Propecia/Finasteride - Suicidal Ideation

[Coverdale]

I’m sure this is more suited for the Open Hair Loss topic section, but I think more people may see this here. As a younger male (30) that leads a very fortunate life due to hard work at an even younger age and the skills developed in and benefits given to those that have served (I have a deep appreciation for the VA), I find this particularly interesting and even upsetting. When I began propecia a year ago I was never warned about the unlikely symptoms that it may bring, nor did I read about it anywhere online. Fast forward 6 months and I was in constant doubt of myself, pessimistic all of the time, terrible to be around, and I caught myself thinking, “I wonder what would happen if I just pulled the trigger”, multiple times a week. At a visit to my dermatologist, she made the decision to remove me from the medication and replace it with topical minox/finasteride gel buds because she was receiving information about other men using the drug that had been having the same thoughts. I got off of it and immediately noticed a difference. I was so very grateful to her for doing this, just because it was something that I never linked to be the cause of my new onset of pessimism (as I’m someone who is high energy, always singing and dancing, and generally very upbeat). I decided to get back on oral propecia (I know, I know) about 3 days ago so that I could use it while I’m recovering from my HT, and I can truthfully say that it is indeed causing the misguided thought patterns that I experienced before. I’ll be stopping my use of the drug and I hope that some of you experiencing similar feelings or thoughts will take this opportunity to think hard about your own behaviors and thought processes while on finasteride/propecia, as I didn’t think they were linked for many months while I was on it. As I said, I live a very fortunate life where I have yet to deal with depression or mental health issues, which is why I was so oblivious and ignorant to how the drug was affecting me, as I’ve never experienced anything like that before. 
 

hopefully those of you who may be having a difficult time, and are also using propecia/finasteride, can cycle off of it for a few weeks to a month to see if it effects your mood. I’d love to hear about it!

EDIT* My derm visit was for an unrelated matter and she remembered I was on propecia. At this point I had not expressed my thoughts or feelings to her, as I had not linked it to the medication. She removed me because of information she was receiving from other clients of hers about their own suicidal thoughts. I informed her of mine a bit later. Additionally, this is an uncommon symptom of this hair loss medication, as I mentioned above.

Edited March 2, 2022 by Coverdale

[FUT4000]

I feel like this post might be misleading to the many people inquiring about using it to prevent hair loss. Your case is very rare that you believe it is causing suicidal ideation, or pessimism. Also you really shouldn't be telling people to cycle off any medication as I'm just assuming (but probably right) that you're not a hair transplant surgeon. 

[NARMAK]

I think it's important for people to know that there is a possibility of such side affects. A friend of mine seemed to have the side affects mentioned resulting in him discontinuing use of Finasteride but i must stress that these are not to be considered common side affects for the majority it seems. 

Also, its usually difficult to link mood based side affects to medication unless they are the only variable like it seems to be in your case, so sorry to hear that the medication orally did that. Hopefully a Topical Finasteride/Minoxodil combo will be much better for you. 

I do think there is hope on the horizon for individuals such as yourself and tbh, even i would like to be able to use something that blocks significant amounts of scalp DHT only without affecting the positive aspects of DHT in the body. 

[Coverdale]

24 minutes ago, FUT4000 said:

I feel like this post might be misleading to the many people inquiring about using it to prevent hair loss. Your case is very rare that you believe it is causing suicidal ideation, or pessimism. Also you really shouldn't be telling people to cycle off any medication as I'm just assuming (but probably right) that you're not a hair transplant surgeon. 

I understand your position, but it’s not misleading in any form or fashion. I refer to my symptoms as being “unlikely”, and I also mention that if someone is experiencing symptoms such as this, maybe they “can” cycle off. It goes without saying that this is something they should speak to their doctor about. Regardless of how you interpreted my post, this is important information for people to know. 

