I just want my life back!

Member Stories
#1
  1. How did you find this forum?

Google searches for brain fog

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?

6’4"

  1. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?

Not anymore

  1. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?

Fast food / convenient. Not very healthy to be honest.

  1. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?

Hairloss

  1. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?

1 year

  1. How old were you when you started Finasteride?

29

  1. How old were you when you quit?

30

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

Cold "Turkey

  1. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?

Propecia

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

1 mg

  1. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?

3-4 months

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

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x ] 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
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] 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
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

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

Vitamins

  1. 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)?

  2. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  3. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

I started taking propecia b/c i noticed my hairline was receding slightly. Little did I know that vanity would completely mess up my life.

I started taking in August 2011. By December 2011, something was terribly wrong, but i didn’t link it to the propecia. I had horrible brain fog, spaciness, extreme (extreme) agitation, panic attacks, etc., as well as the sexual issues. The mental/cognitive effects have been so bad at times that I could honestly care less about the sexual things.

As i said, I never even considered it could be the propecia at first. I went to dozens of doctors, had multipe mris, lots of tests, neurology appts, etc. to try and figure out what was wrong with my head. I couldn’t function at work and almost lost my job. I became isolated to my apartment and had no motivation. I thought about death everyday b/c i was so miserable. I thought that i had done permanent brain damage after a 4 day binger in cabo (part of me thinks that could be the case, still)

One day i was googling “brain fog” and came across this site - then it obviously clicked. This was about 12 months after starting fin, and about 9 months after being hit with the mental side effects blow. I quit cold turkey immediately on Aug 25, 2012.

It’s been 2.5 months and things still are barely better - MAYBE slightly. I walk around like I am in a permanent daze, like my mind never fully wakes up or becomes alert. Nothing stimulates me. I’m like a zombie drifting through clouds, and occassionally get so mentally agitated/uncomfortable that panic attacks start. I’ve noticed that alcohol and caffeine make this exponentially worse. Exercise makes this worse too, so i am now extremely paranoid of working out even though i know it would probably be good.l

I don’t know what to do. I’m a financial analyst i might lose my job because i can’t think clearly. I’ve isolated myself from family and friends, and have no motivation. I can sleep up to 15 hours / day because my mind never seems to wake up. I just don’t know what to do.

For those that have experienced the cognitive effects - did you notice these before quitting fin, as I did? Does time seem to help?

Thanks for reading and best of luck to all.

#2

Hi, buddy. Long story short, yes, some of us do have the mental sides while on finasteride. I can say that because I had them.

The mental sides (depression, brain fog, etc.) seem to be the first ones to fade away (they eventually go away completely). In my case, they still bother me, although they’re not as intense nor as frequent as they used to be when I quit, almost 1 year ago.

Hang in there, buddy. Things will improve as time goes by. Vitamins and supplements might speed up the process to a “better life”. Please check out on the topics.

Best wishes.

#3

Thanks for the encouragement and the feedback. I’m trying a few different things, including udos oil and 5htp. I really need to start doing cardio as well, but that has actually triggered severe brain fog and panic attacks in the past so i am paranoid to begin.

It is reassuring that many sufferers’ mental issues seem to subside with time. I was thinking 2.5 months off would be enough, but it sounds like I may have several more ahead of me before I see any improvement.

#4

HI, I am a big proponent of the neurosteroid/neurotransmitter theory. I believe everything we experience is due to some imbalance (hopefully not neural damage) which has caused a cascading effect that has lead to our symptoms. I am very curious to see how 5htp affects you.

#5

Finatruth- I know what you mean about the " cascading" theory. Part of me wonders if low neurotransmitter levels and associated depressive symptoms may essentially be magnifying many of the physical symptoms we experience.

After all, before fin i most definitely had awful hangovers (complete with brain fog, anxiety, you name it) but it didnt seem to affect my general well-being nearly as much as these symptoms do now. If anything i am hopeful that restoring normal serotonin levels will at least make things seem " not as horrible"