I heard that the longer you take finasteride when you have side effects, the longer it’ll take for those side effects to resolve when you stop it. I also heard that if you keep taking finasteride, the side effects sometimes disappear over time. So my question is, If I experience side effects on finasteride, would it be better to continue the dose, lower the dose/frequency, or stop entirely and restart the medication when the side effects go away? Thanks for the help!
December 31, 2023
Answer: Medicine is not clear cut Side effects are possible with any medication and they are possible with finasteride. Many patients do not have side effects. Some patients have very troublesome aide effects. Side effects are handled on a case by case basis, depending on the side effect. Sometimes the doctor will advise stopping completely and sometimes the doctor will advise reducing the dose. Sometimes no change is made. It all depends on the specific side effect and its severity. One must always keep in mind that hair will be lost if finasteride is stopped. Consider the 21 year old male with outstanding results on finasteride. Hair has regrown considerably. He is referred to see me with worry from his father that his mood is lower. I learn from the patient that he is under extreme stress with school and work and he lost his mother 7 months ago. Is finasteride the cause of the mood issues? Well, it’s hard to know exactly what contribution it has. I may advise consulting a psychiatrist or psychologist if these services are readily available to help the patient address all the issues. In this particular case, the mood was back to normal 6 months later and finasteride was not stopped. In other cases, reducing the dose or stopping is the best plan. Medicine, when practiced properly, is not clear cut. It involves listening to the patient and taking i to account each and every factor that is present. Yes, finasteride most certainly has side effects. If side effects occur, one needs to sit down with their prescribing doctor and review the specific side effect as well as other contributing factors and come up with a good plan.
Helpful
December 31, 2023
Answer: Medicine is not clear cut Side effects are possible with any medication and they are possible with finasteride. Many patients do not have side effects. Some patients have very troublesome aide effects. Side effects are handled on a case by case basis, depending on the side effect. Sometimes the doctor will advise stopping completely and sometimes the doctor will advise reducing the dose. Sometimes no change is made. It all depends on the specific side effect and its severity. One must always keep in mind that hair will be lost if finasteride is stopped. Consider the 21 year old male with outstanding results on finasteride. Hair has regrown considerably. He is referred to see me with worry from his father that his mood is lower. I learn from the patient that he is under extreme stress with school and work and he lost his mother 7 months ago. Is finasteride the cause of the mood issues? Well, it’s hard to know exactly what contribution it has. I may advise consulting a psychiatrist or psychologist if these services are readily available to help the patient address all the issues. In this particular case, the mood was back to normal 6 months later and finasteride was not stopped. In other cases, reducing the dose or stopping is the best plan. Medicine, when practiced properly, is not clear cut. It involves listening to the patient and taking i to account each and every factor that is present. Yes, finasteride most certainly has side effects. If side effects occur, one needs to sit down with their prescribing doctor and review the specific side effect as well as other contributing factors and come up with a good plan.
Helpful
