31, NW4, Mulling over taking finasteride

[stiffedgdbeatnut]

I first noticed that I was losing my hair around 4-5 years ago. Baldness runs in my family, but at 27 years old then, I was definitely the youngest to start showing per the Norwood scale. At that time, I went to see a Derm and was proscribed Propecia. The Derm advised me that there was some risk of sexual dysfunction, but he also assured me that any such side effects would diminish if I stopped taking the medication. I foolishly surfed the net looking for anecdotal stories regarding sexual dysfunction seemingly arising from taking Propecia, and the stories were a-plenty. I tossed my Propecia scrip and never looked back... until now.

I'm 31 years old and my hair loss has accelerated dramatically. I'm probably at a NW4 (pics to follow), and it's just now starting to hit me that I'll likely be shaving my head bald by mid-2016.

I know, you've all heard it a million times, but I'm mulling over taking finasteride. I've had a girlfriend for 5 years now, and we plan to get married and have kids soon. Is my fear of permanent/persisting sexual dysfunction (impotence, erections, etc.) a rational apprehension, or should I suck it up and give finasteride a shot? FYI- I'd rather be bald then suffer self-castration. I'm not convinced that is the only trade-off, which is why I'm here to get some opinions.

Best,

Stiff

 

[TD500]

There is a possibility as I was warned also by my Doctor, but reassured that the odds were very low of persistent/severe sides.

There is nothing I can really say if you are scared of taking it don't take it, if you want a reasonable shot at getting some hair back take it. If you do decide to take it add in minoxidil, I'd imagine you could refill the top fast for your wedding day.

Good luck.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

I recommend to get on Finasteride ASAP so your hair loss doesn't keep getting worse. I take Dutasteride, which is basically a stronger version of Finasteride, and I haven't experience any side effects. The 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors have a good safety profile and side effects happen in a small percentage of men who take the medications. If side effects were to occur, you can simply quit the medication and they'll subside.

All those Propecia horrors stories are filled with vague anecdotal evidence, and are unreliable. You won't be sacrificing anything if you don't get any side effects, so I wouldn't worry if that's the case if you decide to get on Finasteride. The point is, it won't hurt to try.

 

[stiffedgdbeatnut]

TD500, did you end up taking it and suffering sides? If so, did you stop taking it and did the issues subside?

- - - Updated - - -

I recommend to get on Finasteride ASAP so your hair loss doesn't keep getting worse. I take Dutasteride, which is basically a stronger version of Finasteride, and I haven't experience any side effects. The 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors have a good safety profile and side effects happen in a small percentage of men who take the medications. If side effects were to occur, you can simply quit the medication and they'll subside.

All those Propecia horrors stories are filled with vague anecdotal evidence, and are unreliable. You won't be sacrificing anything if you don't get any side effects, so I wouldn't worry if that's the case if you decide to get on Finasteride. The point is, it won't hurt to try.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[TD500]

Yes, only side I know that was finasteride was watery semen and that went away after 3/4 months. Read around alot of finasteride users who get sides say the subside after some time or after complete cessation.

 

[stiffedgdbeatnut]

What was your dosage? I'm thinking of starting off with .25mg every day and progressing to 1mg, pending side effects.

 

[shookwun]

Get on finasteride and get a hair transplant. 4000 grafts should get you back on your feet and feeling alive again.


Could become a peice wearer.

That or throw in the towel and saccumb to your bald fate

 

[g.i joey]

I used to think that was the trade off also... until I tried finasteride a couple times and got the dosage right, now I'm almost 2 months in with no problems with my sex drive or any other side effect whatsoever and hopefully gonna start seeing some regrowth soon, I take .75 eod and recently started interchanging the .75 eod with .5mg a day. You should try finasteride, either way if you feel sides within the first month or 2 there is 99.99% chance you will recover back to normal.

 

[Wolf Pack]

You will need to take Minoxidil too for regrowth, too much work for finasteride to do alone. Either that or finasteride and transplant combo.

 

[stiffedgdbeatnut]

I used to think that was the trade off also... until I tried finasteride a couple times and got the dosage right, now I'm almost 2 months in with no problems with my sex drive or any other side effect whatsoever and hopefully gonna start seeing some regrowth soon, I take .75 eod and recently started interchanging the .75 eod with .5mg a day. You should try finasteride, either way if you feel sides within the first month or 2 there is 99.99% chance you will recover back to normal.

That's good to hear, thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

You will need to take Minoxidil too for regrowth, too much work for finasteride to do alone. Either that or finasteride and transplant combo.

That's the plan, I have some Rogaine foam and Nizoral (1%) on order. I plan to use the foam and nizoral regardless of whether I take the finasteride, but I understand that the combo will work best, if at all, in conjunction with the finasteride.

 

[alex85]

finasteride works his best exactly in the vertex area, so you can even possibly don't need hair transplant.

 

[stiffedgdbeatnut]

Hey guys, I started using finasteride (.25mg daily), nizoral 1% (EOD), and Rogaine foam (2x daily) on 8/17.

Is it ok to use hairspray on my hair after the Rogaine foam dries in?

 

[alex85]

You better start with 1 mg. If you don't tolerate, you can try to reduce it later on.