help me for puffy cheeks caused by finastride

[funkygarzon]

Hi guys,

 

Hope all are fine here.

 

I am using finasteride for about 4 years and i am very happy with the hair result, now i got full head hair.

 

But i was noticing my face is getting swollen gradually, especially my cheek since i started taking finasteride.

 

I didn't take care of it but now my face has became puffy cheek filled fully with fat and my facial bone are not visible now. I am damn sure that i am taking normal regular diet that i was taking before.

 

So now i am going to gym and doing cardio and my weight is getting reduced but still my face some what remain same, i mean no drastic result of going to gym. i even stopped taking fat foods.

 

So my question is

 

1. does any one here faced this puffy cheek problem ? if so what did you do to reduce the puffy cheek and maintained the hair loss ?

 

2. Is there any alternative medicine( dutasteride or any other) which could maintain my hair without giving puffy cheek ?

 

3. or shall i stop taking finasteride for 3 months and then gradually start taking it with 1 mg per week to stop hair loss ? will this work without hair loss ?

 

 

Please guys help me out to take best decision ...... Thanks in advance

[Garageland]

Funkygarzon,

 

Can I ask how old you are?

 

I cannot see how you can attribute the puffy cheeks to propecia use as it is so gradual. As we get older we generally fill out our metabolism slows down and we gain weight it is a know fact that men and woman in general put on weight every year some more than others. Our facial features change I no longer have the chiseled jaw that I had in my twenties.

 

I am positive that there will be some guys who will now say that the same has happened to them but I am sorry to say that I can't see it.

 

The only way to see if it is the medication for your own curiosity is to come off it for a while of course that will not help with the hair loss or continue as you are to hit the gym hard and cut out fats and sugars in your diet.

 

Good luck.

[funkygarzon]

Funkygarzon,

 

Can I ask how old you are?

 

I cannot see how you can attribute the puffy cheeks to propecia use as it is so gradual. As we get older we generally fill out our metabolism slows down and we gain weight it is a know fact that men and woman in general put on weight every year some more than others. Our facial features change I no longer have the chiseled jaw that I had in my twenties.

 

I am positive that there will be some guys who will now say that the same has happened to them but I am sorry to say that I can't see it.

 

The only way to see if it is the medication for your own curiosity is to come off it for a while of course that will not help with the hair loss or continue as you are to hit the gym hard and cut out fats and sugars in your diet.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Thank you very much for your wonderful reply @Garageland,

 

Sorry i didn't mention my age. I am 28 years old.

 

But what ever you guessed don't applicable for me because i have a brother who is 5 years elder than me and he will have more food and more fat item but still his face is not chubby and he don't have puffy cheek but he only has tummy like wise even my parents they don't have chubby cheeks , my father will eat more he only has tummy and my mother who has very lean face cut even though she takes normal food like me.

 

My father use to tease me that why i have big face... and he will ask me to stop the medicine that i am taking.

 

 

So please help me out @Garageland..Thanks in advance

[Garageland]

Please tell me what you are taking? Is it branded Propecia or Proscar by Merck or a generic tablet. How many mg is in the tablet and how much are you taking?

 

You could either reduce your dosage or stop taking the medication altogether, I wouldn't recommend switching to DUT but if you are taking generic I would recommend switching to the branded medication.

 

Puffy cheeks are usually down to water retention or an allergic reaction to something or high amount of salt. Do you drink enough maybe you have an allergic reaction to aftershave or something but yes maybe it is the medication that you are having a reaction to. The only way to know what might be causing it is to cut something out and assess the reaction. I would go and see your GP and ask for advice on your case as they can see you in person.

[funkygarzon]

Please tell me what you are taking? Is it branded Propecia or Proscar by Merck or a generic tablet. How many mg is in the tablet and how much are you taking?

 

You could either reduce your dosage or stop taking the medication altogether, I wouldn't recommend switching to DUT but if you are taking generic I would recommend switching to the branded medication.

