brain fog estradiol and propecia

[~amy]

A couple years ago , I started taking the estradiol patch. Within 10 minutes I felt a little foggy headed.  I took the patch off after one hr. I felt very down for the next several days. It took about a week for me to fully recover. I would like to know if anyone else had the same problem and did you find a solution. My endo said he had never heard of such a reaction in 1000s of cases after such a short time.. I had the same problem when I tried taking propecia. Several Dr's said they had never heard of a case of brain fog from propecia.

[AnonyMs]

Any chance its psychological? I wouldn't have thought a patch could have any physical effect in 10 minutes.

[Amber42]

Any chance it's anxiety?  I know that I felt anxiety when I started propecia.  A week after, I started to have some other side effects that have since reduced.  Anxiety and stress can cause some weird things.  But I also felt an underlying good feeling..mainly because I was happy to be on something that will bring me closer to where I wanted to go.

When I mentioned it to my doctor, he said that the placebo effect is strong when you are taking something for a personal reason.


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[kaitylynn]

I have always been a little foggy upstairs, but can report for me that Estradiol has increased the prevalence.  I use patches for my HRT and can say that when I first applied them, there was some distinct and quick altering that I could feel...but it took a few days, not minutes.  I do have sisters that intake their E sub-lingual and they tell me that they feel immediate body response when they take it.

I did get a giddy feeling as I applied the first two as I put them on...all of it psych from knowing what I was starting again.

[Jacqueline]

~Amy,

Welcome to the site. There is a good amount of talk about the placebo effect when first starting treatment. I am not greatly experienced but have not heard of this happening minutes after either. I do use a patch myself with good experiences. However, it took several days before I noticed any real change.

I hope you find the answer to your mystery.

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Joanna

[StillAnonymous]

Sorry that I'm too lazy to look up the literature on this, but a family member who is taking Propecia for balding told me that his doctor said that it can cause some brain fog.

I'm personally taking it for both, to prevent balding and enhance transitioning effects, and I don't feel like I have experienced that... but I may have forgotten  !

[~amy]

There is no question that this is not placebo. The effect was significant. After an hour, my motor skills had deteriorated like as if I had a drink. I didn't feel like getting behind the wheel of a car. The lasting affect of removing the patch was something I hadn't felt since. It was as if you had a bad hangover for at least two days. I had no anxiety at the time as my life is very stable. I tried it a second time to be sure I wasn't imagining something.  I had read another post on this site where a member had stated having fog which went away once the level in the blood were at a certain threshold. My therapist said I should try a ramp up of dosage over time. The endo had no advice. I will see him this August. I don't want to take Premarin due to cancer risks and that I don't feel I should benefit from an animal's suffering. It took me two years to give it another shot because I contracted long term Lyme soon after my initial try for which i'm still taking meds for.

[Dena]

I would suggest you think about Estradiol tablets. The cost is $20-$40 for a 6 month supply at the right place and it's made using plant material and altering it to the proper form. It's identical to human Estradiol so you don't have to worry about non human hormones. The dosage can be really low at a fraction of the transition dosage so you could ramp up a month at a time. If you swallow the pill the delivery rate is slow and controlled so there are no peaks that might give you issues.

The speed at which you feel the effects are a bit puzzling but some women have a difficult time with their period because they are sensitive to high estrogen levels. It's possible you are dealing with something like that and may need to work with lower dosages until you figure out what your body will tolerate.

[Richenda]

There is no question that this is not placebo. The effect was significant. After an hour, my motor skills had deteriorated like as if I had a drink. I didn't feel like getting behind the wheel of a car. The lasting affect of removing the patch was something I hadn't felt since. It was as if you had a bad hangover for at least two days. I had no anxiety at the time as my life is very stable. I tried it a second time to be sure I wasn't imagining something.  I had read another post on this site where a member had stated having fog which went away once the level in the blood were at a certain threshold. My therapist said I should try a ramp up of dosage over time. The endo had no advice. I will see him this August. I don't want to take Premarin due to cancer risks and that I don't feel I should benefit from an animal's suffering. It took me two years to give it another shot because I contracted long term Lyme soon after my initial try for which i'm still taking meds for.

