Quitting Propecia

[shinycap]

Hey,
25 year old white male. Been taking the prescribed dosage of propecia for just over 3 months now. At the inception I was determined to stick it out, but I'm on the fence as to whether or not I should just drop it altogether.

Reasons:
1. skin rash on hand/face. Never had a rash in my life, anywhere. I'm not an alarmist, but this thing on my wrist has been there for over a month. Derm told me he's never heard of anyone getting a rash due to propecia, yet the box says skin rash could be sign of serious risk condition. To his credit, he's the same derm who's never heard of anyone shedding or losing hair due to propecia! I know, I need to drop this idiot.

2. Aging/puffing/sagging of face. I look all round and old. I quit for 2 weeks and my face slimmed down. (started up again because I started sheding more).

3. acne. My skin is loking real rough right now

4. "Mind fog" can't remember sh*t, walk around in a haze. Diziness, especially within 2-3 hours after taking pill, feel like I'm sleepwalking/dreaming. Can't get excited about anything. Feel like I'm watching my life go by on TV.

5. The way I feel about taking this drug. I'm fundamentally opposed to ingesting a hormone altering drug. I'm also opposed to taking this drug indefinitely. I'm 25 years old, am I supposed to take this drug everyday for the next 65 years? That's absurd. This is a hormone altering drug, by the time I'm in my 50's I will have been taking this drug for more than half of my life I'm not saying I'll grow a vagina but there will DEF be consequences.

And last but certainly not least:

5. Hairloss. 4 months ago I had a full thick head of hair with the beginning indications of temple recession. never lost a single hair on top of my head. In three months, my hairline has receeded 1/2 inch and my temples have receeded 2 inches back and at least 1 inch up (into the top of the head). Additionally the hair on top and at the vertex has consistently been diffuse thinning since 3 weeks into the start of treatment.

Now let me say this, Propecia-induced hairloss is the LEAST of my concerns right now. Two months ago it was the biggest of my concerns, but now with my mood changes, the intense mind fog, the aging on the skin and face, the rashes are all weighing me down.

Bottom line, I think I'd rather just have the haiross, and feel great otherwise. If I'm going to be losing my hair anyway, at least I don't have have all these other side effects and pay $70/ month for the privilage.

I quit Propecia for 2 weeks recently and felt amazing. I was full of energy, I could concentrate my sex drive was through the roof, the rash on my wrist began to go away. I got back on the drug because I started to go through a shed. I don't know though, I think I might be able to handle one last shed, if it means I can have this horrible drug, that I've always felt major regret about taking, of my back for good.

Any 1st hand experience on quitting. How much hair do you think I'd lose?

 

[shinycap]

anyone? thoughts, experience on quitting? How bad do you think the shed after 4 months of use will be? Anyone else dealing with skin rash?

 

[Aplunk1]

I would quit Propecia if you're suffering these side effects.

Move onto another treatment... minoxidil, spironolactone, revivogen, copper petides, etc.

 

[hellohello]

Eye think that most people would use this drug for a few years until something better comes along or they just can't be botehred or it doesnt work.

Eye eye! 50 years of finastride would be some kinda record!

Eye eye sir!

 

[deluk]

Total brain Fog, dizziness, headaches etc etc

:freaked2:

This story is like de ja vu and almost comforting that I am not the only one !!!!!, I have been on 5th's of Proscar for almost 3.5 months and it has sent me into a right old mess.....and no i'm not imagining this everyone !!!!!! For the first 6 weeks I was absolutely fine (a little less libido but fine), then all of a sudden I started suffering from horrendous anxiety and feeling very strange. For the last month I have become very much worse, I suffer from lots of headaches...I mean all the time !!!, I can't remember anything...am confused all the time feel spaced out all the time, have a rash on my face when I wash in the morn (never had this before starting)...I kid you not and no am not exagerating about the severity of these side effects !!!!! I have stopped 6 days ago but not feeling any better yet !!! how long do you think it will take to get out of my system !!!

