Finasteride Didn’t Work. Now What? My Hair Took A Big Hit

[Vesemir]

Should I visit my dermatologist and aks for a blood test? Or should I ask for Dutasteride?

A few months ago I happily posted that I finally saw some positive resultst after being on finasteride for almost 1,5 year. All I’ve seen is my situation getting worse. I’ll never know what would have hapenned if I never started taking finasteride buf I feel like I’ve lost hair a lot faster being on this drug.

I would like to think that the small hairs on my hairline are growing back. But I’ve seen my hair getting worse for so long now that I really doubt it.

I have noticed some other changes though. My nipples are quite puffy but there’s no hard tissue behind them, fortunately. My libido swings, in general it’s lower than what it used to be but some days it’s actually really high. I’m anxious and stressed quicker. But on a side note, hair loss in general makes me feel stressed/anxious.

My body hair has gone up. I’m growing hair on my hand and fingers, feet and back. Overall it has gotten thicker.

The itchiness on my scalp varies. Some days it’s quite good, other days it’s terrible.

It’s like my body can’t decide what to do with this drug. Abviously my testosterone levels are higher, but idk about anything about my DHT. What should I do next? I tried 1.25mg/day for nearly a year and had Telogen Effluvium same things happen to me as I just described. I’m currently on 0.5mg/day (different brand), it started out alright but i’m not doing okay atm.


Should I visit my dermatologist and aks for a blood test? Or should I ask for Dutasteride?

 

[DoctorHouse]

Should I visit my dermatologist and aks for a blood test? Or should I ask for Dutasteride?

A few months ago I happily posted that I finally saw some positive resultst after being on finasteride for almost 1,5 year. All I’ve seen is my situation getting worse. I’ll never know what would have hapenned if I never started taking finasteride buf I feel like I’ve lost hair a lot faster being on this drug.

I would like to think that the small hairs on my hairline are growing back. But I’ve seen my hair getting worse for so long now that I really doubt it.

I have noticed some other changes though. My nipples are quite puffy but there’s no hard tissue behind them, fortunately. My libido swings, in general it’s lower than what it used to be but some days it’s actually really high. I’m anxious and stressed quicker. But on a side note, hair loss in general makes me feel stressed/anxious.

My body hair has gone up. I’m growing hair on my hand and fingers, feet and back. Overall it has gotten thicker.

The itchiness on my scalp varies. Some days it’s quite good, other days it’s terrible.

It’s like my body can’t decide what to do with this drug. Abviously my testosterone levels are higher, but idk about anything about my DHT. What should I do next? I tried 1.25mg/day for nearly a year and had Telogen Effluvium same things happen to me as I just described. I’m currently on 0.5mg/day (different brand), it started out alright but i’m not doing okay atm.


Should I visit my dermatologist and aks for a blood test? Or should I ask for Dutasteride?

Get some blood tests for peace of mind. I doubt dutasteride is going to be significantly better and you might get more sides. I can't tell you how many times I read posts saying finasteride made me lose my hair faster. My guess is your balding gene is just winning the battle against finasteride. Like you said, you will never know if you would be exactly where you are now if you did nothing. Hair loss and treating it without getting stellar results is very frustrating and can easily cause anxiety and depression. I have experienced this myself. Finasteride usually decreases body hair in many cases. It did for me. Any problems with an increase in acne on your face or body? What is your age?

 

[Vesemir]

Get some blood tests for peace of mind. I doubt dutasteride is going to be significantly better and you might get more sides. I can't tell you how many times I read posts saying finasteride made me lose my hair faster. My guess is your balding gene is just winning the battle against finasteride. Like you said, you will never know if you would be exactly where you are now if you did nothing. Hair loss and treating it without getting stellar results is very frustrating and can easily cause anxiety and depression. I have experienced this myself. Finasteride usually decreases body hair in many cases. It did for me. Any problems with an increase in acne on your face or body? What is your age?

I’m very afraid Dutasteride wont have a satisfying effect either. I hate my balding gene, especially because a lot of men in my family (still) have a good amount of hair. They didn’t start thinning as early as I did (it started when I was 18 years old, I’m 23 now)

I havent seen an increase in acne, maybe a decrease even. I do get pimples on my scalp, especially in the crown area. But I’ve been told that it’s probably ingrown hairs. They kinda hurt, I have two right now.
I’m also shedding like crazy, my scalp is flakey and itches so bad. It stresses me out.



My hairline is really bad. I’m currently traveling but when I get home I’m gonna get a different haircut. Something that hides my hairline.

 

[Vesemir]

Currently shedding everything there is to shed really. Short hair/long/thin/thick. Looking like sh*t. Clueless...

 

[razzmatazz91]

I remember you paying some months back about positive results. Maybe it's a bad shed before improvement. Dude... Go to av doctor and find out. Let us know too.

Hoping for the best for you buddy.

 

[Vesemir]

I remember you paying some months back about positive results. Maybe it's a bad shed before improvement. Dude... Go to av doctor and find out. Let us know too.

