Post-finasteride Syndrome - Thoughts?

[md2002]

Hi All,
I find it hard to believe there are no post in here about PFS but I did a search and found none. Basically I've been taking finasteride for over 20 years and I never heard about PFS until about a month ago. Now it's got me worried and I'm pretty sure I have some of the symptoms. My memory and memory retrieval is awful and and my triglycerides are very high! I'm thinking of stopping finasteride because of these symptoms but what if I stop it, lose my hair and still have the symptoms? It would be very difficult to get my hair back if I were to lose it at this point (I'm 45) Has anyone had any of the PFS symptoms and returned to normal when they stop finasteride, or notice a difference in any psychological side effects you might have had.

I know it's not good to continue putting a pill in your body year after year but until know I didn't know PFS was a thing. Has anyone stopped finasteride with psychological side effects and returned to normal?

 

[bigjimmy]

Some have and some haven't.

 

[ckp4eva]

Interested to hear this as well. Hope you find the answers you seek mate. Can you check my recent post please? Could do with a vet like yourself giving me some input!

 

[abcdefg]

You really just need to think about if you had these problems before you took it or not. Its tough because 20 years later an awful lot of things can change naturally nothing ever stays the same. I just think you should be careful stopping when your problems might not even be related to the drug.
I will say as someone that just started finasteride a week ago I get lots of headaches and light headedness that I never ever had before. The neurosteroid stuff and its relationship to moods, and whatever else is the biggest long term negative that we simply dont understand.
Taking a pill for years might not have any major negative sides. We have studies showing us men after 10 years were fine. The neurosteroid research though is lacking, but we dont know if some men have low neurosteroids naturally and lowering them amounts to nothing significant anyway.
Eating anything everday for years might change things but does it amount to anything significant? A lot of times no. finasteride might be the same. You cant assume the worst.

 

[mannyFJ]

i would recommend fasting as it induce human growth hormone and autophagy along with resetting and healing the body for those suffering from post-finasteride syndrome

 

[ngc800]

If you decide to stop I recommend doing it very, very slowly to avoid jolting the system. Taper off over a two year period and go to a very low dose at the end, like 1/32th. You are likely going to lose a substantial amount of hair - more hair than you would have lost over these 20 years had you not been on finasteride at all. As far as I know, finasteride treatment group eventually drops below control group (in hair density) after discontinuation. That's a nice surprise from Merck for you. When you start losing a lot of hair, in 4-6 months, you will panic and likely decide to go back on finasteride. This is the absolutely worst thing you can do. That's how many people get PFS, and that's how I got it. I took finasteride for 8 years, stopped for 6 months, then resumed, and got PFS with the first pill. It's been 2 years and I have had no improvement whatsoever - zero libido, etc. I don't need to list the symptoms, you probably know them.

 

[md2002]

Your point is taking, and I actually have been reducing the finasteride intake for years to see if anything changed mentally. I did once a day for years, then I cut down to every other day and did this for probably 8-10 years. About 2 years ago I wanted to see if finasteride was the reason for some of my memory issues, very fatigued at times etc. The last 2 years I've been taken finasteride Mon, Wed, and Fri. and nothing has changed in my mental state and as far as I can tell I've had no increase in hair loss either. Here we are 2 years later and I essentially cut the dose in half and still have all the issues that may or may not be caused by finasteride. You would think if I cut the dosage in half that if finasteride was the reason for my issues I would see some change but I haven't. Maybe finasteride needs to be out of your body all together?

As someone else said, a lot can change naturally in 20 years and I've had issues with learning my entire life, I've never been good at book smart stuff and I get bored easily. I actually saw a psychiatrist about it, long story short and after a number of tests, including a 4 hour mental evaluation using a series of tests I was diagnosed with ADHD which apparently have some of the same symptoms as PFS. Obviously this makes things more interesting and had me wonder more.

 

[md2002]

Interested to hear this as well. Hope you find the answers you seek mate. Can you check my recent post please? Could do with a vet like yourself giving me some input!

What's the post?

 

[md2002]

If you decide to stop I recommend doing it very, very slowly to avoid jolting the system. Taper off over a two year period and go to a very low dose at the end, like 1/32th. You are likely going to lose a substantial amount of hair - more hair than you would have lost over these 20 years had you not been on finasteride at all. As far as I know, finasteride treatment group eventually drops below control group (in hair density) after discontinuation. That's a nice surprise from Merck for you. When you start losing a lot of hair, in 4-6 months, you will panic and likely decide to go back on finasteride. This is the absolutely worst thing you can do. That's how many people get PFS, and that's how I got it. I took finasteride for 8 years, stopped for 6 months, then resumed, and got PFS with the first pill. It's been 2 years and I have had no improvement whatsoever - zero libido, etc. I don't need to list the symptoms, you probably know them.

I forgot to ask. Have you had, or did you have memory issues as part of the sides?

 

[g.i joey]

Sounds like you’re blaming normal problems on finasteride... it’s over 20 years you’re on it, and from the horro stories over at propecia help I think you’d know if you were effected and wouldn’t be “questioning” it

 

[Matthews92]

So is this a serious risk of using finasteride? I’ve recently started taking it.

