Finasteride For 6 Years * Update + Concerns *

[Samcro95]

Hi everyone,

it’s been a while since I’ve visited this forum, I was first here 6 years ago when I was 19 and at the beginning of hair-loss journey.

I started finasteride when noticed thinning at the temples and lots of miniaturized hairs along my hair line, I took finasteride pretty quickly once I noticed these changes. I’ve been taking pretty much daily for the last 6 years I’ve managed to maintain all of my hair with no further hair loss and I believe I’ve actually thickened my hair quite a bit since I’ve first started.

Finasteride worked wonders for me but now I am growing concerned about potential sexual side effects, for the last year or so I’ve been suffering from lower then normal libido It’s harder for me to achieve a full erection like I used and my sex drive has been depleted I don’t feel nearly as aroused as I once was and during sexual inter course it is pretty hard for me to gain a second erection after my first. This has become a problem as I feel like I am not able to satisfy my partners to the best of my abilities, and myself am not enjoying the sex as I once used to.

I’ve tried taking Horny Goat Weed and Tribulus on occasion when I believe I’m going to be engaging in intercourse It does help bring my libido and sex drive up but obviously this is not ideal for me as I want to be able to reach those levels on my own.

I’m seriously contemplating on quitting finasteride to try and fix these issues but I am afraid that doing so will destroy my hair, I wanted to get the forums opinion on if there is any solutions out there to fix this problem or any new treatments for hair maintenance if I where to stop taking finasteride.

Here are some photos of my hair currently not much has changed in 6 years. https://imgur.com/a/E5PbaC6

 

[Who Farted]

Not sure you ever needed it to begin with unless you got a diagnosis. If we assume you have male pattern baldness then it seems like the finasteride is doing its job. I don’t know what the guy above is talking about but I’m 34 and my drive and ability hasn’t decreased a single notch. Natural libido changes usually come later in life. It shouldn’t be happening at 25 that’s for sure.

Regardless he’s right to eliminate outside factors first. If you aren’t taking anything else known to cause this or have any conditions, then the culprit is clear and you have a choice to make. You can try reducing the dose first to see if it makes a difference. If you haven’t gotten an male pattern baldness diagnosis, then you really should visit a dermatologist and determine that. There’s no reason to take anything you don’t actually need, especially when the side effects are actively affecting your life.

 

[justbeconfident]

It doesnt look like you were balding to begin with. Maybe you were just one of those 19 yo bdd teenagers and you should just hop off finasteride completely.

 

[timoat]

It could be so many other factors, diet, attraction to partner, p**rn addiction, hormonal imbalance, cancer, depression, the list never ends. blaming it on finasteride after 6 years is just reaching of the nearest "easiest" possible explanation.

 

[Samcro95]

It doesnt look like you were balding to begin with. Maybe you were just one of those 19 yo bdd teenagers and you should just hop off finasteride completely.

I considered this as maybe I was being paranoid but don’t think so as I was experiencing pretty intense hair shedding for 6 months with hair miniaturization all along my hair line, went to the dermatologist and in his opinion I was experiencing early male pattern baldness. I do have the genetics for it as all the males in my family went bald in their twenties.

 

[Samcro95]

It could be so many other factors, diet, attraction to partner, p**rn addiction, hormonal imbalance, cancer, depression, the list never ends. blaming it on finasteride after 6 years is just reaching of the nearest "easiest" possible explanation.

Could be right, but wouldn’t the finasteride itself imbalance your natural hormone levels it increases your Test but this would also increase your estrogen at the same time? Higher estrogen wouldn’t be good for libido but feel free to correct me. I was thinking if finasteride is the culprit it could be some sort of delayed drug effect.

I would say I’m pretty healthy not overweight at all currently sitting at 164lbs and I’m 5’11 which would bring me at a normal BMI, but I did start smoking weed on a daily basis about 2 years ago which I thought it could be a factor as well. I’ve quit the weed and trying out a new diet cutting out all refined sugars and mostly consuming proteins and fermented food products it’s only been about 3 weeks on this lifestyle change so too early to tell if it’s helping or not but going to keep at it.

