my story while using propecia

Symptoms Neurological
#1

hello every one,

i am 30 years old male who have used propecia for about 6-7 years and just quit month ago,

i started on the age of 23 when i first saw my hair is shedding and the dermotolog told me its a male hairloss cause by dht and the medicine propecia has no side effects and i should try this.

the first year my hair was much thicker and my hairloss almost stopeed, i had very low sperm in my orgasms and got softer erections, the doctor told me no need to panick cause its go away when you stop taking it,
while i was taking it i was feeling by the years some depression, pressure in chest, and two years ago almost very weak erection and sometimes no erection, my balls got very tiny and i cant done any sex cause a lot of times i couldnt get to full erection for sex.

the 2-3 years ago i feel more anxiety than usual, and got some panic attacks few times, also i had brain fog, and couldnt conctrate and feel like i cant follow up people who talked to me, i didnt connection it to propecia and i didnt understand whats going up with me.

about 1-2 months its always got me after i took propecia i got some panic attacks, short of breathness, strong heart beats, hard pressure on chest, dizziness, i thought i was going to die and its heart attack, it was about week that every day i had a strong anxiety that i feel that my life is hell!! i was at hospital few times and they told me my heart is ok and its stron panick attacks, the psychiatrist told me to quit propecia immediatly, i stopped if for a month and i feel better but i still in bad anxiety,that not going away alone, i consider taking SSRI to go out of my bad anxiety that i got and dont go away… i thought that about two weeks i will be new but it isnt the situation, my hair is shedding and seems got really bad hairloss from quitting the drug…

does someone got a case like that?does the anxiety will go away alone or i should take SSRI to get out of it?my life is hell and i feel very bad from the anxiety and the panick attacks that atacks me, i cant really relax from the situation of the panick attacks…

#2

The anxiety and panic attacks should subside over time, hopefully. Try increasing your intake of Omega 3 fish oils.

SSRIs are NOT recommended, they can also cause persistent sexual dysfunction.

#3

do you know how much time take the anxiety and panic attacks to go away?

i really suffer now, i have short of breathness and i really dont see the end of this anxiety…

and how much time ill get the agressive hairloss from quitting the finastride?

#4

You took the drug for 7 years and only quit 1 month ago, it could take a few more months to subside. In my case I took the drug for 11 months and the anxiety issues went away within 3 weeks.

Who cares about hair loss anymore after side effects from Finasteride?

That said, it took well over 1 year for me to see a noticeable increase in hair shedding again after quitting the drug.

Regardless, if hair is still your major concern, pls post on hair loss sites.

#5

The anxiety for me was the worst. I definitely feel your pain. I had plenty of tests too. I once got lucky where they were able to catch it on EKG, turned out to be PVCs, which I never had even once before propecia. Ever since I had that explained by a doctor that, while frightening, they are relatively harmless. That also calmed me down.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contraction

The good news is that it will subside but time is needed. I have been off since Aug 2008. For me, I still struggle with it from time to time - especially when I am dehydrated and exhausted/stressed. My advice would be to minimize stress and see if you can if you can get an anti-anxiety medicine in the short-term. It does help. I would also recommend you stay hydrated especially as the weather heats up. Gatorade/PowerAde do help. Also consider seeing a shrink, their only job is to help you and seeing someone can help.

Lastly, shave your head, not worth dealing with all the hair BS. I did and I only wish I did that from the beginning…

#6

you know, i also has pvc’s from about 3-4 years ago, i never had it before using the finastride, at first i was scared when it happend than i did some tests like ekg, holter heart and Echocardiography and the Cardiologist say its pvc’s and its not dangerous.
some doctors told me that they cant see the connection between finastride to my mental side effects and the pvc’s but they know only the sexual side effects and unknown with the mental problems and issues caused by finastride.
i really disapointed that i dont have other way to save my hair because propecia done the job but the side effects really get worse by the time of taking it.

do you think i rather taking some anti anxiety medicine like xanax and assival than taking SSRI? i really afraid starting taking the anti anxiety cause ive read it can make you addicted to the drug very fast, and i really dont want that it will happen…

i really suffer those days cause i cant really go out of my situation and my best part of the day is going to sleep cause i feel very unrest all the day, and shortness of breath so i cant really function normally all day and i’m Frustrated from this situation and i really feel need to do something to get over it, cause i know it can take more than a month to subside the side effects from finastride but i really dont want to live like this( like in hell) one more month…

#7

So I can’t answer whether or not you should take the anti-anxiety meds, only your doc can help you there. However, for me an easy, way was taking Clonazepam, which I took when I had a panic attack or felt like one was coming on. It did help and calmed me down.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000635/. You take it when you need it basically.

My other advice is to (at least immediately) is to not drink alcohol or drink coffee/caffeine. I can drink both now but it helped not drinking when things were crazy like that. I would also pick a diet to get on. No artificial sugar (only natural like fruit) diet also helped. I would also hit the gym as much as you can. I promise you will get through it and come out leaner, tougher both mentally and physically. It will also sound a little crazy but consider yoga one that focuses on stretching and meditation (not hot yoga). Basically a basic yoga will do. I was the only guy in the class at times so it can be intimidating but they teach you how to breath properly and relax. I still use those breathing techniques today when things get a little out of control.

But honestly you have to do what interests you and what you know you can sustain. Only over time will you feel better and time is your best friend. I know day to day sucks and sleep is the best part.