7 Months Propecia? Thinning Over Entire Scalp? Telogen Effluvium???

[NotSureWhatToDo12]

Hi, I'm considering quitting propecia. In the first 3 months I experienced good results, shortly after I noticed hair shedding from the sides and back, now both of these areas are extremely thin, my hairline has thinned out and my crown is going fast. I clearly have aggressive male pattern baldness but I think there's an element of telogen effluvium in this too. As a side note I broke up with my gf around March and was severely injured after being robbed, 2 black eyes etc. Also lost my job. Yeah... March/April was intense. Felt like this could have caused some Telogen Effluvium but as it's been a while I'm now questioning propecia.

One thing it has helped with is the male pattern baldness itch, it's nonexistant for me now which is why I'm hesitant to stop taking it. However pictures do show my hair getting progressively worse over the 7 months of treatment. I had an extremely bad shed that lasted months, it does seem to have slowed now but the hair I'm left with is certainly thinner than when I started treatment.

First picture is July compared to today. 2nd is after 2 months, people commented how good my hair looked at this point, 3rd pic = 5 months. Some pictures of the overall thining there too. Last pic is July vs another pic from today, not sure if it's as fair of a comparison as I have my hair cut shorter in the front now so some of it wasn't pulled back in the picture - lighting also varies a bit in the comparison photos. I just want to go back to the results I had 2-4 months in. Anyone out there had a similar experience?

I'm really stuck for what to do

 

[NotSureWhatToDo12]

It almost hurts looking at these pictures. Only 22 dealing with this sh*t, I'm going to try to put it to the back of my mind for now.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Since you seem to be thinner over your entire head i think it is Telogen Effluvium.. If propecia is not working ( it didnt for me either ) get on minoxidil orally that should thicken up your entire scalp.

 

[NotSureWhatToDo12]

Since you seem to be thinner over your entire head i think it is Telogen Effluvium.. If propecia is not working ( it didnt for me either ) get on minoxidil orally that should thicken up your entire scalp.

I've considered oral minoxidil but I'm still undecided about possible side effects, I do have a feeling it could help though.. have you had any results from it?

 

[AnxiousAndy]

I've considered oral minoxidil but I'm still undecided about possible side effects, I do have a feeling it could help though.. have you had any results from it?

Yeah my temples are growing back and the bald patches at my hairline have sprouted lots of dark hairs, im 2 ane a half months in. Well you might as well try it and see if you get side effects, it wont kill you

 

[NotSureWhatToDo12]

Yeah my temples are growing back and the bald patches at my hairline have sprouted lots of dark hairs, im 2 ane a half months in. Well you might as well try it and see if you get side effects, it wont kill you

Are you in the UK? I have no idea where to get it here, I'm probably going to give it a shot but I doubt my Doctor would prescribe it.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Are you in the UK? I have no idea where to get it here, I'm probably going to give it a shot but I doubt my Doctor would prescribe it.

I am.. i order from ThailandPharmacy without prescription. I get a 3 months supply of 10mg pills for £30

 

[yourworld001]

Since you seem to be thinner over your entire head i think it is Telogen Effluvium.. If propecia is not working ( it didnt for me either ) get on minoxidil orally that should thicken up your entire scalp.

Your telling someone to get on a medication that speeds up the heartrate - mental.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Your telling someone to get on a medication that speeds up the heartrate - mental.

And the FDA recommends medication that gives you errectile dysfunction. Im telling someone to get on something which can work when finasteride fails, im giving him hope. Not so mental.

 

[g.i joey]

Your telling someone to get on a medication that speeds up the heartrate - mental.

This is hairloss man, there's no medication that's gonna be flowers and f*****g sunshine. He's offering you an alternative, it may not be what you want but he takes the stuff knowing damn well what it's used for.


To op:
Continue on finasteride, in 13 months in and I think I may have thinned a bit more too, at this point we don't have other options, given you're like me and don't wanna gontranny regimen route or heart attack by 40 route. I don't even wanna take dutasteride so I'm sticking it out till the 2 year mark. I've read many anecdotes of people only realizing their hair was actually better or maintained at the 2 year mark, so I'm putting most of my hope in that lol.

 

[Finjunkie]

Looks the same to me. I've been on finasteride for over 5 yrs and I wasn't totally sure it was working for the first three. I stopped taking pictures because unless you have the same haircut, lighting, and positioning IMO they're just as reliable as your memory.

I flopped back and forth between thinking finasteride was working/not working for a few years. After 5 it's pretty clear I'm not losing anymore hair, at least not at any noticeable rate