Finasteride and dutasteride side effects

Hi all,

I've been meaning to post something like this for a while. Before I start, a little background:

I took finasteride for about 6 or 7 years from about 25 years old. When the growth effects of that wore off, I moved on to dutasteride for about 4-ish years. I then gradually stopped taking dutasteride (see thread ' Coming off Dutasteride') and moved back to finasteride. I'm now 39 and, as of 5 weeks ago, stopped taking finasteride altogether.

This isn't an anti finasteride / dutasteride preach. I completely understand those who take it and, as my hair continues to thin, its a nightly struggle not to reach for the little silver packet. But this is why I won't be taking it again:

1.) The main point I will make, is that many people will not know that they are experiencing side effects from the drug, until they stop taking the drug. It seems that fin and dut side often do not appear immediately. For me, it took about 2 years on dut before I realised I couldn't focus at work, I was getting fat around the middle, and I was almost always anxious. These symptoms stopped when I stopped dut. With finasteride, my libido dropped pretty quickly, but it took a few weeks before I started to feel depressed / anxious again.
The problem here is that people will not realise that what they are experiencing is from the hair loss drug - they may attribute it to something else.

2.) The second point is that (and I know most will be well aware of this), it seems the side effect incidence of finasteride is far higher than originally thought. Now believed to be around 38% rather than the 1 - 2% originally thought. I used to doubt these figures but they're now quite widely accepted.

3.) Since I stopped the drugs / started on the supps, the following has changed:

a.) Sadly, the supps haven't yet stopped my hair loss, but they are slowing it down.
b.) I feel generally much better, and have far more energy. Don't feel like an old man any more.
c.) I feel mentally calmer - interesting since the fact I'm losing hair might be thought of as a cause of some stress.
d.) I have mild osteoarthritis in my hips. This has improved.
e.) Life has much more of a sparkle to it - I feel enthusiasm for things that I have not felt in a while.

Well, that's it. As I say, this isn't an anti-drug preach. I fully understand why people take these drugs - they do pretty much guarantee that your hair loss will stop - and some people will experience no side effects at all. But for those on it, or considering taking it, it is worth being very aware of the above...some will know immediately that the drugs are not for them, but for others the side effects can slowly creep up on you without you being aware of what's happening. And I personally feel like a new man since I stopped taking them.

Good luck all.

ataman,

Congrats for getting off that stuff finally and posting your progress for others to follow. I know you've been tapering off for quite some time and I'm glad to see that you were able to transition and notice some immediate positives from dropping fin/dut. I think your health should only get better w/o that poison in your system. Good luck!

I second the congrats to you ataman. I have read your posts on getting off the dutasteride. Glad to hear you did it. I'm also close to your age and have been on the dutasteride for close to three years now after switching from finasteride. Same thing as many seem to experiance is the finasteride seemed to do little for me after close to 8 years of consistent usage. Now I want off the dutasteride. I been doing every other day for about 2 months now. And sometimes I'll even skip another day and go two days off.

I too have dealt with anxiety, panic and feeling depressed many times in my life and now that I look back at all this It seems like there is a relation with this pharmaceutical stuff I been consuming and my symptoms. I never experienced much of this prior to taking these products.

Then again, I also got married, bought a house and had children which can also contribute to stresses. But for the most part I believe the stress associated with my regular life was not the major contributor to my anxieties. I have no real other reason for feeling down or anxious.

I read a post I think it was in your thread about taking Pregnenolone which I believe was suggested by CS for helping with such symptoms as the Dutasteride lowered this. From what I understood, (if I'm not mistaken) a reduction of pregnenolone can cause these stresses. Maybe CS can comment some more on this.

I found this over at iHerb and was thinking of picking some up.

http://www.iherb.com/MRM-Pregnenolone-50-mg-60-Veggie-Caps/4645?at=0

It's a veggie and not synthetic made so I believe it would be a good form of this. The thread also went on to mention DHEA which works well together with the prenenolone.

Have you or anybody tried taking this stuff (prenenolone & DHEA)?

I was also surprised to hear that dutasteride contains bromine and fluoride. Unless I misunderstood this, that sounds pretty bad.

How long you been off all this now ataman?

Thanks hadrion, I appreciate that. Planning to update that main dutasteride thread shortly.Fingers crossed the supps kick in for me eventually.

Addicted, i know what you mean, not always easy to tell what the hell is going on...whether it's the drugs or just life.

I bought some preg but never tried it...if you do, i think its powerful stuff itself...would start off with a very low dose. Have to go but IM me if you want more info on dut...know quite a bit about it now...

Thanks for the update ataman. I will add that several years ago I was taking mega doses of natural DHT blockers, namely beta sitosterol, and I didn't realize just how bad things were until I dropped them. That's the closest I have ever been to taking drugs.

Addicted - The pregnenolone idea is a theory, however it is very important that the type to be used is trans-dermal only. Oral pregenolone will not work very well and is almost useless.

Here's right kind: http://www.iherb.com/Life-Flo-Health-Organic-Living-Pregnenolone-2-oz-57-g/15119?at=hil335

The idea with trans-dermal pregnenolone is that it may help compensate since 5-AR blockers inhibit the synthesis of allopregenolone, which is a neurosteroid, that exhibits anti-anxiety and anti-depressant effects in the brain.

When I first visited a dermatologist about my hair loss one year ago, he confidently told me that finasteride is an "extremely safe drug."

CS,
Do you have an opinion on localized 5AR inhibition, ie. through topical application of an inhibitor?

Thanks for the information CS, so if this said benefit from using pregnenolone is just a theory, then does that mean this isn't an actual proven fact? And is DHEA supplementation suppose to aid in combination with the effects of pregnenolone?



Hey imprisoned-radical, my prescribing doctor never mentioned any negative aspects when suggesting to me that I should get on finasteride about 11 years ago now. In fact, he was certain this was the drug of choice to fix up any hair issues I was having.

I was so reluctant to get on it, but ultimately feel for the cheese in the trap. I do believe that I would be experiencing a more gentle tranquil life if I didn't' take this drug. As I never had much stress issues prior to taking finasteride and or dutasteride.

Hey Addicted,

I was in a rush yesterday, wanted to reply to your post in a bit more detail.

I've been off dut now for over a year. I actually stopped mainly so that we could have kids (which we haven't yet) but I guess this wasn't a concern for you?

When the dut loss became pretty bad, I went back onto fin for a while. I experienced worse side effects the second time on fin than the first (when I was in my 20's). As I say, I've now been off fin for about 5 1/2 weeks. I've definitely lost some hair, but I believe lots of supps have meant this was far less dramatic than it could have been. I am hoping it will stabilise.

Regarding dut side effects, it is hard to know whether you are experiencing them. The 'problem' with forums like this is that, the more you read about these awful side effects, the more likely you are to experience them. Strange but apparently true. The mind is pretty powerful. As I've said, personally I am certain I feel better off the drugs...the dut effects for me were more mental (anxiety / concentration problems) and finasteride more physical (low libido / lack of energy).

Regarding pregnenolone, I don't think it would harm you to try this but I'd start with a very low dose (5 mg or less - especially if you plan on taking it longer term) and see how you get on. CS will know more about this than I do, but I did read a bit about it on Ray Sahelians website. He wrote a book on it a few years ago when he believed it was a true wonder-supplement, but seems to have become more and more cautious about it over the years. I don't think you need DHEA as well...I think one is derived from the other.

I wouldn't be too critical of your doctor...11 years ago most folk did still 100% believe that this was a very safe drug (many still do).

Good luck mate.