8 years of use with no side effects - Until now....Need Advice!

Member Stories
#1

Hey Everyone,

I started to take propecia when I was 23 because of my hair loss.

I am now 31 and for over 8 years, I noticed no side effects that caused any concern for me. My hair came back thick and has held ever since, but last year in August I started to notice some weird symptoms.

A bit of history on me, I was always healthy, athletic, very social and no health issues.

Over the last 8 months I started to get some weird symptoms that first started as brain fog, forgetting some simple things, concentration problems, cold hands and feet, confusion. So, I went to the doctor, they did a bunch of tests and everything came back normal. I even had a CAT scan done of my brain and again normal. We checked everything and I was a healthy guy!

So, I just keep living my life, the symptoms would be better one day, worse another, but they would always be there. Now, I am starting to get feels of general anxiety. The worst is when I go talk to people or meet new people, I have this feeling of forgetting what I need to say and it puts me in a panic. I can get over this and communicate, but it is not easy and seems to be getting worse. Also, the headaches, I have these bad tension headaches that make the anxiety worse. I now even have issues with meeting new people or speaking with friends, as I feel that I will forgot what to say in a basic conversation.

These symptoms are very weird and concerning, because before all this started, I was the most social and none shy person everyone knew. I would be able to speak to anyone and strike up a conversation with whom ever I wanted.

What are your thoughts guys?

I went and asked my doc about the propecia and the anxiety/memory problems and he said he doubts it is the drug. He said if I have been taking it for 8 years, there should be no more side effects.

Is is possible to get the side effects now, after 8 years of none? Also, how is it best to get off of propecia, ween off or cold turkey?

Let me know if anyone else has the same symptoms and tell me what you did to help yourself?

Thanks alot for your help,

Gino

) Where are you from (country)? Canada

  1. How did you find this forum (Google search)

  2. What is your current age, height, weight? 31, 6’2, 220lbs

  3. Do you excercise regularly? Yes, gym twice a week and cardio 3 times a week.

  4. What type of diet do you eat? high protein and mix of veggies and meat.

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hairloss at a young age.

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? about 8 years

  7. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 23 and still taking

  8. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? NA

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? NA

  10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Proscar, cut into 4 pieces.

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? about 1mg day

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? about 7.5 years

  13. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? NA

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ X] Confusion
[X ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ X] Slurring of Speech
[X ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ X] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[X ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None, yet

  2. If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)? None, yet

#2

Drug is documented to interfere with neurosteroid metabolism in the brain, causing cognitive deficits, memory impairment, anxiety, depression and mood swings.

Your doc is obviously not up on his research about what Finasteride or 5AR inhibition in general can affect.

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3521
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=668
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38
download/file.php?id=145
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1387

Bullshit. It could be that your body is finally starting to feel the effects of continued blockade of 5AR metabolism and all resultant downstream processes. Some guys tolerate the drug well for years, and find side effects creep up on them. Others get hit with sides right away. Sounds like you could be the former.

Yes, however you have to ensure you are not suffering from placebo effects or otherwise giving yourself such symptoms. If you are experiencing these problems without any other cause in your life, it likely points to the neurosteroid inhibiting effects of the drug.

Review FAQ:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7

Review this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4338

If you plan to continue Finasteride, please post on hair loss forums. If you do decide to quit, most likely your symptoms should resolve in coming weeks.

#3

Hi Mew,

Thanks for the quick reply.

So, it sounds like the memory and anxiety issues can be directly related to the finasteride use. At this point in my life, having battled these weird mental symptoms for the last 8 months, I am ready to come off of propecia and see what happens to my symptoms over time.

Is it possible for me to have the mental symptoms, but not experience the more common sexual side effects?

I may have experienced some minor sexual ones, but I never had an ED problems nor did it ever affect my sex life. Sex was fine and I was able to conceive a baby last year while on propecia.

Let me know your thoughts and also if anyone has similar experiences, please do let me know your story and results.

Thanks,

Gino

#4

Mew,

I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for everything you done for us in terms of this forum, lawsuit, etc, but why do you always state that most people who discontinue the drug will get better? There was never a long term study done for someone like this guy who took the drug for 8 years. I believe the longest study that was done was 2 or 3 years. Since, Merck claimed all side effects would go away after discontinuation of drug use and that has clearly been untrue. It seems no one really knows what the true odds are of this happening.