Hoping for the best for you buddy.

I will call for a blood test and/or visit my derm. I’m stupid enough to continue taking pills that make things worse. But I’m too afraid to quit, I’m already visibly thinning.

Finasteride give you sife effects?

Puffy nips, change in sex drive, increase in body hair growth.

 

[whatintheworld]

So, I noticed in your previous threads you were stopping and starting minoxodil.

This might explain some things. Minoxidil works by restarting your hair growth cycle back to (hopefully) anagen phase. However, our hairs, if they are male pattern baldness prone, have only so many hair cycles until they miniaturize and thin out.

By stopping and starting min, you are triggering your hair cycles more frequently, which is detrimental to your hair.

Having said all that, I'm almost a year on finasteride and I feel like my hairline is continuing to thin out as well, albeit less quickly for sure.

 

[g.i joey]

Having said all that, I'm almost a year on finasteride and I feel like my hairline is continuing to thin out as well, albeit less quickly for sure.

I'm in the same exact situation as you, I personally don't feel comfortable moving onto dutasteride. I actually am pretty hopeful I will still maintain majority of my hair with finasteride but definitely feel a minor loss of density up front. What's your next move if you keep on thinning?

Worst part is my brother responded beautifully to propecia and 8 years later his hair is still thick as fwuakkk, so I'm pretty fkn pissed man.

 

[whatintheworld]

I'm in the same exact situation as you, I personally don't feel comfortable moving onto dutasteride. I actually am pretty hopeful I will still maintain majority of my hair with finasteride but definitely feel a minor loss of density up front. What's your next move if you keep on thinning?

Worst part is my brother responded beautifully to propecia and 8 years later his hair is still thick as fwuakkk, so I'm pretty fkn pissed man.

So my crown was much worse than my hairline, and I started applying min x2 a day only to my crown. Got really good regrowth that I'm still holding on to.

I'm tempted to apply min to my hairline because it seems I'm a good responder. However, I kind of want to keep min as far away from my face as possible to avoid any side effects which some people report, such as puffy eyes, aging skin, whatever. I don't even know of these side effects are real, but they got me spooked a little bit. So I feel better applying it only to my crown, even though I know inevitably some of it goes systemic.

I was actually hoping Brotzu or something came out by now so I could start applying that to my hairline instead, but it looks like it'll be at least another year for that.

 

[dralex]

Might as well get a blood test but def looks like male pattern baldness to me. Dutasteride is an option, but doesn't seem to work very well for people who don't respond well to finasteride either. I took dutasteride for 3 months after 2.5 years on fina, regret it big time. My hair has gotten much worse since taking it, and I ended up getting side effects. Not worth it in my opinion. Only time I would take dutasteride is if you notice good results with finasteride, but want a little more regrowth, or if you had good regrowth with finasteride but are slowly starting to lose your gains on it. If you respond poorly to finasteride, probs gonna respond poorly to dutasteride.

 

[pv1984]

I have exactly same issues like you except puffy nipples.

it seems, finasteride worked for me earlier. till last year. but sudden change.. my hair become very thin. it happened within a 3 months. I never noticed any extra shedding but my hair count quickly reduced. (i'm diffused thinner)

3 months ago, I stopped taking finasteride. and after few weeks, I experienced very high shedding and still it last like wave. not constant shed.

when hair shedding, I feel like my head burn. if I touch scalp, feeling pain. scalp is so oily and unhealthy look.

when there is no shedding, scalp pain not anymore.

this thing never experienced while taking finasteride. but I think, finasteride caused my hair to thin. Is this possible ?

 

[pv1984]

I'm in the same exact situation as you, I personally don't feel comfortable moving onto dutasteride. I actually am pretty hopeful I will still maintain majority of my hair with finasteride but definitely feel a minor loss of density up front. What's your next move if you keep on thinning?

Worst part is my brother responded beautifully to propecia and 8 years later his hair is still thick as fwuakkk, so I'm pretty fkn pissed man.

for some people, finasteride maintain hair count but keep thinning faster than before. may be we are such people.

 

[ElTioLaBota]

Have you thought of trying out spironolactate???
Btw, a little off-topic: since your name is vesemir xd, i grew my hair long when i was 17 cause i wanted the geralt look. And i had it long enough the first time i did the ponytail i noticed my nw2 temples... FML

 

[Vesemir]

Have you thought of trying out spironolactate???
Btw, a little off-topic: since your name is vesemir xd, i grew my hair long when i was 17 cause i wanted the geralt look. And i had it long enough the first time i did the ponytail i noticed my nw2 temples... FML

I haven’t considered truing spironolactone tbh. You need perscription for it in the netherlands.

RU + minoxidil ?

My stupid country decides you can’t buy Minoxidil anymore without perscription... so lame. I’vr tried it before but I was never quite satisfied. Don’t know about RU, I thought it was just a hype.

