Brain Fog on 0.5 mg finasteride EOD After 2 Weeks

[finornottofin]

As the title states I'm getting brain fog after taking ~5 mg total over the course of 2 and a half weeks. My scalp inflammation has also significantly reduced and for the first time in 3 years my crown area feels so calm. So finasteride is definitely doing something good for my scalp already.

For reference I was losing hair with ~18 ng/dl dht (range from 13 to 77 ng/dL) which basically means small amounts of androgens can wreck my hair completely. I am also a diffuse thinner and wouldn't be surprised if I had dupa (some hair loss even on back and frontal sides). Unfortunately no dermatologists in my area do scalp biopsies so I cannot confirm the latter. (my dad is a NW7 and men on my moms side all have noticable hair loss but to varying degrees)

Should I lower the dose to 0.25 mg ED or EOD? Since my dht is already so low maybe the microdose will work or is it going to just build up and cause the same problems eventually? Anyone with experience in this area? I have no other sides so far libido, semen etc are totally good. This is the one side I honestly did not expect.

 

[DarkHairHair]

you have probably dpa not dupa because finasteride doesnt work on me ( i have dupa)

 

[Selb]

you have probably dpa not dupa because finasteride doesnt work on me ( i have dupa)

Have you tried treating it with alopecia areata treatments like inosine pranobex?

Also, what’s your prolactin?

 

[finornottofin]

Have you tried treating it with alopecia areata treatments like inosine pranobex?

Also, what’s your prolactin?

Im not sure if you are asking me but I didn't know to test prolactin. In hind sight i shoudlve. I just tested T, Free T, SHBG, Estradiol, DHT, LSH, FSH and TSH.

 

[Selb]

Im not sure if you are asking me but I didn't know to test prolactin. In hind sight i shoudlve. I just tested T, Free T, SHBG, Estradiol, DHT, LSH, FSH and TSH.

I was asking DarkHairHair as his case is interesting. If your donor hair is thinning you may have DUPA. Dht blockers are effective, so try lowering your dose if you’re getting brain fog

 

[DarkHairHair]

Have you tried treating it with alopecia areata treatments like inosine pranobex?

Also, what’s your prolactin?

No , i havent tried inosine pranobexe ,

And for my prolactin i don't know to be honest. But even if i know if my prolactin is high or low , it doesnt matter since there is no solutions against dupa for now

 

[Selb]

No , i havent tried inosine pranobexe ,

And for my prolactin i don't know to be honest. But even if i know if my prolactin is high or low , it doesnt matter since there is no solutions against dupa for now

Might be worth a try. If your dupa isn’t responding to treatments, then it might not be androgenic. Inosine can be helpful for that.

prolactin might be your problem too, as it can thin hair at high amounts. We’re testing a prolactin receptor inhibitor which might interest you

 

[Mustang]

Go on topical dutasteride brother. No reason for anybody to be taking oral finasteride in 2021.

 

[finornottofin]

Go on topical dutasteride brother. No reason for anybody to be taking oral finasteride in 2021.

Hey man I've browsed the forums on that and I am scared to start topical duta given my specific side effect on Finasteride. I stopped taking it two days ago and the "fish bowl/brain fog" sensation has finally starting to subside. This was on 0.5 mg finasteride EOD for three weeks only (it started to slowly accumalate in effect after the second dose).

I cannot even fathom how I was functioning a couple days ago now that I feel much more clear headed (though I don't feel 100% yet). Dutasteride has a much longer half life so I am so damn scared to start it and possibly be stuck with that sensation for months. I'd honestly rather lose my libido for months than have to go back into fish bowl mode for the same period of time.

Now I know the theory proposed by members here has to do with the molecular weight of duta not allowing it to go as systemic, but going along the same theory since I'm having brain fog on fina would reducing 5-AR(both type 1 and 2) near scalp similarly affect neurosteroid production (im assuming thats why I'm getting brain fog but hell if i know)? Honestly this entire thing is so unscientifical but god damn I don't want to lose my hair at 24 but also don't wanna become a gold fish for months in an experiment to prevent it.

I'm thinking of trying 0.0125% topical fina solution (0.125 mg/ml) from a compounding pharmacy near me before going for duta. I know that this has more chances of going systemic but fina also wears off quicker in the system should an issue occur. Thoughts?

 

[Mustang]

Give that a go man
0.025% or lower twice a week
If that causes you brain fog again then you know the next move
Topical dutasteride won't, at least not on me and that was my main side on finasteride oral and topical

 

[finornottofin]

Give that a go man
0.025% or lower twice a week
If that causes you brain fog again then you know the next move
Topical dutasteride won't, at least not on me and that was my main side on finasteride oral and topical

Honestly even today the fog hasn't completely subsided and its got me pretty shook. I think I'll give up on 5Ar inhibitors cause I never want to feel this way again its pretty scary for me. Going to look into CB or another AR antagonist for now.

 

[SD1984]

I cannot even fathom how I was functioning a couple days ago now that I feel much more clear headed (though I don't feel 100% yet).