#5

I’m one of those guys that took it around 8 yrs, too. Actually quit it for several months and had no sides. Second time not the charm.

Wonder who is more likely to recover… a long term user or one of the handful of pills guys?

#6

honestly I am doubtful about most of the recoveries. The recovery is possible only if you quit before sides start, but remember most of the time sides go unnoticed for long time. To me once sides have started there is no go back.
So far all the recoveries I have seen, are not backed by any pre or post blood tests. Maybe these are true stories but in the absence of blood reports we dont know the degree of recovery.

#7

Gino
my story is almost identical to yours. Took propecia for many years, i was very athletic and would do anything at anytime and never scared of anything. One day Bam! like a ton of bricks I got hit with anxiety. All of a sudden I started to have all the symptoms that you are having. Personally it took me about 2 years and I am pretty much cured of anxiety and braing fog and all symptoms. Listen to what I am about to say: YOU WILL GET CURED AND YOU WILL GET BETTER. No questions about it! Give it a bit of time and stop taking the medicine little by little or all together.
I got better when I asked from help from above and I began to face my fears with anxiety. Anxiety is all fear! You face it and by the time you know it you are not scared anymore.

#8

It probably depends on the individual and what is going on in their life. Some people got real issues and you wonder how the heck you expect to get better.

Am I the only who thinks that anxiety and braing fog is a mental thing?

#9

Because, we are a SUBGROUP – a minority of men who ended up with persistent side effects that did not resolve after discontinuation. The way I see it, there are basically 3 groups:

  • Guys who take it without sides
  • Guys who take it who get sides, which resolve after quitting
  • Guys who take it who get sides, which do NOT resolve after quitting (minority)

Odds are likely that most guys who quit the drug probably do get better. Statistically speaking, I can’t say how many or who is susceptible to falling into which group, because such a study has never been done – however common sense would tell us that if EVERY man who took Fin got PFS, this problem would have had mainstream awareness years, if not decades ago.

#10

Bizzy, “anxiety and brain fog” is not a “mental thing” for the majority of those who have taken Finasteride. The drug is documented to affect neurosteroid metabolism in the brain, trigger anxiety, depression, cognitive difficulties and memory impairment.

If you choose to believe otherwise, that’s fine. If you think prayer resolved your issues, great – however that likely points to something unrelated to Finasteride’s effects, ie possibly placebo or an unrelated disorder you believed you were suffering from, which you felt was addressable by changing your mindset. Note: I have nothing against religion, but this is foremost a science-based forum.

My point is, don’t keep downplaying the effects of this drug and discounting scientific evidence which explicitly shows what happens when you inhibit Allopregnanolone and THDOC, or what the longterm ramifications of such inhibition can be.

Since you state you have basically “recovered” from your issues, why not go enjoy your life instead of claiming all anxiety and brain fog is all “in our heads” or a “mental thing” (yea no kidding, Fin likely affected our brains) across multiple threads? This type of antagonistic behaviour will not be tolerated.

#11

Mew
I do enjoy my life (trust me) after what i went through in my recent years. Everyday that goes by is very appreciated. The only reason why I have continued to post in this site is because I would like to give my opinion and advice to those who need it. Just as I read the advice when I need it and people were happy to give it to me. In addition many guys have sent me messages asking me for advice and I am happy to encourage them in anyway I can.

I always stated that I believe anxiety and brain fog is a mental thing. I never stated that it was a fact and that should apply to all. Is there something wrong with stating my opinion? My question is why when I got the guts to face all things that gave me anxiety after years, they began to go away instantly? And instantly my brain fog went away. Also my girlfriend suffered from anxiety for many years (almost identical to my anxiety) and as she faced her fears the same thing happened to her? I am sure you dont have an exact answer and neither do I. That is why I believe the way I do.
I know many people are not religious(as you stated you were) but there are many people who are. And I am not preaching to anyone but I can only state what I went through. And if that can help anyone then that should be an acomplishment.

In no way I am downplaying the side effects of this drug. I believe this drug damaged my body and it caused my anxiety and side effects. My opinion is based only on what i went through in order to get back to having a normal life. So maybe you are confused on what i am trying to say. So I am not sure what you mean that I have an antagonistic behaviour or how I have displayed it. I know that you are the admin and you can block messages and ban people, but I am only going to state what I went through and what I believe helped me. If that helps anyone good, if you dont like my opinion and you want to block me then no problem aswell.

