What’s the connection between Finasteride and Insomnia?

General Discussion
#1

I had some side effects form, whilst I was taking the Finasteride , some sexual dysfunction /soft erection , in the end some “uni lateral” Gynecomastia, Anhedonia however the killer one for me that came once I quit the medication was the insomnia.
Everyone gets insomnia sometimes , it’s a common human ailment from time to time …but this was like something out of a nightmare. Some nights i didn’t sleep at all. It caused me to take medical leave from work plus I had all the affects of sleep deprivation to deal with as well. A lot of you guys know what it’s like , it’s horrific.
Of course telling people you have insomnia just makes it worse as they don’t really understand the severity of it all. “just sniff some lavender and you’ll be ok” or …‘ooo well, it must be something that’s on your mind at night’ lol

Now I’m hooked on Eszopiclone and I usually get between 4 - 5 hours only on that. It’s a mess!
However somehow I still have hope that things will get better.
Anyhow my question is…what on earth could be causing the insomnia to PFS sufferers in terms of the mechanics of it all ? Especially as a lot of it is after we have stopped taking the Finasteride medication.
I read a lot into the Allopregnanolone depletion , but is that a neuro steroid that would directly involve the circadian rhythm and induce / sustain sleep? Something is clearly going on somewhere as it seems to affect a lot of people on here

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#2

I’m not super familiar with the exact mechanism but i believe neurosteroids interact with gabba receptors (important for sleep and mood regulation),dysregulated gabba signalling subsequently leads to insomnia. 5-alpha reductase is dysfunctional in PFS and neurosteroids are depleted hey presto hectic insomnia.

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#3

@Forwardsnotbackwards and @whathaveidone4669 could you two participate in our research by taking the survey? We use survey data to quantify PFS symptoms and add it to our evidence pile.

#4

I will after the 3 month natural recovery window has lapsed :slight_smile:

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#5

Finasteride destroyed my sleep I never even knew it was messing up my sleep while on the drug because I thought the side effects were only sexual.

#6

how is your sleep now?

#7

Its got better but I still have problems.

When I was at my worst I would go for weeks without any real sleep.

#8

Mark, did you recover from sexual sides?

#9

I still have sexual sides but they are not my main concern.