Am I a non responder?

[wayno]

About 1.5 years ago I started shedding throughout my head(diffuse). I shed when I shower or just put my hands through my hair while styling it or when I just touch my hair. My doctor gave me propecia and I started taking it 4 months ago.The side effects at 1 mg were so terrible that I'm taking .5 milligrams with much less side effects. Problem is, I am seeing no change in the amount of shedding I have. Actually I think I may be shedding more then I was before I started taking it. I have read that people respond differently than others but can it be that its just not working for me? I wonder how it would all of the sudden start working if to this point its not working at all. I would appreciate peoples thoughts on this.
Thanks

 

[Epiphany]

Sorry man, I know you probably don't want to hear this but...stick with it for at least a year.

Good luck!

 

[wayno]

I forgot to mention.The hair I was shedding begfore propecia as well as the hair I am shedding now, are thick hairs , healthy looking hair.Does that mean anything at all?
Thanks

 

[Epiphany]

The problem is, everyone responds differently and as far as success goes there have been people continuing to shed in the first few months, then stop. Others have not shed until around 5-10 months, then when they reach month 12 it stops. Others don't shed at all on finasteride (like me - yet!).

It's the wait and assess at 12 months I'm afraid. Even if it seems pretty chaotic between now and then.

 

[sunnyone1]

I'm one of the gals who, on occasion, posts here. As to Propecia, if you're a diffuse thinner, I think it might not work for you. For most men who do well on propecia, it's because they have male patterned balding...temples, crown, and vertex. I don't say this w/absolute certainty, but please consider this as a possible reason it's not working for you. You should ask your doctor if he/she feels it's good for diffuse thinning hair loss. Also, there's always the possibility that Avodart would work better for you, since it reduces 2 kinds of alpha-reductase. Once again, it may not work for diffuse thinners, but at least you're attacking on 2 fronts. It's probably a stronger drug than Propecia, so this must also be a consideration, health-wise, if you decide to go that route