Nearing 6 Months Finasteride And Worried

[Fatherbalding17]

Hey all, 22 years old and started finasteride around mid January. Growing up I always had thick hair l, but figured genetically it wouldn't last forever. My mom would always joke that I had hair just like her father as a kid, and he was noticeable balding in his mid 20s. Father lost in his mid-30s, but still has some hair on top (albeit not too much) at 52. Around December I noticed my temple were receding and density was not as good as it once was. Nobody could tell I was losing, but when I ran my hand through my hair for 30 seconds I was getting 50+ hairs. I noticed itching around this time, but I have OCD and I'm sure rubbing my scalp constantly checking for hairs didn't help. Took the plunge on finasteride, and first 2.5 months were fine. Had watery semen and somewhat weaker erections, but I stopped constantly checking my hair. It seemed as though it was slowing down and the itch stopped, but I wasn't checking as compulsively. At 2.5 months I checked in the sink, and I was losing a ton of hair. Shortly after the itching returned with a vengeance, and I was shedding hair from all over. I get itching in particular areas and if I tug that area during the itch I can usually pull out a hair or two/ 2.5 months later and it's still happening, although the itch and shed is not as severe as it initially was. My density has gone down, but luckily no real visible bald spot yet. I've also noticed that this shed coincided with my sides subsiding, and I fear that I may be experiencing the dreaded hyperandrogenecity because of the itch and my libido feeing relatively higher. The only positive about this is that the shed started at around the three month mark, which i heard is the most common time for it to start. The itch is still there, but it's not constant all day (best days are when I use nizoral). The hairs I'm shedding now are mostly thin and small, where at the begInning I was shedding thicker hair (another reason I'm worried). Sorry for the rant, but any reassurance from shedders who recovered would be great right about now.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Bumping this....anyone out there?

 

[dralex]

Impossible for us to say. Could be a shed and you may see regrowth, or it could be normal male pattern baldness. Pics would help us assess your situation.

 

[N003]

Hey, ho...no stress

I'm also on finasteride since 5 months without any results, but my doctor told me i just must wait minimum 1 year .

What I try to tell you:
You need patience, a lot of patience

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Yea I know patience is key it's just tough; luckily the itch has been slowly going down for the past month (hopefully continues). @dralex i don't have pictures from the beginning because my phone had gotten erased, but my density is down a bit for sure. My shedding is going down as well, but it seems as though I'm shedding some very small or kinked hairs but less terminal. I never saw these hairs when the shed started as some of them are even a centimeter long. Not sure if its male pattern baldness or the shed

 

[Bagels]

Not really any point stopping finasteride now. You'll have lost that hair for nothing. Stick with it for at least a year.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Yea I know, but the itching makes me feel as though it could have just sped up my male pattern baldness. Another really weird thing I noticed is where I can feel an itch or tingle, I can pull out a hair or two. If i pull on an area that does not itch, the hair can usually not be pulled out. Could this be Telogen Effluvium, in my head, or just very aggressive male pattern baldness?

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Has anyone had a similar experience who stayed on the drug and this condition improved. I'm scared that if I stay on it at this point I am just gonna continue to lose hair rapidly

 

[Stereo]

I am 4 months on finasteride 3 of those i have been shedding like crazy with itching on and off and every time an itch would return i would lose more ground around my temples and front soon after.
Crown has also thinned considerably.
It's scary how much better i was 4 months ago before i started with finasteride and at this point i am afraid finasteride won't work for me.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

I am 4 months on finasteride 3 of those i have been shedding like crazy with itching on and off and every time an itch would return i would lose more ground around my temples and front soon after.
Crown has also thinned considerably.
It's scary how much better i was 4 months ago before i started with finasteride and at this point i am afraid finasteride won't work for me.

We need someone to tell us that they went through something similar and recovered, but those who were posting on the forum after experiencing this are likely gone for good if it subsided. How does your scalp feel?

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Anyone else? Seriously starting to consider quitting as the itching and increased libido seem like clear signs of hyperandrogenecity

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Nobody?

 

[abba]

I've been on finasteride for almost two years, i had a few periods where i was having considerable shedding and kept thinking my condition was getting worse. HOWEVER when i compare the picture of my hairline from the first month to the most recent one i see that i maintained. Didn't get much improvement, but halted further loss. I've seen someone on the forum say the hair cycle is 3 year period, going by that i'd say both my hair and yours are going to improve a little bit before it peaks.

Also, dropping finasteride now is very likely going to be a mistake. your hair will not only get worse without it and there isn't really any good alternatives to it, besides stronger anti androgens. I'm willing to bet it's all on your mind and If you haven't taken any pictures to compare then do so now. Make sure to have a picture of your hair to have a baseline for the future and see if you gain or lose ground while on finasteride. If you're unsure whether you've diffused or not, you can shave your hair to see if it has diffused or not, and how bad it really is.

 

[Vanitykills]

For me while on Propecia, recovery of miniaturised hair from dht has taken many, many cycles. At 2 years there was no improvement. Been on it 5 years now and the quality of hair is still improving, albeit, incredibly slow.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

@Vanitykills @abba thanks for the reassurance: is feel a lot better if the itching sensation wasn't there, but I'm praying it could be psychosomatic. Did either of you experience this type of sensation?

 

[Dante92]

It depends. In my case, propecia didn't help my front hair/hairline AT ALL. It just keeps receding.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Ok another couple things I've been noticing. My eyebrows have also been itching and shedding a bit, and now I'm itching more on my sideburns and nape of neck. My libido also seems higher than usual, but can't tell how much that's in my head. Anybody experience this?

 

[abba]

Apologies for the late reply, but from what i know itching is one of the biggest signs that you're losing hair. I do not have itch anymore (but had it before i started finasteride). And if i'm not mistaken it's a sign of inflammation in the scalp, which is a symptom of hairloss. this isn't decisive proof, but it could very well mean that your body has upregulated and so finasteride stopped working. I can see how much this is bothering you, so PLEASE go to a hairloss specialist as soon as you can. He'll give you a proper diagnosis with a few tests, and help you more than we can.

I have spikes of libido as well from time to time. Had a period where i had much higher libido than usual during the first month on finasteride but it normalized afterwards. It doesn't mean anything as far as i can tell.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

@abba @WTS3 yea I get what you guys are saying, definitely looking for someone to say it's OK regardless of what I'm feeling haha. The thing is that it's gotten better, and there is no redness on my scalp. I want to listen to everyone saying to give it a year, and I really want to, but I also obviously don't want to lose more hair in the process. I noticed that the itching only happens when a hair is easily able to come out (I.e. where it itches I pull and it comes out easily), and if I pull where my hair is not currently itching nothing comes out. So makes me think it could be my scalp is hypersensitive to large shedding which could be the propecia shed as I've always had sensitive skin as I bruise and i get sun burn quite easily (reading that again makes me sound insanely desperate lol). The thing that worries me the most about all of this is that it stated happening 3 months after, which coincided with my sides completely vanishing (supports the theory of upregulation). Guess I'm wondering how much longer to give it, if at all, to deem it innefective and drop the treatment.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Also in regards to diet, I eat super clean and have for years (limited carbs to only whole grains, high protein, healthy fats, almost no sugar) and i weight lift. I also got into the bad habit of constantly rubbing and pulling my hair, which I feel could have contributed to the irritation. He hair is also coming out from the back and sides, so I have so many conflicting reports that I've read of what it could be and I just don't know which direction to follow.