Former Finasteride 1 mg user reports the medicine had an effect on his fertility

User "Furrymonkey" from the Hairlosstalk.com forum:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/56059-fin-propecia-the-perfect-contraceptive-infertility!?highlight=fertility

"Been taking finasterid products (pro and finpecia) for a number of yrs now, doing a relatively good job, but no wonders. No noticeable side-effects either. Btw, I'm 32 now. Started trying for kids about a year ago without success which led to me researching if finasteride has any effect on . Had my sperm count then tested about 3 months ago. Result: basically no useful sperm, i.e. very low concentration and low to no motility. The doc recommended I stop taking Finpecia (after he did some of his own research). Problem is that dermatologists and urologists have little to no common ground, which is why this problem seldomly comes to light. So after having stopped taking the hair drug for 3 months and another sperm test the results are astounding: concentration has tenfolded and motility has gone up from just about zero to 25% (normal and healthy would be around 50% mobility). I'm going for another test in 3 months again to see where my fertility is going.

Conclusion: if you're planning on having kids, take this as a warning that merck and co. don't give a rats arse if your fertility goes down, as long as libido apparently is fine, right?

"I'm not back to normal again concerning the fertility , but still hoping it actually IS completely reversible, especially because this process might take up to a whole year.If I would have known before which REAL side-effects exist, I would have explored other possibilities. 

The more I think about it, I'm guessing Merck is paying doctors to keep this missing information from the people, let alone the media. My doc actually recommended I talk to the papers after he saw the change in fertility  results. Look for similar posts in other forums, I'm not the only case. As a matter of fact my brother had the same experence after I warned him about my fertility  problem and it getting better after stopping propecia, his sperm tests turned out identical to mine. Coincidence? Btw there i no history whatsoever of infertility in my family, I'm one of four including twin sisters, all naturally conceived, dad is one of six, mom is one of four, etc.."

[Moderator's Note: According to the manufacturer Merck, finasteride does not affect fertility, motility or alters sperm quality.]