I took finisteride for 3 years, 1.5 after the beginning of brain fog, and have quit it for 3 months.
Is there any hope an improvement in symptoms? are there any tests or drugs I can take to improve this problem. It is damaging my career.
Yes there is hope. Likely within a year you will see much improvement… it is still early days yet.
Many here find their mental symptoms improve, it’s the sexual/libido ones that seem to hang around.
Do you have bloodtests as outlined on this site, to see what is going on with your body post-Finasteride use? If not, you should obtain them.
I haven’t had the tests. There seem to be a million suggested drug tests. If I managed to find a doctor who suggest the tests, do any treatment options emerge from the tests, or do the tests merely help tell you whether finisteride is to blame for your problems
This is absolutely critical if you are to engage in any further treatment options. You need to see where you stand today, in terms of your hormones, after Finasteride.
Read through this entire thread, at the end is a shortened list of the most important tests to get, for starters:
propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92
If your doctor won’t do the tests for you, offer to pay for them yourself. He shouldn’t object at that point.
If he does object, either go to another doc that will help you OR if you live in a country that lets you pay for your own healthcare, you should be able to go to a lab and get the necessary tests done if you pay for them yourself.
Yes. If you read through the FAQ at the top of this site, and various posts around this forum, you will see there are treatment options to consider:
- Clomid
- Tamoxifen (Nolvadex)
- hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin
- TRT (testosterone replacement therapy)
… and possibly other drug treatments such as Dopamine agonists, external DHT (ie Mesterolone), and other forms of PCT (Post Cycle Therapy – protocols typically used by bodybuilders).
You need to do your research if you are to understand what you are dealing with here, suggest you read through a lot of posts and you will likely have many questions answered.
If you took Finasteride and are still experiencing problems months after you quit, the bloodtests should help to show you what the drug did. If you choose not to believe Finasteride is the cause of your issues, that is also your choice.
Not everyone suffers post-Finasteride side effects, but for those that do there seems to be a common trend in the bloodwork – often combinations of low Total/Free Testosterone, low LH, low FSH, high Estradiol, Prolactin and SHBG.
If your results show similar, likely that is what happened as a result of the drug.
Thanks - I will try to see whether doctor will perform these tests.
My only problem is that the article referred to in the link you gave was speaking of women - do we have articles referring to men that make my argument to the doctor to order these tests more credible?