Is finasteride dangerous for depression / anti-anxiety medication?

[thrashmetalhead]

I was told this was the case and to avoid it. Curious to hear experiences. Anyone in the same position?

[Diffuse33]

A side effect of fin can be change in mood, hence if you are already down and depressed I guess some doctors would advise against it (although my doctor said I could take both). I personally take fin and antidepressants (albeit a low dosage of sertaline) and have not experienced any adverse side effects or noticed an increase in my depression. Everyone is different, listen to your body. All the best.

[thrashmetalhead]

That's good to know. Who should I go to to advise me? Apart from the GP are there clinics who can give me advice? I already went to Belgravia in London.

A side effect of fin can be change in mood, hence if you are already down and depressed I guess some doctors would advise against it (although my doctor said I could take both). I personally take fin and antidepressants (albeit a low dosage of sertaline) and have not experienced any adverse side effects or noticed an increase in my depression. Everyone is different, listen to your body. All the best.

[Diffuse33]

Best to go and speak to your doctor, although I don't think there is much that they can say. A prudent one would probably advise you not to take it, others will probably say it's fine, but to just monitor your own situation. What aspect are you most worried about? a possibly bad interaction between both meds, or fin exacerbating your depression?

[thrashmetalhead]

Yeah most worried about fin exacerbating it or causing weight gain. Trouble is, no-one seems to be able to give me straight info. Which is odd, no? I mean, fin has been around a while.

Best to go and speak to your doctor, although I don't think there is much that they can say. A prudent one would probably advise you not to take it, others will probably say it's fine, but to just monitor your own situation. What aspect are you most worried about? a possibly bad interaction between both meds, or fin exacerbating your depression?

[Diffuse33]

I think it's because everybody responds differently so at most all they have is rough guidelines and the frequency of side effects is unknown. I don't think weight gain is a common side effect, anti depressants on the other hand quite regularly cause weight fluctuations as a side effect. If you're worried you could start with 0.25mg, then progress to 0.5 then finally the 1mg and see how you feel.