Month On finasteride - Hair Shedding And Itching Like Never Before

[checkers2]

Hey Guys,

Like the title says... been on finasteride for roughly a month. Since then ive had on and off itching/burning over my scalp... traditionally where if i run my hand through my hair i get burning.

It seems like its getting better now but im not entirely sure.

I know people report initial shed on finasteride, so thats ok, although my hair line has thinned out since starting and im getting shedding in areas where ive never had loss before in the back and middle regions.

The burn bothers me. I can physically deal with it but ive never had it before. Is it a bad sign? Has anyone else gotten itching AFTER starting finasteride that ends up in good results months down the road?

Please throw me a bone guys...

 

[Samson123]

What is your dosage?

If it's 1 mg or more I would taper down to .5 mg. In case you didn't realize this, finasteride has the opposite effect on some people as it did with me. I started balding hard in places that had no hairloss and in the most male pattern baldness resistant places like the back and sides. What this drug has done to my hair is unreal and it's only after it happened that I scoured the internet looking for similar experiences and, oh, did I find them. Lots of them. Check out buckthorn, Dench57, pjhair on this forum. They know what you are experiencing and yes, it destroyed their hair too.

Anyone who tells you this drug can't make your hair worse is completely full of sh*t.

The symptoms you are experiencing are not a good sign.

The problem seems to be that scalp hair follicles have a high affinity for DHT and for hair that is genetically programmed to 'die' will do everything it can to fulfill its mission. Just because you deprive the hair follicle of the hormone that is 'killing' it by taking finasteride doesn't mean the follicle can't find a workaround. The hair follicle receptors can increase in number and sensitivity to compensate for the lower DHT levels.

This is probably just one of the ways that finasteride can backfire on some men and have the opposite effect. Some experience chronic Telogen Effluvium. I'm not saying that this is what is happening to you but it sure sounds like you are having a bad reaction to it.

Oh, and here is the kicker, when I tapered down from .5 mg to .25 mg and after just one week on .25 mg I lost years worth of hair overnight. It came out in chunks everywhere. The hair in my nape area just evaporated. So keep in mind that this drug can completely change the way your hair follicles respond to DHT and it probably could be permanent even if you quit the drug.

I would first lower your dose to see if that helps. Some people shouldn't even be taking this drug and some definitely don't need the full 1 mg dose. For some, less is more. In japan finasteride is available in .2 mg and 1 mg. A lot of guys just take .25 and that is all they need.

 

[buckthorn]

Hey Guys,

Like the title says... been on finasteride for roughly a month. Since then ive had on and off itching/burning over my scalp... traditionally where if i run my hand through my hair i get burning.

It seems like its getting better now but im not entirely sure.

I know people report initial shed on finasteride, so thats ok, although my hair line has thinned out since starting and im getting shedding in areas where ive never had loss before in the back and middle regions.

The burn bothers me. I can physically deal with it but ive never had it before. Is it a bad sign? Has anyone else gotten itching AFTER starting finasteride that ends up in good results months down the road?

Please throw me a bone guys...

Telogen Effluvium

 

[buckthorn]

What is your dosage?

If it's 1 mg or more I would taper down to .5 mg. In case you didn't realize this, finasteride has the opposite effect on some people as it did with me. I started balding hard in places that had no hairloss and in the most male pattern baldness resistant places like the back and sides. What this drug has done to my hair is unreal and it's only after it happened that I scoured the internet looking for similar experiences and, oh, did I find them. Lots of them. Check out buckthorn, Dench57, pjhair on this forum. They know what you are experiencing and yes, it destroyed their hair too.

Anyone who tells you this drug can't make your hair worse is completely full of sh*t.

The symptoms you are experiencing are not a good sign.

The problem seems to be that scalp hair follicles have a high affinity for DHT and for hair that is genetically programmed to 'die' will do everything it can to fulfill its mission. Just because you deprive the hair follicle of the hormone that is 'killing' it by taking finasteride doesn't mean the follicle can't find a workaround. The hair follicle receptors can increase in number and sensitivity to compensate for the lower DHT levels.

This is probably just one of the ways that finasteride can backfire on some men and have the opposite effect. Some experience chronic Telogen Effluvium. I'm not saying that this is what is happening to you but it sure sounds like you are having a bad reaction to it.

Oh, and here is the kicker, when I tapered down from .5 mg to .25 mg and after just one week on .25 mg I lost years worth of hair overnight. It came out in chunks everywhere. The hair in my nape area just evaporated. So keep in mind that this drug can completely change the way your hair follicles respond to DHT and it probably could be permanent even if you quit the drug.

