Propecia and mental side effects?

[Student]

Ok, so I am new to Propecia, my doctor just prescribed me it. He mentioned all the side effects listed on the paper included and also added it might cause light dizziness when standing up in its early stages. Anyhow, after reading the stuff over at Propeciahelp.com and a few other sites on people complaining of mental side effects I am quite terrified of continuing taking the drug, even Wikipedia has it listed as a possibility and it has not been contested yet. I love my hair and am afraid to lose it, but it would seem like a complete decent into vanity to risk my mental health for my scalp's health. At the same time I have a bit of skepticism of the people down at Propeciahelp, but I also carry a bit of skepticism for those who dismiss it completely. Anyhow here are a few questions I have to help my research:

1.) Have there been any attempts of lawsuits against Merck for mental side effects of Propecia?

2.) Are the studies at the top of the mental category of Propeciahelp.com reliable/credible? Does Propecia have a good chance of interfering with your CNS?

3.) Is there any good evidence to suggest some of the people at Propeciahelp.com (especially the ones talking of mental side effects) are not credible or dishonest?

4.) Is there any direct study or indirect study that would indicate Propecia probably does not have the effect on the CNS that those two articles at Propeciahelp.com indicate it does (the inhibiting of GABA)?

My Doctor didn't give me any reassurance on that, just said there is no study on those mentioned side effects. Oh, and I guess I am a little concerned about reports of genital deformity (shrinking etc.) so any info affirming that or to the contrary of that would also be nice. Thanks!

 

[medmax84]

Ok, so I am new to Propecia, my doctor just prescribed me it. He mentioned all the side effects listed on the paper included and also added it might cause light dizziness when standing up in its early stages. Anyhow, after reading the stuff over at Propeciahelp.com and a few other sites on people complaining of mental side effects I am quite terrified of continuing taking the drug, even Wikipedia has it listed as a possibility and it has not been contested yet. I love my hair and am afraid to lose it, but it would seem like a complete decent into vanity to risk my mental health for my scalp's health. At the same time I have a bit of skepticism of the people down at Propeciahelp, but I also carry a bit of skepticism for those who dismiss it completely. Anyhow here are a few questions I have to help my research:

1.) Have there been any attempts of lawsuits against Merck for mental side effects of Propecia?

2.) Are the studies at the top of the mental category of Propeciahelp.com reliable/credible? Does Propecia have a good chance of interfering with your CNS?

3.) Is there any good evidence to suggest some of the people at Propeciahelp.com (especially the ones talking of mental side effects) are not credible or dishonest?

4.) Is there any direct study or indirect study that would indicate Propecia probably does not have the effect on the CNS that those two articles at Propeciahelp.com indicate it does (the inhibiting of GABA)?

My Doctor didn't give me any reassurance on that, just said there is no study on those mentioned side effects. Oh, and I guess I am a little concerned about reports of genital deformity (shrinking etc.) so any info affirming that or to the contrary of that would also be nice. Thanks!

OK I'm a med student and I've had no trouble concentrating so far (no more than usual anyway). I think you'll be hard-pressed to find something that requires more concentration. Don't believe everything you read or else you'll find yourself manifesting your fears.

 

[medmax84]

Ok, so I am new to Propecia, my doctor just prescribed me it. He mentioned all the side effects listed on the paper included and also added it might cause light dizziness when standing up in its early stages. Anyhow, after reading the stuff over at Propeciahelp.com and a few other sites on people complaining of mental side effects I am quite terrified of continuing taking the drug, even Wikipedia has it listed as a possibility and it has not been contested yet. I love my hair and am afraid to lose it, but it would seem like a complete decent into vanity to risk my mental health for my scalp's health. At the same time I have a bit of skepticism of the people down at Propeciahelp, but I also carry a bit of skepticism for those who dismiss it completely. Anyhow here are a few questions I have to help my research:

1.) Have there been any attempts of lawsuits against Merck for mental side effects of Propecia?

You can google as easily as we can.

