JLChi

Sorry to report, but the brain fog has been recurring off and on for the past few days, though nothing as bad as the first week. After 7 days of being essentially symptom free and thinking that I nipped it, the pressure in the head and signature brain fog came back four days ago. I would say it was about the same symptoms as the second to last day of my first hell week. Of course, this triggered another round of me freaking out as I thought this was a sure sign the other shoe was about to drop. Thankfully, the recurrence eventually resolved after one day, followed by two days symptom free, but it came back again a couple days later. Luckily it was even less noticeable, but I'm really pissed that I'm still dealing with it and may never have peace of mind that it won't suddenly come roaring back. I'm utterly dumbfounded that I brought this upon myself thinking I was taking this drug like it was no different than popping a vitamin supplement. I'd rather have taken a dose of rat poison and spent a day in the ER in excrutiating pain than continue to deal with this and the uncertainty of what the future holds.

First, I just want to say that I've never before posted on any kind of forum like this. I suppose I've had the fortune of having good health and never really had to research anything like this before. However, given the absolute hell I went through, I feel compelled to chime in to offer some insight and hope to others who are going through this nightmare known as brain fog from Propecia or finasteride. I chose to respond to this thread instead of the numerous other ones out there because, thanks to the OP, this is the one that gave me hope during my hell week. I started taking 1mg fin daily about a year ago and stopped after about 5 months after I wasn't sure I really needed it anymore. After about a 5 month break, I started to notice some thinning, so I began taking it again. After 1 week into it, I noticed one day that I had some trouble concentrating. Needless to say, this only got worse. The symptoms that everyone talks about are dead on...memory loss, pressure in the back of the head, dizziness, and trouble focusing. Speaking really became an effort and I had to think about every word to avoid stuttering. I was still taking the Propecia since I hadn't put the two together yet, but after going online to see what the hell could cause an otherwise healthy, athletic guy to have a sudden sustained case of brain melt down, I came across the term "Propocia brain fog". It occurred to me that I had at least one other more mild case of it when I started month ago but chalked it up to tiredness or coming down with the flu. Needless to say, I immediately stopped taking it but by then I was in full blown cognitive impairment. The more I researched, the more I panicked. The thought of this being a permanent condition caused by the 5 alpha reductase inhibitors somehow shutting down the critical neurosteroids needed for brain function even after stopping the drug made me hysterical. I couldn't get through one day at the office, let alone another week. Thankfully, after one full week of a living hell and the worst nightmare of my life, the symptoms are 99% gone. I won't say 100%, because I'm wondering if there's still some residual memory loss or if it will come back as some have claimed can happen due to an "endocrine crash" 10-20 days after symptoms resolve. (The fact that I could remember the whole "5 alpha reductase inhibitor" term a week later now without having to look it up gives me hope, as I know I couldn't remember it after reading it 3 minutes earlier during my full blown brain fog stage.) For those who doubt the link between Propecia and the brain fog (i.e. my own worthless f'ing doctor who not only didn't believe me, smiled as he offered me a refill), all I can say is screw you, go ahead and take it for a few weeks if you really think there aren't such side effects. Then call me while you're curled up in your bed wishing this was all just a dream so I can talk you down from your personal hellhole you're in. Anyway, to get back on point, here's my timeline: Day 1: slight difficulty concentrating, some noticeable difficulty recalling names, places, movies, etc., and some tiredness. Day 2: More difficulty concentrating, now with a noticeable pressure building up in the back of my head. Day 3: Pressure in the head now feels like a wall that is blocking my brain from working. I could still think critically and comprehend things at work, but it was a struggle to remember things and focus. I was repeating things I had done not 10 minutes ago. Speaking was becoming difficult, as I needed to focus on the words before saying them. Sometimes my vision also seemed slowed. This was the peak of the living hell since it was constant. Day 4: I didn't have insomnia, but by now, I was sure getting a decent night's sleep definitely did not do the trick. I had no other physical symptoms. After 4 days since taking my last pill, the general head pressure was starting to get better. To me, the pressure in the head was the sign that I still had the brain fog. It was still constantly there, just less pronounced. Day 5: Head pressure was now coming and going. I could still tell the fog was there, but the nightmarish brain damaged full bore feeling started lifting. I would say I was about 85% by this time. I felt that if this was the best I would get, I could still get by doing my job (post-grad professional), but knowing that I will be less than average at it. Day 6: Hours would go by where I thought it might be gone, but the symptoms would eventually start to come back. By bedtime, I felt unusually tired. Day 7: More of the same of day 6, but longer fog-free periods. By the time bedtime came around, my head was spinning more than usual, kind of like a buzz you get from drinking. I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad sign, but it was definitely not the same as the brain fog and not due to alcohol. Day 8: I woke up feeling unusually tired but fog free and decided to continue sleeping rather than go into work. I figured if I was on the verge of nipping this, it was worth going in late. This was the first day where I was fog-free at work the whole day. As I said, I still don't know if my memory is totally back, but at least I won't be showering twice before leaving my house now. Another point, I have no idea if diet and exercise played any role in my recovery, but I didn't do anything too special. I know other posts out there about brain fog talk about taking all kinds of supplements, water fasting, etc., but if anything, I would say that my symptoms at the end would seem to be worse or start coming back if I didn't eat anything. I also started taking a vitamin B complex with thiamine early on to make sure my brain cells were getting enough glucose in them while this finasteride was poisoning the rest of my brain. Today (Day 9), I'm just thankful that I'm feeling normal again. I'm really dreading any post fin endocrine crash, but everything feels ok so far. If I have any setbacks, I will update this, but if not, I won't be posting any updates. To anyone unfortunate enough to have ventured into this world only after it was too late, just hang in there like the OP said. It got better for me too. Don't do anything drastic in your life during this time, just lay low at home and work. Take a few days off if you can or at least reschedule any important meetings if possible (I'm sure some people at work probably thought I was drunk when I was talking to them...I remember telling Tom, my co-worker that "Tom" is assigned to a job, instead of saying "you're assigned." I also said "thanks" to a person who wasn't in the room when someone else I was talking to told me about a favor the other person did. OMG.) To anyone having persistent brain fog for many more weeks or months, do not lose hope in recovering. Remember, the brain fog kicks in randomly for different people. Some get it after taking a single dose, some after a week, some after 10 years, etc. In my case, I had one slight experience during 5 months on it, then a more severe case after restarting it for only one week. This means that it can disappear one day just as randomly as it started.