Sorry was writing to badluck. I have a little disossociation when in public, but wouldn’t call it depersonalization. I still know myself and and can “feel” myself. It’s more of a visual disconnectedness when I’m outside/in public. Like I just finished a super long run.
In all my years (thirty-one of them) of trying to describe my mental symptoms, reading this is the closest I’ve come to anything similar.
I relate so much to what you say about the flow of consciousness being broken into parts and not flowing. For me, it’s as if an anxious pulse fires throughout my brain as it processes quite ordinary and routine information. The pulse fires before thought, and then deliberate thought goes back and tries to “make ok” the reason for the pulse. Consciousness is being continually disrupted, and my brain is constantly watching itself.
And you are so right, this is not “anxiety” as it is usually experienced. It’s not worry or concern about something, it’s just a “happening” in the CNS, and has no emotional revelance.
Like you, I am in a constant state of alarm. So often I have used the same analogy: that I can be in the most peaceful environment, and yet my body is reacting as if a tiger is about to get me.
And I have nothing else. No other emotions. Nothing else in my life, other than this “thing” happening in my brain. It distorts and comes between everything I do. Absolutely everything. It is the way I experience the world. It’s all I care about: is this thing happening or not? How intense is it? Even as I process the words to write this, the interruption is happening, the surge in my nervous system. Doing anything becomes confused, because every few seconds my brain is responding to a tiger approaching.
Oh - and nobody notices. There’s no external expression of the distress. And it’s not context related, so there’s no escaping it.
Thanks for describing so well. I’m hoping you’ve recovered as it seems you were when you wrote.
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Can totaly agree with this. Exactly the problem that i am also having.
Im unable to create and hold thoughts as I used to. I think that is what makes it hard to think, imagine or remember things. It is also makes it hard to process what is happening infront of me.
Initially I felt a pressure in my head but it cleared up significantly after the one year mark of taking propecia.
I used to be extremly motivated/obsessive about what I was doing but those feelings have gradually faded away as I dont think I have what it takes to achieve what I wanted.
The only thing I dont have is any emotional problems. A couple of years before I took propecia I had a period of deep depression so even if I feel down and frustrated about my situation right now it is not even close to how I was back then.
But im glad that im recovering and feeling a bit better with each month that passes, it keeps me hopeful.
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I have this too.
I frequently stare into space and am semi-conscious that I am doing so. My thoughts are going away from me, I vaguely recognize that I am “thinking,” but they seem far, far away.
I often feel detached from my body and from those around me, as if I were experiencing a dream reality. Everything seems to move smoothly by me, as if the world is quick but I am slow.
I cannot think clearly. I struggle to work and maintain normality. I thought my cortisol was low and that I had Addison’s disease but my morning cortisol came back relatively high.
The only thing that helps me is a little bit of red wine. Somehow I can function as a human for a brief span of time before lapsing back into the void.
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Hey all, just thought i’d pop back in and say that Brain fog hasn’t been an issue for me for 5+ years maybe longer i really cant remember. I actually get it occasionally (once or twice a year). It was the worst symptom i personally experienced, i used to slur my words, my brain shut down i just couldn’t think or have a conversation easily. It never left, even when i was at home i was fucked.
I actually would feel confident this symptom will go though. Work on your anxiety (look through my posts if you want advice in this regard). I’ve read a shit load of recovery stories and brain fog pretty much always goes.
Cheers
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How long did it take to go, I’m about 2 half years in and still have it?
Hey man,
Do you have a member story? Couldn’t find your story anywhere
Hey, welcome back. I noticed in your member story you mentioned that you had vision issues? Can you describe them? Did they ever get better?
I recon my brain fog went around the 3-4 year Mark actually. I remember id wake up every single morning and do a check (do i have fog today) and 9 times out of 10 it was a yes. My day would normally feel like a write off from then on.
Then at some point it just became 4/7 days a week, then 2, then it just disappeared entirely. I do think its related strongly to anxiety and worry. If you worry a lot it’ll tire your brain out but my sleep has also improved quite a lot over the years too (probably also due to anxiety).
Re Vision problems - I actually went for a driving test and put my eyes through some machine and my vision was really blurry, i was told i needed glasses to drive. That was around 6 or 7 years ago now and i don’t need / wear glasses. I drive for a living and can read a number plate from quite far away no issues. I also remember some days sitting at the back in a uni lecture unable to read the slides, yet other days i was fine…
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Just wondering if anyone had looked into stem cell therapy for brain fog. The cells have anti inflammatory properties for the immune system.
Nope.
Interesting. I think there is a connection between anxiety and brain fog too, but I think that my brain fog causes my anxiety.
I have recently got the symptom after 2 years of finasteride. I put up with some other side effects that would come and go, but this one convinced me to begin the slow taper process.
I read Cordyceps up regulate 5aR activity. Does anyone know if this true?
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Hope this helps someone… to recover… so just like others i have been suffering from mail pattern baldness and my dermatologists suggested me to start with finastride and described as the only hope to restore my hair… after explaining him about what this drug does to me ( although had been on this earlier for a short time of 1 week i discontinued it ) he only showed this as a hope and decided to go for it with a strong mindset… 20 days later i started suffering from all major symptoms that finastride does in destroying… your body… not sure why is a medication like this still available in the market and how the hell has it been approved by FDA trust me money can get anything approved so has this compound… it started with anxiety and insomina in the night my sleep just reduced from 10 hours to 6 hours and then 5… i knew something was wrong and decided to stop it immediately… now begins the post finastride syndromes brain fog, lack of concentration. with things getting worst i decided to get a blood test routine done… and found out that Vitam D and B12 goes extremply down…( not the first time i saw this after being on finastride for a week) be aware I believe YOU WILL BE FINE u just need to be patient u need to stay strong after quitting finastride you could start with B12 tablets, I believe that gets back your nervous system and thinking back to normal (all the weired thoughts isnt you its the chemical still in your system talking not you). I believe your body will start to recover eventually depends on how long you have been on it. start working out with light excercies , do not stress too much, stay away from social media as much as possible, you could try GREEN TEA once a day, I believe this will relieve you immediately from brain fog in a few days…and detoxes your system completely. drink a lot of water listen to some music and just eat healthy salad foods am recovering and feel much better after a month and half off this desctructive tablet. Your state of mind is more important than anything else in the world. once again I believe you will be fine just be patient. Hope this helps in saving someone. good luck!
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Is b12 safe to take or is it a methyl donor? Anyone?
Don’t think it’s safe for PFS patients
be careful with green tea, its a light anti-androgen
I’m just not sure how to deal with or manage the seemingly invisible mental health conditions that nobody has any answers for. The emotional blunting, feeling so numbed out and not being able to feel things like the weather, days, weeks, months, seasons of the year, feelings of nature, energy and excitement in the air, sense of breathing in fresh air. Feeling absolutely no connection to myself. Complete loss of personality. There is nothing that makes it better, at least that I have found. How can something so notorious for causing mental health problems be prescribed and when it does have negative side effects it’s just oh well, there’s nothing that can be done for you! We don’t really care to look into the science and causes, we’ll just call it depression and do nothing to help you! Something I literally only took for 4 weeks to cause problems that still are wreaking havoc on me 2 years later. Absolutely criminal.
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me too，but I am accustomed to this
feeling，do youfeel better？