#12

I wonder if a lot more people don’t get cognitive issues on fin, just not as strong or they don’t associate them with fin because the side effects listed are not very clear about what to look for. For example, does everyone who isn’t thinking clearly from brain fog that developed on finasteride know to associate this side to finasteride? Or depression for that matter? Brain fog is a reduction in cognitive function which makes it a lot harder to make such associations.

#13

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for the advice and information.

I am now going to start to ween off of the stuff over the next two weeks. Today I will start with half dosage, .5mg and then another half dosage on the weekend. Next week will push it down to .25 and eventually .12 and done. I am skipping a day in between, so hopefully this helps with the shock to the body.

As for Martin’s comment.

I agree that most guys that have these cognitive issues, ie: brain fog, unexplained anxiety, confusion and trouble thinking; most likely never make the link to finastride. As my story goes, 8 months ago, my symptoms started without explanation and after 3 doctor evaluations and a brain scan, there was nothing wrong.

I had to reflect back and look at what changed in my life and what didn’t over the last 8 months, well, everything that did, I have since corrected, ie diet, more exercise, drinking more water and taking proper vitamins. The one thing I missed and never dug deep into was the Propecia use. This is the only thing I kept doing throughout my ordeal. Also, just to mention, my family has no mental disorders or issues, so there is no history here.

Anyway, wish me luck guys and I will get back to you with what happens over the next couple weeks.

Gino

#14

You all forgot another group.

  • Those who got no sides on the drug, they all appeared AFTER quitting

This was the case for me. I experienced almost no sides on the drug over course of 7 weeks, just noticed minor shrinking of genitalia in last 2 days. It was when I quit (because of aforementioned reason) that I got hit with almost all the sides listed in the questionnaire boxes and a few more over the course of a month or 2. How the fuck can 7 weeks use hit someone so much harder then someone with 8 years use !!! Tim also has similar sides to me and he took it only 1 month! WHAT THE FUCK.

#15

OK, i guess this falls into the first group Mew mentions

#16

Hi Everyone,

I posted my members story last week regarding my 8 year use of Proscar (1.25mg/daily).

I am now thinking about the last 8 years and can definitely recall a few things that have changed since I stated using proscar.

The main issues for me now are mainly cognitive, such as brain fog, slow memory recall, trouble concentrating, fatigue, headaches, depressed mood and anxiety. (started about 10 months ago) Also, thinking about it more, I believe that my testicles have gotten smaller, my libido has been decreased, I don’t have as much shoulder/chest hair that I used to have, some minor ED issues from time to time and the inability to develop muscles. I have been working out regularly over the last 5 years (weight training twice a week and running 3 times a week) and I have barely any muscle definition.

Last week I started to reduce my proscar dosage to .25 mg (approx), I will take one more .25mg piece on Wednesday and then start the final 3 pieces which will be .10 mg (approx) for the next week. I am spacing them out to ever second day and the final week, I will go every third day until it is done.

So, knowing that when I finally stop, my hormone levels will start to change, what are some of the feelings/symptoms that I may get from the change in various hormones?

Also, how long will it take for the my hormones to re-balance once I stop taking the pills?

Lastly, should I take it easy with the working out over the next few weeks? What about having sex or masturbating, should this be stopped for now?

Let me know your thoughts guys and I will keep you posted on my recovery.

Thanks,

Gino

#17

If you read across the forum, you will see that it is pretty much roll of the dice as to how (or how not) your body will recover, irrespective of what you do to try and recover.

#18

IMO definitely take it easy. Excessive ejaculating, excessive exercise, drinking - these have all preceeded crashes. Eat a healthy paleo diet, get lots of sleep, try not to be stressed, but stay physically somewhat active, walks or short jogs. Honestly, to be sure you’re doing everything right, make lifestyle changes and hold them for at least a year, longer if you can. There are no set rules here, just think that you have been affecting an enzyme necessary for hormonal and neurological health and your body needs time to recover.

When you first stop, after a little while, you may experience recovery period where you feel great. This may just be a cruel joke before you crash, so try not to overdo it especially in this period, it’s the proper hormones flooding back into your system. Also, if possible stop ejaculating now or reduce to once every 3 days or so. An orgasm sets off a potent chemical reaction in the body and you don’t want to burn out necessary hormones.