 

Puffy cheeks are usually down to water retention or an allergic reaction to something or high amount of salt. Do you drink enough maybe you have an allergic reaction to aftershave or something but yes maybe it is the medication that you are having a reaction to. The only way to know what might be causing it is to cut something out and assess the reaction. I would go and see your GP and ask for advice on your case as they can see you in person.

 

Thank you very much for you useful reply @Garageland,

 

I am in india and so branded Propecia or Proscar are not available. so i am using generic ( finax by DR reddy)

 

so do you think FINAX by DR Reddy 1 mg may be the cause for my puffy cheek ? if so shall i switch to " Finpecia" by CIPLA another famous brand in india?

 

but even in the below site they have mentioned one of the finasteride side effect is

"Bloating or swelling of the face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet" as side effect

 

Finasteride Side Effects in Detail - Drugs.com

 

As you said shall i reduce the dosage? i am don't know how to reduce dosage so shall i take 3 days per week instead of taking it daily ? will this give me effect ? how long it will take to give me effect ?

 

please help me out in taking a best decision which will save me from puffy cheek and hairloss.. both are my concern Mr.Garageland.. thanks in advance

Edited July 10, 2014 by funkygarzon

[funkygarzon]

Please tell me what you are taking? Is it branded Propecia or Proscar by Merck or a generic tablet. How many mg is in the tablet and how much are you taking?

 

You could either reduce your dosage or stop taking the medication altogether, I wouldn't recommend switching to DUT but if you are taking generic I would recommend switching to the branded medication.

 

Puffy cheeks are usually down to water retention or an allergic reaction to something or high amount of salt. Do you drink enough maybe you have an allergic reaction to aftershave or something but yes maybe it is the medication that you are having a reaction to. The only way to know what might be causing it is to cut something out and assess the reaction. I would go and see your GP and ask for advice on your case as they can see you in person.

 

Thank you very much for you useful reply @Garageland,

 

I am in india and so branded Propecia or Proscar are not available. so i am using generic ( finax by DR reddy)

 

so do you think FINAX by DR Reddy 1 mg may be the cause for my puffy cheek ? if so shall i switch to " Finpecia" by CIPLA another famous brand in india?

 

but even in the below site they have mentioned one of the finasteride side effect is

"Bloating or swelling of the face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet" as side effect

 

Finasteride Side Effects in Detail - Drugs.com

 

As you said shall i reduce the dosage? i am don't know how to reduce dosage so shall i take 3 days per week instead of taking it daily ? will this give me effect ? how long it will take to give me effect ?

 

please help me out in taking a best decision which will save me from puffy cheek and hairloss.. both are my concern Mr.Garageland.. thanks in advance

[Rootz]

You said this has happened gradually over the last 4 years while on Fin. Have you gained weight? People generally accumulate more fat as they age due to 1) metabolism slowing and 2) laziness. If your body fat percentage has gone up since 4 years ago, it's going to show and one of the ways could very well be in your face.

[gillenator]

funkygarzon,

 

Your puffy cheeks may very well be totally unrelated to taking low dose finasteride. You may have developed a thyroid condition or something else.

 

The only way to know for sure is to have a complete blood work-up done to evaluate any other possibilities. Yes, there's a chance it could be related to taking the drug but unlikely as I have never heard of that side-effect.

 

Are you by chance taking any supplements or any related to weight lifting such as creatine?

 

BTW, switching to another form of low dose finasteride probably would not make any difference because they all have the same active ingredient but may come at varying strengths.

 

Again, I strongly advise that you have blood work done.

[funkygarzon]

You said this has happened gradually over the last 4 years while on Fin. Have you gained weight? People generally accumulate more fat as they age due to 1) metabolism slowing and 2) laziness. If your body fat percentage has gone up since 4 years ago, it's going to show and one of the ways could very well be in your face.

 

 

Thank you very much for your reply Rootz.

 

Yes, i gained weight up to 10 -13 kg that too i am having only normal meal what i had before and specifically i will take only 2 bread slice in the morning or sometimes i won't even take anything .

 

After going to gym i reduced up to 4 kg with strict diet, but only with slight REDUCE in PUFFY CHEEK.

