Should I continue with Propecia if I am not loosing hair

[ChrisJOwen]

Hi Guys,

Ive been using minoxidil and Propecia for about 6months now, and I haven't really notice much of a difference tbh. I am going to continue all the same, and using the odd bit of Toppik is fine for now.

My question is about Propecia/finasteride, and if there is any point in me taking it, what with all the scare stories out there.

So I've never (as far as I know) noticed any hairloss when showering etc... I can grow hair down to my knees if I want, but other than on hell of a widows peak (been there all my life) it seems to grow everywhere. My main problem is that the hair that I do grow is very thin and see through on the top/front of my head. It's clearly noticeable, especially without the Toppik.

So from what I have read the minoxidil should hopefully, eventually help thicken my hair and finasteride is for stopping hair fall out. But as I dont have this problem, should I stick with finasteride/propecia?

Cheers, Chris.

 

[Paladine]

If you've been using propecia for 6 months without sides you might want to stick with it. At that point I believe you shouldn't have to worry about sides and if nothing else is should be helping prevent further thinning and loss. Sometimes regrowth takes longer to show up too.

Good luck!

 

[Rawtashk]

First off, how do you know how many hairs you're losing? You need to get a plastic hair catch for your tub drain so that you catch ALL the hairs you lose in the shower. The metal ones with the big holes don't catch anymore than 20ish% of the hairs.

Secondly, sometimes it takes quite a while to notice the regrowth. Me on the left here is about 15 months after starting propecia. Me on the right is about 3 years of being on propecia.

As you can see, sometimes it just takes time

 

[Wuffer]

Damn Rawtashk I didn't see those two pictures before, you are a very good responder to finasteride. My hairline was almost exactly the same as yours when you started, but my current results after 1.5 years are about half way between your two pictures. Did you notice any further growth / thickening during the second 1.5 years?

That being said, my biggest concern was my crown which was starting to thin pretty badly.. It's almost completely filled in now, which is great. I hope for more thickening in the front, but I don't know how much more I will get with continued finasteride use. As with you, I only wish I hadn't deliberated starting on finasteride for as long as I did. If I had started on it the moment I noticed my hair was starting to thin (as was my plan before becoming so discouraged when I found propeciahelp) I would still likely have my NW1 hairline.

 

[ChrisJOwen]

Cheers Guys,

As for finasteride sides, I did initially notice a difference (in the area of main concern) for the first few weeks, but nothing that concerned me too much. Since then I haven't really had much of a second though about it. TBH the price was more of a driver for me stopping than the sides.

@Rawtashk, good point... I don't know for sure that I am not loosing hair, but it's definitively nothing noticeable i.e. big clumps of hair coming out in the shower etc...

I read that thinning hair is a natural process for most people my age (31). And I am still not convinced that I am heading towards male pattern baldness. I had wondered if I might have other issues i.e. Thyroid problem, but I recently had that checked with no issues.

I'll stick with the finasteride for now, and give it the full year, if I really don't see any difference then I'll likely drop it, but continue with the minoxidil.

I do also see people taking saw palmetto extract, what is this, and should I add to my routine?

Chris.