Just got my finasteride today, I need advice

[KP26]

Heres the rundown. I am 26. My dad, uncles, cousins and brother are either bald, balding or thinning. My mom also is thinning. About 8 months ago I noticed I was thinning. I saw an ad for the loreal daily thickening shampoo. It worked so well for me that I forgot I was thinning. About 2-3 months ago, I got out of the shower and I could see my scalp. Thats when I started to pay attention to each and every hair in the bathtub. From that day until today I really cant say that I have seen more then 10 or so hairs in the bathtub. I came to this site and did some research and was scared about what I was potentially going to haveto do for the rest of m life. So like an idiot I avoided the issue. About a month ago my scalp was itching pretty bad. I came to this site and learned of Nizoral. I went to the drugstore and picked up some nizoral 1%. Now as far as my hair goes, my hairline is fine. I dont think its receded at all. From the front of my head to the back of the top of my head is thinning. Its noticable to me, but probably others as well. I comb my hair forward and its kind of spiky so for the most part I cant tell im thinning but get me under the right light, and its obvious to me.

21 days ago I ordered Finpecia 1mg made by cipila from the unitedpharmacies website. I ordered 6 months worth because from what I can read, within those 6 months I shoud know if this works or not. Today I got my package. I am really nervous about taking it but I want to be proactive instead of asking myself questions later about why I didnt start when I should have. I know of the sides and I am prepared to deal with them if that happens. If they come up, I can quit finasteride and move on. On a side note, when I was a about 12 years old or so, I noticed that I had these little lumps in my breast tissue. I went to the Doctor and they said it wasnt cancer. Over the years it went away but Im wondering if im more susceptible to getting this again while on finasteride.

So right now, this is my routine. For the last month or so I have been taking a daily vitamin. Centrum Performance 1 time a day (the gnc mega man all everything vitamin is coming in the mail). In that same time I have also been applying Nizoral about 3 times a week and the other days I continue to use the loreal daily thickening shampoo. The demand of my job keep me in good physical shape. Should I add in Rogaine? In my perfect world I am imagining that my routine will be enough but whats your opinion. If I take finasteride now and shed and then start taking minoxidil, will I shed again. Does each product produce there own individual sheds? Is there a recommended time to take my finasteride and can I take my vitamins the same time that I take my finasteride tab. When I was in high school I had pretty back acne, bad enough to the point where I was put on accutane. It was the worst time of my life emotionally. Accutane made me absolutely depressed and lazy but it cleared me right up. Now in to my adult life I still get the occasional breakout which I treat with benzyol peroxide. I read somewhere on this forum the bodybuilders take pantothenic acid to prevent oilyness and therefore prevent acne. The funny thing is, that I think since I have been taking my vitamin which has pantothenic acid in it, I think my breakouts have become more common.


Is there any other advice that you guys could give me that could help me out. Even just an overall view of my situation would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for anyone that takes the time to respond.

 

[Jack23-]

I'd personally recommend the big 3 asap -

Finasteride 1mg daily
minoxidil 1ml twice, daily
Nizoral Shampoo
Along with -

Another hair friendly shampoo for the other days
Omega-3 - 1 daily
MSM 1000mg daily
And Vit C 500mg daily

This is the best you can do. As for your acne i doubt it would flare up again as it was probably just a side effect of puberty in your teens.

I was in the same boat as you and built finasteride up in my head to be this evil drug but i finally got on it and have suffered no side effects whatsoever. I'd definitely at least give it a try otherwise your going to be more depressed when your hair gets to the point where it is blatantly obvious your balding. :freaked:


You can get the minoxidil by Kirkland for cheap off Ebay, The finasteride from inhouse and the minerals cheap from any health store.

 

[KP26]

Thanks Jack for responding back. I have a few questions for you. How are you doing on your regimine. How long did it take for you to notice results. Also, do you think you would have had the same results if any, without the minoxidil. Is there a time when you find out if your a good responder to finasteride, that could lead you in a direction to make the decision whether to use minoxidil or not with finasteride.
As far as the minoxidil goes, I dont think I would be opposed to it but I hear a lot of people on this site talk about how strong the smell is and I really dont want to walk around smelling like a flower shop. I guess I'll do what I haveto do, but I want to see what I absolutely haveto do to get good results without crossing over into the zone where I try everything all at once.

 

[mj9]

kirkland minoxidil does not smell of anything once applied to the scalp...
rogaine minoxidil foam has a smell but its smells nice..

i was in your situation a few years ago but i went on ignoring the problem until obvious/horrible bald head! anyway now i m on big 3 and its working... i also regret i never started treatment a couple of years ago... if i had i would not have to go through the last two years of depression and feeling sorry for myself....

anyway get on the big 3 and you will thank us later....

 

[Jack23-]

KP26, I have only been on finasteride for a month and i did the first month on 0.5mg (i bought a pill cutter for a dollar off e-bay) I did 0.5mg for my own peace of mind as i myself feared the drug and what not, so i took it slow and did 0.5mg, suffered no side effects, however, i did have breast tenderness for a week, i rode this out and now i am fine and my chest hasn't changed since i began (it is still totally flat)

I'm now taking 1mg with no side effects. It's still too early for results but i can say that when i apply minoxidil there are about 2 to 3 hairs on my hands when i'm finished whereas before finasteride there was about 20.

