Is finasteride really safe? (age 19)

[KRN]

Im 19. I have lost some of my hair near the sides of my forehead and also have a receding hairline. My doctor prescribed me 1mg finasteride and Regaine.
I am quite worried about the finasteride tablets. They seem a bit dangerous and scary ( considering their side effects ). Also, do I have to be on these two meds for life?? If yes, then this fact is also quite troubling to me (considering my age).

So are they really safe? And do I have to really take them forever?

 

[hairmester]

i am 17 and have been taking 1mg finasteride for a month. so far so good, i didn't get any side effects, nor did i get libido problems etc and i think it even helped me build a little muscle (higher testosterone compensation by negative feedback). What worried me the most was the possibility of having elevated liver enzymes. However i ran a blood analysis and everything was in normal parameters. I think finasteride is pretty safe, and so does my derm. i just hope it doesn't kill me over time because i'm planning on sticking to it .

 

[GoldenMane]

All medications have side effects warnings. There is no such thing as a drug that causes no side effects for everyone. Most men who take finasteride are fine, they experience no side effects. Some men do experience side effects, but when they stop taking finasteride they return to normal within a few months.
Your options are:

(a) try finasteride, see if it works and see if casuses any side effects. If you are unlucky you may get side effects, but these will go away when you quit.

Or (b) don't try finasteride, lose your hair, and never know whether finasteride could have helped you or not

Personally I think it's always better to try. If you try, then you might win (the odds are n your favour). If you don't try then you will definitely lose.

No you don't have to take them forever, but finasteride only works as long as you keep taking it. Obviously if you stop taking finasteride, then finasteride stops working for you! No finasteride -> DHT attacks your hair follicles -> balding occurs

Actually, there's no evidence that finasteride does work forever, some men report that it loses its effectiveness after 5-10 years, so maybe in 5 -10 years if they stop working you won't have to take them anymore! Honestly though, I hope I can take them forever and that they never stop working!

 

[XXXXXXX]

Well at your age there is no doubt that there will be better treatments or hopefully some sort of cell based treatment before you're 30.

Your objective now though is to save as much hair as possible. finasteride mostly maintains so if you start off with small visible thinning you'll be fine.

You don't want to get to NW3+ and then jump on it. The sooner the better. No one loves the idea of taking finasteride, but its all we got right now.

 

[c_super2]

Im 19. I have lost some of my hair near the sides of my forehead and also have a receding hairline. My doctor prescribed me 1mg finasteride and Regaine.
I am quite worried about the finasteride tablets. They seem a bit dangerous and scary ( considering their side effects ). Also, do I have to be on these two meds for life?? If yes, then this fact is also quite troubling to me (considering my age).

So are they really safe? And do I have to really take them forever?

The side effects aren't permanent. If you take the drug and get sexual sides just stop. ANd not everyone gets them. I take finasteride and I am fine.

 

[anxious1]

if ur unlucky and u get sides, i wouldnt call them dangerous anyway. they will not kill u. they may decrease ur quality of life though. i would call them annoying, not dangerous.