I'm telling you you'll get side effects with an 100% chance because some of the side effects associated with finasteride are suggestive like erectile dysfunction and libido. If you convince yourself you're going to get side effects, you will. It's called a nocebo effect.
There is zero peer reviewed statistical evidence that finasteride causes bone changes or skin discoloration. The only metrics available on that are self reported anecdotes, which are borderline worthless
Out of what you mentioned there, the only side effects with any statistical evidence associated with them are erectile dysfunction, gynecomastia and diabetes. Erectile dysfunction and libido reduction are by far the most commonly reported side effects and are present in nearly every major study. Both usually sit somewhere around 4-6%.
Diabetes has been indicated in one study, but it has limitations. With that said, it would be inappropriate to completely dismiss that study's statistics based on the limitations present. With regards to erectile dysfunction, gynecomastia and diabetes, I would wager that if an individual is living a healthy lifestyle during therapy, the instances of these side effects will more than likely be very low. Gynecomastia itself is fairly easy to predict if you know your E2 levels prior to administration, because it's extremely rare to develop gynecomastia unless you have elevated E2 (IE, outside of the male reference ranges).
The statistics on cancer are very subject. The two types of cancer that have been studied with regards to finasteride are beast cancer and prostate cancer. There is no statistical data to support a causal link between finasteride and breast cancer; no study to date has been able to establish one. The link between finasteride and prostate cancer is subject at best, because the way they screen for prostate cancer is by using the PSA level which fiansteride reduces. It's now thought that finasteride reduces the likelihood of prostate cancer as it is easier to detect when a biopsy is taken due to the smaller size of the prostate during therapy.
Studies regarding neurological changes contain a lot of speculation, and are lacking in many areas. This is what happens when the public gets access to scientific articles with zero statistics knowledge. Studies get thrown around with complete disregard for things such as biased sample selection, insufficient sample sizes, the lack of properly formulated controls and the absence of prospective study designs, to name a few. Then someone such as yourself comes along with no statistical background and reads the abstracts, justifiably freaks out, and then abstains from treatment while their hair loss condition deteriorates.
This is why if you don't have any background in medicine and/or statistics, you should leave interpretation of this information to professionals.
Some of the studies you have seen here contain useful information. A lot of them, not so much. It's not necessarily that the studies are "wrong", it's that they haven't provided enough statistical evidence to assert any sort of definitive associations.
If you want to be careful, go to your doctor and get blood work. Your blood test should have these items on it, with DHT being optional as blood DHT levels aren't very useful (
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...efore-taking-finasteride.132380/#post-1970712).
I'm not a doctor and this isn't medical advice, but that thread covers the basics of interpreting your bloodwork. The tl;dr is if you're in the green when it comes to total T and E2, the likelihood you'll experience any major side effects is probably very low. If you want to be even more careful, talk to an endocrinologist about your blood work before you start finasteride.
At the end of the day, you're left with the same option; take finasteride or you will lose hair to some extent. There's a 100% chance that if you have Androgenetic Alopecia you will continue to lose hair until you reach your inherited pattern. There's a low chance of getting side effects from finasteride, and an even lower chance of having persistent issues after taking the medication. The odds are in your favor, but just make sure that you talk with medical professionals and aren't self diagnosing yourself. That's the worst thing you can do.