Thinking of quitting finasteride to get on with my life

[Guest]

It's kind of like when you wake up from a nap that went on for too long. You know how you wake up from those in the middle of REM sleep and nothing makes any sense for a few minutes? It's kind of like that only slightly lesser ALL THE TIME. It's just really weird. The worst part (or perhaps best) is that you actually realize that you are like that, yet there is nothing you can do for it.

Bang on......

 

[md2002]

I see, thanks for the explanation guys!!!! At least now I know what I have gotten into. Hopefully Propecia doesn't effect this?

 

[drinkrum]

I have to say that I was the first to laugh when I used to hear about guys complaining about "brain fog" and lethargy while on Finasteride.

Not anymore. I was nable to accomplish anything while I was on Finasteride.

Sexually, I was fine. I friggin' go-getter as always. Mentally, I was as sharp as a polished stone. This is NOT GOOD for someone trying to maintain a high GPA trying to get into a leading law school.

At any rate, I got off Finasteride and made a leap of faith to - *drumroll* - Dutasteride! And not just ANY GENERIC Dutasteride. Avodart, baby. Yeah!

After about 6 months you know what I feel? Fine. Great. I'm not lazy and lethargic anymore. I don't leave my keys in my door when I come home anymore. I don't forget that I actually did turn off the stove and have to go check it - twice - anymore.

Now, I'm not saying that this will be the same for anyone else and I am not saying that it WON"T happen to me. I'm still knocking on wood here, but I have heard this testament from a few other guys. They had whatever side effect on Finasteride that didn't cross over when they started Dutasteride.

I am no chemist, biologist, or physicist so I cannot give you any more info than that. Perhaps the inhibition mechanisms of the two medications are different and that is the reason? Hell, I don't know and won't pretend to.

That makes absolutely no sense (and you probably know this), social_drinker. Dutasteride inhibits both isozymes of 5-alpha reductase. The first isozyme, the one finasteride does not inhibit, is found in the myelin sheath of neural cells. If anything, you would notice much worse central nervous system (CNS) effects from dutasteride than finasteride.

I'm not discounting your opinion, but perhaps you believed yourself into thinking finasteride was bad and dutasteride wasn't as such?

D.

 

[dodo]

I also have been experiencing this fog. I've been on proscar (1/8th) for almost two years. I am not sure it has done anything for my hair, but since I have been on it Ihave been in a slight fog. Its not really bad, but everything seems a little distant and day dreamy all the time, and I def feel like I have lost passion in a lot of things. Thinking of trying a week off too see if I will notice any difference.

 

[drinkrum]

so drinkdrum are you saying finasteride affects the ability of one to think or process information?..how about feeling tired alot on finasteride?..cause ive noticed i feel tired..all the time..

No, I'm not saying that at all. I think dutasteride might exert CNS effects and so I think one should avoid that drug lest really necessary. I also have a strange feeling GSK pulled dutasteride off for hair loss due to something along these lines. This is mere speculation, but I find it weird that they would cancel their trials late in the game as they did. Dutasteride grows hair significantly better than finasteride and, if as they claimed, has the same safety profile, would've driven a small stake into Propecia's sales. So then why pull it?

I don't think finasteride has any real CNS effects. The depression study has yet to be replicated with a greater sample of people and a longer duration of time. There might be something there, but as of now it is not at all clear.

D.

 

[Guest]

I reckon its mild depression causing the fog with some people.

I get it occasionally and its generally when I'm feeling down about my diffuse right temple.

 

[Trent]

not saying everyone's sides aren't real, they may very well be, but the power of suggestion is something to think about. if i said finasteride was making me obsess about things i normally wouldn't obsess about, you might start looking into your own life... hey, have i been overly obsessing about anything? yeah, i think i have been; then you start coming up with things.

again, not to disregard the validity of anyone else's sides, but its important to keep in mind that other possibility. when everyone says brain fog, you might start thinking about that time you locked your keys in your car, and be quick to blame finasteride.

 

[drinkrum]

not saying everyone's sides aren't real, they may very well be, but the power of suggestion is something to think about. if i said finasteride was making me obsess about things i normally wouldn't obsess about, you might start looking into your own life... hey, have i been overly obsessing about anything? yeah, i think i have been; then you start coming up with things.

again, not to disregard the validity of anyone else's sides, but its important to keep in mind that other possibility. when everyone says brain fog, you might start thinking about that time you locked your keys in your car, and be quick to blame finasteride.

