2 years on after Finasteride and need help

[brownhair]

First off this isn't a thread to talk badly or discourage others from using certain regimes, I'm just asking for advice
October 2018 I started using 1mg of Finasteride as I noticed slight hairloss on the crown and when my hair was wet this revealed alot more hairloss. I have long hair so it was easily hidden but decided that I wanted to keep what I had. I was on the drug for 6 weeks before I had to come off due to unbearable sides, these included increased shedding, decrease in hair quality, burning/itching/tingling/crawling/sensitive sensation on my scalp, mood swings/panic attacks, oily skin, increased body hair and my hair became very dry/coarse and thinned all over within the first fewweeks of taking Finasteride- I didn't think that was possible but my hair was like an x-ray under the same lights that didn't show scalp before taking Finasteride. None of these symptoms have gone away and I am now on anti depressants to stop the panic attacks.

I am asking if anyone knows how to treat these sides, particularly the sensations on my scalp, they are still with me 2 years on and are present most of the day with no relief. The doctors are baffled as there doesn't seem to be any sign of inflammation. I've tried various anti biotic serums, shampoos and had head massages. I've just started using Nizoral 3 times a week but I don't have much hope as it didn't do anything before

thanks

 

[brownhair]

Anyone?

 

[jazz1]

The sensation you mentioned can be from the male pattern baldness hairloss, as prior to Finasteride I had these symptoms when experiencing hairloss. The symptoms vanished since I been on Finasteride. Now you could try horny goat weed, zinc and multi vitamins to try and balance your system. The scalp symptoms you mentioned, did you experience these prior to Finasteride? As they are common symptoms amongst male pattern baldness hairloss....

I would try these 2 shampoos Regenepure DR and Tony Maleedy Priloctone Olamine. Alternatively why not try Topical Finasteride? As oral gave me side effects but Topical has worked wonders for me.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/topical-minoxidil-finasteride-mixture-check-here.126633/

 

[brownhair]

No I had none of this before starting finasteride. It completely fried my hair and has done something to my scalp within 6 weeks. 2 years on still no relief.

I'm not really prepared to touch the stuff again in any form. The doctor has advised against it, plus, I believe it has made me more DHT sensitive so I can't imagine using more is going to fix that. I have tried using smaller doses but with negative effects.

The shampoo you mentioned, have you had positive experiences with them?

I've accepted the fact that finasteride has sped up my hair loss and I can't see a way back, I mainly want to find away to eliminate these on going side effects.
Thanks

 

[Micky_007]

No I had none of this before starting finasteride. It completely fried my hair and has done something to my scalp within 6 weeks. 2 years on still no relief.

I'm not really prepared to touch the stuff again in any form. The doctor has advised against it, plus, I believe it has made me more DHT sensitive so I can't imagine using more is going to fix that. I have tried using smaller doses but with negative effects.

The shampoo you mentioned, have you had positive experiences with them?

I've accepted the fact that finasteride has sped up my hair loss and I can't see a way back, I mainly want to find away to eliminate these on going side effects.
Thanks

Your post regarding your Finasteride experience seems very similar to mine. Finasteride definitely made things a lot worse and I also feel it made me much more sensitive to DHT permanently.

 

[kopiko4]

Same here? Let me know if there's anything that stabilized or improved your situation.

 

[Doingitright]

Quit the drug it does not work for you, its as simple as that I guess.

Have you had any blood work done?

 

[kopiko4]

I did before starting finasteride. T and DHT both within mid range, or maybe slightly below.

 

[Timmy_17]

Hello mate. In regards to the severe/itching/crawling/ burning sensation - I experienced this a few years ago and it was accompanied by sudden hair loss.

I immediately went to see a dermatologist and was diagnosed (not under biopsy as in the derm's word, it would just confirm what we already knew) with lichen planipilarus of which, all of those above symtoms are extremely common. I freaked out and took a lot of corrective action - mostly around diet and supplements. This involved cutting out gluten and dairy and countless supplements aimed at fixing 'leaky gut' (which I believe is the root cause of LP).

A year later, following significant improvement, I went to a different derm who could not confirm the first diagnosis. Now - I either reversed the disease through the above action, or I was originally mis-diagnosed. The second derm believed I had sebhorric dermatitis. Either way, whatever it was that I had, my condition improved enormously after I took action

 

[kopiko4]

What't the reason that cutting gluten and dairy would improve hair?

