Does Propecia cause either weight gain or breathlessness?

Dear Ranger, 

Let me first refer you to the disclaimer on the bottom of this page:
"Answers and comments provided on Google Answers are general
information, and are not intended to substitute for informed
professional medical [...] advice."

Both of the symptoms you've mentioned are not known side effects of
Propecia according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Propecia is the brand name of Finasteride. This was used to treat
prostate problems among men, and is very dangerous to women in
fertility age, as it could distort a male-fetus' genitals. It has been
found, that Finasteride could stimulate hair growth, after three month
of usage, but this hair is lost after a year after the usage has been
stopped.

As for side effects, the following has been found: 

"Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following
side effects occur:
Less common 
 - Breast enlargement and tenderness; skin rash; swelling of lips  


 - Breast enlargement and tenderness, skin rash and swelling of lips
are more likely to occur with the 5-mg dose.

Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical
attention. The following side effects may go away during treatment as
your body adjusts to the medicine. However, check with your doctor if
any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

Less common or rare 
 - Abdominal pain;  back pain;  decreased libido (decreased interest
in sex);  decreased volume of ejaculate (decreased amount of semen); 
diarrhea;  dizziness;  headache ;  impotence (inability to have or
keep an erection)


 - A decrease in the amount of semen during ejaculation should not
affect your sexual performance and is not a sign of any change in
fertility.


Incidence Unknown 
 - Testicular pain? 
(SOURCE: National Medical Library, Propecia,
<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202649.html#SXX16>).

As you can see, both of the symptoms you described are not on that list. 

However, weight gain could be related to hormonal problems. If you are
concerned about this, and its possible connection to Propecia, you
should see a doctor, if possible an endocrinologist, to make sure that
you're on the safe side. In addition, both side effects found - breast
enlargement and abdominal pain - could cause somehow a difficulty for
you to breath and/or a feeling that you are gaining weight.

You also haven't mentioned if you suffer of allergies or if you're
taking any other medications or suffer of any other problems. A
combination of medications, or an allergy, could cause unfavourable
effects.

If you are concerned about the symptoms you've mentioned, I suggest
you'll seek medical advice.

Further Information: 
FDA's information on Propecia
<http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2001/20788s3lbl.pdf>

I hope this answered your question. 

Search strategy: sought "propecia" in the MedlinePlus Drug
Information, National Library of Medicine.

Please contact me if you need any further clarification on this answer
before you rate it.

I finally found another person who had the same side effects as me. I
just stopped taking Propecia after being on it for about 2 months. In
those 2 months I gained 10 lbs and have had breathlessness and an
occasional "dipping" heart (especially during workouts). I had a huge
amount of energy/angst (mostly in the morning to the afternoon) that
ended each day in a "crash". I stopped 2 weeks ago and am still
waiting for the weight loss and "dipping" to go away. Fortunately the
energy/angst has subsided for the most part (still a little in the
a.m.).

How can I get in touch with the person (ranger7a-ga) who wrote the
original question? I can provide my email address for him.

I have been on propecia now for 3 to 4 months it is interesting
because I have also taken up a 5 day a week cardio program and have
had very strict eating and have gained 6 to 8 pounds also. It has also
been my experience that feeling a little lack luster and low on energy
in the afternoon. I found your comments when searching for a possible
reason for the weight gain.

This find of information relating to the side effects of Propecia was
ironic for me. Being 27 yrs old-my hair loss situation would be
classified as thinning-no complete bald areas, so I've been on
Propecia, 1 mg daily dose, for the past 7 months-since October'2004.
My doctor told me only the side effects from the sexual disfunction
standpoint (decreased limbido, less ejaculate, etc.). I'm assuming it
was just based on his knowledge or access to the Propecia side effects
information at that particular time. After 7 months of usage I see NO
results of hair loss reduction or completely stopping-much less new
hair growth. However, some interesting side effects have occured that
I'm finally realizing after reading these comments from other Propecia
users.  I've always been an active person (wieght lifting and cardio
exercise several days a week)who has been in decent shape (6'0", 155
lbs)and eats healthy. I've noticed several months or so after I
started Propecia, an unexplainable weight gain , ~10-15 lbs (165-170
lbs body weight), was introduced to my body. Also my breasts are
noticably larger, which there were not considered "large" until the
point of starting Propecia. My fiance'also made the comment of
noticing an increase in my breast size and wieght gain. Being that I
cant find any proven medical results from Propecia causing these side
effects, I quit taking the medication 3 weeks ago and will see how
these mentioned results above can possibly be reversed within the next
few months by continuing to eat healthy, exercise, and stay off of
Propecia. Please comment in reference to my testimony if you also have
had any changes in your body from taking this medication.