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propecia and brain fog!! it is temporary!


lovehair1234

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If you found yourself here maybe you are going thru something similar to what i went thru. Im creating this thread to help others and let you know that brain fog is only a temporary problem. Ive taken propecia on and off several times in the past and never had any problems. This last time i took it i was on it for about 3 weeks or so when i had an over whelming feeling of brain fog, I felt like i couldn't function, couldn't focus, think, read or even do the dishes. I was horrified and it crept up on me almost over night. I felt like I was never going to be the same again. Needless to say i quit immediately and the symptoms remained. Every day was harder then the last i was beginning to feel like I lost myself. I was like this for several weeks. It may have even been a months time. I can assure you (from my personal experience) that this is temporary. There is nothing wrong with you and over time your body and mind will restore itself. You may feel like there is no chance of you recovering but just hang in there and just understand that I went thru it and today I am totally back to normal. You just have to give your body time to adjust and you will be okay. If you have any questions for me feel free to ask. Personally i see a lot of people post about their problems and when they solve them they dont share their experiences. Its good to post whats wrong but it is important to follow thru and post when the problem is fixed. good luck and i hope this post has helped in some way.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Senior Member

Hi

Thank you for your post, but I do need to ask this how can you be so sure this is down to the drug itself after a short time.

You said you taken them on & off for several yrs, did you have any side effects at that time.

Did you have any blood work before or after?

I'm not saying that your wrong but I'm not saying your right neither.

Maybe some other members can chime in who had kinda of the same as your SE.

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  • Senior Member

In my case I believe it is temporary too. I get brain fog every day especially in the afternoon after lunch and stays on until 7-8pm. I have been taking 1.25mg on alternate days. If I stop taking it for 3-4 days my symptoms get a lot better. I have been on Fin for about an year.

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  • Senior Member

Torip..

How is Fin working for you? Have you seen any gains ie thicker or growing hair in the last 12mths?

 

I've been doing my own research on this drug & really thinking of going on this & maybe start off on 1.25 a day...& give it some time to kick in maybe 6/9 mths at that dosage.

 

Wonder if you took advice from your Dr for that dose you mention every other day or is that something you decided yourself.

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yeah..my hair did get thicker and new hairs grew as well. In my case by about 3 months I could see a lot of tiny hairs popping up. By 6 months it got better. I cannot really say my hair improved after 6 months. I did not take any doctor's advice for the dosage. After about 6 months I was not tolerating 1 mg every day, because of side affects. So I started taking 1 mg or 1.25 mg on every other day.

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Torip

Thank you for your reply that's useful info to add to my research..

I'm thinking of dosage of 1.25 mg a day & see what happens going forward.

 

Lovehair1234

Sorry I jumped on your post just thought while you was talking about this partical drug I would like to know the pros & cons before I make my final choice.

Your topic is very useful like myself & others to fully understand what may or may not happen while taken such drugs.

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no problem. I didnt have any blood work before or after. It was just based off my experience. However i will tell you that fin works great. it thickened up my hair big time when i was on it. My concern is the brain fog that comes with it. Actually if you asked me previously to the last time i took it i would tell you that brain fog is just a figment of peoples imaginations. Since i personally experienced it i could tell you its very real and a very scary feeling. i suggest people try it and see how it works for them because the results could be a huge confidence booster. But if you feel like you are lost and detached then if you discontinue the drug you will snap out of it over time.

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I don't really. I actually use minox for Afew weeks, jumped off and now am experiencing a shed from hell. I'm 2 months removed and still shedding. Not the smartest thing I know. I would've held on to these hairs for another few years before I lost them so I'm pretty bummed out. Any advice would be appreciated. I considered going back on fin but fear the fog thing so idk what to do

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Yep...it seems dam if you do dam if your don't huh?

But one thing we all can agree on loosing hair won't get any better unless you try & stop the rot some way or another.

It seems nomatter what drugs or other methods we use to fight this, from what I've read you always have some loss at the start & takes time even with a HT they have a ugly duckling stage also....so guess no pain no gain parden the punt.

 

I also read on this forum under drugs forum post recently that he was loosing hair using that rogain/min & seem to be the same as yourself.....again like you said that you must give it a fair shake & see what becomes...it seems like everybody is different & no real secret fomula.

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@ lovehair1234

 

Which Finasteride were you taking? Is it generic or Merk's Propecia or Proscar? In my case strangely, I get very severe brain fog if I take generic made by Dr. Reddys Finax or Cipla's Finpecia. But my brain fog is much less with Merck's Propecia. I first started with generic Fin about 4 years ago and could not tolerate it all. I thought I am one of the few unlucky ones and did not really take it for another 3 years. But about an year ago, I tried Merck Propecia and the brainfog was tolerable. I lost about 3 yrs of precious time by not trying Merck's propecia.

I would suggest you to try Propecia, if you were taking the generic.

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From what I have read, Avodart causes more brain fog than Fin. Apparently the reason is Avdoart blocks 5-alpha reductase I which is mainly found in the brain and is probably is responsible for neuro steroid production. Fin only inhibits 5-alpha reductase II and does not cause as much brain fog.

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  • 1 year later...

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.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...
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.

 

Hey have you received any relief? Mine is pretty bad I feel like I’m walking on the moon constantly

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  • 1 year later...
  • Senior Member

If i wasnt aware of what can cause my brainfog in the past i would ve been so scared because i d think it was from fin now. I have issues with snoring and waking up multiple times during night which is causing brainfog for me. It all goes away once i rest enough

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  • Regular Member

I'm experiencing some brain fog together with blurred vision and I think that it's due to incorrect sleep - I wake up a lot of times - and seasonal changes, my cousin who doesn't take finasteride or other medications feels the same. 

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