Insomnia 4 years after quitting Propecia

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    France

  2. How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)
    Google

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    32, 1m83, 74 kg

  4. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    In the past, not very much. Now, I try to exercise more regularly: running, cycling, working in the garden aso

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    Organic healthy diet with green vegetables, raw if possible, brown rice & low sugar food aso.

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

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

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    Was 29 yo. Started January 2009

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    29 yo. Ended April 2009

  10. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    Don’t remember exactky. Cold turkey I think, because it wouldn’t change a lot all about the side effects I got.

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

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

  13. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    After 3-4 weeks approx

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

All the sexual side effects are gone after a year approx.
But, since I take Propecia, my sleep pattern has really gone bad: when on Propecia, I couldn’t sleep. I was never tired. I didn’t feel the need to sleep.
3 years after: approx the same thing: I sleep 1 day per week approx. Usually I reach the sleep at 5 am, not before…

On propecia, I got a big depression. Incredible what this drug can lead to. Lot of confusion, brain fog… Do not use this sh…

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    No “treatment” against insomnia, but I try food with Tryptophan to induce sleep. Homeopathy. Exercise more regularly…

  2. 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)?
    No advanced checks, but the basics were fine (thiroid, iron levels…) No problem

  3. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
    The drawback outweighs the advantages… Do not use this sh…

#2

I had and still have some similar mental side effects after I came off propecia. Insomnia was real bad for awhile… like you said couldn’t sleep more than a few hours a night and never ever felt tired. Got SUPER depressed right after I stopped using it to, and thats what has messed up my whole life.

Thankfully both those side effects have faded somewhat being now about 19 months off the drug… unfortunately it wasn’t soon enough.

#3

Hello,

Recently, I’ve got some success regarding my sleep problems, so I share:
There are some food that induce sleep.

What seems to work for me:

Eat half a cup of oatmeal the evening with some jam

  • lime tree infusion.

Best regards

#4

Hi,

The improvement was short-lived.

I still have a lot of difficulties to sleep every night. I do not feel tired anymore. I do not feel the need to sleep.

I really think that it comes from Propecia, even 4 years after having stopped taking this drug. What a sh… Propecia is.

#5

exactly same thing with me happened i had to be taken to hospital yesterday as my brain wouldn’t switch off for 4 days .
I feel like i was super awake . I’m trying to go to sleep , my body is tired but my brain doesn’t want to switch off.

#6

exactly same thing with me happened i had to be taken to hospital yesterday as my brain wouldn’t switch off for 4 days .
I feel like i was super awake . I’m trying to go to sleep , my body is tired but my brain doesn’t want to switch off.
it like the lack of substrates of 5ar causes us to be overactive.

#7

Hi michaelp

Try antihistamine for sleep.

Regards sonder

#8

Anyone find a good, permanent solution to insomnia?? Ive tried so many things, valerian, melatonin, rozerem, trazodone, lunesta, benadryl, passion flower. Im getting frustrated. Im running out of energy to keep fighting. I cant even lay my head down to a good nights sleep anymore. This is such a nightmare. I just dont understand how this drug can do this to a person.

#9

Here has been my experience of what has helped

1# Time seems to be the best solution. Its taken years, but it does get noticeably better on its own

2# Call up your local sleep study clinic, ask if they have a CBT sleep specialist. They will work with you on a week to week basis.

3# I keep it very cold in my room. If It gets too warm, I dont sleep well

4# I try to keep any kind of sleeping pills to a minimum. Once in a while seems ok, but there is simply no magic pill that will fix this

#10

Tonight im trying gaba mixed w some others in one pill. Hoping i feel rested in the morning.

#11

I do not know if I should recommend this but I’ve had sleeping problems as well since quitting. Used to wake up 5-6 times per night. Now what I do is use a vaporizer and inhale some indica marijuana every evening, I always fall asleep a few hours later without problems and sometimes even sleep right thru the entire night. Marijuana has definitely helped managing with the symptoms.

#12

Ill lose my job, but otherwise id try it. I actually tried it once after getting pfs. Lessened my anxiety for sure. I imagine its not good though if we are already cognitively impaired…

#13

I struggle with insomnia. The only thing that works for me is Elavil, which I take on Friday or Saturday nights (once a week roughly) as it has a carryover effect (for me) to the next day. I usually take it at 7pm latest, and only when I have an opportunity to sleep in. I take a very very small dose of it (25mg cut in 3 pcs, so like 8 mg) but I also have low body weight. As a rule, I take as little as possible of anything esp when starting. This is a relatively safe drug.

#14

Just started on Vistaril. Definately got solid sleep on 50mg. Also no anxiety the next morning. Eased me into my day. Trazodone was effective, but left me nauseous and hungover next day. It also seemed to be slowing my thinking down. Felt more numb to everything. No strange side effects from the vistaril. Its an antihistamine, indicated for short term anxiety, insomnia, and nausea. It definately seems like a keeper to me. I may consider remeron. But this will do for the time being. Of course see a doctor before trying anything, just reporting my experience. Feels good to be rested today!

#15

Hi,
I still suffer from insomnia. Don’t know for sure if it’s Propecia related, but the sleep problems started 4years ago after propecia intake.
Hope it will get better with time. 4 years off the drug at this point…

#16

I don’t know how the various neurosteroids related to sleep should balance over time.

In september, I’m going to a sleep center but I don’t know if they are aware of the PFS…

#17

Since quitting I have a had major issues with the deep sleep phase which I think greatly contributed to the issues.

I initially used to rotate between Xanax and Ambien (1 night Xanax 0.6mg, 2 nights Ambien 10mg, 3 nights off) and I managed to actually sleep through the night again. I always feel very lethargic the next day though and have very little energy/motivation, especially after Xanax nights.

I now only take an Allopregnanalone nasal spray (best for absorption). I have 6 to 10 sprays before bedtime and my sleep has improved drastically.

Progesterone is a precursor which converts to Allopregnanalone through (surprise) 5AR.

#18

Thanks for your input!

What is the name of the nasal spray please ?

#19

Wait?? What?? There is an allopregenalone nasal spray? Where did you get that? Have other side effects improved with its use?

#20

Am I allowed to post links to those websites?

Just google for “Celtic Dreams Mist Spray” :slight_smile:

Sleep improved significantly. I don’t think it helped with any of the other side effects but prologned phases of good sleep help restore the body so I can imagine the Spray helping more indirectly in the long-term.

edit: since I’ve seen a few people posting links now, here you go: nutri-verse.com/celtic-dream … ltic-labs/

I want to add that I have talked with the guy who makes them - generally very reliable and trustworthy. He tested the Allopregnanolone for purity it came back around 60%. That was the only way to achieve that price point. So you just have to use a bit extra.