Agreed Amy: it's not placebo.

One or other of estradiol or finasteride (or both) always makes me light headed.

The one time I took IM estradiol it really span me out: I felt awful most of the week.

[~amy]

Thanks for the responses. @Richenda estradiol IM caused problems for you. What HRT regime works for you. PLease give dosage and form

[Richenda]

Alas we can't discuss dosages Amy but my normal route is sublingual estradiol valerate. I've tried some gel more recently as well.

X

[Mariah]

The only time I ever had the brain fog role in wasn't when I was on patches, but when I was on injections and the dosage was lowered I could feel the brain fog role in and it stayed for a few days tell the levels came back up. It resulted in me calling the Endo and getting him to make changes because I so didn't like the feeling of that brain fog. I never used propecia so I can speak in regards to it. I hope your able to get things figured out. Hugs
Mariah

[Harley Quinn]

Hmmm... I am on IM Estrogen and Finasteride. Can't say I have had "brain fog"... I do get a dizzy spell or 2 from the Spironolactone. Maybe it's the method of introduction or could be a dietary issue. There are a bunch of interactions and vitamin requirement shifts... I'd ask your doctor.

[~amy]

Richenda -

estradiol of any form causes lightheadedness or just IM? If any form caused lightheadedness then can it be inferred that the lightheadedness from estradiol valerate sublingual is not that significant? 

What did the endo say about the IM form causing a significant negative reaction where sublingual valerate didn't.


Thanks for your responses.

[faithdabrooke]

When I first went on estridiol a few years back, I found myself in a deep mental fog. Not only was I insanely tired, I couldn't concentrate on anything and work became nearly impossible. It got so bad that after a few days I left a voicemail for my doctor. But as it was a Friday I didn't hear from her. So, I stopped taking the drugs and within an hour or two the fog lifted. It was like I had woken up and was finally "me" again.

Fast forward a couple years and the dysphoria came back with a vengeance. When I went to the doctor again, I mentioned the fogginess but she said she had never heard of something like that from any of her patients. And this is a doctor at Callen-Lorde who deals with HRT everyday.

I started the drugs again and it was fine. The fogginess wasn't there. When I explained this to my doctor she said it was likely something unrelated. I couldn't imagine how. Like you, my fogginess started and stopped with HRT.

So either way, something to discuss with your doctor, but you should know that it might not be a permanent effect. Also, it's just really good to know that I wasn't the only one who felt something like that! So thank you for posting this!

[kaitylynn]

My endo refers to that 'foggy feeling' as baby brain and she discussed it with me when I started to experience it noticeably.  She said it takes time for the body/brain to adjust to the shift in hormones, plain and simple.  The severity is dependent on the particular individual and there is no way to know who will have it bad and who will be barely affected.

I was discussing it with my partner as I was reading through this thread and she said she noticed it at about 2 months.  After that and up unto about 6 months, it was really bad...like enough that I considered stopping.  She set an appointment with my endo for me and that is when I learned about BB.  It seems at 6 months, things have started to settle out some.  Likely, it is because I am acclimating to the new body chemistry.

Another thing my endo brought up when we discussed switching from patches to IM is that patches are the second best for constant delivery.  Because of this, she explained that I would likely have fewer ups and downs over the course of my early transition.  Comparing my experience to those of friends at similar stages, I think there is some validity to her point of view.

[~amy]

Thanks for the answers. I switched to oral finally. It gave some nausea only when taking it the first few doses then things settled down. Perhaps my body, being used to estradiol, can now tolerate the more desirable patch. I have a new issue that I have headaches (not due to dehydration) though I believe it is related to an injury I suffered from lifting something heavy 6 mo prior (I forget that I don't have the muscle mass prior to HRT). This of course presents a dilemma in that I want to rule out HRT as the cause though I would have to discontinue it for a period of time in order to be sure.

[AnneK]

I just started on Estradiol pills almost 4 weeks ago.  I haven't noticed any fog or other negative effects, just the feeling I'm doing the right thing.