Finasteride 1mg for 10 years, starting to have losses now. What are my options?

[mibe16]

Hey everyone,

I have been an on and off user of these forums for years but have never posted. I have been coming more often lately as my hairloss has progressed to a point that its starting to really show. I have been on Finasteride 1mg (cut Proscar pills) for the last 10 years (started at 20). For the first 8 years it maintained well (perhaps minor regrowth) but now i am starting to have a receding hairline and the vertex is showing through.

I was wondering what are my options to prolong keeping my hair and perhaps regrow it a little. From reading around the forum it seems that people in this situation have either:

1. Increased Finasteride dosage to 2.5mg or 5mg (I am currently cutting Proscar tablets)
2. Start using Dutasteride 0.5mg
3. Added Minoxidil 5%.
4. Added Keto shampoo
4. Added LLLT. I know that many on this forum are skeptical. I have seen however a review paper (below) that collects evidence on LLLT in Alopecia Androgentic (5 separate studies). Does this update in many ways your opinions?

"Low-Level Laser (Light) Therapy (LLLT) for Treatment of Hair Loss" - Pinar Avci et all (2013) (quick google search of this will find it, download pdf directly so i couldnt post link)

5. Other unstudied methods (PRP, RU, etc)

I would like advice on what should be my line of attack and what other people in my situation have found most effective and doable

I have been leaning towards adding Minoxidil and Keto to my regimen as these are the most well studied and proven. However, minoxidil is very time-consuming and my understanding is that improvements tend to be very marginal. Also I am unclear as to whether foam or liquid is the right approach. Any advice on this issue?

LLLT also tends to have very marginal improvements but at least it is easy to do and has to be done only every other day. So I have been thinking that might be also an option worth exploring first and if doesnt work go to minoxidil. Any advice on this issue?

Finally, I could easily increase Finasteride intake easily but clinical studies tend to show very minor improvements at higher dosage. Dutasteride my doctor said puts increased stress on the liver and is comparable on average. Trying it for 6/12 months might also be an option. Any opinions?

Thanks for reading!

 

[TD500]

Liquid/Foam same, but foam dries faster and liquid is easier to apply to the scalp and is also cheaper. I think its just personal preference some even say one works better then the other. There have been some long term users coming back recently, I'd suggest minoxidil + dutasteride to your current finasteride dose. Or you could try the experimentals as some users here have and been getting good results.

 

[SayifDoit]

Only suggest Keto shampoo, dutasteride and minoxidil if you're really desperate.
Well done by the way for keeping your hair this long. I applaud you.

 

[bornwithacurse224]

I would say get keto shampoo. Also try adding dutasteride to your regime while taking finasteride, or maybe try finasteride twice a day idk if you can do that. Add minoxidil if it gets too bad and just use it sparingly if you're worried about it. Hopefully you get another decade.