I am self-employed have my own business that I run so considered stress levels could be a cause of this but no way to tell for sure as I wouldn’t classify my stress as very high at all.

And I completely stopped watching p**rn about 2 years ago as well, found it was not very enjoyable for me anymore.

 

[Samcro95]

Not sure you ever needed it to begin with unless you got a diagnosis. If we assume you have male pattern baldness then it seems like the finasteride is doing its job. I don’t know what the guy above is talking about but I’m 34 and my drive and ability hasn’t decreased a single notch. Natural libido changes usually come later in life. It shouldn’t be happening at 25 that’s for sure.

Regardless he’s right to eliminate outside factors first. If you aren’t taking anything else known to cause this or have any conditions, then the culprit is clear and you have a choice to make. You can try reducing the dose first to see if it makes a difference. If you haven’t gotten an male pattern baldness diagnosis, then you really should visit a dermatologist and determine that. There’s no reason to take anything you don’t actually need, especially when the side effects are actively affecting your life.

I was experiencing pretty severe shedding for about 6 months with miniaturization all along my hair line and temples , I went to see a dermatologist and he said he believed it was male pattern baldness and prescribed the finasteride. All the males on my fathers side are bald as well as my maternal grandfather so I would say I have the genes for it.

I agree 25 is way too young for this to be happening, all my friends the same age who don’t take finasteride can’t seem to relate to these issues and have pretty active sex lives. I’ve made some lifestyle changes recently trying to correct this problem but quite early to determine if they’re helping or not just gonna keep at it, I’m going to try a lower dose and see if that helps it’s just frustrating to deal with.

Maybe another visit to the Derm for a second look wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

 

[justbeconfident]

I was experiencing pretty severe shedding for about 6 months with miniaturization all along my hair line and temples , I went to see a dermatologist and he said he believed it was male pattern baldness and prescribed the finasteride. All the males on my fathers side are bald as well as my maternal grandfather so I would say I have the genes for it.

I agree 25 is way too young for this to be happening, all my friends the same age who don’t take finasteride can’t seem to relate to these issues and have pretty active sex lives. I’ve made some lifestyle changes recently trying to correct this problem but quite early to determine if they’re helping or not just gonna keep at it, I’m going to try a lower dose and see if that helps it’s just frustrating to deal with.

Maybe another visit to the Derm for a second look wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

I've been on finasteride for a year, and now im experience same things as you do. My erections quality dropped and my libido plummeted. Im currently trying to see how pausing it will play out, havent taken finasteride for like 7-10 days

 

[Mr. Prince]

Try not taking finasteride for a month or two before you decide it was that caused it.

 

[timoat]

Could be right, but wouldn’t the finasteride itself imbalance your natural hormone levels it increases your Test but this would also increase your estrogen at the same time? Higher estrogen wouldn’t be good for libido but feel free to correct me. I was thinking if finasteride is the culprit it could be some sort of delayed drug effect.

I would say I’m pretty healthy not overweight at all currently sitting at 164lbs and I’m 5’11 which would bring me at a normal BMI, but I did start smoking weed on a daily basis about 2 years ago which I thought it could be a factor as well. I’ve quit the weed and trying out a new diet cutting out all refined sugars and mostly consuming proteins and fermented food products it’s only been about 3 weeks on this lifestyle change so too early to tell if it’s helping or not but going to keep at it.

I am self-employed have my own business that I run so considered stress levels could be a cause of this but no way to tell for sure as I wouldn’t classify my stress as very high at all.

And I completely stopped watching p**rn about 2 years ago as well, found it was not very enjoyable for me anymore.

Sounds like youre on a good plan! Stick witht hat for a few motnhs and see if anything improves. do you have a steady gf? I notice you wrote "partners". Maybe you need to fall in love? (damn thats sounds cheesy haha)