Ditched Minoxidil and went on Finasteride, hair went to absolute hell.

[Brent2]

My hair loss started in May of 2012, right before I turned 18. I had the thickest hair in the world. Everyone would have to make a comment about how nice and thick and nice it looked.

My hair shedded really heavily that summer and slowed down a bit around fall. October 2012, I decided to jump on Minoxidil.

I had horrible side effects while on Minoxidil. It made my face age dramatically. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror.

In April of 2013, I started 1.25mg Finasteride per day. A month later, I quit Minoxidil.

Since July of this year until now, in late September, 2013, my hair has been shedding at a rate I have never seen. My hair line has receded, hair is not only failing out from the crown/vertex, but now on the sided and back as well.

A couple factors to consider. I've been on Finasteride for 6 months now. It's been five months since I quit Minoxidil. Did Minoxidil permanently make all my good hairs dependent on it, will my hair recover from that? When the heck is the Finasteride going to actually kick in? From before when my hairs would shed, there was no visible root at the bottom. Now, as my hair has been shedding these several months, there is a very visible white bulb at the bottom? Why so? Could this be Finasteride renewing the follicle? Does part of this have to do with some yearly shed cycle I have in the summer?

Thanks in advance to any useful insight/answers.

-Brent

 

[GoldenMane]

No, not all your good hairs were dependant on it, but it was essentially like life support for your bad hairs.

The hair that you maintained on minoxidil was being sustained by minoxidil. You can think of it as hair growing artificially in a hostile environment. Finasteride will not keep the hair you maintained with minoxidil. It will only keep the hair that wasn't reliant on minoxidil for growth. I know it sucks, but minoxidil is not a DHT blocker. All this time minoxidil was keeping your hair growing, DHT was still "attacking" the follicles, the hair was still growing thanks to minoxidil, but the follicles themselves were being damaged all that time. finasteride will only prevent future damage to hair that has not yet been lost, it won't restore follicles that were damaged due to DHT while you were on just minoxidil.

I don't know if finasteride will recover the hair that was reliant on minoxidil for survival, though I doubt it. a combination of minoxidil and finasteride may restore them, most people would advise minoxidil and finasteride, but due to your bad reaction that may not be an option for you.

 

[s322]

I keep hearing these minoxidil skin aging issues. I expect I wouldn't necessarily give it weight if it was coming from someone in their 30's and on, but if someone saying it was in their 20's (especially early), I would give weight to that if enough people were saying it. It does sound like that complaint comes up a lot, and unlike hair growth it is something that can be easily gauged. Hmmm...

 

[benjt]

I am 24 now and yes, I also experienced those side effects. Still pretty bad.

On that matter: Brent2, did you recover? I'm off minoxidil for three months now (so only half as long as you), and I initally made some recovery, but I am far from complete recovery... I'm really wondering if I will get my non-saggy, non-wrinkly and non-leathery skin back.

So, any signs of recovery on your side? If so, to what extent?

 

[Brent2]

I am 24 now and yes, I also experienced those side effects. Still pretty bad.

On that matter: Brent2, did you recover? I'm off minoxidil for three months now (so only half as long as you), and I initally made some recovery, but I am far from complete recovery... I'm really wondering if I will get my non-saggy, non-wrinkly and non-leathery skin back.

So, any signs of recovery on your side? If so, to what extent?

===

Hey, man, yeah, feel your pain.

I still have bags under my eyes. However, my skin looks much healthier, is glowing again like it used to, and my face is no longer bloated.

I'm sure your doing the right thing by getting off of it. It's the right thing man. Something that distorts your face, skin, is really not worth it.

I keep hearing these minoxidil skin aging issues. I expect I wouldn't necessarily give it weight if it was coming from someone in their 30's and on, but if someone saying it was in their 20's (especially early), I would give weight to that if enough people were saying it. It does sound like that complaint comes up a lot, and unlike hair growth it is something that can be easily gauged. Hmmm...

==

It really sucks being young and having people think your super old.

- - - Updated - - -

No, not all your good hairs were dependant on it, but it was essentially like life support for your bad hairs.