Anyway, I havent taken finasteride for a couple days now and the itching/burning scalp is gone... dont know what that tells me

 

[Vesemir]

I'm in the same exact situation as you, I personally don't feel comfortable moving onto dutasteride. I actually am pretty hopeful I will still maintain majority of my hair with finasteride but definitely feel a minor loss of density up front. What's your next move if you keep on thinning?

Worst part is my brother responded beautifully to propecia and 8 years later his hair is still thick as fwuakkk, so I'm pretty fkn pissed man.

It’s so unfair, yes... My next move wil probably be getting a hair transplant. But I’m only 23 years old and can still heavily style my hair so that it looks somewhat decent....

 

[Grasshüpfer]

Sorry to hear bad news from u mate.

I am on finasteride and Ru for about a year now. I took about 5000 photos of my hair in that time and it actually didn't change so much so I'm not in full panic mode.

What i would NOT do is to stop finasteride entirely.
It's the only drug that is proven to stop hairloss.

What i also realised it's that the hair can look very different from day to day. Don't get fooled by bad hair days. Also long hair shows the thinning in a different way. Don't get fooled by it.

Maybe you could add Ru?
Ru is a receptor blocker. It's affinity to the androgen receptor is about 10 times stronger than testosterone, but much weaker than Dht.

So in combination with finasteride it should give you some more stability.

 

[Vesemir]

Sorry to hear bad news from u mate.

I am on finasteride and Ru for about a year now. I took about 5000 photos of my hair in that time and it actually didn't change so much so I'm not in full panic mode.

What i would NOT do is to stop finasteride entirely.
It's the only drug that is proven to stop hairloss.

What i also realised it's that the hair can look very different from day to day. Don't get fooled by bad hair days. Also long hair shows the thinning in a different way. Don't get fooled by it.

Maybe you could add Ru?
Ru is a receptor blocker. It's affinity to the androgen receptor is about 10 times stronger than testosterone, but much weaker than Dht.

So in combination with finasteride it should give you some more stability.

Thanks for the advice. I know I shouldn’t be fooled by bad hair days and longer hair, which I do have atm.

But the shedding is unreal atm. I just came out of the shower and it was bad, real bad. Haven’t experienced anything like it before. Maybe messing with Minoxidil plays a role in it but I’m unable to tell.

I just don’t know what to do really. Taking a pill is so much more convenient than applying stuff onto your scalp. And it’s such a hassle to get products for hair loss in The Netherlands, you need a prescription for everything.

It’s been a few days since my last pill. I’m gonna wait untill monday and give it one last shot. finasteride 2x times a week, 0,25mg.

It’s so depressing, feeling really low. I’m a good looking dude but without my hair... idk how I’ll look. I alteady have to use a lot of styling products but the result is far from satisfying....

 

[ElTioLaBota]

Thanks for the advice. I know I shouldn’t be fooled by bad hair days and longer hair, which I do have atm.

But the shedding is unreal atm. I just came out of the shower and it was bad, real bad. Haven’t experienced anything like it before. Maybe messing with Minoxidil plays a role in it but I’m unable to tell.

I just don’t know what to do really. Taking a pill is so much more convenient than applying stuff onto your scalp. And it’s such a hassle to get products for hair loss in The Netherlands, you need a prescription for everything.

It’s been a few days since my last pill. I’m gonna wait untill monday and give it one last shot. finasteride 2x times a week, 0,25mg.

It’s so depressing, feeling really low. I’m a good looking dude but without my hair... idk how I’ll look. I alteady have to use a lot of styling products but the result is far from satisfying....

Lol ever since i noticed my hairloss i hate taking showers cause all i see is hundreds of hairs falling

 

[yess]

Thanks for the advice. I know I shouldn’t be fooled by bad hair days and longer hair, which I do have atm.

But the shedding is unreal atm. I just came out of the shower and it was bad, real bad. Haven’t experienced anything like it before. Maybe messing with Minoxidil plays a role in it but I’m unable to tell.

I just don’t know what to do really. Taking a pill is so much more convenient than applying stuff onto your scalp. And it’s such a hassle to get products for hair loss in The Netherlands, you need a prescription for everything.

It’s been a few days since my last pill. I’m gonna wait untill monday and give it one last shot. finasteride 2x times a week, 0,25mg.

It’s so depressing, feeling really low. I’m a good looking dude but without my hair... idk how I’ll look. I alteady have to use a lot of styling products but the result is far from satisfying....

From where do you get finasteride if you need a prescription for everything

 

[IdealForehead]

Get your DHT levels checked. If your DHT is not very low, switch to dutasteride. Again check DHT after 4 weeks. If your DHT is not very low, you are a nonresponder to finasteride/dutasteride and need to go to RU58841 and/or spironolactone.

That's what happened to me.

 

[ElTioLaBota]

Get your DHT levels checked. If your DHT is not very low, switch to dutasteride. Again check DHT after 4 weeks. If your DHT is not very low, you are a nonresponder to finasteride/dutasteride and need to go to RU58841 and/or spironolactone.

That's what happened to me.

And you managed to keep your head with ru or spironolactone? Which one did you use?