Very valid point. Sexual problems are many more times the case caused mentally than physically. Try having sex with your girlfriend (or boyfriend if you bat for the other team) and start thinking, "I'm not going to last, I'm not going to make it" -- you will probably instantly blow your load. During foreplay, try thinking, "I can't get it up, I can't get it up!" and no tent will be pitched.

D.

 

[Guest]

But it's nothing to do with actions or anything. I can go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 7:30 and still have this brain fog. I have it now as I type. I have not took my finasteride dose today. I'm gonna not take it for two weeks just to see what happens.

It's just a nagging dream like state. I even feel that I could not string a sentence together if I was pulled into a meeting. I don't feel depressed, certainly not stressed. It's the finasteride.........

 

[md2002]

I think the finasteride defitnately makes you tired and gives you brain fog. They could tell me at work a path I need to find a certain type of software, after I take 10 steps I forget what the path is. I know that my memory isn't that bad. I thknk it's the finasteride that clouds things. That is why I am thinking of going to every other day instead of everyday. See if that helps.

 

[drinkrum]

Maybe there's something there, I dunno. Finasteride does prevent the conversion of progesterone to allopregnanolone in the brain. ALLO is the modulator for GABA, which is the main inhibitor of presynaptic transmission. I've posted on this in the past, with nothing conclusive.

Again, if finasteride has CNS effects (which Dr. Hayes and the other leading researchers in the field negate), dutasteride would be the same if not much worse.

D.

 

[not me!]

I have to say that I was the first to laugh when I used to hear about guys complaining about "brain fog" and lethargy while on Finasteride.

Not anymore. I was nable to accomplish anything while I was on Finasteride.

Sexually, I was fine. I friggin' go-getter as always. Mentally, I was as sharp as a polished stone. This is NOT GOOD for someone trying to maintain a high GPA trying to get into a leading law school.

At any rate, I got off Finasteride and made a leap of faith to - *drumroll* - Dutasteride! And not just ANY GENERIC Dutasteride. Avodart, baby. Yeah!

After about 6 months you know what I feel? Fine. Great. I'm not lazy and lethargic anymore. I don't leave my keys in my door when I come home anymore. I don't forget that I actually did turn off the stove and have to go check it - twice - anymore.

Now, I'm not saying that this will be the same for anyone else and I am not saying that it WON"T happen to me. I'm still knocking on wood here, but I have heard this testament from a few other guys. They had whatever side effect on Finasteride that didn't cross over when they started Dutasteride.

I am no chemist, biologist, or physicist so I cannot give you any more info than that. Perhaps the inhibition mechanisms of the two medications are different and that is the reason? Hell, I don't know and won't pretend to.

That makes absolutely no sense (and you probably know this), social_drinker. Dutasteride inhibits both isozymes of 5-alpha reductase. The first isozyme, the one finasteride does not inhibit, is found in the myelin sheath of neural cells. If anything, you would notice much worse central nervous system (CNS) effects from dutasteride than finasteride.

I'm not discounting your opinion, but perhaps you believed yourself into thinking finasteride was bad and dutasteride wasn't as such?

D.

I know it makes no sense. I never said it did. It is exactly why I said in my original post, "Perhaps the inhibition mechanisms of the two medications are different and that is the reason?" If there is inhibition of both isozymes then the effect MUST be more profound with Dutasteride, correct? That is exactly what I assumed. I was more or less grasping at straws when I made the switch. I FULLY expected the worst when I switched.

However a funny thing happened. The worst never came. After about 2 weeks off of Finasteride, I felt "normal" again. I should also mention that not only did I start taking Dutasteride the day after I took my last Finasteride dose, I took 3 per day for 10 days to "load" the drug into my system. It was only after those initial 10 days did I go down to the recommended doseage.

This is exactly why I think that there was no placebo effect. I literally laughed out loud at threads that cited side effects of any kind from Finasteride. Before this medication, I have never had a side effect from anything before. It was one of those things I never thought would happen to me. It is because of this that I fully discount the placebo effect.

Now, when I started Dutasteride I FULLY EXPECTED there to be side effects galore. I was expecting 1) increased drop in cognitive function. 2) decreased libido 3) everything else short of an anvil dropping from the sky.

Nothing happened. Zilch, zip, nada.

I feel great, think clearly, and my libido is firmly intact.