I would first lower your dose to see if that helps. Some people shouldn't even be taking this drug and some definitely don't need the full 1 mg dose. For some, less is more. In japan finasteride is available in .2 mg and 1 mg. A lot of guys just take .25 and that is all they need.

read this dude and take it very seriously. Myself, and many, MANY others have experienced what you're talking about. I am not trying to scare you. Be smart and grind that sh*t up and start with a VERY small dose.

 

[checkers2]

Hey Guys,

I did start off with a smaller dose and ramped up. Technically I guess ive been on for 2 months.

I have read a few other stories and generally people that stick with it do even out and recover... but it can take awhile. And i know some people never do and it just gets worse.

I am going to try and not focus on this, take the pill and give it for as long as i can. I am not going to adjust the dose.

If anything it'll be a little study for you guys for later.

Thanks a lot for all your responses.

 

[Samson123]

Hey Guys,

I did start off with a smaller dose and ramped up. Technically I guess ive been on for 2 months.

I have read a few other stories and generally people that stick with it do even out and recover... but it can take awhile. And i know some people never do and it just gets worse.

I am going to try and not focus on this, take the pill and give it for as long as i can. I am not going to adjust the dose.

If anything it'll be a little study for you guys for later.

Thanks a lot for all your responses.

Let me ask you, did you have these side effects from the beginning while you were tapering on or did they appear after you reached 1 mg?

Keep us updated on your experience.

Good luck.

 

[checkers2]

Let me ask you, did you have these side effects from the beginning while you were tapering on or did they appear after you reached 1 mg?

Keep us updated on your experience.

Good luck.

Will do. Regarding dosage and the itch, i dont recall exactly but i think slight itching shedding has been around since i started finasteride. However before that I was coming off a 4 month trial of Saw Palmetto... i didnt see any positive changes in hair although not much negative either. I sort of wish i gave it more time. Since stopping that one day and starting finasteride the next my frontal area lost density and the shed happened. Strange isnt it?

 

[michel sapin]

bro keep taking 1 mg for 1 year and try to forget the itch . if it is really worse then quit propecia.

 

[buckthorn]

Hey Guys,

I did start off with a smaller dose and ramped up. .

What do you consider a "small dose" though? that's the important question. Finasteride has a very flat response curve.. meaning that anything above like .2 mg (don't quote me on this exactly) has the same influence in the body. By small, I am talking like .1 mg or even lower. I've tried a couple different dosages. 1.25mg gave me Telogen Effluvium and crazy itch and burning. .5mg gave me the same burning. Right now I am attempting .05mg every OTHER day. we will see.

 

[buckthorn]

bro keep taking 1 mg for 1 year and try to forget the itch . if it is really worse then quit propecia.

Dude, I have to say I disagree with this advice. You're taking a medication that's supposed to RELIEVE the scalp and halt male pattern baldness... and it's INFLAMING the scalp and making it worst. Why in God's name should he not reconsider? Sure, stay on 1mg for another couple months. Perhaps it's a weird fluke and it will resolve. Stay on it for a year? With burning and itching? f*** no man. You will end up like me and many others on here. LISTEN TO YOUR SCALP. IT'S WHERE YOUR HAIR FOLLICLES LIVE!!!

 

[michel sapin]

i know bro , me too i have itchy scalp despite on fina . But 1 month is so early on fina , maybe he is just adjusting , he need to give it more time , maybe the itch will stop and he will be lucky to have result

 

[checkers2]

i'm going to give it time - try not to get too paranoid... get involved in other things like working on my car and such. When im alone and have time to think is when the scalp is most irritable

 

[checkers2]

small update. Havnt changed dose. 1mg of finasteride everyday. 1 x minoxidil app a day. Burning/itching is almost completely gone and shedding has decreased a lot... maybe down to normal levels. My hair line has taken a beating and my scalp itself is more see through then when i started though. Hoping this is the start of the turning point.

Now heres the thing... for the first month of finasteride I was using expired meds... like years expired. It was the 5mg i was quartering. Thats when the burn first started. Around March 13th is when i got my new 1mg prescription. A month later is when the burning stopped.

So do i count that first month of expired finasteride usage? Or is March 13th my finasteride start date? Im not sure.

 

[Dench57]

So you've been taking it since early Feb altogether? And the burning stopped mid-April? Such a weird drug. Some people like @buckthorn had inflammation for a solid year on it, others it seems to clear up after a few months.