2.) Are the studies at the top of the mental category of Propeciahelp.com reliable/credible? Does Propecia have a good chance of interfering with your CNS?

It's credible insofaras there are rare occurences of many side effects from any drug. Bet you didn't know that ibuprofen can cause death via GI hemmorrhage, did you? The truth is that there are no REAL controlled studies testing the direct hypotheses on humans. On Propeciahelp.com, there is plenty of good conjecture and loads of anecdotes but most of the presented studies are pilot studies, peripherally related, etc. That does not mean that there are not suffering individuals on that forum. There are. I have suffered sides from propecia, however they appear to have been transient.

3.) Is there any good evidence to suggest some of the people at Propeciahelp.com (especially the ones talking of mental side effects) are not credible or dishonest?

Depends on your definition of credibility. Are they credible in that they have done, by themselves, clinical research with a Doctorate in Pharmacology? Probably not. If credibility means are they telling the truth as best as they can about their situation... yes. There is no reason to think they'd go on a forum and waste their time like that unless they were legitimately 1) telling the truth or 2) suffering from some sort of psychosis.

4.) Is there any direct study or indirect study that would indicate Propecia probably does not have the effect on the CNS that those two articles at Propeciahelp.com indicate it does (the inhibiting of GABA)?

Check over there... plenty of cited indirect and (arguably) direct studies. Mew does a good job of digging stuff up. He has great intentions, and I have to commend him for that!

My Doctor didn't give me any reassurance on that, just said there is no study on those mentioned side effects. Oh, and I guess I am a little concerned about reports of genital deformity (shrinking etc.) so any info affirming that or to the contrary of that would also be nice. Thanks!

Physicians, especially family docs and internists, have little time to research the ins-and-outs of every drug they prescribe. They learn some key points about what to avoid, dangerous interations, and they do a quick-and-dirty cost-to-benefit analysis. Merck and the FDA say that Propecia (finasteride) has a ~2% incidence of side effects, most of which went away as time progressed or ceased when treatment was discontinued. Why should a physician doubt this?

 

[FreeloaderUK]

propecia has been linked to depression then again so has baldness.

 

[ali777]

I suggest you search the forum for "social disconnection". I remember there was a thread on this.

Finastride made me extremely calm, so calm that I couldn't be bothered to get any work done. I haven't exactly experienced mental slowness, but not wanting to do any work is pretty much the same.

it's nothing major though. Any side that you might experience should subside in a few weeks time.

You are more likely not to experience any sides.

 

[Student]

I was wondering if perhaps there is any study that shows the general public post public marketing use of Propecia and how many of complained of continuing side effects.

OK I'm a med student and I've had no trouble concentrating so far (no more than usual anyway).

Mind me asking how long you've been on it and how long side effects lasted (any mental ones at all?) I find it odd that just about everyone speaks of side effects, yet it is only supposed to be in the lower 2%. People who are disgruntled sure, that makes sense that you would hear from them more than quiet satisfied people, but people like you who continue to use it also speak of having side effects.

Finastride made me extremely calm, so calm that I couldn't be bothered to get any work done. I haven't exactly experienced mental slowness, but not wanting to do any work is pretty much the same.

Did that depart, and was it extreme for the time it lasted?

 

[Nathaniel]

When I started finasteride I thought it made me lazy, lethargic. Guess what? I was also slightly over weight. I made a concious change in diet and started exercising and all behold, the problem is gone.

I am not saying it is not possible to experience the side effect in question, but before blaming propecia, take a hard look at your lifestyle. Do you drink? Do you smoke? Are you eating correctly? Do you suffer a medical condition (that you may not be aware of)? and so on...

 

[ali777]

I am not fat if anything I need to put on a few kilos.

Anyway, for a week or two I did feel lazy when I was on the finasteride. The sides lowly subsided, I tried to mentally push myself, etc. Its hard to make an effort when the hormones are telling you not to make an effort, but with a bit of a mental struggle it works out OK at the end.

It's not so bad, you still have more than a month until the new term starts. So, you can take the pills now and see how it goes until the new term.