- Where are you from (country)?
Canada
- 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 Search : anxiety finasteride
- What is your current age, height, weight?
36, 6’2", 145 lbs
- 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)?
Vegetarian
- Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
Hair Maintenance
- For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
8-9 years, don’t remember exactly
- How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
27-28
- How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
36; May 22, 2009
- How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
- What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
Proscar, quartered
- What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1-1.25mg / day
- How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
Only started noticing occasional issues in January 2009. Even there, it seemed other inputs were at play. I did not consider a link between anxiety/panic and finasteride at the time.
- 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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] 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
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[X] Joint Pain
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
- What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Ativan (Lorazepam)
Effexor XR (Venlafaxine XR)
Weekly 1 hour psychologist consultations
- 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)?
Unknown
-
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
-
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Some time in January 2009 I had to deal with a couple of very stressful situations at work. I started noticing that severe panic would overcome me in these situations and take over. This surprised me as I recall being overall quite resiliant to stressful situations. When panic sets in my vision to blurs, and I feel very dizzy as if I am about to black out. My voice quivers, I stutter and stall when I speak, and I feel as if I am shaking.
Four weeks ago I had another one of these stressful situations in an interview type situation (I was interviewing some very expensive consultants at the request of an executive where I work). I had a panic attack so severe that I shook my head rapidly and shut down. I was barely able to continue after getting a glass of water. The following day I felt dizzy and faint just standing in the hall talking to a colleague; I felt had to start walking down the hall just to prevent myself from doing something strange like shaking my head or stumbling.
Three weeks ago I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t get rid of it. Every little minor difficulty at work made me panic. I ran to my doctor at this point, I had not seen him about this issue prior to this moment.
My doctor gave me Ativan (Lorazepam) to calm me down. I took the entire 1mg pill as directed, but it made me into a total zombie. The following day I found if I took .5mg in the morning and then .5mg in the afternoon I would just barely make it through my work day and be able to discuss things and present at meetings without visibly panicking, though the anxiety continued to nag consistently.
I started seeing a psychologist at the recommendation of my doctor. I think he’s helped to ground me a bit, but something inside says this isn’t just something I’m worried about in my head. I know I shouldn’t be anxious or panicky, I live a blessed life - I have a decent career going, a low maintenance girlfriend, I get to travel to some great places…
I returned to my doctor this past week. He wouldn’t refill my Ativan prescription, says I’m going to get addicted to it. So now I’m starting on Effexor XR.
The Ativan saved me from taking a leave of absence or worse quitting my job that up until 4 weeks ago I was performing very well at overall in my opinion. I’ve been there for 17 years and I’m the guy in IT that knows how just about Everything there works. While I would like to move on to newer/better things when the ecomomy recovers a little more, this last month was the first time I’ve ever thought I would HAVE to leave.
This past week I was able to get through 2 days without taking the .5mg Ativan in the afternoon. I’m trying to remain optimistic that I can continue to wean myself off as the last few pills I have left are depleted.
I think I can confidently say that I’m not as bad off now as I was one month ago, but I am concerned that I’m still close to the wire and could panic to the point where I’ll shut down again.
My doctor and psychologist don’t believe the recent onset of severe anxiety and panic attacks is related to finansteride use. I’m also personally uncertain how much is related to finasteride, it’s just a little uncanny that so many folks around here and other forums are describing my symptoms so accurately.
In any case, thank you all for your stories. I found them so intriguing that I felt I needed to post my own. I hope that this post maybe helps someone else. Hang in there man, get yourself some Ativan if you need, use it responsibly. Try to push through the symptoms with all you’ve got; do some deep breathing, remind yourself it’s a mental manifestation. Give yourself a few weeks, don’t make any rash decisions. All the very best of luck to all of you in recovering from whatever is ailing you.