12 Year Update

[flux]

Here was my 7 year update: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/50729-Seven-Year-Update?p=991583#post991583

TL;DR: First noticed diffuse thinning in the year 2000. Tried everything, settled on finasteride, never looked back.

Everything is stable. I still have my hair. It still looks good. I still take Finasteride irregularly. Out of laziness, I've stopped cutting up the 5 mg pill, and just take one every couple of weeks. If I go too long without it, my scalp will burn, and I do think maybe my hair is a bit thinner for my laziness. But for age 39, and 15 years after I started to lose my hair, my hair is doing great.

Below is a pic I took today. Thanks hairlosstalk.com for being there for me back in 2003 when I really needed you.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Had a quick read at your old thread. Congratulations, really great stuff. Also the fact you don't take it daily is not that important as you have learnt yourself. May I ask, when did you see regrowth if any? Within first year or after? Did you have miniaturised hairs that reversed or did you get proper new regrowth as far as you are aware? Thanks

 

[flux]

May I ask, when did you see regrowth if any? Within first year or after? Did you have miniaturised hairs that reversed or did you get proper new regrowth as far as you are aware?

In the first year, I was trying everything. This (especially minoxidil) caused a lot of sheds, so it was hard to see regrowth. Somewhere in year 2 I realized my hair was better than when I started. The change was not drastic. Since then, things have remained stable. As for individual hairs, I don't think any have returned from a transparent miniaturized back to a fully thick healthy hair.

Try to be happy holding on to what you've got. Any gains are bonus.
True success is not worrying about hair loss anymore. Good luck.

 

[SayifDoit]

To think how young you were when you first started.
I'd imagine you'd be slick bald without medication.

All those years now close to 40, man ageing sucks.

 

[TD500]

Great success story 12 years is a long time.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

Thanks for sharing your success story flux. We rarely see 10+ years Finasteride users on here.

 

[Vlatch]

You should take it a least twice a week, or take dutasteride once a week if you're that lazy (nearly the same as 1mg finasteride every day) =\
Thanks for sharing your story though.

 

[flux]

I'd imagine you'd be slick bald without medication. [...]All those years now close to 40, man ageing sucks.

Not slick, but definitely bald. My dad had lost about 80% of his hair by my age. finasteride saved my hair, and I'm very thankful. Aging is a natural part of life. We all do it. When you're older, you'll see it's not so bad. Just eat right, exercise, and stay out of the sun, and you'll age well, like me. My 30's were way better than my 20's, and I imagine my 40's will be my best decade yet.

Thanks for sharing your success story flux. We rarely see 10+ years Finasteride users on here.

That's because, once it works, men move on to living their lives and stop worrying about hair loss.

When I started finasteride, the longest trial was 5 years (I believe). Nobody knew if it would lose effectiveness over time. But I can tell you from personal experience, it doesn't.

You should take it a least twice a week, or take dutasteride once a week if you're that lazy (nearly the same as 1mg finasteride every day) =\
Thanks for sharing your story though.

Excuse you? I'm a veteran here, buddy. You're in no position to give me advice. Maybe I didn't make myself clear.

5mg finasteride every few weeks is enough to completely halt my hair loss. It's when I stop taking finasteride for a month or two that my hair suffers. And even then, it's been minimal enough (or would regrow enough) that my hair is not significantly thinner than it was 12 years ago.

So why should I take more finasteride, or switch to the harsher dutesteride, if my regimen works and I'm happy with my hair?

 

[zdm632]

It is awesome that it works for you, only one 5 mg pill at...a couple of weeks, but probably your hairloss is not that aggressive, even if your father's was, as you say.
But i don't think for the general balding man it would work. There are guys who take 1-2 mg daily and still can't stop balding at all, so...
I mean, you fall in a very small category of perfect responders, i think.

 

[brunobald]

Interesting your male pattern baldness itch comes back after a few weeks. Do you have a strong itch/inflammation feeling when it comes back, mine is driving me insane as it burns like hell. Just ordered topical lipsomal finasteride to start off with.

