howitzer

Sorry to hear about your anxiety but the correlation is interesting. I hadn't considered Rogaine as a cause. I take the Finasteride right before I go to bed but use Rogaine at night and in the morning. Since I don't experience any anxiety/panic during the day, I assumed it was the Finasteride. I might try stopping Rogaine for a few nights to see if there is any difference. I'll try to remember to post the results.

I've been a long-time lurker on this forum and thought I'd finally post some photos of my regimen results. I've been lucky to have thick hair into my 30's but about year ago I noticed that I was rapidly thinning on the crown of my head. I did a lot of research on this site (and others) and decided to try Finasteride and Rogaine Foam. I initially tried taking 1mg of Finasteride daily but the side effects were immediate and intense. I didn't experience any sexual side effects but three things happened: I experienced intense pangs of anxiety. I had a panic attack on a conference call this first week of taking the drug (something I'd never experienced before) and I would wake up nightly with my heart racing. A few nights I even thought somebody was trying to break into my apartment and I got out of bed to check the door. I generally felt weak and numb. I found that I couldn't pick up weights at the gym that I had been training with for months prior to taking the drug. I would also get exhausted faster on the treadmill. Instead of running for 45 mins, I would lose motivation after 5 or 10. Slow thinking. I have a very technical job and I found that I was struggling to communicate concepts clearly to clients. Often, I would stop mid-sentence and think "What am I trying to say?!" and simply could not get my thought process into gear. Again, this was a new experience. So...I tried taking .5mg of Finasteride. Unfortunately, I experienced the same issues - only less severe. Finally, I cut the dosage down to .25mg and found that I could tolerate this level. I still occasionally wake up in a panic at night but it is not nearly as intense and doesn't carry over into the day. The weakness and stupor are no longer issues and I am experiencing no sexual side effects. The attached photos show the results from roughly 5 months of this treatment. I took the original photos in June of 2010 but didn't start using the Finasteride and Rogaine Foam until January 2011. Unfortunately, I neglected to take monthly updates but will try to do that in the future. I'm happy with the results. I see some decent hair growth and, most significantly, I've found that the existing hair has thickened. In the June 2010 photos, the hair on my crown was very frail and wispy. Now it is much more coarse and feels thicker to the touch. There are still some thin patches but, all in all, there is a lot more coverage. Even my girlfriend has been impressed the results (she was skeptical at the onset). Hopefully, this provides some help to others. I'll try to post more updates in the future.