i feel myself getting to the point where i can’t do it anymore. have any of you checked yourself in to a mental facility? i can’t believe i’m saying this… but i am considering it. have any of you had experiences you could share?
I know this is hellish, and while I am not certain, I imagine they would want you to take anti depressants and possibly other medications which I highly doubt have any chance of fixing our issue. Be strong man. I was at the point of giving up because I was so, so sick and depressed and literally could not sleep for days at a time. However, I found a few things which at least slightly brought me back to some sense of sanity … I love fish oil, apple cider vinegar and probiotics, as well as trying to eat very healthy and going for short walks. I know this is so bad, but do not give up. We are here for you man.
Many of us here have been in a mental facility because of fin. Me included. Don’t do it. They’ll force anti-depressants down your throat. Find the best diet, exercise regimen, and supplements that work for you. Stay away from the “professionals”. They’re not there to help you; they’re there to stuff the pockets of big pharma.
Well I just wrote a huge post that somehow got deleted.
Anyway, like SA said its not worth it.
I was forced to admit myself or resign from my job. I never wanted to do it even though I was feeling horrible and badly wanted help because I knew that there was no seratonin/dopamine (which is what most anti-depressants are) drug they could give me that would fix this condition. I was given an ultimatum, and I did it. Lowest point of my life, sick with finasteride, stuck in a looney bin with REAL lunatics, my career hanging in the balance, 2300 miles away from family and my real friends. Having to talk to their resident psych, and having her look at me like a mentally disabled person speaking a foreign language when I tried explaining the whole finasteride issue. Forget who I was or what I’ve done, in there your just a low life crazy person as far as their concerned. Everything you say will be regarded as bullshit. Although I was regarded as high functioning so they gave me a bunch of positive thinking bullshit to read that probably came out of college general psych text book.
Gave me some sleep/anxiety meds and 4 days later that was that. Got out didn’t feel any better, felt worse, now I had to fight to keep my job…(still fighting) Had one person close to me who came to visit me everyday I was there, and took time off from work after I got out to stay with me otherwise I don’t know… being in there just really made me feel like a total failure.
Don’t do it, its not something that will help you. All I can say is talk to people here if you want support I’ll give you my cell number if you want. I don’t know what I can tell you but I can say I believe there is hope eventually we will beat this, I can’t begin to even estimate when we will know more because the admins are dicks about giving out information but obviously work is being done.
thank you all for your responses. they honestly do make me feel a little better. SA - i actually started wellbutrin today. It seems like a couple guys on here said that it at least stopped them from being suicidal… and that’s what i am hoping for. (P.S. Thank you for all you’ve done to raise awareness).
i just have no idea how you guys held down jobs. i’ve been unemployed since i got off propecia 8 months ago. i got a new job and i start tomorrow and i have absolutely no idea how i’m going to hold it down (retail management - what i used to do. but also with a 45 mile commute).
i don’t want to be a drain on society but i feel absolutely unemployable. 
you guys are all inspirations, at least. thanks.
Don’t feel that way. If it wasn’t for the ultra competitive captialism of this society maybe the drug screening process would have stopped this crap from making it to the market instead of them pumping the drugs out as fast as they can. I have nothing against capitalism in general but I feel the government and Merck have a responsibility to help cure us.
Hmm you came off a month after I did, surprised you still have the depression, thou I thought it would last forever with me, seems to have lessened greatly in the past 7-8 months.
my start/stop dates aren’t accurate. i don’t know exactly when i started. but i quit at the very beginning of october 2011. i was on it for just about a year.
it’s the depression, the brain fog, the short-term memory loss, inability to focus and retain information… all of that that still lingers. been reaching out all over the place… just don’t know what to do.
edit: and the FATIGUE. my god. that’s what is really killing my employability i feel.
Some but not all of those things tend to improve overtime…
ihatefin, you’ve been off for about the same time as me, and seem to suffer from the same sides and intensity as me. The panic attacks and anxiety are finally starting to lessen in intenstiy. The fatigue is definitely still present, but that is my next symptom I’m looking to tackle. You seem to have the same attitude as me with your newfound place in society.
As I’m typing this, I’m looking at the helium tank I bought at a party store a few months ago. I bought it to make myself an exit bag. Had I not went on my hunger strike, I would’ve used it. Now that I’m a key player in the PFS community, I really haven’t thought much about using it. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive.
I am actually in a psychiatric Clinic. I do so because this is The only Place i can Get xyrem. But The next two nights i can Get gabapentin. So i can See if ithappens Protocol was right… Guys you should all Try to Get there, do Not see another possibility. IMo
They wouldn’t give me xyrem in the place I went … Honestly I feel a whole lot better these days besides my job situation… Took 17 months for me to stop feeling like a total piece of shit after stopping the propecia, just wish I could have surpressed the anxiety and depression that long.