2+ months on finasteride, not working? 7 words

[Haironnu]

I've been taking 0.5mg finasteride daily for 2.5 months.
my hair has been getting significantly worse since pre-finasteride, I keep track by taking photos every month + my scalp is showing more with the same way I style my hair, so I can tell it's getting worse.
on top of that I see no reduction in shedding.

could it be that finasteride simply doesn't work on me? should I increase the dosage to 1mg daily? or wait longer?
not sure what's going on.

 

[Selb]

I've been taking 0.5mg finasteride daily for 2.5 months.
my hair has been getting significantly worse since pre-finasteride, I keep track by taking photos every month + my scalp is showing more with the same way I style my hair, so I can tell it's getting worse.
on top of that I see no reduction in shedding.

could it be that finasteride simply doesn't work on me? should I increase the dosage to 1mg daily? or wait longer?
not sure what's going on.

2.5 months is nothing tbh. Increase your dose if you don’t have any sides. But stick with it for another 4 months

 

[Haironnu]

2.5 months is nothing tbh. Increase your dose if you don’t have any sides. But stick with it for another 4 months

but why is my hair loss increasing since I started?

I'm taking 0.5mg because of fear of sides, increasing it to 1mg might end up giving me sides, the question is how big is the difference between 0.5 and 1mg, I see mixed opinions on the internet.

 

[Selb]

but why is my hair loss increasing since I started?

I'm taking 0.5mg because of fear of sides, increasing it to 1mg might end up giving me sides, the question is how big is the difference between 0.5 and 1mg, I see mixed opinions on the internet.

Shedding, weak hairs being pushed out to make room for new growth. It’s not uncommon.

it’s not a huge difference, if you do experience sides you can always titrate down again

 

[Haironnu]

Shedding, weak hairs being pushed out to make room for new growth. It’s not uncommon.

it’s not a huge difference, if you do experience sides you can always titrate down again

well if I do increase it I'll take a safer route and increase it to 0.75 first since I can cut the pill to 4 even pieces.
But to increase at all or just to wait further?

 

[Selb]

well if I do increase it I'll take a safer route and increase it to 0.75 first since I can cut the pill to 4 even pieces.
But to increase at all or just to wait further?

Yeah if you want to go to .75 first that’s fine. Whatever is easier for you

 

[Who Farted]

Thread #5000 of this exact same post. Use the search feature...that’s why it exists

 

[Haironnu]

Thread #5000 of this exact same post. Use the search feature...that’s why it exists

not sure exactly what to search, cause I need it to be the exact same time and dosage as mine.
so since you seen this question 5000 times, might sharing your opinion about this?

 

[jazz1]

You seen a dermatologist? What brand Finasteride are you using? As you need time 2 months is early and shedding is a good sign...

 

[debyne]

but why is my hair loss increasing since I started?

I'm taking 0.5mg because of fear of sides, increasing it to 1mg might end up giving me sides, the question is how big is the difference between 0.5 and 1mg, I see mixed opinions on the internet.

I would stay on 0.5mg daily for a year before you make any decisions.

 

[Haironnu]

You seen a dermatologist? What brand Finasteride are you using? As you need time 2 months is early and shedding is a good sign...

dermatologists in my country are completely incompetent when it comes to hair loss, I'm using propecia.
the problem is that I'm losing tons of hair, my hair loss as 100% accelerated, I can't even style my hair the way I used to 2 months ago because my scalp is starting to show with it

 

[DoctorHouse]

dermatologists in my country are completely incompetent when it comes to hair loss, I'm using propecia.
the problem is that I'm losing tons of hair, my hair loss as 100% accelerated, I can't even style my hair the way I used to 2 months ago because my scalp is starting to show with it

Just be patient. You might be shedding alot of hairs that were going to either shed anyway or hairs that might have miniaturized. Keep in mind that you can induce a telogen effluvium when you first start any hair loss treatment. I have been there before but it happened around 8 months.

