Finasteride and anxiety?

[corza000]

Hi all,

I have been a user of finasteride for around 4 years now and it has gone well - no known sides and growth/maintenance of hair. At stages during this period I did find myself anxious but attributed that to growing up, and in the last 6 months the anxiety and depression has become pretty bad out of nowhere really. Now I don't want to jump the gun and blame the finasteride as the cause as it could be anything but, is it commonly linked, could it be a likely cause? Is there a way of finding out without ceasing finasteride. As you could imagine the thought of further hair loss from ceasing to take finasteride as a test is very daunting to someone in the state I am in.

Thanks

 

[xRedStaRx]

Hi all,

I have been a user of finasteride for around 4 years now and it has gone well - no known sides and growth/maintenance of hair. At stages during this period I did find myself anxious but attributed that to growing up, and in the last 6 months the anxiety and depression has become pretty bad out of nowhere really. Now I don't want to jump the gun and blame the finasteride as the cause as it could be anything but, is it commonly linked, could it be a likely cause? Is there a way of finding out without ceasing finasteride. As you could imagine the thought of further hair loss from ceasing to take finasteride as a test is very daunting to someone in the state I am in.

Thanks

Try taking the same dose every other day instead.

Report back after a week or more.

 

[corza000]

Thanks. I'll give it a go!

 

[corza000]

Ok it has been 2 weeks since I started taking finasteride every other day. Anxiety/depression remains no real noticeable difference some ok days but pretty similar to before. Has this been enough time to gauge whether it is a side? Will I shed if I continue to take every other day? Is there anything else I can try to test whether finasteride is causing anything?

Thanks!

 

[otis]

Hi all,

I have been a user of finasteride for around 4 years now and it has gone well - no known sides and growth/maintenance of hair. At stages during this period I did find myself anxious but attributed that to growing up, and in the last 6 months the anxiety and depression has become pretty bad out of nowhere really. Now I don't want to jump the gun and blame the finasteride as the cause as it could be anything but, is it commonly linked, could it be a likely cause? Is there a way of finding out without ceasing finasteride. As you could imagine the thought of further hair loss from ceasing to take finasteride as a test is very daunting to someone in the state I am in.

Thanks

I had those problems long before I started using finasteride so don't blame finasteride so fast many people in this world have the same issues without being on finasteride.

 

[xRedStaRx]

Ok it has been 2 weeks since I started taking finasteride every other day. Anxiety/depression remains no real noticeable difference some ok days but pretty similar to before. Has this been enough time to gauge whether it is a side? Will I shed if I continue to take every other day? Is there anything else I can try to test whether finasteride is causing anything?

Thanks!

Did you suffer the same before finasteride? Family history? What dose are you using, 1mg EOD is pretty much the same as ED.

Any other medications?

 

[corza000]

Thanks for getting back to me! I am back to taking 1.25mg every day after the 2 weeks of every other day. I also take bactrim every day for skin and have been for over 5 years. I have been taking finasteride for around 4 years. Depression/anxiety has really set in heavily in last 6 months so can't say I had it before finasteride. Self esteem very low so giving up finasteride on chance is daunting. Family history of depression - I think my mum had it for a period of time. Any benefit of trying EOD for longer period or lower dosage?

Thanks heaps.

- - - Updated - - -

I've seen in some of the studies the tetrahydronepegestetone levels being reduced leading to depression is there a way of testing those levels?

 

[xRedStaRx]

Thanks for getting back to me! I am back to taking 1.25mg every day after the 2 weeks of every other day. I also take bactrim every day for skin and have been for over 5 years. I have been taking finasteride for around 4 years. Depression/anxiety has really set in heavily in last 6 months so can't say I had it before finasteride. Self esteem very low so giving up finasteride on chance is daunting. Family history of depression - I think my mum had it for a period of time. Any benefit of trying EOD for longer period or lower dosage?

Thanks heaps.

- - - Updated - - -

I've seen in some of the studies the tetrahydronepegestetone levels being reduced leading to depression is there a way of testing those levels?

Try 0.625 mg EOD instead. The idea is to maintain your hair with less 5-AR inhibition inside brain tissue. You shouldn't lose hair on almost all doses, and EOD shouldn't matter for hair since it has a long tissue binding. If that fails you can either not attribute that to finasteride, or stop completely for a week for a more accurate assessment.

You can probably find neurosteroid test clinics if you look. Search for neurologists and CNS professionals.