[Coverdale]

28 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

I think it's important for people to know that there is a possibility of such side affects. A friend of mine seemed to have the side affects mentioned resulting in him discontinuing use of Finasteride but i must stress that these are not to be considered common side affects for the majority it seems. 

Also, its usually difficult to link mood based side affects to medication unless they are the only variable like it seems to be in your case, so sorry to hear that the medication orally did that. Hopefully a Topical Finasteride/Minoxodil combo will be much better for you. 

I do think there is hope on the horizon for individuals such as yourself and tbh, even i would like to be able to use something that blocks significant amounts of scalp DHT only without affecting the positive aspects of DHT in the body. 

Thanks! I agree. While it could be a great number of many things affecting my behavior, I live a pretty straight edge life and I don’t take any other medications, which is why I contribute my thoughts and feelings to finasteride/propecia, as well as the onset of these symptoms seemingly began around the time I first started, and definitely began this time around as well. As uncommon of a symptom as it is, it must be common enough for my dermatologist to get reports about men experiencing these symptoms, since she brought it to my attention and was apparently removing the men she sees as clients from it (oral only).

[NARMAK]

2 minutes ago, Coverdale said:

Thanks! I agree. While it could be a great number of many things affecting my behavior, I live a pretty straight edge life and I don’t take any other medications, which is why I contribute my thoughts and feelings to finasteride/propecia, as well as the onset of these symptoms seemingly began around the time I first started, and definitely began this time around as well. As uncommon of a symptom as it is, it must be common enough for my dermatologist to get reports about men experiencing these symptoms, since she brought it to my attention and was apparently removing the men she sees as clients from it (oral only).

It's one of those situations where if you work in a specific field, then people you interact with daily are suffering from X, Y, Z issue and in your dermatologists case if people usually with hair loss show those signs and mention them but don't have any other medication they take, probably gets linked and stopped as a precaution and best practice from their PoV. Especially if they were the prescribing physician too. 

Bottom line, 98% of men imo don't seem to get side affects that probably can't be managed to reap the benefits and of the circa 2% that probably get side affects the vast majority recover once use is discontinued. 

Melvin on here is candid about not using due to side affects which he has all my respect for but also because he tells people to give it a try too before any hair transplants are thought of as a hair restoration method. 

Ultimately we're at the mercy of our genetics when it comes to hair loss, medication or not. 

Hopeful one day soon, it will be possible to use clone grafts like Stemson Therapeutics are working on, but also hopefully not limited to people with a big wallet for long. 

[Coverdale]

1 minute ago, NARMAK said:

It's one of those situations where if you work in a specific field, then people you interact with daily are suffering from X, Y, Z issue and in your dermatologists case if people usually with hair loss show those signs and mention them but don't have any other medication they take, probably gets linked and stopped as a precaution and best practice from their PoV. Especially if they were the prescribing physician too. 

Bottom line, 98% of men imo don't seem to get side affects that probably can't be managed to reap the benefits and of the circa 2% that probably get side affects the vast majority recover once use is discontinued. 

Melvin on here is candid about not using due to side affects which he has all my respect for but also because he tells people to give it a try too before any hair transplants are thought of as a hair restoration method. 

Ultimately we're at the mercy of our genetics when it comes to hair loss, medication or not. 

Hopeful one day soon, it will be possible to use clone grafts like Stemson Therapeutics are working on, but also hopefully not limited to people with a big wallet for long. 

Awesome reply! 
  I was unaware that Melvin has had side effects on the medication (if that’s what you were implying). And yes, it seems that very few men get these side effects on the medication. Hopefully there is or will be an equal alternative in the near future.

[civic]

Finasteride has some effect on GABA receptors in brain. Which is related to mood. Some people are more prone to that than others, it is important for anyone experiencing any adverse effects to consult with their physician. Also, power of suggestion,  that is,   placebo effect, also plays a factor. There is certainly truth in old saying, 'as you think, so shall you become'. Anyway, taking any medication is a persinal decision & all pros & cons must be considered.