 

[hairhelp777]

First off this isn't a thread to talk badly or discourage others from using certain regimes, I'm just asking for advice
October 2018 I started using 1mg of Finasteride as I noticed slight hairloss on the crown and when my hair was wet this revealed alot more hairloss. I have long hair so it was easily hidden but decided that I wanted to keep what I had. I was on the drug for 6 weeks before I had to come off due to unbearable sides, these included increased shedding, decrease in hair quality, burning/itching/tingling/crawling/sensitive sensation on my scalp, mood swings/panic attacks, oily skin, increased body hair and my hair became very dry/coarse and thinned all over within the first fewweeks of taking Finasteride- I didn't think that was possible but my hair was like an x-ray under the same lights that didn't show scalp before taking Finasteride. None of these symptoms have gone away and I am now on anti depressants to stop the panic attacks.

I am asking if anyone knows how to treat these sides, particularly the sensations on my scalp, they are still with me 2 years on and are present most of the day with no relief. The doctors are baffled as there doesn't seem to be any sign of inflammation. I've tried various anti biotic serums, shampoos and had head massages. I've just started using Nizoral 3 times a week but I don't have much hope as it didn't do anything before

thanks

This sounds very similar to my situation.

I couldn't bear finasteride at first due to itching/burning sensations when I started it. It felt like something was crawling under my skin and was horrible.

After staying on finasteride for a year the sensations never went away - I eventually saw a derm and had a biopsy and was diagnosed with lichen planopilaris (LPP) - i think the frontal fibrosing variant as it affected my frontal hairline and temples.

I think I had LPP before I started finasteride -but finasteride made it much worse at least for the first 4 months. What kind of doctor said they didn't see inflammation? Was it a derm specialising in hair loss - or just a GP? It's hard to see inflammation without dermoscopy magnification.

Many people with LPP are misdiagnosed with MBP - many docs and even general derms don't know much about LPP. So you need to see a derm specialising in hair loss for a proper diagnosis.

Now that I'm on proper LPP treatment, my itching/burning has improved dramatically and I'm shedding a lot less - I stopped finasteride a month ago and using other treatments now.

 

[hairhelp777]

Hello mate. In regards to the severe/itching/crawling/ burning sensation - I experienced this a few years ago and it was accompanied by sudden hair loss.

I immediately went to see a dermatologist and was diagnosed (not under biopsy as in the derm's word, it would just confirm what we already knew) with lichen planipilarus of which, all of those above symtoms are extremely common. I freaked out and took a lot of corrective action - mostly around diet and supplements. This involved cutting out gluten and dairy and countless supplements aimed at fixing 'leaky gut' (which I believe is the root cause of LP).

A year later, following significant improvement, I went to a different derm who could not confirm the first diagnosis. Now - I either reversed the disease through the above action, or I was originally mis-diagnosed. The second derm believed I had sebhorric dermatitis. Either way, whatever it was that I had, my condition improved enormously after I took action

That's really interesting. What supplements did you take? Did you take any meds or topical steroids etc?

 

[Timmy_17]

That's really interesting. What supplements did you take? Did you take any meds or topical steroids etc?

I got given clobatasol (sp?) which is like the super strong steroid cream immediately after the first LPP diagnosis. Used it pretty regularly and then didn't continue as didn't feel like I was getting the benefit. I also got prescribed hydrochloroquine (sp?) but never used it as wanted to go the natural route if possible.

Supplement wise: Vit D3, lysine, olive leaf, oregano, activated charcoal, collagen and a really decent probiotic - nearly all of those focus on addressing candida and healing the gut. This in addition to cutting out dairy completely changed things for me after a couple of months.

 

[Timmy_17]

What't the reason that cutting gluten and dairy would improve hair?

it was to address the autoimmune condition (LPP) which I believed was responsible for the hair. I believe LPP is caused by 'leaky gut' so the idea is to reduce inflammation in your body (which is why I eliminated dairy and gluten) - achieving this through diet is one of the most effective ways. I now eat gluten again as normal (reintroduced gradually once my symptoms started to really improve) but still do not eat dairy and feel healthier for it

 

[maballack]

The sensation you mentioned can be from the male pattern baldness hairloss, as prior to Finasteride I had these symptoms when experiencing hairloss. The symptoms vanished since I been on Finasteride. Now you could try horny goat weed, zinc and multi vitamins to try and balance your system. The scalp symptoms you mentioned, did you experience these prior to Finasteride? As they are common symptoms amongst male pattern baldness hairloss....

