Finasteride Weight Gain

[mccauley481]

Hello all,

Not sure if this is the correct sub-forum for this question, but here goes. I was taking finasteride for hair loss for about 3.5 years and decided to drop it cold turkey as it wasn’t really working. This was around November of 2018. One month after stopping i noticed a huge change in my body.

My weight shot up 20 lbs from 160 to 180. All fat around my mid section, especially my naval region. Since then my weight has slowly crept up despite my best efforts at diet and exercise. I’m up to 195-200 now, it’s awful. Wish I had never touched that stuff.

I’ve seen several doctors, had many blood tests and there were only a few red flags but nothing obvious stuck out. My cholesterol was a bit skewed (high bad cholesterol, low good). And my liver showed signs of being inflamed. My free test was in the lower half of normal range (I think 400 ng/dl). DHEA was at the bottom of normal range. But other than that my thyroid and blood sugar levels checked out (so no hypothyroidism or diabetes). Estradiol levels were normal also.


Just at a loss of how to fix this and it’s only getting worse with time not better. Thought I would turn to bodybuilding people who know about hormones and see if anyone has any thoughts on what could be happening to me. Thanks.

 

[Kronic]

this might fall under "post finasteride syndrome" if you want to look it up

there's been a few people who post here about it, but they usually complain about their nipples and gyno. not sure if they had weight gain too

is weight gain your only problem? try fasting or counting calories?

 

[mccauley481]

this might fall under "post finasteride syndrome" if you want to look it up

there's been a few people who post here about it, but they usually complain about their nipples and gyno. not sure if they had weight gain too

is weight gain your only problem? try fasting or counting calories?

Yea no doubt it’s absolutely post finasteride syndrome. The weight is my biggest problem, but not the only one. My libido is probably half of what it used to be. I used to love working out, I would get a charge out of it. But now I need to force myself to do it. It sucks. So yea that’s where things stand.

 

[Kronic]

Yea no doubt it’s absolutely post finasteride syndrome. The weight is my biggest problem, but not the only one. My libido is probably half of what it used to be. I used to love working out, I would get a charge out of it. But now I need to force myself to do it. It sucks. So yea that’s where things stand.

well I guess at least you aren't dealing with gyno. I'm not sure what the best solution for this really is, but I'd probably try using a SERM like enclomiphine, chlomid, or tamox

 

[match]

This won't solve your issue, but keep working out. Even if you have to force yourself to do it. Dedication is greater then motivation. Don't let how you feel dictate what you do.

Unless you are injured (or lifting would put your life at risk), IMO the worst thing you could do right now would be to stop working out. Don't stop. Don't miss a day that's in your plan. Don't give up!

The rest of these guys can help much more with the hormones/diet. I hope you're able to sort all of this out!

 

[Sparta12]

I have actually read a bit about this, there is some theories out there that PFS is more likely a psychological disorder, I honestly don't have a clue, but it may be worth speaking to your doctor about this side of thing too. Obviously get those red flags in the bloods sorted out if possible and hopefully that does help with the issue, but maybe focus on the mental aspect too... hope this is somewhat useful haha.

 

[Iwilleattuna]

Sounds like an issue with cortisol and your androgens are probably very low. Did they pull thyroid values?
You have to remember, if your dht is tanked, normal ranges of estrogen can still cause issues