The hair that you maintained on minoxidil was being sustained by minoxidil. You can think of it as hair growing artificially in a hostile environment. Finasteride will not keep the hair you maintained with minoxidil. It will only keep the hair that wasn't reliant on minoxidil for growth. I know it sucks, but minoxidil is not a DHT blocker. All this time minoxidil was keeping your hair growing, DHT was still "attacking" the follicles, the hair was still growing thanks to minoxidil, but the follicles themselves were being damaged all that time. finasteride will only prevent future damage to hair that has not yet been lost, it won't restore follicles that were damaged due to DHT while you were on just minoxidil.

I don't know if finasteride will recover the hair that was reliant on minoxidil for survival, though I doubt it. a combination of minoxidil and finasteride may restore them, most people would advise minoxidil and finasteride, but due to your bad reaction that may not be an option for you.

Thanks, I can only hope I respond well to Finasteride.

 

[benjt]

===

Hey, man, yeah, feel your pain.

I still have bags under my eyes. However, my skin looks much healthier, is glowing again like it used to, and my face is no longer bloated.

I'm sure your doing the right thing by getting off of it. It's the right thing man. Something that distorts your face, skin, is really not worth it.

Thanks man. You're giving me some hope there.

Facial bloating actually went away in my case after just two weeks. The problem though are the eye circles and the wrinkles. Did you get any wrinkles and if so, did you see any improvement? I have them around my eyes and left and right of my nose. Also had some around my mouth too and they went away (as did the most pronounced ones around my eyes), which makes me optimistic that the others will vanish too.
In case you didnt get wrinkles... be happy that you got off minoxidil on time. It took me way too long to notice that I got those side effects.

Sure sucks. Since going off minoxidil I lost quite a lot of hair. I can basically decide between young looking face and keeping my hair right now.
Since my bad experiences with minoxidil I'm just not willing to take the risk with finasteride. I will not let something f**k up my looks first - even though the odds of it doing that were apparently extremely low - and then take another - pretty low - risk of f**king up my libido and reproductive organs.

 

[Brent2]

Thanks man. You're giving me some hope there.

Facial bloating actually went away in my case after just two weeks. The problem though are the eye circles and the wrinkles. Did you get any wrinkles and if so, did you see any improvement? I have them around my eyes and left and right of my nose. Also had some around my mouth too and they went away (as did the most pronounced ones around my eyes), which makes me optimistic that the others will vanish too.
In case you didnt get wrinkles... be happy that you got off minoxidil on time. It took me way too long to notice that I got those side effects.

Sure sucks. Since going off minoxidil I lost quite a lot of hair. I can basically decide between young looking face and keeping my hair right now.
Since my bad experiences with minoxidil I'm just not willing to take the risk with finasteride. I will not let something f**k up my looks first - even though the odds of it doing that were apparently extremely low - and then take another - pretty low - risk of f**king up my libido and reproductive organs.

Hey man, i'm glad I could help relate bro. Sorry for the delay, just saw your reply.

The wrinkes have improved pretty well. I think its a matter of time/patience. Depending on how severe yours are, I think it could take up to 6-9 months.

This advice might sound weird, but drink a lot of water every freaking day from now on. Minoxidil is complete poison and is still in your bloodstream, skin. It's taking time to flush out.

Have you tried shaving your head before? For the last year, as i've been battling hair loss, my hair has controlled me. It has been all I can think about. Tonight, I said **** it, I shaved it off. It kind of looks ok. I at last feel free.

If you've never shaved before, i'd give it a try. If it doesn't work out well, wear a neat little fedora hat. (I got one just in case).

If your afraid of the Finasteride side effects. Here's what I went through:

The first couple months, my sexual desires were weak. This passed and is completely gone. During month four to five, I had some pretty serious depression/anxiety.

This has also passed. I'm still not sure if Finasteride is worth it. I have yet to see any results. If any of the sides come back, I'm bailing on it.

You have to understand Finasteride, is some really heavy duty ****. It's essentially changing your biology and chemical makeup in your brain.

That said, it really works wonders for some. So, if you really want to keep your hair, maybe give it a try.

It really sucks *** man, your not alone. I can't think of any reason or any benefit to the harmony of the universe by people loosing their hair at such a young age.

Godspeed my friend.

 

[JonnyKid]

This is very interesting, I was not aware of these side effects. I guess it depends on the person, I have not had these skin issues. The problem with everyones comments are that everyones makeup is different and different people react to different drugs. How long before you noticed a skin change? Also, for most people if you go off Minoxidil, you lose all of your gains...... Im not about to let that happen at this point. damn....