Man Claims Propecia Side Effects Led to Sex Change
By Michael Carlin
William McKee, a 38-year-old former software engineer, claims that taking the generic form of Propecia caused his body to undergo feminine changes. McKee said the changes were so pronounced that he changed his name to Mandi McKee and began transgender therapy to transition to living as a woman last year.
McKee began taking the generic version of Propecia (finasteride) in fall of 2008 to fight male-pattern baldness that he had developed early in his life. However, McKee claims that hair growth was very minimal from the drug, he claims that the main effects he realized from the medication was that his hips widened and loosened and shoulders fell into a more feminine position.
The changes were dramatic at first. McKee claims that he had to separate from his wife of 10 years and went though serious depression. McKee says that cross dressing was never in his list of habits; however, he claims that taking Propecia began making him feel like a woman and made him attracted to men.
Propecia works in part by inhibiting testosterone from metabolizing and reducing the androgenic activity in the scalp that leads to baldness. However, some believe that the drug also has an adverse effect on the endogenous neuroregulators that play a role in sexual functions.
McKee says the transition to living as a woman was forced by the effects of taking the generic version of Propecia. McKee expressed a desire to sue Merck for the severe disruptions to his life caused by taking finasteride.
Hundreds of Propecia MDL Cases Filed in Federal Court
Plaintiffs across the country have linked Propecia to persistent sexual side effects that were unexpected at the time of taking the medication.
When Propecia was authorized by the FDA to treat male pattern baldness in 1997 the warning label only provided that a limited number of users would experience sexual side effects. Merck also never said that side effects would remain after patients stopped taking the hair loss drug. However, in 2003 a study found that only half of men who experienced sexual side effects while on the drug recovered from the adverse sexual side effects after quitting Propecia. The remainder of the men who had sexual side effects continued to experience the side effects for years after the study.
The Swedish Medical Products Agency determined that Propecia leads to persistent sexual side effects in 2006. As a result Merck was forced to change the label on its Swedish products, but stalled for years before changing the label on the U.S. version of the drug.
If you have experienced loss of sex drive or erectile dysfunction from Propecia you can visit the Propecia Loss of Sex Drive, Sexual Dysfunction Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation to learn more about scheduling a free consultation with an experienced Propecia lawsuit attorney.
Updated December 7th, 2012
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One thought on Man Claims Propecia Side Effects Led to Sex Change
I hope everyone that has had issues with Propecia report it to the FDA so they can start documenting cases. I contacted them and basically said in my email. “I wish they would take a closer look at Propecia, because it had ruined my life…..and if they wanted to hear my story I’d email it to them.” They sent a very nice and understand email back and wanted to hear more…..I think more people should email them.