Is it just me or does it seem like 50% of guys who take finasteride end up with SOME form of side effect? Damn.
Sorry to hear about your brain fog man. You make it sound like it was pretty bad. What happened exactly?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Is it just me or does it seem like 50% of guys who take finasteride end up with SOME form of side effect? Damn.
Sorry to hear about your brain fog man. You make it sound like it was pretty bad. What happened exactly?

No, it has to do with self-selection in terms of who comments and how motivated they are against certain medications. I just ignore them. I took finasteride and duta separately and together for close to 25 years now and I can't tell that I am even on them much less have I ever had any side effects from anything except spironolactone. So I will take finasteride and raise you one with spironolactone because people who take spironolactone definitely know that they are on it.

I had neither regrowth nor sides from either finasteride/duta so the only thing that showed that it was working was pretty damn good maintenance.

 

[Notdifferent]

No, it has to do with self-selection in terms of who comments and how motivated they are against certain medications. I just ignore them. I took finasteride and duta separately and together for close to 25 years now and I can't tell that I am even on them much less have I ever had any side effects from anything except spironolactone. So I will take finasteride and raise you one with spironolactone because people who take spironolactone definitely know that they are on it.

I had neither regrowth nor sides from either finasteride/duta so the only thing that showed that it was working was pretty damn good maintenance.

I don't really know what's going on below the belt but if it is what I assume, I don't understand how you'd even know or be able to feel most of finasteride/duta effects at this point. I'm talking about gyno/ed etc...

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I don't really know what's going on below the belt but if it is what I assume, I don't understand how you'd even know or be able to feel most of finasteride/duta effects at this point. I'm talking about gyno/ed etc...

I started on finasteride around 1998 and used it in a male context for at least 17 years, along with dutasteride the last several. I have never felt anything nor seen anything from either of these meds including regrowth. I assumed that they were working for maintenance. My issue is not so different; it's because I couldn't handle DHT any longer so I jumped ship. And what I mean is, that except for acne, DHT was making my life miserable with dandruff, rashes and extensive dermatitis. Not even HRT plus finasteride plus duta could remedy the dermatitis. Only beard removal finally did that which is never an easy decision but I could not shave nor could I grow a beard to cover it up. Both things inflamed it.

In terms of brain fog, with spironolactone, my thought is that it is part of the overall weakening of the body and increased fatigue but probably it amounts to being too tired to think. It doesn't make much sense to me as to why raising T while lowering DHT would cause the sides alleged. I have a background in stats so I understand placebo/nocebo but you guys know your own bodies so eh, I can't deny that some seem to have a troubled experience on finasteride but I also see that many such guys never even bothered to try to tirate or lower the number of days used or to even wait for tolerance to sides to develop.

Combined with the notion that finasteride somehow causes baldness, that's a pretty bleak scenario that I believe misleads the vast majority of people but personally, I don't care either way and I have no axe to grind.

If someone asks me for a substitute then I usually tell them to try duta and if that doesn't work then try saw palmetto but I don't think saw palmetto is very effective for hair growth; it seems to be more effective on prostate DHT. I don't believe that any of the so-called experimental meds and pseudo-estrogens like alfatradiol work well either analog though it might be to good old estradiol. I point everyone towards Keto and other strong dandruff shampoos for inflammation and I try to mention oral min to non-responders. There are still other good options, just not ones that specifically target the relevant reductases.

Janey

 

[finornottofin]

Is it just me or does it seem like 50% of guys who take finasteride end up with SOME form of side effect? Damn.
Sorry to hear about your brain fog man. You make it sound like it was pretty bad. What happened exactly?

Well its more like 50% of the guys on the forum have some sort of side effect. The vast majority of people including 2 friends I know irl who are/were on finasteride never got any noticeable sides and never went on to a forum such as this. They basically got prescribed a pill and decided to take the pill and it gave no sides so they really had no reason to go online and search up stuff you know. Forums like these are more a source for people looking for alternative or better treatments cause their current stack isn't working/ isn't enough or is giving them sides.

Basically I started with 0.5 mg EOD specifically bc i have pre low T and DHT already for my age (check one of my previous posts here). I wasn't too worried cause at worse my dick could stop working for a couple days or weeks and I'd have to lay off and try a lower dose. 1.5 - 2 weeks in I was hella satisfied that libido, dick and semen consistency was normal. Around this time I first noticed feeling fuzzy and sh*t and in hind sight this has really never happened to me before so I shoudlve been more critical then and thought about it but I just went on with my days. The day after my head was full blown blurry. It feels like you are in a haze but you know everything that is going on around you but kinda like in third person mode. Like you are kinda out of your body. It was the trippiest sh*t I have ever experienced. I have never really gotten drunk or high in my life so i can't say if those comparisons would work. I took two more doses after this because I had never heard of finasteride causing "brain fog" (its shitty that the derm didn't mention it once). I had heard about finasteride and neurons(?) in some long term studies while browsing the forums here after i wrote my initial hormone profile post. The brain fog didn't improve and 3 days ago I stopped because I needed to get rid of the daze. Its mostly improved after a couple days but now I'm just hoping I get back to 100% quick.

