post finasteride syndrome Archives

Finasteride, SIBO, and Metabolic Disruption

by NF

Published on August 3, 2020

9389 views

I am 26 years old and living in Switzerland. I work in marketing. I currently weigh only 62kg (136lbs) even though I am 184 cm (6 ft) tall. Two years ago, I developed a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) infection suddenly after taking 20g of a probiotic called Perfect Pass Prebiotic. It contains partially hydrolyzed guar gum. I was also taking two lactobacillus probiotics per day during during the two months leading up to the SIBO. For the SIBO, I was treated with Atrantil and Xifaxan 4 times per day for two weeks. Antratil is an herb combination used to treat SIBO and Xifaxan (rifaximin) is a broad spectrum antibiotic. After these treatments, I developed an overgrowth of bilophilia and desulfurio bacteria. This has led to a severe sulfur intolerance. I have not found any treatment for this yet. Before developing SIBO, I used antihistamine (desloratadine, 5mg every day for two years) and Finacapil (finasteride) for the last 8 years, but I stopped taking it four months ago.

Since developing the SIBO, I have developed several food sensitivities including: oxalate, salicylate, and sulfur and histamine intolerances. I have lost 5kgs. I have also developed very high ammonia. That is my biggest issue. I had blood tests to confirm the high ammonia. It seems that I can only eat five foods without triggering a reaction: rice, chicken, carrots, fennel, and gluten free bread. When I eat anything else, I have almost all the symptoms possible. Before developing SIBO, I could eat anything. My diet was diverse and healthy.

Genetic Polymorphisms

I have since learned that I have several genetic polymorphisms which either upregulate or downregulate the activity of several enzymes involved in energy production and antioxidant processes. I have a fast cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) enzyme, which may be at the root of my current problems. The CBS enzyme uses vitamin B6 to convert the amino acids homocysteine and serine into something called cystathionine, which then converts to cysteine and glutathione, a critical antioxidant pathway. Individuals with high CBS activity, end up with high levels of taurine and ammonia and lower levels of cystathionine and homocysteine, and importantly, lower levels of glutathione, making them more apt to suffer from infections and reactions to foods and medications. CBS upregulation also upsets the urea cycle, which means that I have problems with methylation.

If that were not bad enough, I have learned that I also have several SNPs that impact metabolism.

FUT2 +/+
GAD1 (2) +/- (1) +/+
HFE H63D +/+
MAT1A +/+
CBS C699T +/-
MTRR K350A +/-
NOS3 (3) +/-
PEMT (2) +/-
BCMO1 (4) +/-
AGXT +/-
MTHFR +/+
BHMT+/+

I have low homocysteine in blood, low lactic acid, high histamine, high bilirubin.

Nutrient Deficiencies

Nutrient testing shows that I have very low blood ceruloplasmin and copper but normal intracellular copper. Testing showed that I am also low in vitamins A, C, K2, manganese, selenium, magnesium, and low in vitamins B2, B3, B5, B9, and B12. Because I also have gastritis, sulfate reducing bacteria overgrowth and high ammonia, issues with sulphur, oxalates and salicylates etc., I don’t tolerate most oral supplements or things like natural vitamin C or beef liver. I also can’t tolerate methyl and sulfur vitamins and minerals.

I found a solution with IV multivitamin and mineral but it contained glycine and way too much chromium and iron and because of my hemochromatosis, it probably depleted my manganese, folate, etc. My manganese and folate concentrations are very low in blood. The IV was helping me a lot first but the ammonia issue began to be way too high and as did the blood chromium, so I stopped. The IV had all the vitamins and minerals, plus glycine and phosphatidylcholine.

I had an ADK supplement with 5000UI Vitamin A, 5000UI Vitamin D, and 600mg Vitamin K2, MK7 synthetic and it was helping a lot with the ammonia but gave me bad oxalate burning bladder. Manganese helped a lot, but since I don’t have enough vitamin C, my CYP7A1 enzyme, which manganese triggers, is not working well. The CYP7A1 enzyme converts cholesterol into bile acid. As a result of the manganese supplement, I developed cholestasis, but when I take vitamin C, which is the missing piece here, I get oxalate issues. It seems that I cannot win. The manganese may cause a loss of choline or glycine but both contain ammonia and sulfur, so I can’t take it.

