Hello everyone,
I’m 23 and I’ve been lurking around this forum for what seems like forever now (about a year and a half I guess) trying to figure out what to do with what is quickly becoming a very bad receding hairline and what (if my uncles are anything to go by,) will eventually be a norwood 5 by my 40s. At first like a lot of people I blamed any external factor I could think of; I thought it was due to stress or smoking or something I was/wasn’t eating, but I finally came out of denial and came round to the idea that pretty much the only real way of tackling this problem effectively is with the big 3, or at least the big 2. At the moment my hair can be styled so as to hide my hairline, but I give it another 4-6 months before it becomes a Norwood 3 and will no longer be able to hide. The hair I have is thick as hell, and I (so far) have no male pattern baldness on the crown, but the temples need sorting out/slowing down. To be honest I would be happy if I was able to maintain what I have now. Anyway…
So here I am, just got back from travelling, and staring at a 6 month supply of Finpecia (united pharmacies) and to be honest I’m sh*t scared, and would really appreciate some advice before I jump on this lifetime commitment. (My plan is (assuming I get on finasteride) to just take finasteride and nizoral for a year and see where I am at that point, maybe add minoxidil after a year.)
FIRSTLY: SHEDDING: There is so much contradictory accounts on this forum about shedding. Some people say ride it out, some say stop if you shed, some say it’s a good thing, some says the shed hair doesn’t come back some says it grows back thicker etc.
I don’t mind about shedding IF it’ll grow back, I’m quite a strong willed person and will be able to push through even a massive shed ASSUMING IT’LL GROW BACK. What have been your experiences of sheds on finpecia/propecia and what advice could you give someone starting out? Are Sheds good or bad?
SECONDLY: Side-effects: This is the thing that has got me the most concerned. For every success story I’ve read that’s inspired me to get on finasteride, there’s been another about bad side effects (ED, no libido, worse) that has but me right off. I know this stuff differs from person to person and I guess people who experience side effects post more, but it seems a lot of men do suffer side effects from this stuff, more so than the supposedly 2% of users according to official studies. My question would be, first how many men, say on this forum, are taking finasteride with no side effects? Is it a common thing or are they the lucky ones? Should I be getting any tests done first like bloodwork or hormone tests before I start taking finasteride?
Also on a more practical note, there is a lot of contradictory information about what to do when sides occur (cut down your dose, ride it out, stop immediately, take zinc supplements) and I really want to be prepared so I don’t panic and stop the meds before they work or conversely carry on doing potentially damaging stuff to my body. So yeah what in your experience is there to say about side effects? Am I making a big fuss about nothing ? Or is there a good chance of side effects occurring and if so, what would your advice be? By side effects I’m largely referring to ED, loss of libido and/or anything worse…
Sorry about all these open-ended questions but I’m just looking to clarify a couple of things that seem to contradict one another on the forums, and to put my mind at rest relatively so that I have a well informed plan should shedding or side effects occur, and so I can make a final decision as to whether I should jump on finasteride or not. If any of these questions are answered in other bits of the forum could you post a link. Thanks a lot in advance guys.
(wow, post was longer than I thought, apologies about the dodgy English)
I’m 23 and I’ve been lurking around this forum for what seems like forever now (about a year and a half I guess) trying to figure out what to do with what is quickly becoming a very bad receding hairline and what (if my uncles are anything to go by,) will eventually be a norwood 5 by my 40s. At first like a lot of people I blamed any external factor I could think of; I thought it was due to stress or smoking or something I was/wasn’t eating, but I finally came out of denial and came round to the idea that pretty much the only real way of tackling this problem effectively is with the big 3, or at least the big 2. At the moment my hair can be styled so as to hide my hairline, but I give it another 4-6 months before it becomes a Norwood 3 and will no longer be able to hide. The hair I have is thick as hell, and I (so far) have no male pattern baldness on the crown, but the temples need sorting out/slowing down. To be honest I would be happy if I was able to maintain what I have now. Anyway…
So here I am, just got back from travelling, and staring at a 6 month supply of Finpecia (united pharmacies) and to be honest I’m sh*t scared, and would really appreciate some advice before I jump on this lifetime commitment. (My plan is (assuming I get on finasteride) to just take finasteride and nizoral for a year and see where I am at that point, maybe add minoxidil after a year.)
FIRSTLY: SHEDDING: There is so much contradictory accounts on this forum about shedding. Some people say ride it out, some say stop if you shed, some say it’s a good thing, some says the shed hair doesn’t come back some says it grows back thicker etc.
I don’t mind about shedding IF it’ll grow back, I’m quite a strong willed person and will be able to push through even a massive shed ASSUMING IT’LL GROW BACK. What have been your experiences of sheds on finpecia/propecia and what advice could you give someone starting out? Are Sheds good or bad?
SECONDLY: Side-effects: This is the thing that has got me the most concerned. For every success story I’ve read that’s inspired me to get on finasteride, there’s been another about bad side effects (ED, no libido, worse) that has but me right off. I know this stuff differs from person to person and I guess people who experience side effects post more, but it seems a lot of men do suffer side effects from this stuff, more so than the supposedly 2% of users according to official studies. My question would be, first how many men, say on this forum, are taking finasteride with no side effects? Is it a common thing or are they the lucky ones? Should I be getting any tests done first like bloodwork or hormone tests before I start taking finasteride?
Also on a more practical note, there is a lot of contradictory information about what to do when sides occur (cut down your dose, ride it out, stop immediately, take zinc supplements) and I really want to be prepared so I don’t panic and stop the meds before they work or conversely carry on doing potentially damaging stuff to my body. So yeah what in your experience is there to say about side effects? Am I making a big fuss about nothing ? Or is there a good chance of side effects occurring and if so, what would your advice be? By side effects I’m largely referring to ED, loss of libido and/or anything worse…
Sorry about all these open-ended questions but I’m just looking to clarify a couple of things that seem to contradict one another on the forums, and to put my mind at rest relatively so that I have a well informed plan should shedding or side effects occur, and so I can make a final decision as to whether I should jump on finasteride or not. If any of these questions are answered in other bits of the forum could you post a link. Thanks a lot in advance guys.
(wow, post was longer than I thought, apologies about the dodgy English)