I began taking propecia at the age of 21. During this time I was working out 4-5 days a week, for up to 3 1/2 hours each day. I’m assuming, because of my active lifestyle, I didn’t begin to feel the negative sexual side effects until I was 26 years old, and even then the sexual side effects were quite mild. However, what I didn’t anticipate were the mental side effects. I first starting feeling anxiety not long after my 26th birthday. I would have a panic attack when I would walk into the gym. I’d have a near panic attack while approaching the front desk clerk at the gym, then I started feeling anxiety while sitting in class, and then it progressed to the point where my anxiety permeated every aspect of my life. This anxiety progressed to the point where I would feel anxiety the moment I opened my eyes in the morning.
My anxiety became so bad that, for a time, I began exhibiting symptoms of agoraphobia. Though this only lasted for a little over a year, a day can feel like an eternity when you’re so anxious you can’t even leave your home.
My anxiety was eventually accompanied by sever depression, extreme fatigue, sever sexual side effects, and suicidal thoughts. There was a time when I came quite close to killing myself, but I had the sense not to pull the trigger, literally.
It was then when I decided to start seeing a counselor; this was a year ago. I am now currently 31, about to turn 32, years old. All my previous attempts to pinpoint the cause of my mental problems spanned nearly every avenue of my life, from the amount of gluten I was consuming, to any past traumas I had experienced which may have led towards the development of these issues; the one thing I overlooked was the propecia. I even went as far as becoming a vegan, and consuming almost nothing but freshly juiced fruits, and vegetables.
The only reason why I decided to research the side effects of propecia was because there was literally NOTHING else that could have possibly caused these problems; aside from having crappy genetics. However, there is no history of mental illness in my family, NONE. So, I googled “propecia, and anxiety”, and I was ultimately lead to this forum; I found this site about two months ago.
After reading many of your stories, and reading many of the articles posted on this forum I decided to stop taking the propecia. I can honestly say, with no reservations, that this site, and the community herein saved my life. So far, I’ve seen a gigantic improvement between the anxious, tired, depressed man I was just a few short months ago; I’m literally not the same person I was 60 days ago. Though, I’m still battling my anxiety, for the first time in over 5 years I feel as though I’m finally starting to win the war against G.A.D. (i.e., Generalized Anxiety Disorder), and depression. Luckily, I have fully recovered from the sexual side effects. Needless to say, my girlfriend is a much happier woman.
Propecia robbed me of my soul, my career, many of my personal relationships, and robbed me of my dignity. So, if you are taking propecia, and find yourself reading this post, PLEASE, stop taking propecia. I went from being the healthiest, strongest, and most successful person I knew to being a walking corpse. So, it’s not a matter of IF you will suffer these side effects it’s a matter of when. Stop taking this drug, tell your doctor about the dangers of propecia, tell your friends about the dangers of propecia, and make peace with being bald. Because, once you lose your mind, you’re screwed… And though these side effects stopped, or are in the process of stopping, for some men these side effect are permanent.
What good is a full head of hair if you’re too damn anxious to go outside, too damn depressed to want to socialize, or if your “gear” doesn’t work? Propecia was as close, and will forever be as close as I will ever come to making a deal with the devil.
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0) Where are you from (country)?
USA
- 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 - What is your current age, height, weight?
31, 6’4, 250lbs - Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
No - What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
meat eater - Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
hair loss - For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
10 1/2 years - How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
21 years old - How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
31 years old - How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey - What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
propecia - What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg a day - How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
5 years - What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
anxiety