Written with ChatGPT because I'm from Germany and my English isn't very good. I wanted to make sure I could explain my experience as clearly as possible.

My experience with Finasteride – side effects disappeared the first time, but became permanent after trying a lower dose. Has anyone experienced something similar?

I wanted to share my experience with finasteride and see if anyone has gone through something similar.

Background

2022–2023: I took 1 mg finasteride, 5 times per week for about a year.

The results were pretty good. My hair loss completely stopped, and my hair looked healthier month after month. I didn't notice any regrowth, but since my hair loss wasn't very advanced, I was happy with the results.

Unfortunately, I also experienced several side effects.

1. Sleep

This was by far the worst side effect.

Very early on, I noticed that my sleep quality got significantly worse, and it felt like my body had a hard limit on how much I could sleep.

The best way I can describe it is:

>

That's exactly what it felt like.

Whenever I slept more than 5–6 hours, I'd constantly wake up, toss and turn, and never get deep, restorative sleep.

Before finasteride, I was someone who naturally slept a lot because my job is physically and mentally demanding. On some days, especially after long shifts, I could easily sleep 10–12 hours.

That completely disappeared.

2. Libido

My sex drive decreased noticeably.

I also developed erectile dysfunction and completely lost my morning erections.

With enough foreplay and Viagra (prescribed by my doctor), sex was still possible, but it definitely wasn't the same.

3. Brain fog / word-finding issues

I also noticed that conversations became harder.

I struggled to find the right words and didn't feel as articulate as I had before taking finasteride.

First time stopping

After about one year, I quit cold turkey.

Over the following weeks and months, all of the side effects gradually disappeared.

My sleep returned to normal, my libido recovered, and mentally I felt like myself again.

Of course, my hair loss also started coming back.

Second attempt

About a year later, I decided to try finasteride again.

This time I thought I'd avoid side effects by taking a much lower dose:

• 0.5 mg
• 3 times per week
• for about 3 months

Unfortunately, after about three months, all the same side effects came back.

So I stopped again.

Here's the problem

It's now been almost two years since stopping, and none of the side effects have gone away.

The same three issues remain:

• I still can't sleep more than 5–6 hours.
• My libido is still much lower.
• I still have noticeable word-finding difficulties.

The sleep issue is by far the hardest part.

I've tried almost everything:

• OTC sleeping pills
• Prescription sleeping medication
• Trazodone (prescribed)
• Countless supplements
• Cardio/endurance training

Nothing helps.

Even after a physically exhausting 12-hour shift, I still wake up after around 5–6 hours and can't get the long, restorative sleep I used to have.

My current idea

Since reducing both the dose and the frequency didn't prevent the side effects—and they never went away after stopping—I've had a strange thought.

I'm considering taking 1 mg, 5 times per week again for a few months, hoping that somehow "fighting fire with fire" might reset whatever changed. Then I'd stop again and hope the side effects disappear like they did the first time.

I know it sounds irrational, and I honestly can't explain why the first time everything returned to normal, but the second time (with a much lower dose) the side effects never resolved.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

I'd especially like to hear from people who had persistent sleep issues after finasteride or who had side effects that lasted long after stopping.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts or experiences.