 

[ngc800]

You would think if I cut the dosage in half that if finasteride was the reason for my issues I would see some change but I haven't. Maybe finasteride needs to be out of your body all together?
.

Finasteride has a very flat dose-response curve, meaning that you need to lower the dose a lot to see a reduction in its action. That's why I said that effective tapering implies going to doses as low as 1/16th and 1/32th of standard dose. One-half of a dose wouldn't make such a big of a difference in any potential side effects. If you have side effects I recommend you stop completely, as I would, but you still should probably taper. Try to avoid having big fluctuations in drug concentration. Every other day is as intermittently as I would take it.

As for memory issues, those are very general and non-specific issues that anybody can have from anything, including from psychological issues, so it is hard to say if you have that from finasteride. I certainly have a lot of mental and psychological symptoms as part of PFS but I am pretty sure they are secondary to depression, which itself is caused by having been effectively castrated by finasteride. If you don't know what that means, I am happy to explain.

The main question you need to ask yourself to evaluate if you have PFS or early stage PFS is how is your libido? If you have low libido all your mental symptoms can stem from that, including fatigue. It is very simple - libido gives you a drive for life. No libido = no drive = fatigue.

I also hope you are not going to take any drugs for your "ADHD".

 

[ngc800]

So is this a serious risk of using finasteride? I’ve recently started taking it.

Is the risk of having your whole life totally destroyed a serious risk? I don't know...

 

[md2002]

So is this a serious risk of using finasteride? I’ve recently started taking it.

The advise I would give you and others who are afraid of side effects is to not do it. When I started taking finasteride there weren't forums, the only thing I knew is what Merck was telling me so I thought I would try it. There is a lot more information available now on the drug.

The mind is a very powerful thing and if you're scared of the side effects your mind can turn those fears into reality even if you're not really having side effects. You know what I mean, your mind can easily trick you into having side effects.

 

[md2002]

Finasteride has a very flat dose-response curve, meaning that you need to lower the dose a lot to see a reduction in its action. That's why I said that effective tapering implies going to doses as low as 1/16th and 1/32th of standard dose. One-half of a dose wouldn't make such a big of a difference in any potential side effects. If you have side effects I recommend you stop completely, as I would, but you still should probably taper. Try to avoid having big fluctuations in drug concentration. Every other day is as intermittently as I would take it.

As for memory issues, those are very general and non-specific issues that anybody can have from anything, including from psychological issues, so it is hard to say if you have that from finasteride. I certainly have a lot of mental and psychological symptoms as part of PFS but I am pretty sure they are secondary to depression, which itself is caused by having been effectively castrated by finasteride. If you don't know what that means, I am happy to explain.

The main question you need to ask yourself to evaluate if you have PFS or early stage PFS is how is your libido? If you have low libido all your mental symptoms can stem from that, including fatigue. It is very simple - libido gives you a drive for life. No libido = no drive = fatigue.

I also hope you are not going to take any drugs for your "ADHD".

No problems with Libido, yet. I'm assuming if I haven't had libido problems in 23 years then anything at this point is just from normal age related libido. I'm taking Ritalin for ADHD. Seems to help a bit when I have a lot of excel and word document stuff to do for work. I stay engaged better and not dose off with boredom.

 

[vailj9]

My son recently stopped using Propecia for hair loss, and after taking it for only three months, he is suffering from low libido and anxiety. As a young man (29) he is very frustrated with the fact that this has happened, especially only taking it for such a short while. Does anyone have any suggestions for things he can do to remedy this situation? I'm hoping the side effects are not permanent.

 

[ngc800]

My son recently stopped using Propecia for hair loss, and after taking it for only three months, he is suffering from low libido and anxiety. As a young man (29) he is very frustrated with the fact that this has happened, especially only taking it for such a short while. Does anyone have any suggestions for things he can do to remedy this situation? I'm hoping the side effects are not permanent.

Hi vailj9, I am so sorry to hear. He should make an account on PropeciaHelp. That's the best way to get support and understanding around the condition. Unfortunately there are no treatments available currently. Some people who are not affected severely improve over time.

 

[Guru0007]

If you decide to stop I recommend doing it very, very slowly to avoid jolting the system. Taper off over a two year period and go to a very low dose at the end, like 1/32th. You are likely going to lose a substantial amount of hair - more hair than you would have lost over these 20 years had you not been on finasteride at all. As far as I know, finasteride treatment group eventually drops below control group (in hair density) after discontinuation. That's a nice surprise from Merck for you. When you start losing a lot of hair, in 4-6 months, you will panic and likely decide to go back on finasteride. This is the absolutely worst thing you can do. That's how many people get PFS, and that's how I got it. I took finasteride for 8 years, stopped for 6 months, then resumed, and got PFS with the first pill. It's been 2 years and I have had no improvement whatsoever - zero libido, etc. I don't need to list the symptoms, you probably know them.

Did ur hair get better?