I've looked online and one thing that struck me the most relatable to someone who had similar sides was "having your head in a fish bowl". You can see and hear everything but it kinda feels like its through a filter. Now I have been clearheaded basically all my life so such an experience was genuinely horrible. Maybe for people who've gotten high or drunk it wouldn't be so bad, but I doubt for most they've been in such a state for multiple days.

 

[finornottofin]

I can't deny that some seem to have a troubled experience on finasteride but I also see that many such guys never even bothered to try to tirate or lower the number of days used or to even wait for tolerance to sides to develop.

Honestly I wouldn't be too quick to judge. If you look at my original post just a week ago you see me asking if I should titrate any lower to avoid sides. The next two days and the problem worsening really changed my perspective along with the available data. A lower dose would eventually accumalate systemically just as much as 0.5mg EOD and perhaps more importantly for me brain >>>>> dick. I could 100% tolerate ball ache that alot of people here seem to report in their first two weeks but the brain fog stuff is just too much. I had already lived with it for almost an entire week and wasn't willing to go much further. Is it possible that dealing with it for 2 more weeks my brain would have "adjusted"? Maybe. Or maybe it would slightly improve and it would be the new normal.

Also you mentioned you got brain fog on spironolactone. I know the compound and stuff is different but how long til you felt 100% again?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Well. I wasn't talking about you as one of "those guys". You are clearly trying to exhaust all avenues. I just get the feeling that some guys want an excuse not to go on finasteride and that's fine. People are spooked a bit by the association of reductase inhibitors with MtF's and the idea that using finasteride makes you soft or less masculine because it lowers DHT.

Here's my advocacy for DHT: "You know, my client, DHT gets blamed for essentially every single bad condition related to skin or hair. Now I ask you, is that fair? Which molecule is the core male hormone and which hormone gets converted from T by some nasty enzymes? Yes. Testosterone. Without T, there is no DHT and I would have no client sitting here at all so let's show some appreciation for Mr. DHT. Without him, there would be no men at all as it differentiates the sexes in the womb.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Well its more like 50% of the guys on the forum have some sort of side effect. The vast majority of people including 2 friends I know irl who are/were on finasteride never got any noticeable sides and never went on to a forum such as this. They basically got prescribed a pill and decided to take the pill and it gave no sides so they really had no reason to go online and search up stuff you know. Forums like these are more a source for people looking for alternative or better treatments cause their current stack isn't working/ isn't enough or is giving them sides.

Basically I started with 0.5 mg EOD specifically bc i have pre low T and DHT already for my age (check one of my previous posts here). I wasn't too worried cause at worse my dick could stop working for a couple days or weeks and I'd have to lay off and try a lower dose. 1.5 - 2 weeks in I was hella satisfied that libido, dick and semen consistency was normal. Around this time I first noticed feeling fuzzy and sh*t and in hind sight this has really never happened to me before so I shoudlve been more critical then and thought about it but I just went on with my days. The day after my head was full blown blurry. It feels like you are in a haze but you know everything that is going on around you but kinda like in third person mode. Like you are kinda out of your body. It was the trippiest sh*t I have ever experienced. I have never really gotten drunk or high in my life so i can't say if those comparisons would work. I took two more doses after this because I had never heard of finasteride causing "brain fog" (its shitty that the derm didn't mention it once). I had heard about finasteride and neurons(?) in some long term studies while browsing the forums here after i wrote my initial hormone profile post. The brain fog didn't improve and 3 days ago I stopped because I needed to get rid of the daze. Its mostly improved after a couple days but now I'm just hoping I get back to 100% quick.

I've looked online and one thing that struck me the most relatable to someone who had similar sides was "having your head in a fish bowl". You can see and hear everything but it kinda feels like its through a filter. Now I have been clearheaded basically all my life so such an experience was genuinely horrible. Maybe for people who've gotten high or drunk it wouldn't be so bad, but I doubt for most they've been in such a state for multiple days.

"It feels like you are in a haze but you know everything that is going on around you but kinda like in third person mode. Like you are kinda out of your body. It was the trippiest sh*t I have ever experienced."

Bug or feature?

 

[SD1984]

@finornottofin Yeah I read all your previous posts about how you tested your levels. By no means do I think finasteride is "poison" (Look, you had sides, you got off of it, and soon you'll feel your normal self again), but I am shocked how docs seem to prescribe it at the drop of a hat given all the circumstances. And no I'm not just talking about PFS, I'm talking about what this medication actually does. It slashes your DHT by a pretty significant amount. This isn't something that's a "good thing", any level headed doctor will tell you that. Nobody WANTS to take finasteride. But they are basically forced to if they want to keep their hair. I feel these docs should do what you did and at least do a baseline blood test to reveal where the guy is as T/Free T/DHT wise before starting. For all the obvious reasons.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. I've been fearful of finasteride for the last 13+ years since I first discovered hairloss. Recently I finally reached the point of almost no return where it's basically finasteride or bust(multiple hair transplant's). My derm prescribed me finasteride like he was giving out candy. Said all the usual stuff about how he never hears of side effects, maybe one guy with less ejaculate in all his years. I picked up the pills and they're sitting on my kitchen table at the moment. I still don't know what to do. Thinking of getting baseline bloodwork first.