Saw Palmetto Side Effects

Dear Diary,

Before I started taking Saw Palmetto, I had done endless research on the internet about what to do for my hair problems (ok, for the record i'm not vain, but if no one really wants to go around looking like a potato). There were many people stating that Saw Palmetto only caused shedding and other horrible side effects, and that traditional tested medicine such as Propecia (Finasteride) was the way forward, and then there were others stating that Propecia caused sexual side effects and that Saw Palmetto was the way forward.

However,

I also noticed how those who were claiming that Saw Palmetto was harmful, tended to be people who had the exact same story about why they took propecia (i.e. Oh my friend Bob told me about it so I went down to the doctors and got some and hey all my hair grew back), which led me to suspect that these "experiences" were merely being drummed out by marketting teams. Whilst at the same time those who were sharing experiences with Saw Palmetto, tended to be people who were working for herbal remedies companies. So, this led me to become very frustrated as there wasn't any sources I could rely on. In the end I thought to myself, that Propecia was a costly drug which required a prescription, and I wouldn't be able to get it for at least a few more months until I hit 18 anyway, so it was useless to my current predicament, therefore I bought a huge supply of Saw Palmetto.

Anyway, the science behind MPB (Male pattern baldness), is that certain people, usually males, have hair follicles on their head which is susceptible to the bi-product of testosterone called DHT. This DHT will bind with the hair follicle and eventually cause the hairs it produces to shrink in size, and eventually the hair follicle will become inactive and stop produing hairs. What drugs such as Saw Palmetto, Propecia etc do is they inhibit DHT production in the body. Hurray I hear you cheer. However, this isn't a miracle cure for hair loss because DHT is used in the body for other functions, such as maintaining a healthy libido, and digestive health. Therefore drugs such as propecia and SP tend to effect people differently, some people can cope with having lower DHT levels in the body, whereas some people cannot.

However, from my personal experience the experience my friends have had, a lot of these stories are over exaggerated, also drugs such as Finasteride and Saw Palmetto only have adverse sexual side effects in 2% of cases.

Ok anyway; my experiences with Saw Palmetto:

I've been on Saw Palmetto for just under 2 weeks now, so perhaps it is a little early to state side effects in the long term, but i'll explain what's happened to me in the short term:

1.) Libido; I was one of the few people who had their libido affected by Saw Palmetto, however, the side effects aren't as drastic as people make them out to be. However, contrary to popular belief SP doesn't always lower libido, my libido increased somewhat on Saw Palmetto. I've always had a relatively low sex drive and since taking Saw Palmetto it has increased slightly, not hugely, but just moderately. It's not even that noticable a change.

2.) Skin. Now, another reason some people take SP is for acne, I've had pretty bad skin in the past, and since i've been taking SP my skin has cleared up significantly, this is probably the most noticable change i've had, as my skin feels a lot smoother and is very clear in appearance now.

3.) Hair. So far so good. My hair has stopped shedding (basically when I used to run my hands through my hair at least 5 or 6 hairs would come out, and now none come out), and I think there is some regrowth, but its too early to tell yet. My hair feels softer and less "dead" if that makes sense. I've combined SP with heat aversion (i.e. not blow drying) and using sensitive shampoos in order to promote regrowth.

4.) Mood. This one is difficult to explain. Basically i've always been someone who can get overly hyper and happy or a bit down at times, as we all can. I'm not bi-polar but i'm quite passionate emotionally. Anyway since i've taken SP my mood feels incredibly levelled out, I don't get as down as often, and overall I feel a lot calmer in myself.

5.) Nausea. In the first few days of taking SP I had a slight upset stomache as my body got used to it, but after 8 days that passed and i'm now back to normal.

6.) Tiredness. I think on SP I get more tired than I used to, however that could just be workload and I doubt SP has much to do with this.

Other than those listed I have had no other side effects from taking SP, I have no experience of Propecia so i'm not particularly able to comment on that, however from my personal experience SP is relatively cheap to buy, and easy to access. So if anyone is starting to have issues with hair loss I would definitely recommend it.

Love From,

ConfusedGirl17