Question about finasteride for older guys

[NYK155]

I'm 45 and considering going on finasteride. A little about me, I'm receding in temples and starting to see advanced thinning on top. Been thinning rather quickly and wanted to do something to put the brakes on the thinning. I don't have the patience for the minoxidil. The thing that has scared me off the most is the posts about the guys who shed like crazy and claim their hair got worse. I don't shed a lot now (never more than 10 hairs). Could that be an indication of what I can expect on finasteride? I've read about guys that shed 100 hairs in the shower. Are they just more prone to shed than me? Should I not let the scare of the shed and thinning prevent me from starting? I have a prescription in my bedroom that I can't pull the trigger on.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Samson123]

Unfortunately, no one can predict how you will react to finasteride. The only to know is to try it. I'm 45 too and tried finasteride and had a negative response and I'm well below baseline now. It's supposedly a flat dose response drug and any dose is supposed to inhibit

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Sorry, any dose above .25 mg is supposed to inhibit the same amount of dht as doses as high as 5 mg. While my reaction is rare I think starting at a lower dose, such as .25 or .5 mg would be the safer route to go. I also think that guys who experience hairloss in their forties maybe don't have high dht levels to begin with so they might be better off using a lower dose. But, with anything related to hairloss meds, nobody can predict how someone will respond. The odds are in your favor though.

 

[Pequod]

You have to accept that you will look worse before you look better, it is the same with a hair transplant. Finasteride is also a money saver down the road because every hair follicle you lose to DHT on top of your head now will cost $2 to $8 to replace later with a hair transplant. For most people it also takes a while to see positive results, this BS that everyone looks better in 3 months is a joke.

I would actually be more worried about the other side effects than shedding. It hit me like a ton of bricks but I stayed on it and actually feel back to normal prior to starting.