I did tolerate the vitamin C in the IV mix, though. It could have been because it came with the other B vitamins. This leads me to believe that perhaps I can tolerate transdermal vitamins or another formulation of the IV nutrients.

I know that I need thiamine (vitamin B1) but I have normal TPP in blood and when I tried to take it in HCL, mononitrate, TPP even at 1 mg, it gave me the sulfur issue and high ammonia. More recently, I had an organic acid test (OAT). It showed that I have low vitamin B6 in urine test, but it was high in the blood, I have very high inorganic phosphate in blood, normal magnesium in blood but low intracellular magnesium. Both probably are caused by too much iron. I really need vitamin C, but because of oxalate issue I cannot take it, and if I take vitamin B6, it will further upregulate my CBS and produce more sulfite, sulfate, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide.

I should note that I always have gallbladder pain, and flow issue, and I can’t digest fat, but all gallbladder supplements that contain sulfur give me issues. So I don’t know how to take manganese without cholestasis, vitamin c without oxalate issue and B1 without sulfur issue and folinic acid without glutamate issue. I have run out of idea to cure myself. If anyone can help, it would be great!

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Allergic Reactions or Iatrogenic Illness?

by Lisa Bloomquist

Published on June 6, 2018

6010 views

Allergic Reactions versus Toxicity Syndromes

When I was twenty, I had an allergic reaction to a sulfa antibiotic. I broke out in itchy hives while I was taking the sulfa, but the hives went away as soon as I stopped taking it. I had no other symptoms nor lasting effects. I don’t recall whether or not I took Benadryl to help me recover, but I imagine that it would have helped if I had. It was clear at the time that I was having an allergic reaction to the sulfa antibiotic, but if I needed it to be verified, there are tests that could verify and validate that I am allergic to sulfa drugs.

Twelve years later, I had an adverse-reaction to ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. For more than a year after I took the ciprofloxacin, I experienced muscle weakness and pain; autonomic nervous system dysfunction including loss of balance, inability to sweat, digestive dysmotility, dry mouth, and dry eyes; central nervous system dysfunction including memory loss, inability to concentrate, loss of reading comprehension, anxiety, and brain fog; a loss of energy (I went from doing crossfit to barely being able to walk through a shopping center); and changes in my personality. My symptoms ebbed and flowed, with some lasting for years. All my symptoms arose after I stopped taking the ciprofloxacin, and many increased in intensity long after the ciprofloxacin “should” have been out of my system. Neither Benadryl nor any other pharmaceutical I tried did anything to alleviate my symptoms. There are no tests that verify adverse reactions to fluoroquinolones, and no doctors seemed to have any clue how to treat my symptoms.

Do you see the difference in my two experiences? You should. One was a couple of hives and an itchy weekend, the other was a life-altering experience that changed my physical abilities, my thoughts, and even my way of interacting in the world.

My reaction to the sulfa antibiotic was an allergic reaction. My reaction to the ciprofloxacin was something different, and to categorize it as an “allergy” is a mistake. I am allergic to sulfa drugs. My reaction to fluoroquinolones (cipro/ciprofloxacin, levaquin/levofloxacin, avelox/moxifloxacin, floxin/ofloxacin) was worse, and another exposure to a fluoroquinolone will likely lead to my permanent disability or death.

Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are categorically different from allergic reactions, rather, fluoroquinolone toxicity is a syndrome of multi-symptom, chronic illness that does not go away when administration of the drug has stopped. Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are similar in symptoms and scope to autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, POTS, psychiatric illnesses, neurodegenerative diseases (like ALS and Parkinson’s), and other chronic, multi-symptom, illnesses that involve multiple bodily symptoms. Like many of those diseases, fluoroquinolones adversely affect gut health, mitochondrial health, liver health, neurotransmitter balance, mineral homeostasis, hormones, and more. Fluoroquinolone toxicity is a multi-symptom, chronic, syndrome, that, for many, is incurable. You can’t take a Benadryl to get rid of it. Some people recover (just like some people recover from autoimmune diseases), but there is no single path to recovery.