I have learned that taking minoxidil on it's own hasn't really done much as i still slowly lost hair (i've been on minoxidil 7 months) although it might of slowed the process down? If i were you, i'd get on finasteride asap and see how that goes for three months then add minoxidil. Or just get on both now and fight it the best you can. In my experience, i wouldn't recommend just getting on minoxidil on it's own, as it did bog all for me, but i'm continuing to take it now i'm on finasteride to stimulate growth.

I'd say that you'd need 3 months to see if your responding well to finasteride, maybe more?

I hope this helps.

 

[KP26]

Thanks to everyone that responded. I started finasteride on Thursday. I never thought I would be so anxious about taking pills but I was. I put my fears to the side and started my first pill. I know im only in a few days, but so far so good. My gnc mulit vit came in, so I added that to the mix. So right now, its finasteride, nizoral, and vitamins. I am really still up in the air about the minoxidil just for the fact that when you go onto the propecia site you see great results from just the pill by itself. Now I know that of course there only going to show the best results but it gives me hope that I can be one of those people. Even reading up on this site, you come across quite a few people that say that finasteride works great without the rogaine. I am realllllllllllllly up in the air on getting the rogaine. I think I just might buy it and if I get a feeling to use it, then mabye i'll start. I think i'll get the foam. If i could put it on first thing in the morning before I go to work and by the time I get there, i didnt smell like a flower shop, I would probably go for it. Same thing goes for nighttime. But more then that, I hate the idea of having to apply it everyday. Even though Im sure it only takes a few minutes, its just so much easier to pop a pill for the rest of your life then it is to haveto mess with rogaine. I have never tried it, but thats the impression I get. Maybe if I start rogaine, my whole perception will change. Otherwise I think I will ride out the finasteride for a month or 2 and see where im at. I hope I don't sound like an idiot. I haveto believe that guys just starting this whole process, think the way i'm thinking, at least initally. Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[FreeloaderUK]

finasteride isnt evil

 

[Jack23-]

There are a few Minoxs that are designed to be applied only once a day, check those out if you don't wanna be doing it twice a day. unk:

 

[bubka]

I would not suggest minoxidil, stick with finasteride and nizoral, or you need a little extra, go for it then

 

[KP26]

Hi, Bubka, thanks for responding. Well I ordered minoxidil today from ebay. I got the month supply of the foam. I think its going be one of those things that I put under the bed for awhile until I see if im getting any results from the finasteride. The thing thats scares me at the moment is that I know that im thinning and eventually will be bald. Thats a fact. Now the problem I am having is, if the finasteride that I ordered online is fake then I will only go backwards for the next 6 months because essentially I will be taking a sugar pill and using nizoral every 3 days which im sure you'll agree is a waste of time. Whereas with the minoxidil, I know its legit rogaine foam so at least I would be doing something instead of do nothing with a fake. I guess there isnt any way to tell if my stuff is legit so I guess I'll wait for any side effects. From what I read, it seems like the watery jizz is the sign that its legit so I'll be checking for it. I ordered my finasteride from unitedpharmacies. The box looks legit. It says Finasteride Tablets USP 1MG Finpecia and its made my Cipla. On the back of the box there is a little black printed type stamp. It says
Rs. {this part is blacked out}
B.NO. KE8023
MFD. MAR.08
EXP. FEB 11

The pill tabs contain 10 pills and it looks good to. I feel good that its legit but you never know. On a side note, I have been taking a multi vit for about a month now and my pee looked normal. I just switched over to the mega men max performance formula and my piss looks exactly like mountain dew. It noticable enough to where it caught my attention. Other then that everything is good so far.

 

[FreeloaderUK]

im on minoxidil, finasteride & nizoral.

I went on finasteride first but having read around- finasteride is best for maintaining hair, minoxidil is good for regrowth. all i need is for the minoxidil to thicken up parts of my hairline a bit. I realise ill have to keep using it like I do with finasteride but its worth it if it works.

 

[KP26]

Hi Freeloader, thanks for the response. I have a question for you. I just recently started using finasteride but I have been using Nizoral for about a month. The other day in the bathtub I noticed little short, thick, black hairs in the bathtub. My hair is naturally light, maybe dirty blondish so I was a little surprised to see those hairs in the bathtub. They are definelty different from the normal hairs that I lose the bathtub because the ones in the bathub are usually pretty long and light in color. Any idea about what I might be experiencing. Or could I just be paying to much attention to the bathub and not to worry.

 

[KP26]

I just got my shippment of Rogaine Foam today. I got 3 months worth. I looked over this website today and while I dont know if I need rogaine at this point or not, I think im gonna try it just because I am not sure if the finasteride is real, and at least this way, I am doing something. I think I am going to try it one time a day, just at night before I go to bed. My question is, if the finasteride is real and ends up regrowing hair for me, is there a point that I will know that the finasteride is working and that its all I need at which point I can get off of the minoxidil.

 

[FreeloaderUK]

well it will take several months for the finasteride to work- if it does regrow hair then im betting atleast 6months- a year before u can see its full effects.