Four Months In On Propecia And No End In Sight

[Umber]

So I've been on 1 mg/day brand propecia for 4 months now. Having read up I was prepared for a few months of shedding before the hair loss would start decreasing. After 4 months I can conclude that the shedding phase never happened - just continued hair loss in the same pattern, at the same speed as before. Seeing as this is about 400 strands/day (I've counted, it's really 400) both before and after I started the treatment, this has left me in the exact position I tried to avoid by getting on the meds.

Going from a NW1 to a NW2,5 (heading into NW3 territory) within the lapse of 6 months from noticing more hair in the drain to now, the probability of regaining and maintaining the hairline I had at the start of the treatment (NW1,5) seems increasingly implausible. I did start applying 5% minoxidil 2 weeks ago, but doubt it'll be close to enough, considering the negligible effects of the propecia treatment up till now.

My question to you all is: is there any reason for me to hope for any improvements in the future, or is my hair loss simply too agressive and my hair follicles too sensitive to DHT for the meds to have any effects? I'm planning to stick to the treatment for at least a year so I won't blame myself for not sticking to it long enough, but 4 months in one might expect at least some signs of it having any kind of effect (not regrowth, I know it's too early for that, but at least some decrease in the flood of hair strands literally falling down in front of my eyes). Has anyone experienced something similar to what I have and had any improvements past the 4 months mark?

Can't give any pics because I was too stupid to take any pre-treatment, and my smartphone camera is too bad to give any input on current state of affairs. I didn't have any loss at the crown back then but in recent weeks a bald spot has been making its way there. You'll just have to trust in my ability to determine how far my hair loss has progressed.

 

[br1]

I would give it a couple years before quitting..

 

[Finjunkie]

I couldn't tell if finasteride was stopping my loss for a couple years. Pics were worthless because of haircuts and lighting changes so I stopped taking them. if you're counting hairs you're spending way too much time worrying about it IMO... It could be years before you know if it works, so just don't think about it

 

[Umber]

I started counting hairs to double check that I did in fact go from NW1 to NW2,5 within 6 months. If, as you say, I shouldn't expect any decrease in the amount of hair lost until after a few years, then I'll be a NW6 before then at this rate

 

[g.i joey]

I would give it a couple years before quitting..

You think there's hope for me after almost 15 months lol?

 

[br1]

You think there's hope for me after almost 15 months lol?

Can't tell.... My point is, I know for a fact that the drug takes time to work. And that I saw improvements (still seeing) after years of use.

Another thing: in your case, how can you tell you would not be worse if not on finasteride?

 

[Umber]

You never know if you'd be worse off without the meds, but if you're still losing hair at a fast pace on them, wouldn't it be better to just get off them and shorten the painful transition period? Just shave it all off and be done with it rather than trying to drag it on despite continued recession

 

[g.i joey]

Can't tell.... My point is, I know for a fact that the drug takes time to work. And that I saw improvements (still seeing) after years of use.

Another thing: in your case, how can you tell you would not be worse if not on finasteride?

Well thats the thing, overall its done a decent job at maintaining, the only thing ive really lost the past year is a couple whispy hairs along my hairline, but those hairs ended up leaving a pretty solid bare spot at the tip of my hairline.

Also, based on where my dad was at at 25 im blessed, he was straight up nw4-nw5 and im nw2.5 diffused. I guess what im asking is, even if i saw my hair get a little worst but overall maintained, can i at least still have expectations of my overall hair getting healthier/thickening up a bit in the next year?

 

[br1]

Well thats the thing, overall its done a decent job at maintaining, the only thing ive really lost the past year is a couple whispy hairs along my hairline, but those hairs ended up leaving a pretty solid bare spot at the tip of my hairline.

Also, based on where my dad was at at 25 im blessed, he was straight up nw4-nw5 and im nw2.5 diffused. I guess what im asking is, even if i saw my hair get a little worst but overall maintained, can i at least still have expectations of my overall hair getting healthier/thickening up a bit in the next year?

OK I got you.

Well I think that's a good outcome then.. I feel the same.. My dad was totally bald by age 20. Off course I also have the genetics of my mom's side in the mix. I am a diffuse so what happened was that my hair overall recovered in density (but nothing crazy), and has maintained or slightly better over a decade and a half. You should be able to maintain it as well since you are already.

I believe for some people, they just keep loosing despite using finasteride.

 

[Finjunkie]

Joey, glad you're mostly maintaining. As far as growth, I wouldn't count on it. I've been on finasteride for a bit over 5 years and my hair looks exactly the same. Large majority of guys maintain on finasteride, the ones that gain a cosmetically significant amount of hair are somewhat rare.

In the studies a lot of guys gained hair but it's better to look at "cosmetically significant" gains since we're unlikely to notice the small improvements outside the study due to lack of controls and measurement equipment.

Still, some guys gained hair consistently until the end of the ten year study, so it's definitely possible.

I would wait it out for a few years and if you're not happy at least the finasteride will very likely preserve plenty of hair for a hair transplant to get you back to NW2 or less. That's my attitude at least. Plus, after some years you'll notice that most guys are losing hair and (if finasteride works for you) you're not losing any. I went from a bad hairline at 24 to a great head of hair at 30 because it's relative to your age group

 

[g.i joey]

I believe for some people, they just keep loosing despite using finasteride.

I'm worried that that's my case as I
Managed to lose some ground on hairline in the past year, but I too have read about people only noticing finasteride was working in their 2nd year. Thanks for the info though man, I guess the only thing I can do is be patient at this point.

 

[g.i joey]

Joey, glad you're mostly maintaining. As far as growth, I wouldn't count on it. I've been on finasteride for a bit over 5 years and my hair looks exactly the same. Large majority of guys maintain on finasteride, the ones that gain a cosmetically significant amount of hair are somewhat rare.

In the studies a lot of guys gained hair but it's better to look at "cosmetically significant" gains since we're unlikely to notice the small improvements outside the study due to lack of controls and measurement equipment.

Still, some guys gained hair consistently until the end of the ten year study, so it's definitely possible.

I would wait it out for a few years and if you're not happy at least the finasteride will very likely preserve plenty of hair for a hair transplant to get you back to NW2 or less. That's my attitude at least. Plus, after some years you'll notice that most guys are losing hair and (if finasteride works for you) you're not losing any. I went from a bad hairline at 24 to a great head of hair at 30 because it's relative to your age group

Man I don't give a f*** about regrowth I'm realistic with my expectations but I thought at this point the overall quality of my hair would have improved... enough to at least not see through my hairline before I style it. My hair looks pretty decent, at least decent enough for me to be ok with it when styled; but before I put product in it sh*t looks soooo thin.

I definitely agree, I'm way more content with my hairline and it staying this way considering I'm 25 now, when I was 23 and not on meds I was sooooo f*****g depressed about the future of my hair.