Propecia and Retinal Thrombosis

[son111]

Hi everyone,

 

After seeing a bit blurry for a few days, I went and saw 2 different doctors. It turns out I have developed Retinal Central Vein Thrombosis in left eye.

I'm 36 years old and both doctors were very surprised since I have no history of high blood pressure and other hereditary diseases.

I will take blood tests tomorrow.

I brought my Propecia Finerstaride to the doctor just to show what drug I have been taking for the last 2 months.

She said that I should stop taking it cause it might have been the cause for the thrombosis but she can't say for sure.

I'm wondering if anyone has come across similar issues with this drug involved?

 

Appreciate any response.

 

Thank you.

[TakingThePlunge]

son111,

 

I have never heard of Propecia causing Retinal Central Vein Thrombosis but I would not discount the possibility.

[Sean]

Should definitely write a letter to Merck if propecia is the cause. I don't think it is listed as a side effect on their website either. I agree with David. Can't rule out the possibility that this may be the cause of propecia. We don't know that yet. I guess after blood tests, it may help confirm it? What are the symptoms of Retinal Thrombosis? I should have myself checked out as well.

[son111]

Thanks for the response guys.

I don't want to cause panic since I'm not sure what the cause is as of yet.

Propecia is the only thing that me and the doctor could think of and she told me to stop taking them for now.

A couple of days ago I started seeing a bit blurry out of my left eye and it continued so I went to two different doctors and they both said that it is Central Vein Thrombosis.

I will get back to you when I know more.

[Yosh12]

Hello Son111,

 

I take Propecia since November 2005 and got a central retinal vein occlusion too in August 2011. The docs said that it is unlikely that Finasteride caused it. Proscar is 5mg Fin and taken by older people where a Thrombosis is more likely to happen. But in the studies it was not observed that Proscar causes thrombosis. Also Fin seems not to have an effect on clotting issues. My blood tests were all normal, they couldnt tell me why I got this sh*t....

How is your crvo treated? Do you get shots too (Avastin, Lucentis)? Were youre blood tests normal? Do you still take Fin?

Unfortunately I cant send you a pm.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Yosh12

[son111]

Hi,

 

I never found the actual reason but I have decided not to take Propecia because of potential side effects and irreversible side effects even after you quit. I will continue to try to find out what the reason was but things are better now and the eye is going back normal.

 

Take care.

[Yosh12]

Hello, thanks for the fast answer

 

Your eye heals on its own? Did you have Macula Edema? I guess no one can ever tell you for sure what caused this if you are healthy (no clotting issues, normal blood pressure, no high Intraocular pressure etc.).

Did you take Minox while this happened? I took Minox Foam and got some in my eye a few days before the occlusion happened. I really dont know if that was the cause neither did the docs in the hospital...

[son111]

Hello,

 

I do take the Minox foam. I cannot however recall that I got it in my eye. I didn't have any issues prior to the diagnose. The doctors said it is Central Vein Thrombosis. Clotting of veins. Yes, the eye is getting better on its own without any medication. It could have been dehydration but I'm not sure what it was. Probably wasn't propecia but as I mentioned I still decided not to take it.

Has your eye healed?

[Yosh12]

Unfortunately not. About 4 weeks after the occlusion I developed bad Macula Edema. I then got an Avastin injection in the eye and the edema reduced but didnt go away complete. But the blood in my retina cleared pretty good. After 4 weeks the edema was as bad as it was before but the blood continued to clear. The retina specialist gave me a Lucentis injection then and after 3 weeks the edema was not there anymore and I could read nearly 100 % on the eye chart. Now on the 5th week after the Lucentis injection i notice that my vision is blurry again. On my last visit the retina specialist told me the thrombosis is declining because there is less blood in my retina. Unfortunately the edema is coming back. I guess I will need another shot

Tomorrow I have the appointment.

[Loki456]

Sorry to bump an old thread.

 

I came across this, looking for answers for my recent diagnosis of CRVO in my right eye. I too am a fit healthy young adult (25).

 

I have no history of hypertension or diabetes and every test I have had done to find a systemic cause of the occlusion have gotten me no closer to finding what set it off. About a month before the start of it I had started to taper off of generic fin 1mg tablets. Dropping down to half every other day. And had cut my minoxodil foam to half a cap in the mornings.

 

This was due to some labido changes after 3 years on propecia, and some changes in pulse that my GP could only attribute to the minoxodil as it is a antihypertensive vasodilator and can cause some strange side effects to the cardio vascular system.

 

As there is no direct connection to Propecia side effects It is hard to say if it had anything to do with the condition. However Antiandrogens do cause changes in the hemostatic system. Changes in blood coagulation can occur so this is as best of a lead as I can find.

 

Monoxide can cause rapid heart beat and palpitations. For me I noticed it just in the past year and as I long distance runner decided to stop using it. As Minoxodil is also used to lower blood presser by increasing the size of veins I have to wonder if the change in my system from stopping its use lead to an abnormal rise in blood pressure, shrinkage in vein size, or arterial fibrillation.

 

I probably will never know for sure but out of all the leads I have followed these two things are the most likely.