 

 

 

funkygarzon,

 

Your puffy cheeks may very well be totally unrelated to taking low dose finasteride. You may have developed a thyroid condition or something else.

 

The only way to know for sure is to have a complete blood work-up done to evaluate any other possibilities. Yes, there's a chance it could be related to taking the drug but unlikely as I have never heard of that side-effect.

 

Are you by chance taking any supplements or any related to weight lifting such as creatine?

 

BTW, switching to another form of low dose finasteride probably would not make any difference because they all have the same active ingredient but may come at varying strengths.

 

Again, I strongly advise that you have blood work done.

 

 

Thank you very much @gillenator,

 

Yes even i was thinking whether i might got thyroid, but no one has thyroid in my family.

Is thyroid cause by genetic ? or by any other means ?

 

By blood work-up you mean "Blood test" right ?

 

any way, i will take blood test and even thyroid test , but one side i am sure, because from the day( i mean after several months) when i take this fin my cousin started telling about occurrence of puffy cheek.

 

No, i am not taking any supplement for body building, i only do cardio( tread mill and efx) not body building.

 

BTW,in some forum they say it is because increase in estrogen because ANDROGEN LEVEL WILL BE DECREASED and so advising to take anti- estrogen TABLET . is this true ? or some myth ?

[Noodles123]

Losing weight doesn't mean anything unless you are losing body fat. You can have two guys who are the same height and be the same weight and yet look completely different due to body composition.

[funkygarzon]

Losing weight doesn't mean anything unless you are losing body fat. You can have two guys who are the same height and be the same weight and yet look completely different due to body composition.

 

Thanks for your reply @blahblah.

 

Yes of course your guess and scientific fact is right but my brother who looks similar like me or i look similar to him and he is around 80 kg without chubby cheeks , but i am only 65 kg with chubby cheek is quite abnormal right Mr.blahblah that too recent it happened after taking fin

[gillenator]

funkygarzon,

 

Thyroid conditions vary as well as other auto-immune disorders so the only real accurate way to find out is with a complete blood work-up. And yes, that means blood tests. It does not always imply a genetic disposition for thyroid issues.

 

Unless we see actual clinical proof that decreasing androgens increases estrogen levels, it's very hard to confirm. Because DHT is a metabolite of testosterone.

[funkygarzon]

funkygarzon,

 

Thyroid conditions vary as well as other auto-immune disorders so the only real accurate way to find out is with a complete blood work-up. And yes, that means blood tests. It does not always imply a genetic disposition for thyroid issues.

 

Unless we see actual clinical proof that decreasing androgens increases estrogen levels, it's very hard to confirm. Because DHT is a metabolite of testosterone.

 

 

Thank you very much for your kind and informative reply Mr. Gillenator,

 

Yes, you are absolutely right. I am going to take blood test to check thyroid soon in a week.

 

In net i found underactive thyroid is hypothyroidism and increase in weight is one of its symptom. I am searching for a best Thyroid testing lab in my place where they will take blood sample specifically for thyroid issue.

 

Now fear increases in me. :confused:

 

 

Is hypothyroidism very harmful like any other dangerous disease ?

 

is it permanently curable?

 

what is the main cause of hypothyroidism ?

 

sorry for my too many questions Mr.Gillenator ... please help me out from this ...THANKS IN ADVANCE

[gillenator]

Don't worry funky, most thyroid conditions are very treatable "if" that's your issue. You won't know until your blood tests come back.

 

The important thing is that you are seeing your doctor...

[savemyhairplease]

Ive never heard of this side before.

[gillenator]

Ive never heard of this side before.

 

Neither have I and why I am somewhat skeptical that it is related to taking low dose fansteride. Proscar, which is 5 mg finasteride, is used to reduce or prevent swelling of the prostrate gland.

 

Yet the blood work will confirm what it is and we never know, possibly it is related to taking finasteride and maybe his physician will recommend to stop taking it to see if the cheek swelling stops.

 

Hopefully we will get some feedback once his labs get back to his doctor.