Hey everyone, I'm 23 years old, living in Australia and have been taking Finasteride for about 1.5 years now.
My dermatologist has prescribed me a generic brand of 5mg and has been adamant about only taking HALF a tablet twice weekly.
Does this seem strange to anyone?
It may have slowed down the shed, but it's definitely still shedding and receding.. Getting a lot of uncomfortable comments about it.
I would like to be on minoxidil but the over the counter spray just left me with insane dandruff looking/white powder in my hair. Anyone been on the tablet form? Doesn't seem to be as common.
Here's some photos from when I first started Propecia and one from last week. Starting to get very fuzzy.
View attachment 44926 View attachment 44927
Would be much appreciated if anyone has any tips on who to see about getting more help, would like to know if you have had similar experiences. Thank you.
Well you are always going to shed hair, regardless of whether you are taking finasteride.
When you start on finasteride you will go through an induced shed, I did, and it was in the month of March. I undergo a natural shed every two years around September, with everything balancing out around Feb the flowing year. Three years into to taking finasteride, I had a shed in March, after coming off one from the previous September. So after just getting the hair back, it was shedding again. So I was in this process for almost 9 months. Thin hair for 9 months, with the hair returning from the March shed at around late May.
The reason for this in my case, was due to fact that I now seem to have an induced hair shed cycle beyond my normal one (sept) that was caused/induced when I first started on finasteride (March) It does alter the genetic growing cycle of your hair. Or in my case it has.
I've been on finasteride now for just over six years on 1mg per day. I dropped the dose down to 1mg every two day back in Sept 2016. It slowed everything down, and its been good in that sense. It wont stop hair loss in my case, but im 42 now, with a full head, all be it a little thinner than before.
My overriding advice would be that if you have suffered from any form of gyno prior to taking finasteride, then I feel that it is bound to make it worse once you start taking it. It did in my case, and I had corrective surgery in Poland to remove the gyno.
Now I had been on finasteride, for around 3.5 years when the gyno suddenly kicked in. And it did so over one summer. Prior to that it was very mild, just a little excess fat, and not noticeable. But then the glandular tissue grew and it became very noticeable. I know some people claim that any sides will only present within the first 6 months of taking finasteride, but I disagree with that based on my own experience. I believe that they can present at any time.
The reason that I dropped the dose to 1mg every two days was because I started with sensitivity in the nipple area. Since dropping the dose that has stopped.
I think its about finding a balance and the less of two evils. For one, I don't believe gyno is ever truly eradicated by surgery, but finasteride will stimulate it. So whilst its acceptable, I will carry on with finasteride.
The thing to remember with finasteride, is that it is only ever going to buy you some time. Its a temporary fix, as are hair transplants, so take your age into consideration. Its always going to be worth at least giving it a go. 1mg per days is going to cost you around £600 per year, or £300 if you half dose. I think a good way to look at it, is that it will probably buy you back a decade of hair at the very least.
Regards