For everyone taking propecia, proscar etc this is not meant to be a scare story and good luck all but I guess my body really doesnt like this stuff at all.....god I just want to feel better!!!!!

 

[MJT82]

I can relate to many of things you guys feel too. I'm currently taking .25mg Propecia once per day and it is the highest dosage I can take without feeling very noticable side effects. If I take anything higher than that I get very noticable tenderness, growing pain type feelings in my chest, like it's trying to make me grow boobs. I have no doubt that gyno would be a serious problem if I took any more than I do now. And I'm still worried its creeping up on me at this dosage. I can also relate to the feelings of poorer memory and slower thinking and much more. I'm contemplating stopping Propecia altogether....been on it for 3 months now.

 

[Chujgcha]

:freaked2:

I started suffering from horrendous anxiety and feeling very strange. For the last month I have become very much worse, I suffer from lots of headaches...I mean all the time !!!, I can't remember anything...am confused all the time feel spaced out all the time, have a rash on my face when I wash in the morn (never had this before starting)...I kid you not and no am not exagerating about the severity of these side effects !!!!! I have stopped 6 days ago but not feeling any better yet !!! how long do you think it will take to get out of my system !!!

I feel your pain. I've been there and still recovering. I was on propecia & minoxidil for 13 months when I ended up in the ER with the same symptoms - fricken unbounded anxiety, I had to think to control my breathing...welcome to hell!

The only theory I can come up with to explain my problem is that propecia effects on hormones has an affect on the bodies ability to recover after a long day or after an injury. I can remember feeling very tired every day even after 8-10 hours of sleep. I believe it takes a toll on the bodies ablity to deal with daily stress or injuries. In my case, the mounting stress from previous injuries (back - 'slipped' disk) and the lack of proper rest made my breathing react to these stresses which most likely led to my anxiety problems.

To top it off, I had minor surgery to remove a couple moles a month before my visit to the ER.

In propecia's defense, my identical twin brother started taking propecia at the same time I did. He never experienced any anxiety or breathing problems, my problem scared the crap out of him, so he quit taking propecia.

Six months later I am still dealing with some anxiety and breathing problems. I do breathing exercises (yoga) to get over the psychological effects this whole episode had on me.

 

[Petchsky]

Weird..
I was just looking at pictures of myself from about 14 months ago, just before I started taking finasteride, and I look so much younger, and probably had more hair.
My face got all kinda rounder and droopier too. I'm thinking about quitting now.

 

[Aplunk1]

The only theory I can come up with to explain my problem is that propecia effects on hormones has an affect on the bodies ability to recover after a long day or after an injury. I can remember feeling very tired every day even after 8-10 hours of sleep. I believe it takes a toll on the bodies ablity to deal with daily stress or injuries. In my case, the mounting stress from previous injuries (back - 'slipped' disk) and the lack of proper rest made my breathing react to these stresses which most likely led to my anxiety problems.

I wonder if this is true... Someone, please comment on this!

 

[nohairnodandruff]

Yeah i gained an extra 20-30lbs on Propecia. not sure why.

 

[shinycap]

Interesting to hear these comments to my post. Been off the 'peesh for 11 days now. (had been on it about 3 months).

My facial skin texture has improved, acne has subsided a bit, and I'm feeling better mentally and physically (clearer head). The rash on my hand has completly gone away (was there for the last 2 months I was on propecia--never had a rash before). I am losing long hairs on the top and vertex that I think were being held in place by the medication, but I feel ok about it knowing that quitting was the right thing for my mnd and body.

I'll say this: Procecia is one of the most popular drugs perscribed today. By all accounts, most people seem to tolerate it well and have positive results using it. I DO think that there is a strong psychological element to perceived success when using this drug. If you're obsessing about your hair all the time, haunting this forum everyday, and running your hands through your hair every 3 minutes, you are more likly to freak out about every hair shed on the drug, every time your sack throbs, every zit that pops up on your forhead. I believe that there are people--perhaps most people- who can take this drug, endure 12 months of roller-coaster shedding and side effects, and either not notice the bad stuff, or have the patience to wait it out.