I would try these 2 shampoos Regenepure DR and Tony Maleedy Priloctone Olamine. Alternatively why not try Topical Finasteride? As oral gave me side effects but Topical has worked wonders for me.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/topical-minoxidil-finasteride-mixture-check-here.126633/

Hello @jazz1 Can you please let us know how many weeks took you taking finasteride to reduce the hair loss symptoms including the itching burning and oily scalp. What dosage did you take daily as well.

I am 2 week into Finasteride 0.25 mg daily but still no noticeable relief.

Thanks

 

[Here For the Lulz]

Now, I wouldn’t normally send anyone their way, but you are more likely to find what you are looking for at propeciahelp than you are here.

 

[hairhelp777]

Hello @jazz1 Can you please let us know how many weeks took you taking finasteride to reduce the hair loss symptoms including the itching burning and oily scalp. What dosage did you take daily as well.

I am 2 week into Finasteride 0.25 mg daily but still no noticeable relief.

Thanks

I also had itching/burning - it turned out to be lichen planopilaris rather than male pattern baldness causing itching/burning.

I'm pretty sure burning sensations aren't normal with MBP. You might want to buy a digital microscope to see if you have inflammation (can pick one up for less than 30 USD on amazon.

 

[hairhelp777]

First off this isn't a thread to talk badly or discourage others from using certain regimes, I'm just asking for advice
October 2018 I started using 1mg of Finasteride as I noticed slight hairloss on the crown and when my hair was wet this revealed alot more hairloss. I have long hair so it was easily hidden but decided that I wanted to keep what I had. I was on the drug for 6 weeks before I had to come off due to unbearable sides, these included increased shedding, decrease in hair quality, burning/itching/tingling/crawling/sensitive sensation on my scalp, mood swings/panic attacks, oily skin, increased body hair and my hair became very dry/coarse and thinned all over within the first fewweeks of taking Finasteride- I didn't think that was possible but my hair was like an x-ray under the same lights that didn't show scalp before taking Finasteride. None of these symptoms have gone away and I am now on anti depressants to stop the panic attacks.

I am asking if anyone knows how to treat these sides, particularly the sensations on my scalp, they are still with me 2 years on and are present most of the day with no relief. The doctors are baffled as there doesn't seem to be any sign of inflammation. I've tried various anti biotic serums, shampoos and had head massages. I've just started using Nizoral 3 times a week but I don't have much hope as it didn't do anything before

thanks

Have you seen a dermatologist yet? i'd highly recommend doing so if you have itching/burning/crawling sensations - they are not normal for MBP and could be a scarring alopecia like lichen planopilaris. My sides like this were unbearable like this especially when I started finasteride and biopsy confirmed I had lichen planopilaris. You need to see a derm that specilaises in hair loss (and ideally knows about scarring alopecias). Treatments are often different than just finasteride (antibiotics and topical steroids have helped me).

 

[maballack]

Have you seen a dermatologist yet? i'd highly recommend doing so if you have itching/burning/crawling sensations - they are not normal for MBP and could be a scarring alopecia like lichen planopilaris. My sides like this were unbearable like this especially when I started finasteride and biopsy confirmed I had lichen planopilaris. You need to see a derm that specilaises in hair loss (and ideally knows about scarring alopecias). Treatments are often different than just finasteride (antibiotics and topical steroids have helped me).

Thanks for the information.

Once when Hair loss started I have felt a little bit of burning Itch and crawling sensation beneath the scalp. However past two years barely felt anything abnormal.

My biggest problem is the scalp oiliness

3 weeks into 0.25 mg of Finasteride no relief still.

In Canada Montreal city we barely have good MD dermatologist with Tricologist experience . They are all thieves.

Thanks

 

[hairhelp777]

It could be seb derm too- but don't think this normally causes significant hair loss unless very severe. but best to get a proper derm to look at it. Make sure it is a proper doctor and not a trichologist without a medical degree.

The sooner you find out what it is the better the chance of keeping more hair.