#19

Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips and advice.

I have surfed through all the forums and read up on the various experiences, so I will be as prepared as possible.

I have about another 2 weeks left to wean off finasteride, so once it is done, my system will slowly change. I have one more .25mg piece tomorrow and than three .10 mg pieces spaced out by 3 days till the end.

When I first posted my members story, I told you guys that I had seen 3 doctors and all of them pushed the symptoms onto stress and general anxiety. I had trouble believing this as my lifestyle is fairly low stress and I am a very outgoing/social guy with no family history of mental problems. Finally, last week I went back to my GP and he heard me out again about my cognitive symptoms, this time around I brought him some print outs from this site about what Finasteride does and how Merck added Depression to the side effects last week. He read over it with me and we discussed some of my other minor issues (lack of hair on back/shoulders, low muscle tone, some ED in the past) and he agreed with me that finastride is the source of the problems. He was going to prescribe a benzo for me and also send me to a psychiatrist to investigate the route of the symptoms in more detail, but he canceled all that and told me to stop using finastride right away and come back to see him in 6 weeks.

I finally felt good that my doctor and I agreed on this issue and that we are now progressing towards resolving the symptoms. I have decided to wean off instead of stop cold turkey as he suggested, but this was my personal decision based on what I read on this site.

Thanks again for your support guys and I will update once I finish taking my last few pills.

Gino

#20

Hey Guys,

I thought I would post an update.

It has been exactly 2 weeks since I took my last dose of finasteride. I decided to wean myself off over a three week period, so now I am two weeks free of finasteride.

My worst symptoms were mental side effects and there was also some minor physical symptoms. Below is a short summary of my recovery so far.

Mental symptoms - Anxiety, depression, memory loss, brain fog, confusion, difficulty concentrating, losing train of thought, lack of motivation, fatigue

A few days after the last dose, most of the mental symptoms started to get better. I can still feel a bit of anxiety and my mind is still not what it was prior to propecia, but it is improving. The brain fog is clearing slowly and my memory is definitely better. I also feel a greater sense of enjoyment for things, almost like my brain can feel the happy thoughts and feelings. The fatigue has gotten better, still feeling tired, but not as much as while on propecia.

Physical symptoms - Tinnitus, penile shrinkage, lack of spontaneous/morning erection, weight gain around hips/butt, reduction in body hair, small amount of semen when ejaculating, reduced size of erection, reduced feeling of ejaculation and inability to grow muscles, headaches.

So far, my tinnitus has gotten quieter, but it is still there. My penis has increased a little in size, but erect and flaccid. Still no morning/spontaneous erections, but my erections now happen alot quicker, I feel that I am hornier. Also, my ejaculation volume has definitely increased. On propecia, I would ejaculate a tiny amount, barely filling the tip of the condom up, but recently, the whole tip and a good pat of the bottom of the condom is filled. I have also started to run more frequently and have noticed a little weight loss and tightening around the hips/butt. It is still early, but I am noticing some minor results. I have been hitting the gym twice a week (as I always have) and I am noticing a small increase in strength and muscle build. My muscles feel like they are harder now. Lastly, those nasty headaches that I used to get are gone, this is one thing that stopped pretty quickly after the last dose was taken.

I know that I am in the early stages still and that my DHT is just starting to return now. My hormones are probably out of whack and it will take months to get them back to their natural levels. I have a doctors appointment in a month to get some blood work done and see where I am with my hormone levels, so I will update you guys again once I get those back.

I have noticed a few funny side effects after quitting. They include, my balls feel heavier and at times feel like they are hot. I have had no testicle pain, but I have felt some different sensations down there. Also, I have had a few days where I feel more run down than others, but even on those days, I still feel better than before. I believe that these funny sides are from all the adjusts happening to me as we speak, DHT coming back and other things starting to fire up again after being inhibited.

So, to conclude guys, I am feeling better, but I am still not my old self. I know that I have a long road ahead before things really improve, but I can honestly tell you that I am so glad that I finally feel better, after 10 months of feeling awful and lost. It is such a relief to finally hit the nail on the head with the source of my problems!

Anyway, hang in there guys and we will all improve with time. The sure thing is that we found the source of the problems and now only time will resolve them.

Thanks for listening and I will update you guys in a months time.

Gino