NEVERTHELESS, if you think about why you're taking the drug in the first place--TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOUR APEARANCE, and you're actually feeling WORSE overall, then I believe quitting is the correct choice.

That is for the psychological elemnt. Physically, I know that I had bad side effects while on this drug--visible side effects that were affirmed by others. Those in conjuntion with the anxiety and guilt I felt every day about taking a hormone-altering drug made it clear to me that quitting was best.

If you decide to stay on this drug, my advice would be to try not to obsess about it too much. If you can come to an agreement with yourself about the things you're willing to freak out about, and the things you're not, you'll be better off. I think it is essential to always listen to your body, and if you are seeing or feeling things that are clearly unacceptable, you can opt to quit. But you should consider that taking a drug--any drug, you will feel DIFFERENT. So you need to decide how different you're willing to feel for the sake of your hair.

I started taking this drug because I thought keeping my hair would make me happy. I realize that Propecia removed me farther from happiness than I've ever been. I read the stories of guys who were on the peesh and it stopped working and now they have regimine lists a mile long, or they're going in for their 3rd hair transplant...I just never want to be that guy. The sooner you stop giving a f*** about hairloss, the sooner you can get on with your life and be happy.

Good luck.

 

[dorianyates]

The fact is ..sides on this drug are rare. Plus you have to wait it out for a minimum 9 months to 1 year to see results...In the meantime you may have a shed...means the drug is working.

 

[Petchsky]

I don't think they're that rare.

 

[dorianyates]

I don't think they're that rare.

Then (with all due respect) you are uneducated.

 

[Petchsky]

I admit I didn't attend Propecia University. Just going off my own experience and what I hear a lot of other people saying.

 

[shinycap]

side effects are indeed common. i have never met one person on propecia experincing zero side effects. To believe that only 2% of people using propecia experience side ffects is about as naive or "uneducated" as you can get. In my experience, 100% of people on the drug experience side effects.

 

[jayC99]

side effects are indeed common. i have never met one person on propecia experincing zero side effects. To believe that only 2% of people using propecia experience side ffects is about as naive or "uneducated" as you can get. In my experience, 100% of people on the drug experience side effects.

Even my doctor said the Merck numbers were low, he said about 40-50% of his patients experience sides but in time they will go away as the body adjusts. I've been on it for over a year and still have the sides, go figure.

Those Merck claims are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off. Search google for propecia and side effects and you'll be returned thousands upon thousands of pages.

 

[Back In Time]

i have never met one person on propecia experincing zero side effects. In my experience, 100% of people on the drug experience side effects.

Hi, nice to meet you. No sides here.

 

[Freestyle]

Yeah, no sides here either.

I think it would be fair to say that 90% of whiny Propecia users who visit Hair Loss forums experience side effects, whilst on the drug.

Other than that, Merck's percentages were garnered from extensive and controlled studies/trials. Everybody else here who claims the percentages are wrong have not performed extensive and controlled studies, and therefore are speculating based on a misrepresentative cross-section of users.

I don't think the actual figure is as low as Merck claims, but I certainly don't think it is outside of the single digit percentages.

 

[Hair Gnome]

Hi, I'm not posting to be snarky or anything, but most people will only post if there is a problem. Going by anecdotal evidence on a message board is really going to give you a bad perception on just about any product.

As to my experience, after a month or two on finasteride, people who hadn't seen me in a while wanted to know what I was doing to lose weight. I hadn't lost much, but my face got tighter, and I started carrying the weight in different places.

Before I started taking finasteride, I experienced some of what the original poster mentioned: Puffy face, feeling like I was in a fog, depressed, pimples on my scalp. These got no worse when I started taking my finasteride.

If anything they got a little better as I started eating a (slightly) healthier diet, and switched jobs.