Does Finasteride cause Insomnia and Fatigue ?

Symptoms Physical
#1

Hi All This is my frist post here.

I would just like to give a brief overview of my story.

I took Finasteride for just over 2 years with no major side effects but I stopped taking it a week ago when I heard it may cause Insomnia.

For the past 6 months I have not had one good nights sleep, I put this down to the stress of college, I am finished college now and the stress is gone away yet I still cant sleep and my energy levels are very low. Sometimes I stay in bed for up to 15 hours and still feel tired. Years ago I suffered from stress yet it did not mess up my sleep to the point were I can not sleep at all. I cant sleep now yet I feel tired all the time.

Does anyone know if Finasteride has caused my condition ? and if so what can I do to get my energy levels back up and be able to sleep again ?

I would really appreciate any advice people can offer here as my life has become hell.

#2

Hi welcome to the forum.

This is a little confusing:

“I took Finasteride for just over 2 years with no major side effects but I stopped taking it a week ago when I heard it may cause Insomnia. For the past 6 months I have not had one good nights sleep,”

You state you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in past 6 months, but also state you haven’t had issues for 2 years and just quit last week. Can you clarify when your issues actually began?

Nobody can diagnose you over the Internet and we are not doctors who have the authority to do so.

That said, however, Finasteride interferes with neurosteroid metabolism in the brain and affects nitric oxide production, as well as the GABAergic system in the CNS. Both of these areas can affect wakefulness/REM sleep, amongst other things:

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4353
viewtopic.php?p=11736#p11736

However, now that you are off the drug, over time you should find your symptoms improve, although it can be a long and gradual process.

You should consider getting bloodwork done to determine if you have hormonal abnormalities as a result of using Finasteride.

propeciahelp.com/testing

#3

Thanks I may do that.

When I first learned about the drug, I never heard anything about it causing Insomnia. I had been taking the drug for just over 2 years but have only had sleep problems in the last 6 months. I feel really shit if I knew it could cause Insomnia and extreme Fatigue I would never have took it.

I pray to god my Insomnia/Fatigue problem is not permanent.

#4

I have had the minor side effects like reduced sex drive and male breast growth from early on when I started using it that I could deal with. But the Insomnia/Fatigue I have now is kiiling me. The sleep problem has only started in the last 6months as I said.

#5

for me, fish oil helped depression and fatigue a bit, and apple cider vinegar for severe insomnia … they have not been cures, but they have helped a lot i feel. good luck to you.

#6

Many of us on this site have experienced insomnia. It does seem to get at least a little better with time for the most of us. Me personally, I took remeron for years with little side effects other than gaining weight and a sorta hung over feeling (but a little hung over feeling was well tolerated compared to the insomnia). Others have had luck with different things, do a forum search. But the best long term treatments seem to be time and exercise. If you can, get a sleep study done without taking anything. It might reveal more of our problem

#7

anything can be caused even hypersomnia.
altered balance in so many aspects

#8

It caused insomnia in my case and I think Finasteride might have been the reasoin.

#9

Heres my story for anyone who wants to use it in their PFS map.

I took generic Finasteride (proscar) for 2 years which I got from a hair loss clinic.

After about a year on the drug I developed severe non sexual side effects which I did not know at the time were caused by the drug.

These side effects included very bad back pain( which I have not had before or since), extreme fatigue and insomnia. I got to the point were I completely lost the ability to sleep, I would spend 15 hours lying in bed and still not get any real sleep. It was unreal I was exhausted all the time yet I couldn’t sleep for even an hour.

I also had constant depression and very bad anxiety. Another problem I had was that I lost my short term memory I had to write everything down like even the simplest things i.e. what time I put food in the over.

While on the drug I did not get the sexual side effects apart from a lower libido(which was not a big problem)
But after I came off the drug I had the “crash” and I started to experience the sexual side effects, my testicles halved in size in what seemed like it was over night it was really scary and my libido was wiped out completely.

During the “crash” I lost about a stone in weight within a week. I had never lost weight that fast before. My arms in particular got very thin and I lost a lot of muscle. Also my back was covered in acne and I developed a urinary problem which means I have pee all the time.
Another strange thing happened to me around this time is that I almost drove my car onto the footpath because I had lost my spatial awareness.

Other sides I got were smaller adams apple, alcohol had no effect on me, my beard would only grow on part of my face, bending of the penis, hips got wider, loss of all breast issue,dry skin, loss of fat in my face, bones in my jaw wasted away.

The side effects from this drug seem to be endless. It goes way beyond sexual side effects. While on the drug I thought I was ok because I didn’t get the sexual sides. People need to be aware that Finasteride can destroy both your mental physical and sexual health.

I have not took Finasteride since 2012 but I am still struggling with the side effects. I can honestly say that taking this drug was the worst decision I ever made in my life. Whats ever worse is that the hair loss clinic I got it from did not tell me about ANY of the side effects.

If your in Ireland and suffer from PFS feel free to contact me.

#10

That link didn’t show what tests to take. What tests should you take?