Can't pull the trigger on finasteride - please help

[myhairbegone]

no sides ???!! u already said nut ache lol

What?

 

[myhairbegone]

Yeah I was wrong. My crown has improved slightly, but I just got a haircut and my hairloss has gotten quite noticeably worse around my temples. I have thinned enough that I can see a very clear 'tuft' forming on my forelock. Life sucks =(.

I am really hoping this is from 'the shed' from finasteride...

How long does it usually last? How common is it?

 

[MysticMan]

Stress can definitely cause baldness. And the strange thing about it is, it's usually
three months after the fact. Also, high blood pressure can cause vertex baldness.

So, don't give up hope yet!

If the balding is caused from both of these reasons, will all of the hair grow back? If so, how long would it take to grow back?

 

[myhairbegone]

Blah. Crown actually looks worse too.

I see a bunch on people saying if you shed after finasteride thats a good sign its working. Thena bunch others saying they never recovered.

Which is it?

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[myhairbegone]

Bueller....Bueller?

I am hoping that since I am 'shedding' this means the medication is working. I have read this on a few sites but not sure if its bogus or not...looking for some reassurance here... I don't seem to be losing a bunch of hair when I run my hands through, but my temples and the middle of my head are now much much much more noticeably thin (forelock forming) than when I started two months ago. I also notice a lot of hairs on my laptop during the day and my pillow during night.

=(

 

[myhairbegone]

Where do you get these statistics? Can you provide a link to some studies please?

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Fear mongering, this is not objective. This does not help in any way.

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The official studies were reported to be flawed.

Here's a really good explanation why irreversible side effects persists and they weren't reported in the initial trials:

https://youtu.be/D7K_Qwy22UU?t=6m43s


Also a really good interview on the subject. The guy didn't even know about the side effects when he got them and even when he got them he didn't connect it with propecia until doctor told him:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pfsglobal/2015/09/01/e32-dr-irwin-goldstein-shares-the-truth-science-behind-pfs

You don't have too look far, it is there even on Wikipedia:

The effect of finasteride on sexual function is controversial. There are case reports of persistent diminished libido or erectile dysfunction after stopping the drug and the FDA has updated the label to inform healthcare professionals of these reports.[SUP][8][/SUP][SUP][13][/SUP] A 2010 review found moderate quality evidence that finasteride increased the risk of sexual dysfunction, but not that people stopped using it because of sexual side effects.[SUP][14]
[/SUP]
A 2015 meta analysis found none of the clinical trials had adequate safety reporting and did not provide sufficient information to establish the safety profile for finasteride's treatment of hairloss. The study concluded the existing clinical trials of finasteride for hair loss provide very limited information on toxicity,are of poor quality, and seem to be systematically biased toward under detection of adverse events. Moreover, the trials submitted to the FDA for approval for hair loss excluded most men who would normally be prescribed finasteride for androgenic alopecia.[SUP][15][/SUP][SUP][16]

[/SUP]Adverse Event Reporting in Clinical Trials of Finasteride for Androgenic Alopecia Meta-analysis: http://archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2212246


Finasteride and the Uncertainties of Establishing Harms study: http://archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2212243

[video=youtube;qG37eHJqCgI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG37eHJqCgI[/video]

The fact remains that you don't know if it will hit you, you don't know what statistical chance you have to contract PFS from using finasteride because there wasn't a study done and that it's basically a Russian roulette. Does the cylinder of the gun have 5, 20 or 2000 bullet slots with one slot loaded? Nobody can say. You're risking of getting irreversible side effects when taking propecia and if you're ok with that then great.No doubt there's guys that will take this stuff forever and never have an issue. The problem is you never know which side of the fence you're gonna land on.


Sorry to turn out like PFS fear monger but I care to give people informed decision on this drug. It's a sad world that Merck isn't doing research on this and figuring out if it's genetic predisposition for irreversible side effects or what. This way they are negating any side effects because they would lose enormous amount of money from the lawsuits. Nobody cares about your well being, it's all profit for them, they don't give a rats a*s whether you get f*cked in the process from a drug that was initially reported safe by them.