 

[I.D WALKER]

Hello Corza, Seeing that you mention Bactrim use (oral I will presume), I am compelled to ask, have you and your physician ruled it out as a possible culprit to your anxiety, depression, itching, etc., ? I realize some of these aforesaid examples adverse sides are generally rare for most individuals prescribed Bactrim and I might have done well to preface in this post that deciphering warning labels on most pharmaceuticals would have the likes of virtually every sound and able bodied person running for the hills. Even so Bactrim is a powerful drug and it may not explain your primary concerns you hope to address/answer here, it is my hope you have it positively confirmed that it's not causing other adverse symptoms for you and/or exacerbating preexisting conditions. Hope I did not insult your intelligence. All the best.:sun:

Thanks for getting back to me! I am back to taking 1.25mg every day after the 2 weeks of every other day. I also take bactrim every day for skin and have been for over 5 years. I have been taking finasteride for around 4 years. Depression/anxiety has really set in heavily in last 6 months so can't say I had it before finasteride. Self esteem very low so giving up finasteride on chance is daunting. Family history of depression - I think my mum had it for a period of time. Any benefit of trying EOD for longer period or lower dosage?

Thanks heaps.

- - - Updated - - -

I've seen in some of the studies the tetrahydronepegestetone levels being reduced leading to depression is there a way of testing those levels?

 

[corza000]

Try 0.625 mg EOD instead. The idea is to maintain your hair with less 5-AR inhibition inside brain tissue. You shouldn't lose hair on almost all doses, and EOD shouldn't matter for hair since it has a long tissue binding. If that fails you can either not attribute that to finasteride, or stop completely for a week for a more accurate assessment.

You can probably find neurosteroid test clinics if you look. Search for neurologists and CNS professionals.

Thanks redstar. How long should I try .625 EOD? What kind of tests should I be asking for from the neurologists? Appreciate it.

- - - Updated - - -

Hello Corza, Seeing that you mention Bactrim use (oral I will presume), I am compelled to ask, have you and your physician ruled it out as a possible culprit to your anxiety, depression, itching, etc., ? I realize some of these aforesaid examples adverse sides are generally rare for most individuals prescribed Bactrim and I might have done well to preface in this post that deciphering warning labels on most pharmaceuticals would have the likes of virtually every sound and able bodied person running for the hills. Even so Bactrim is a powerful drug and it may not explain your primary concerns you hope to address/answer here, it is my hope you have it positively confirmed that it's not causing other adverse symptoms for you and/or exacerbating preexisting conditions. Hope I did not insult your intelligence. All the best.:sun:

No worries ID. Thanks for the response. The physician has not mentioned anything about bactrim and it's possibility as a cause he is more interested in prescribing antidepressants. Rightly or wrongly I put a bit of faith in the dermatologist to know his stuff. I can see that long term bactrim usage is not good for anyone and I'm trying to get off it but upon my own research I could find more apparent links between depression and finasteride than depression and bactrim. I don't know a whole lot though other than some google searches.

 

[corza000]

Any answers for this one?

 

[corza000]

Thanks mobi. Interesting to hear about your case and having a timeline of anxiety after taking it. Have you experienced depression or any prolonging anxiety as a result? How long would it last when you took .5mg? Did you notice any hair loss with this reduced dose?

A week doesn't seem like enough time to shake sides - is this a proven method?

Thanks again.

 

[corza000]

Thanks mobi. I have been having 0.625 EOD. I may try 0.5mg ED. Not sure which is more ideal or which is best to minimise anxiety while not having hair loss. Good to hear the 0.5mg ED reduced your anxiety while not giving you hair loss.

 

[Donny J]

i was on finasteride for 2.5 years before starting to experience anxiety issues. i was on finasteride for another year until the sides recently (4 months ago) became too much for me to handle. xanax was the only thing that worked for me. you could also try a drug called propanolol, which is a beta blocker you take once a day to decrease stress/anxiety.

fyi: my problems still continue today -- i'm praying that i heal fully one day and my neurological sides cease to exist.

 

[corza000]

Thanks for the response donny. So you have been off finasteride for 4 months now? What have you noticed since being off? Are you sure it fun was the cause? Cheers

 

[project100]

I began using finasteride back in 2012. 3 months or so after I started, I got a panic disorder. I can't really tell if propecia was the cause of it, but it definitely is something to take note of if you are prone to anxiety.

Ps. first post, hurray!

 

[corza000]

Did you notice any ongoing issues project? Thanks

 

[project100]

Since I stopped using Propecia? Well, once you get panic disorder, you're kinda stuck with it. My life was a mess the next 18 months, but fortunately, it's getting a lot better now.
I did not experience any sexual sides, though, which is good.

 

[mr.patches]

Surprised nobody asked, when are you taking finasteride? If you are taking it in the morning, you should switch taking the pill before you sleep. I've been doing this to not psych about the effects.

 

[mr.patches]

I would suggest moving the dose slowly from 4 to later on then.

Edited: You should read this http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/87352-List-of-some-of-the-best-success-stories!! . Good reactors generally advice to take finasteride before going to bed.