Medically Induced Chronic Illness

Few people recognize that pharmaceuticals can cause multi-symptom, chronic illness SYNDROMES. They should though, because not only are millions of prescriptions for fluoroquinolones written each year (while rates of multi-symptom, chronic, mysterious illnesses go up, not entirely coincidentally), but fluoroquinolones are not the only drugs that cause multi-symptom, chronic, syndromes.

Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome

Benzodiazepines, and withdrawal from benzodiazepines, cause long-term illness that adversely affects the brain, and all aspects of the body. According to the Wikipedia entry for Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome,

“Benzodiazepine withdrawal is characterized by sleep disturbance, irritability, increased tension and anxiety, panic attacks, hand tremor, sweating, difficulty with concentration, confusion and cognitive difficulty, memory problems, dry retching and nausea, weight loss, palpitations, headache, muscular pain and stiffness, a host of perceptual changes, hallucinations, seizures, psychosis,[1] and suicide[2].”

There are many sources for additional information about the multi-symptom, chronic, illness of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome throughout the internet.

Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS)

Finasteride/Propecia can cause a constellation of symptoms known as post finasteride syndrome (PFS). The Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation describes PFS as, “Often life-altering, PFS is characterized by devastating sexual, neurological, and physical side effects that persist in men who have taken the 5-alpha reductase type II enzyme inhibitor finasteride.” Men suffering from PFS experience symptoms long after administration of the drug has stopped. It’s not an allergy, it’s a syndrome.

Lupron Syndrome

After taking Lupron, many women reported experiencing the following effects: loss of libido, muscle and joint pain, gastrointestinal disturbances, bone loss, hair loss, dry and cracked skin, blood-sugar abnormalities, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, brain and nervous system problems, etc. Lupron use led to a multi-symptom, chronic illness–a syndrome.

Essure Syndrome

There is a Facebook group with more than 31,000 members for victims of Essure, a coil that is implanted into fallopian tubes to serve as permanent birth control. Many of the women who are victims of Essure have multiple, autoimmune-disease-like symptoms. For many of them, the Essure causes a syndrome of chronic illness and pain.

Singular Syndrome

Montelukast/Singulair, the asthma medication, has been linked with Churg Strauss Syndrome, an autoimmune condition that leads to inflammation of the blood vessels in the lungs. Churg Strauss Syndrome is a serious, incurable, autoimmune disease. It’s not an “allergy” to Singulair, it’s worse–it’s the triggering of a serious disease.

Other Medication Induced Syndromes

Lariam/mefloquine can cause ongoing, severe psychiatric problems. SSRIs, hormonal birth control, statins, and other drugs, can also cause multi-symptom illnesses. In addition to fluoroquinolones, other antibiotics can cause long-lasting syndromes. There are cases of thousands of young men and women who are suffering from the severe adverse-effects of the HPV vaccine. Even over-the-counter drugs can have long-term, multi-faceted “side-effects.”

Iatrogenic Illness Is Neither Rare nor Allergic

These iatrogenic illnesses are not rare, and it should not be a foreign notion that pharmaceuticals can cause chronic illnesses–there are thousands of patient reports noting that various pharmaceuticals have led to complex and long-lasting illnesses, and many chronic illness symptoms are listed on drug warning labels. Yet, I still receive messages like this one:

“I saw the head allergist at the hospital and still here. He said no such thing as being allergic to Levaquin. No test to prove it.”

By that doctor’s reasoning, the only adverse drug reactions that exist are the immediate allergic reactions that can be tested for and cured with antihistamines or epinephrine. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t true. There are many adverse drug reactions that look more like multi-symptom, chronic, mysterious, incurable illnesses than allergic reactions. It’s time for a paradigm shift among patients and medical providers alike to recognize not only that many pharmaceuticals can cause syndromes of illness, and that many of the recognized multi-symptom, chronic illnesses can be linked to (caused by) pharmaceutical use.

Patients who are suffering from pharmaceutical caused syndromes deserve recognition. The people who have recognized illnesses that can be linked to pharmaceutical use deserve to know that those links exist. Just because a reaction doesn’t fit into the “allergy” model, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Pharmaceutical-caused syndromes exist, and they are just as devastating, and often worse, than recognized allergic reactions.