 

[Haironnu]

Just be patient. You might be shedding alot of hairs that were going to either shed anyway or hairs that might have miniaturized. Keep in mind that you can induce a telogen effluvium when you first start any hair loss treatment. I have been there before but it happened around 8 months.

wait what? you started shedding 8 months into treatment? isn't the hair supposed to stabilize by then?

 

[DoctorHouse]

wait what? you started shedding 8 months into treatment? isn't the hair supposed to stabilize by then?

Back when I first started the biggest complaint about finasteride was that people believed it made their hair worse. I did myself. If you read through old threads you will find out it started around 8 months for almost everyone. People would complain of a bad shed around that time and never recover. I went below baseline but later maintained fairly well. Hair will stabilize eventually but it takes many years to see it happen. For me now it's been over 16 years. Like I said be patient.

 

[Derelict]

I think peak results from 5aris for most men take about 2 years, give it 12 months before making any hasty decisions about stopping or changing your regimen etc.

 

[Haironnu]

@Derelict @DoctorHouse but what if the 0.5 daily simply not working for me? what if I wait 12 months and I keep losing hair the whole time and it's not "finasteride shed" but normal alopecia hairloss that will not be recoverable? that's my biggest fear.
I'm 3 months on this regime and my shed has not been slowed down at all, I keep seeing the same amount of hair falls, and my hair appereance has gotten much worse, I don't have much hair to spare anyway, I started finasteride too late due to being afraid of it.
if I keep losing hair for even just several more months I'll have to basically 0 guard my hair because there is not much left.

the jist of it is that I don't have enough hair to lose testing finasteride's dosages, and I don't know if I'm losing hair now due to finasteride's shed, or because 0.5 daily is not working on me

 

[Diffused_confidence]

I've been taking 0.5mg finasteride daily for 2.5 months.
my hair has been getting significantly worse since pre-finasteride, I keep track by taking photos every month + my scalp is showing more with the same way I style my hair, so I can tell it's getting worse.
on top of that I see no reduction in shedding.

could it be that finasteride simply doesn't work on me? should I increase the dosage to 1mg daily? or wait longer?
not sure what's going on.

I'd stay on .5mg since it has a negligible difference compared to 1mg. There usually is a shedding phase from month 2 to 5. Optimal results are usually seen between the 1 and 2 year mark. After that there is a steady decline but for a lot of people it takes 10 or more years to reach baseline.

I think if you aren't getting side effects you should stick to your routine.

 

[DoctorHouse]

@Derelict @DoctorHouse but what if the 0.5 daily simply not working for me? what if I wait 12 months and I keep losing hair the whole time and it's not "finasteride shed" but normal alopecia hairloss that will not be recoverable? that's my biggest fear.
I'm 3 months on this regime and my shed has not been slowed down at all, I keep seeing the same amount of hair falls, and my hair appereance has gotten much worse, I don't have much hair to spare anyway, I started finasteride too late due to being afraid of it.
if I keep losing hair for even just several more months I'll have to basically 0 guard my hair because there is not much left.

the jist of it is that I don't have enough hair to lose testing finasteride's dosages, and I don't know if I'm losing hair now due to finasteride's shed, or because 0.5 daily is not working on me

PM your photos so I can see what's going on. Or show them here.

 

[Haironnu]

I'd stay on .5mg since it has a negligible difference compared to 1mg. There usually is a shedding phase from month 2 to 5. Optimal results are usually seen between the 1 and 2 year mark. After that there is a steady decline but for a lot of people it takes 10 or more years to reach baseline.

I think if you aren't getting side effects you should stick to your routine.

I did see some doctors say the difference between .5 and 1mg is negligible but I've also seen some other opinions saying it might not be so negligible because each drugs metabolism varies between people and then 0.5mg might not be enough for someone while it is for another

 

[Haironnu]

PM your photos so I can see what's going on. Or show them here.

I'll dm you pics soon.

I have diffused hair loss so it's pretty much my scalp being more diffused than it was back in february when I started finasteride.
also when I combover my hair now the same way I did back when I started you can see the diffuse more now than you could back then, so there is no doubt my hair loss is getting worse.