I was prescribed finasteride by my dermatologist 2.5 months ago for my hair loss (already using topical Minoxidil twice a day for 2 years). He prescribed me the 5mg version, which I was supposed to take in quarters to get to 1.25mg/day. I got the preparation "Finasteride Genericon 5mg film-coated tablets" from the pharmacy, which has a white box with a vertical orange line on the left-hand side and a small dolphin at the bottom.
To date, I have not experienced any of the "usual" or known side effects of Finasteride, but since mid-March (i.e. about 5 weeks ago) I have developed very strange, more neurological side effects, which I am now pretty sure can be attributed to finasteride. I informed my internist about this and he said that my symptoms are very unlikely to be caused by finasteride, but I'll describe them:
I used to take my finasteride most mornings after getting up on an empty stomach and then about 10-20 minutes after taking it I would get a slight tingling/tickling/vibrating sensation in my fingertips, which certainly isn't painful, but is a bit strange and if intense is also unpleasant. My fingers are also slightly shaky. In addition there are strong difficulty concentrating and also a strange feeling in the upper abdomen/chest area. No pressure, but the kind of feeling you get when you are very excited. It's like the adrenaline rush you get when you're on a rollercoaster and you have seconds to go. But then I feel this feeling all day, about 8-12 hours, and it reduces any strong concentration on anything else enormously!
There is also a slight general itching all over my body. However, this is not severe, but every 5-10 minutes I feel an itch somewhere on my skin.
As I said, my internist said that neurological side effects are not really documented because DHT only attaches to the scalp and nearby prostate, but if you search the internet more (aka reddit) there are people who report similar side effects (although not exactly like mine).
I reduced my dose slightly about 3 weeks ago when I had been experiencing the symptoms described above for 2 weeks. I now sometimes divide my tablets by 6, so take < 1mg/day. No improvement.
Since yesterday I have also been trying to take the tablets in the evening before going to bed, because I thought perhaps the empty stomach might lead to a change.
At first I thought that I might have problems falling asleep, but as I was very tired from doing sports yesterday, I fell asleep anyway and was able to sleep through the night (but I don't feel fully rested this morning). However, this morning I feel this tingling in my fingertips and this constant nervousness/restlessness.
I have to say, I haven't gone a day without taking finasteride since my prescription and there have been occasional days since then when I haven't felt these symptoms, which speaks against the assumption that finasteride is the trigger. I will probably stop finasteride for a few days and see if it causes a change. I know that finasteride is probably active for 2-3 weeks even after I stop taking it and that the DHT remains reduced.
I am not a pharmacist or doctor, but I suspect that if these symptoms are due to taking the medication, it may not even be the active ingredient finasteride itself that is causing them, but possibly some other ingredient that acts more like an allergy to me.
I would be grateful for an assessment/advice.
To date, I have not experienced any of the "usual" or known side effects of Finasteride, but since mid-March (i.e. about 5 weeks ago) I have developed very strange, more neurological side effects, which I am now pretty sure can be attributed to finasteride. I informed my internist about this and he said that my symptoms are very unlikely to be caused by finasteride, but I'll describe them:
I used to take my finasteride most mornings after getting up on an empty stomach and then about 10-20 minutes after taking it I would get a slight tingling/tickling/vibrating sensation in my fingertips, which certainly isn't painful, but is a bit strange and if intense is also unpleasant. My fingers are also slightly shaky. In addition there are strong difficulty concentrating and also a strange feeling in the upper abdomen/chest area. No pressure, but the kind of feeling you get when you are very excited. It's like the adrenaline rush you get when you're on a rollercoaster and you have seconds to go. But then I feel this feeling all day, about 8-12 hours, and it reduces any strong concentration on anything else enormously!
There is also a slight general itching all over my body. However, this is not severe, but every 5-10 minutes I feel an itch somewhere on my skin.
As I said, my internist said that neurological side effects are not really documented because DHT only attaches to the scalp and nearby prostate, but if you search the internet more (aka reddit) there are people who report similar side effects (although not exactly like mine).
I reduced my dose slightly about 3 weeks ago when I had been experiencing the symptoms described above for 2 weeks. I now sometimes divide my tablets by 6, so take < 1mg/day. No improvement.
Since yesterday I have also been trying to take the tablets in the evening before going to bed, because I thought perhaps the empty stomach might lead to a change.
At first I thought that I might have problems falling asleep, but as I was very tired from doing sports yesterday, I fell asleep anyway and was able to sleep through the night (but I don't feel fully rested this morning). However, this morning I feel this tingling in my fingertips and this constant nervousness/restlessness.
I have to say, I haven't gone a day without taking finasteride since my prescription and there have been occasional days since then when I haven't felt these symptoms, which speaks against the assumption that finasteride is the trigger. I will probably stop finasteride for a few days and see if it causes a change. I know that finasteride is probably active for 2-3 weeks even after I stop taking it and that the DHT remains reduced.
I am not a pharmacist or doctor, but I suspect that if these symptoms are due to taking the medication, it may not even be the active ingredient finasteride itself that is causing them, but possibly some other ingredient that acts more like an allergy to me.
I would be grateful for an assessment/advice.
