Propecia / Proscar side effects - important

[traveller]

Hi there,

I’m on a daily regimen of 1/5 Proscar tablets and evening applications of Folligen. Up until a year ago I had been taking Propecia daily for about four years.

About five years ago I noticed that I had a hand tremor (in both hands) although I was able to ignore it as it didn’t interefere with my normal routine. However, in the last year and a half I have noticed a deterioration, my hand tremors have become worse and I feel the tremor has progressed to my elbows and shoulders and now the feet as well. I have become more clumsy, for example I have started to drop things, spill things, break things in the kitchen and touch-typing is becoming more difficult.

I’ve had a couple of blood tests which have shown that I don’t have any serious problems. I have been told it could just be a natural genetic tremor but as this is a condition which cannot be tested for I’m still open to any other medical suggestions. One thought is that it could be a side effect to a drug, and as Propecia/Proscar is the only drug I have been taking consistently other a long period of time I wanted to put this to you guys.

Please could you tell me if you have noticed your hands shaking more than normal or if you have noticed any other systems like a tremor or a nervous twitch or more rapid breathing while you’ve been on Propecia or Proscar?

I would really appreciate any comments. Thanks.

 

[biff]

I haven't had anything like that. It is probably nothing to do with the finasteride. You should get it checked out though.

 

[traveller]

Hi Biff,

Thanks for the reply.

I still hope some more people will be able to add their comments so that I can get a better idea of where I stand.

 

[hellohello]

Not to jump to any conclusions but its been known that DHT has some sort of neurological implications.. possibly your reacting to the lower level in your blood??

 

[traveller]

Hi HH!

That's interesting. That could well be the cause of my tremors. I'll look into it.

If you happen to know about any specific articles on the web which describe this neurological-DHT connection, would you mind giving me the link for them?

Thanks a lot.

 

[hellohello]

Off the top of my head I don't know of any articles,
but search this site with words such as 'dht, cns, nervous system' etc and you'll find a few links to sites with articles.

Cheers

 

[Britannia]

I doubt very much it is finasteride related but this is one of those times you should consult a Dr rather than rely on information found on an internet forum.

 

[traveller]

Hi HH,
Thanks for that, I'll have a look.

Hi Britannia,
Thanks for the reply, yeah I'm also speaking to a doctor about it.

 

[random32]

Sorry for the bump;

I am in a similar situation. I have had no normal finasteride side effects (normal erections etc) but have definitely experienced muscular twictches

Traveller, did you get it sorted?

 

[Z]

The most common reasons for hand tremors and twitches is past use of amphetamines or alcohol abuse.

I had a bit of coke problem when i was younger and developed hand tremors. It took a bout 6 months off it to clean myself up for them to disappear.

Still, if I ever go out on a bit of drinking session, the next day I get tremors in my left hamd for most of the day.

 

[random32]

I have been prescribed a low dose of amitriptyline hydrochloride for mine; it seems to have cleared it up

 

[traveller]

Hi Random32,

I've come to the conclusion that I have a naturally occurring minor hand tremor. My latest blood test results came out all clear (I had tests for all the known conditions that could cause muscle tremors). So I just have to accept it and make sure I avoid anything which contains caffeine as that intensifies the tremors.

However, out of curiosity I still wanted to see if Proscar had any bearing on the tremors so I stopped taking Proscar for a week and the tremors clearly became weaker. They didn’t disappear altogether, but they reached a much more comfortable level.

Also, I didn’t mention it in my earlier posts as I didn’t think it was anything significant, however in the last year or two while I was on finasteride I occasionally felt very slightly dizzy. Once I stopped taking the Proscar the dizziness also stopped. (I never considered the link before, as I’ve been on Proscar/Propecia for about 5 years and didn’t notice any feeling of light-headedness when I first started the tablets).

I still want to repeat these ‘experiments’ a few more times to ensure the results weren’t just random. But at the moment it looks like I’ll have to try and find a balance. I don’t particularly want to stop Proscar altogether as I do find it helps my hair but I obviously have to either reduce the quantity that I take or the frequency that I take it.

Hope that helps.

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Hi Z,

None of those reasons would have caused my hand tremors, I haven’t ever taken amphetamines and I don’t drink that much either. But thanks anyway.