I’ve been taking Propecia for 2.5 years (since I was 19) and I just wanted to say that I’ve been noticing things going downhill in my life ever since, although I can’t be sure if it is the medication. I started taking it when I noticed (others noticed) that I was getting a little bit thin at the back. I haven’t lost anymore hair since except maybe a little on my left front corner which could have been there before, and have almost gone back to my old head of hair at the back. I enrolled in a college course that I was interested around the time I began Propecia which I dropped out of about 3 months later because I just couldn’t handle it, the workload, any sort of horseplay from the other students, everything. I couldn’t understand what had happened, because I coped just fine in comparison with my final exams in high school which was supposedly an even more stressful time with a larger workload and even more student horseplay. I had a good relationship with a girl I liked and stopped seeing her because I just couldn’t handle any sort of mishaps, like I would snap at her for just a bit of complaining or moaning or something, which I wouldn’t before. I just couldn’t stand people or things the way I used to. I’ve lost it in situations where I leave the room and think ‘what the hell is wrong with me?’ I haven’t really noticed anything sexual, my dermatologist told me back when that it is very rare and about 2% of men would experience it, so I was happy to hear that, but perhaps I’m not as horny as before due to my depression and I think that is the most it could be, which is why I don’t really know if it is the Propecia, because the side effects are supposed be all sexual. I really don’t want to stop taking it because I know I’ll lose all my hair so I’m going to see a psychiatrist whom I will tell that I’m taking the medication, it could be something else despite nothing else really changing in my life except this medication. I didn’t really care that much about the hair loss either, I thought if I could do something about it, I would, but I have no idea if I should regret it. Do many people report depression or easy irritability with Propecia? Thanks guys
Depression has been linked with the drug, many guys including myself experienced this.
propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38
propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1274
Anxiety/inability to deal with stress has been linked with the drug, due to it’s blockade of 5AR-derived neurosteroids in the brain (Allopregnanolone, THDOC) which usually act on GABA-A receptors to instill calm… but cannot since Fin is blocking their production.
propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668
propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1387
Get off the drug and I can almost guarantee your depression, irratibility, moodiness and anxiety will cease. I would not take another medication if prescribed by the psychiatrist.
The other reason you may be experiencing these issues is due to elevated Estradiol levels, since Fin is known to alter the androgen/estrogen ratio in men’s bodies in favor of estrogens. Elevated estrogens in men can kill sex drive, cause moodiness, lead to gynecomastia, and basically “feminize” a man.
Get bloodwork as outlined at top of Hormones section to see what’s going on with your hormones before you quit.
To explain what I’m feeling, I’m just gobsmacked, and I feel anger that I know will escalate later about the fact that depression wasn’t listed as a side effect or I would have been aware that it was because of the Propecia and discontinued it after the 3 months. Then I could have instead continued with my course and not have been job jumping and unemployed for the past 2 years. It makes sense that it could be my hormones playing up. I looked at your links and read about how it blocks certain chemicals that instil calm and how another man in his 40s with no history of clinical depression become depressed after 3 months (which is about my time) and despite being put on antidepressants didn’t go away until he stopped taking Propecia, and then it went away after three weeks. I think you’re right Mew, if the depression of this drug isn’t well documented then the psychiatrist is likely not to know about it and prescribe me antidepressants. I really don’t want to take blood tests, but I will stop Propecia starting tomorrow and see if things clear up in terms of depression and I guess the irritability which is interlinked. If I don’t notice anything after a month then I might as well get back on the Propecia, but I really would prefer the depression to go away. I’ll follow up. Thanks Mew.
I would highly advise you to get bloodwork before quitting the drug so you can see what it has been doing to your hormones, should you have further problems down the road. Tests to get are at top of Hormones & Blood Tests section.
Also, I would not recommend getting back on the drug, you will only re-instate the same problems you are currently experiencing.
On a more off topic note: Interesting point on the depression - It was not listed by Merck or my generic-manufacturer, but it was on my derms computer program. So it is an official recognized side but is not listed by the manufacturer? That’s not quite right if you think about the potential results depression can lead to.