Finasteride cause for serious symptoms??

my husband is 29 years old and is currently taking finasteride 5mg (taking only 1/4 of the pill each night) He is experiencing the following symptoms:
SEVERE dizziness
hearing disturbances (like the volume is being turned down)
Vision disturbances (cannot focus on anything at times, at other times, its perfect vision)
Profuse sweating at random (he is not overweight)
pressure in his head, not always headache pain

could these be signs of a reaction to this medication???

[JBC10]

I could be wrong, but I thought the 5 mg was used to treat prostate issues and the 1 mg (Propecia) is treated for hair loss.  I'm aware you said he's not taking the entire pill, but perhaps he should just be taking Propecia.  Is what he is taking generic for Proscar?

After some research, none of the symptoms you listed seem to be a common side effect.  However, like I said, the 5 mg tablet is more for the prostate and not for hair loss.  Did he acquire this medication without a prescription from an online pharmacy?  Did he have a prescription?  

[shay_nicole]

First of all I am a pharmacy technician, and yes, the 5 mg finasteride is used for BPH, and the 1mg Propecia is for alopecia. finasteride is the generic for both proscar and propecia, the reason he is taking finasteride 5 mg is becuase it isn't yet available for use in 1mg where we live, and his insurance does not cover Propecia (name brand finasteride.) Yes, he has a prescription, and he gets his prescriptions from our local pharmacy...he is a police officer, and being married to a pharmacy technician, he knows the risks of taking drugs that are not prescribed. :) but thank you for your input. I know that some of the more serious, uncommon side affects of this drug include dizziness... but we aren't finding much else out and aren't really sure where to go from here.

[Caryopteris]

Two comments:  
1)  People should pay attention to their symptoms.  I am very good at googling, and I found this site that says there are men who have problems with this drug.  http://www.topix.com/forum/drug/proscar/T0KGFP19QC3CDB54V  
It may be that some people can take the drug without problems, but other people have bad side effects.  

2)  If stopping the drug doesn't resolve these symptoms, he should be checked for MS.  It could be that the onset of symptoms was just coincidental with starting the drug.  All of the symptoms you are describing can be seen in MS, but aren't definitive for diagnosis of MS.  To get a diagnosis of MS you have to have an MRI that shows brain/spinal cord changes of MS.  They show up as little scars on the brain or something, and there have to be a certain number of them to qualify for the diagnosis.

I hope that discontinuing the drug resolves his issues.  

[shay_nicole]

Thanks so much for your input. my husband has currently gone through several MRI with and without dyes, as well as EEG's and so on to rule out MS.

and as far as my husband discontinuing his medication....They have said that it was unnecessary.So who knows what is going on... It's been a long road so far, and it seems like it's going to get even longer. He has appointments set up with several different doctors for the next few months and each one has something different to say, so all we know is that there is something wrong. like I said... It's a long road. With Army doctors they tend not to say too much about his condition. So that's another downside. Either way, wish us luck. thank you for you input. :)

[solonjk]

quit the drug immediately. It is damaging his stress (HPA) system and the pressure's he is feeling is symptoms of probably rising intracranial pressure. All that sweating means his TRH is being affected, the problem is clearly hypothalamic. The drug messes with several parts of ones gonadal and stress system.

Stop it as soon as possible, and hopefully the body will return to its previous state if it hasn't downregulated so much

[solonjk]

And dont spent money on MRI's and other issues. These are clearly neurotransmitter/hormonal issues that affect one's vision concentration etc etc. It happens on many drugs like SSRIs, antibiotics, steroids etc etc.

Stop the drug and inform Merck, and offcourse the doctors that prescribed it. It may take a while for the body to restabilize

[shay_nicole]

thanks for your input-- but because of the MRI, the doctors discovered a brain tumor engulfing my husband's brain stem and parts of his cerebellum, and he is scheduled to have surgery to remove some of the tumor in 16 days. it had nothing to do with his medication.

[solonjk]

A brain tumor at the age of 29? That is very tough. Hopefully all goes well, take care of yourself and your husband

[shay_nicole]

very unlikely for someone his age, except for the fact that while overseas a few years ago, he was exposed to numerous toxins from a burn pit over several months. not sure if that is, infact the cause, but it's being looked into. it for sure is a tough time for us right now, his surgery is in 8 days... getting closer and we are very anxious. wish us luck!