's supply, with doctors saying it can prevent hair loss with little more than a pill a day. The drug was originally developed for men with an enlarged prostate, but it has since become a popular hair loss treatment. Around 2.6million men in the US take the drug. It works by blocking the conversion of the male hormone testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a compound thought to cause hair loss by shrinking hair follicles on the scalp. But DHT is also crucial for sexual arousal, erectile function, and genital tissue health, and its reduction. While the drug shows a remarkable ability to promote hair growth, some men pay a steep price. Some say the drug ruined their sex life, genitals and relationships — even long after they stopped taking it. Songkaeo's husband was prescribed the drug by an unnamed health clinic and took it before they met. Doctors believe he was suffering from post-finasteride syndrome, a condition of persistent sexual, neurological, physical and mental adverse reactions in patients after they take finasteride to treat hair loss. Her experience inspired her to write a book about a woman stuck in a marriage with an asexual husband in Singapore, titled: Stamford Hospital. Speaking to Songkaeo said her husband told her he was suffering from side effects of the drug after they became a couple. 'We noticed... that there was something off about the physical intimacy,' she said. 'There just wasn't the amount or intensity that there would be in my experience of a relationship.' She added: 'I thought it was something that could be overcome, as in I did not think it would be a lifelong thing — and from what I understood from my ex-partner there was no way for him to know if it would be a lifelong thing. 'I thought, "maybe it will be ok. Maybe what it is will be ok ". It turns out, it was not ok.' The couple met on the East Coast, and initially dated there before moving to her native Singapore together. Songkaeo said in an interview with Moral Medicine — which raises awareness over harms caused by finasteride — that the couple tried Viagra to help with intimacy. But after the birth of their daughter, she felt that what physical intimacy there was had now almost gone — and that there was just too little in the relationship. 'I felt extremely lonely at that point,' she told this website, 'I've never felt that kind of loneliness in my life and never knew loneliness like that could be possible. 'It felt like a loneliness that had no place on this Earth. It was very intense and harrowing. 'And became like something that I could not live with, because it became very intense and harrowing.' After speaking to her husband about their differences, the pair decided to amicably end the relationship. Songkaeo said she experienced opposition from her family, who are from Thailand, when she revealed she was ending her marriage over problems in the bedroom. But since the relationship was resolved, she and her husband have remained best friends — and now happily co-parent their daughter. She would never, however, re-enter the relationship. Finasteride works by blocking the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT, which — according to the Cleveland Clinic — is typically found in the genitals. About two to three percent of finasteride patients experience side effects, doctors say — with the most common being problems getting an erection, less interest in sex and problems with ejaculation, such as little or no semen. Doctors tend to tell patients that these will subside after they stop taking the drug. Giving other women advice on how to handle the issue, she said: 'Letting compassion for both people guide the conversation leads to the best results. A conversation that is led by love and understanding for both people. 'I really don't think that people who suffer from post finasteride syndrome should be treated as anything other than victims of a very dangerous drug in terms of the side effects it can give. 'At the same time, I don't think that any partner needs to endure the effects as if they were inconsequential.
New York Post
28-04-2025
- Health
- New York Post
A common hair loss drug messed with my erections and libido — things got even worse once I stopped
A 28-year-old man has revealed a harrowing nine-month struggle with a popular hair loss drug, describing how his life turned upside down once he stopped taking it. Speaking on the podcast 'Moral Medicine,' a man who goes by Chirag said he was living the good life before he started popping finasteride in June 2023 to deal with hair loss. 3 Chirag, 28, told the 'Moral Medicine' podcast that he experienced muscle loss, impotency, insomnia and skin rashes due to post-finasteride syndrome. YouTube / Moral Medicine Advertisement He knew friends who had been on it for years without issue, and most of the internet research that he did indicated that post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) — a condition in which someone experiences severe side effects after they stop using finasteride — 'wasn't real.' He acquired the medication through Hims, claiming the telehealth company 'gives it out like candy — there's no process for it.' The Post reached out to Hims for comment. 'I didn't know what I was getting into,' Chirag said. Advertisement He took one pill a day before he began to experience side effects — most of which were sexual — so he decided to stop taking the drug, and in a few weeks he felt normal again. He did some more research, at which point he made the 'huge mistake' of deciding he had simply been taking too high of a dose. 'I feel like if there was more education related to this, I could have been saved from this syndrome,' he said. Advertisement After tinkering with the dosage, he noticed he was no longer getting erect in the morning, so he discontinued use again in January 2024. Three months later, he experienced a 'sharp, burning pain' in his pelvic area — a symptom that intermittently persisted for months before going away. All of a sudden, he had a 'crazy high libido,' so he assumed it had just taken six months for the drug to fully flush out of his system. Then, on July 9, 'something just turned off,' he said. 'I was literally impotent for three weeks.' Advertisement 3 Chirag experienced a 'sharp, burning pain' in his pelvic area — a symptom that intermittently persisted for months before going away. Getty Images/iStockphoto And then things really took a turn for the worse. 'A month later, I started getting crazy insomnia — I literally didn't sleep for 10 days straight,' he said. 'It was hell. I was s–t-scared.' He also experienced severe weight and muscle loss, his 'genitals changed,' and the pelvic pain returned with a vengeance, rendering him unable to 'sit properly.' He saw a urologist, who seemed to disregard PFS, but prescribed him Cialis and told him to see a pelvic floor specialist. He changed his diet and began physical therapy, which appeared to help with the sexual dysfunction and muscle loss — and then he 'crashed' again. 'I feel like I've fully regressed,' he said. 'My bones creak like crazy — which is terrifying… I can't sleep again… I have these rashes that come on my skin now… and the sexual function has regressed.' Advertisement 3 The FDA recently issued a warning about finasteride products distributed by telehealth companies. Getty Images 'Every month, I feel like there's a new side effect,' he added. 'It's really changed my life completely.' Chirag was interviewed by Mark Millich — the host of the podcast — who made headlines last month by telling the Wall Street Journal that he experienced debilitating side effects after buying finasteride through Hims. Some of the side effects included anxiety, dizziness and slurred speech. His sex drive also plummeted, and his genitals shrank and changed shape. Advertisement 'Thirty years this drug has been on the market, and people have been dealing with this this entire time and nothing has been done,' Millich said on the podcast. 'There are no excuses anymore for the medical system. This is disgusting.' Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about topical finasteride products distributed by telehealth companies, citing several reports of adverse events such as erectile dysfunction, anxiety, suicidal ideation, brain fog, depression, fatigue, insomnia, decreased libido and testicular pain. The warning specifically targets a spray-on formulation of finasteride, the active ingredient also found in the oral drug Propecia. Advertisement The FDA said these topical versions have not received official approval, and no comprehensive safety data has been submitted for them. Telehealth companies have also come under fire for allegedly failing to sufficiently screen their customers for the drugs in the interest of pushing product, as well as for not adequately informing them of the drug's potential side effects. None of the 17 male telehealth customers the WSJ spoke to who reported severe side effects believe they were properly informed of the risks. Advertisement A Hims spokesperson told the outlet its customers 'go through a comprehensive intake that is reviewed by a licensed provider who makes a clinical determination about the patient's eligibility for medication' and that the company communicates 'about all essential details and safety information.' As for Chirag? 'I just want my life back,' he said.