Guess I am one of the lucky ones, no sexual sides. More worried about my hair than PFS. PFS made me delay getting on finasteride for a year and I regret that more than anything at the moment.

 

[myhairbegone]

Also can you not derail this into a PFS thread? Thanks

 

[myhairbegone]

Anyone?

 

[myhairbegone]

3 month update:

Welp.

My hair continues to get destroyed on finasteride. Does anyone have a link to a 'success' story where someone took finasteride only and shed a lot?

Need sme motivation...ill upload pictures later if im feeling up to it.

 

[Lito2]

I experienced gyno from finasteride, but I continue to take it. Take the plunge. I wish I had done it earlier.

 

[Roberto_72]

3 month update:

Welp.

My hair continues to get destroyed on finasteride. Does anyone have a link to a 'success' story where someone took finasteride only and shed a lot?

Need sme motivation...ill upload pictures later if im feeling up to it.

Three months' shedding is a long time.
I think it might be more likely you are in a period that is particularly bad for your hair (stress / genetic predisposition being triggered at a particular age) and finasteride is not of particular help.
Finasteride doesn't work for everyone unfortunately.
I would suggest a thrichogram to try and understand how much hair is in anagen state and how much is about to fall off (Telogen). Repeat it after three months.
If finasteride does not work in six months, maybe it is not what you are looking for.

 

[myhairbegone]

Three months' shedding is a long time.
I think it might be more likely you are in a period that is particularly bad for your hair (stress / genetic predisposition being triggered at a particular age) and finasteride is not of particular help.
Finasteride doesn't work for everyone unfortunately.
I would suggest a thrichogram to try and understand how much hair is in anagen state and how much is about to fall off (Telogen). Repeat it after three months.
If finasteride does not work in six months, maybe it is not what you are looking for.

Interesting...from what I have read on here shedding in first 3 months is common?

 

[myhairbegone]

So what is the general consensus around here? 3 months shedding - normal or not normal?

Does this mean I might have good results or am I boned?

I keep reading conflicting posts

 

[dralex]

So what is the general consensus around here? 3 months shedding - normal or not normal?

Does this mean I might have good results or am I boned?

I keep reading conflicting posts

It can take a year to really see results with finasteride. I would just relax knowing you are doing everything you can to stop the hair loss. Worrying about it isn't going to help.

 

[myhairbegone]

It can take a year to really see results with finasteride. I would just relax knowing you are doing everything you can to stop the hair loss. Worrying about it isn't going to help.

Yeah true. But I cant help it =). And my hair has gotten so much worse since starting finasteride. I am looking for success stoires of others than tried finasteride alone, shed, but then had good results.

Also does anyone know if its possible to change the thread title? I want to turn this into a progress thread, maybe that others in the future will be able to reference if they are on the fence about finasteride

 

[myhairbegone]

Shameless bump

 

[KO21]

Hey man. I noticed shedding and itching started when I began taking finasteride. 1.25 Proscar daily. nizoral shampoo once or twice a week. I'm almost at the 5 month mark. Hairline is getting worse but crown is improving.

I'm using a small amount of toppik lately for a little confidence boost and to hide the slight thinning.

Give it time. I'm happy with what I think it's done for my crown.

 

[myhairbegone]

Hey man. I noticed shedding and itching started when I began taking finasteride. 1.25 Proscar daily. nizoral shampoo once or twice a week. I'm almost at the 5 month mark. Hairline is getting worse but crown is improving.

I'm using a small amount of toppik lately for a little confidence boost and to hide the slight thinning.

Give it time. I'm happy with what I think it's done for my crown.

Thanks. Yeah I have decided to stay the course. I will update you guys with results, good or bad, in a few months

 

[mr.patches]

I had all of finasteride sides you can think of at the beginning... One year and a half in, and I have zero sides (not even libido issues), and my hair has maintained pretty well. Just stay consistent, don't overthink stuff and just stay positive. The great thing about starting treatment is that you are finally doing something about it, which relieves a lot of stress. Good luck, mate.

 

[myhairbegone]

4 months. No improvement. =(

If anything it has gotten worse.

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4 months. No improvement. Balls.