Proscar and depression

[doigie-1]

First started using finestaride lmg last year to stop my hair loss and found no side effects after 1 month. However due to its cost i switched to 5mg proscar tablets which i would qaurter thus effectively upping my dosage to 1.25mg. Whilst using this in conjunction with minoxidil i noticed my hairloss problem was improving after a few months. However i also started to experience really bad depression. I would tell myself that this was just down to other factors happening in my life. I had a feeling that this was down to the proscar but would try to blame it on something else as i desperatly wanted to keep this treatment that could save me from my hairloss problem. However after the depression steadily kept getting worse although i was leading a very healthy and constuctive lifestyle i finally started to face the fact that it was proscar that was having this detrimental effect upon me. After doing some research on the internet i found evidence that relates proscar/propecia to depression and immediatly stopped my treatment. After 1 month of stopping the treatment the depression gradually retreated until i felt my old self.

I was wandering if anyone out there has suffered from the same effects/problems or has anything to ad to this? hopefully this can help warn people to possible side effects.

In looking back at the treatment i wander if switching from 1mg finestaride to the 1.25mg proscar might have been the problem. maybe using 0.5mg finestaride as some people suggest might be a safer option?

 

[SoThatsLife]

Hey!
I really dont know if its the finasterid, but I have read some research that says

"5alpha-reductase is a critical enzyme in the conversion of several steroids such as testosterone, progesterone, aldosterone and corticosterone in the brain. This enzyme converts testosterone to the most natural potent androgen DHT, and also it acts an important role in conversion of progesterone to dihhydroprogesterone (DHP)…..A decline in serum DHT level occurs after finasteride administration. This may contribute to finasteride induced depression. We [the authors] couldn’t find any significant change in the anxiety scores before and after the treatment
The authors conclude: This preliminary study suggests that finasteride might induce depressive symptoms; therefore this medication should be prescribed cautiously for patients with high risk of depression. It seems that further studies would be necessary to determine behavioral effects of this medication in higher doses and in more susceptible patients."

But it could be that you feel depressed about your hairloss...its quite common to feel down after realizing you are losing your hair. But I really dont know, If I was you I would talk to my doctor and show the research http://www.baldingblog.com/2006/11/27/finasteride-and-depression/

The best thing would prob be that you did see a psychiatrist with alot of experiance, to sort out your problems.

Hope it works out for you

 

[Cassin]

Fighting hair loss is depressing.

 

[dralph01]

Propecia gave me panic attacks after two weeks of use. I had to quit using it. It also gave me a caffeine-like buzz to the point that I could not concentrate. When I stopped the Propecia the panic attacks went away. I have read of others who suffered from panic attacks and depression while taking Propecia.