Serious Shedding on finasteride AFTER 6 months?

[plevnik]

I've been on finasteride for almost nine months now. The first six months were just as advertised: at three months, I noticed fewer of those fine hairs falling out; at six months, even fewer. I was really starting to feel like I had nipped the male pattern baldness in the bud (I was 28 with a widow's peak and barely any thinning at the vertex).

But for the last two months, I've noticed many more hairs on my hand after shampooing than I used to. I've gotten a drain trap, and there are something like 50 hairs there a day. What I don't understand is that it's a strange mix of hairs too: long strong ones, short flimsy ones (the ones that made me first realize I was going bald), and also long (1.5 in) but thin ones.

I would say that the overall quality of my hair has basically deteriorated over the same period. I have thick red hair, so it's easy to see that the hair on the very top of my head is blonder and floppier.

Can anyone make sense of this? I know that finasteride doesn't work for everyone, but I know that it was definitely working for me for the first six months. I've read about sheds, but they seem to happen during the first 4 months. I've been using 5% minoxidil more or less consistently for about seven months now. If there's anything unusual about me (other than the color of my hair), it's that my hair is now very long (I haven't cut the top for seven months), meaning that I have to apply lots of minoxidil (seriously, about 20 mL each day) just to get in all the spaces.

So, anybody have serious hair loss on finasteride AFTER it initially seemed to be working? Did the hair ever come back?

 

[Administrator]

Sheds do happen continually throughout treatment. Ride it out. Dont get concerned unless it lasts 6+ weeks or longer.

Admin

 

[douggie]

In 2 weeks I will be at 6 months on Propecia. I have shed ever since after the 1st month, probably even since day 1. Prior to this past week, I would say that I would lose at LEAST 75 hairs in the shower. I figure I lose most of my hair in the shower anyway since I rarely find any anywhere else. This past week, I have lost around 30 hairs in the shower. I would say that it is probably better to lose it gradually rather than have alot of it fall out in a short period of time. I would say that the only actual change I have seen is that my hair is growing ridiculously fast right now. As a young buck, my hair would grow around an inch a month and over the past few years, this has slowed up to about 1/2 inch or less. Since January 1st, I have gained an inch and a quarter in length at the front of my hairline, where I would figure it would grow the slowest. I haven't cut it since July so maybe that has some sort of effect, I have no idea. I can only hope that this means my hair will be growing in at a better rate, but who the hell knows.