What was your hair like before you started treatment in 2003 there are no pictuires?

 

[Vlatch]

Excuse you? I'm a veteran here, buddy. You're in no position to give me advice. Maybe I didn't make myself clear.

5mg finasteride every few weeks is enough to completely halt my hair loss. It's when I stop taking finasteride for a month or two that my hair suffers. And even then, it's been minimal enough (or would regrow enough) that my hair is not significantly thinner than it was 12 years ago.

So why should I take more finasteride, or switch to the harsher dutesteride, if my regimen works and I'm happy with my hair?

Okay I'm sorry, that's just a word of advice. Maybe it works, but be aware you're playing rollercoaster with your DHT -again, maybe it's the right thing to do in your case I don't know-.
With finasteride, DHT rises to normal levels in 1-2 weeks, wether you take a 5mg dose or a 1mg dose, so your DHT curve looks like a yoyo.
By the way, a low dose of dutasteride isn't harsher on the body than finasteride, 0.5mg a week results in a little less DHT inhibition than 1mg finasteride a day, and makes a relatively smooth DHT curve while inhibiting nearly no 5ar1.

 

[flux]

It is awesome that it works for you, only one 5 mg pill at...a couple of weeks, but probably your hairloss is not that aggressive, even if your father's was, as you say.
But i don't think for the general balding man it would work. There are guys who take 1-2 mg daily and still can't stop balding at all, so...
I mean, you fall in a very small category of perfect responders, i think.

It is my sense that one only needs enough finasteride to tip the scales in one's favor, to make all the difference. While it only took a little finasteride, I have no doubt that if left unmedicated, my hair would be mostly gone by now.

I am aware that many of us don't respond so well to such a low dosage. But I do recommend that, if you're going to continue this for the rest of your life, figure out the lowest dosage that works for you. I have suffered some sexual sides from the finasteride (it goes up and down, and most days i'm strong as an ox), and keeping a low dosage has helped with that (not to mention my wallet).

Interesting your male pattern baldness itch comes back after a few weeks. Do you have a strong itch/inflammation feeling when it comes back, mine is driving me insane as it burns like hell. Just ordered topical lipsomal finasteride to start off with.

What was your hair like before you started treatment in 2003 there are no pictuires?

I'd say it takes more like a month or two of no finasteride for the itch to really come back, and another month or two for it to really go away again. I do get a strong inflammation feeling, yes. It's hot, itchy, and seems to produce a lot of sebum.

I've got no pictures to share from that time, but they wouldn't be very enlightening if I had. My hair really is mostly the same as it was when i was 25, excepting for a bit of loss at the temples (which doesn't bother me at all).

Okay I'm sorry, that's just a word of advice. Maybe it works, but be aware you're playing rollercoaster with your DHT

Sorry I was snappy, Vlatch. Yes, I'm playing rollercoaster. And I notice it in my libido and energy levels, which can be low, but then are sometimes through the roof. All in all this method works for me, not just because I'm keeping my hair, but because most days, I don't even think about hair loss. It's also possible that the occasional surge in DHT prevents the follicles from becoming more sensitive (increased DHC receptors), but that could also be a load of horse****.

Spencer Kobran from that forum does what you do, takes a 5 mg pill of finasteride every week or so.

In your position I would still break down that pill and use it a few times a week but if your maintaining, it's not a big deal.

Cheers, Wolf. It works well enough. That's what matters, right? It's good to hear I'm not the only one doing it this way. What forum is this Spencer Kobran from?

 

[JWM2]

Actually, Kobren takes 5mg every other day.

 

[Stephen788]

I love the success story threads. I do believe most people who take propecia for this length of time get similar results. It's a shame we don't hear enough of them, but I guess if you have this kind of success a lot of people will just not worry about hairloss anymore. Anyway thanks for sharing I definitely envy your hair and hope mine picks up like yours.

 

[bornwithacurse224]

You only did finasteride and no rogaine? How did that work, did you regrow at all or just stay the same?