This is why I question the delivery mechanism of the drugs. They have to be different. If not that, SOMETHING is different. I have no idea because it is far from my area of expertise but that is my best guess.

 

[drinkrum]

Yeah, I'm not discounting what you say, social. You seem like a logical buck. Anyway, the mechanisms of finasteride and dutasteride are not dissimilar, except that dutasteride also inhibits Type I 5-alpha reductase and results in a near-100% serum elimination of DHT. At best, finasteride is around 70%.

D.

 

[not me!]

Yeah, I'm not discounting what you say, social. You seem like a logical buck. Anyway, the mechanisms of finasteride and dutasteride are not dissimilar, except that dutasteride also inhibits Type I 5-alpha reductase and results in a near-100% serum elimination of DHT. At best, finasteride is around 70%.

D.

Yeah, I know, DR. It is a mystery to me. I would be skeptical too if I wasn't actually living it.

All I can say is that I am damn relieved that I am not having that side effect with Dutasteride for a couple of reasons. The first is so I am not limited to topicals only and the second is that if I am going to take an internal and it not give me side effects, then I would rather it be the strongest one available. For these reasons I am definitely thankful for the way it seems to have worked out, but I am still knocking on wood that no sides creep up.

Oh, and for anyone else reading this I am NOT advocating the use of Dutasteride and I urge anyone considering an internal DHT inhibitor to utilize Finasteride first and even then I urge you to do so under the strict supervision of a physician.

(A little disclaimer for the newbs )

 

[Rust1]

That's a good post, sounds like you taken everything into consideration. It's funny how for some, getting off the medication allows one to get on with their life, while for others, getting on the medication (and getting results) allow them to get on with life.

It's good to read everyone's views on it. I'm the same age as you, and the way I feel about it now is more of a gradual acceptance, however I'll still try and fight it.

 

[Guest]

I have decided. I will quit finasteride and lose my hair gracefully. If all of a sudden a few years down the line my G/F does not love me because of my hair then she go f*** off as far as I am concerned.

I will take some herbal stuff for hair and nails and stuff. But that's about it.

Good luck guys...

By the way. 12 midnight on Thursday on Discovery. Shaun Williamson (Barry from Eastenders) has a documentary done on his hair transplant. It was talked about on here a few months ago.

 

[The shedder]

Good luck trax, I stopped finasteride because it didn't do anything for me, I'm giving dutasteride a year now and if it doesn't work i'm hitting the old dusty trail and letting MP f#cking B take its course. Yeah drop by trax, leave some comments, best of luck man.

 

[mark16v]

you mention a dream like state

has anybody smoked a load of weed, woke up the next morning and felt a bit, hazey

is it like that?

if so, no worries cause i'm used to it but if it turns me into a complete dufus (i'm only part dufus) then I'll have to have a think. I've been putting fun off for so long now but have to bite the bullet and give it a go now. cheers

 

[jakeb]

More fun:

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml ... healthNews

Too much free testosterone kills brain cells.
I through with finasteride. Seriously.

 

[SheddingVic]

Alot of people on this forum do not want to hear the truth that Finasteride does indeed alter the person you thought you were. Especially for people like you and myself, who were extremely fit and intelligent before we started popping finasteride pills, finasteride can cause major problems. I made the same decision you did about a couple of months ago because I couldn't take the brain fog and the depression anymore. I had no motivation for athletic endeavors, my college grades were not normally where they would be, and my dick honestly felt like it was detached from my body. That's no way to go through life. I got off the stuff and within a week or so I felt back to normal. I felt like a true man again- confident and witty. My brain power came right back in time for exams and I managed to get dean's list again. I'm getting lots of extra work again for my job because I have the motivation again to outwork everyone else. The stuff does have side effects for a great deal of people, and do not let anyone on this board tell you that it's all in your head. Always remember that Finasteride is blocking a hormone that was intended to be used in the body. Always trust YOUR mental and physical feelings, as it's quite possible that someone on this board telling you that finasteride didnt cause them to have any problems might already have been born with brain fog to begin with. I'd rather go through life bald, fit, and intelligent/funny than less bald, slow-witted, and moody like a pubescent girl. For the really severe balding people on this board, finasteride is their only resemblance of a hope, so they are willing to overlook or mentally block possible life altering consequences. I beg you not to do the same.

I agree with you 100% I experienced the same symptoms and quit finasteride!