So I'm taking a quarter tablet a day, and I've been doing that for about 3 months now, and it feels like it's not doing anything. If anything, I feel like the hole in the back of my head is a little more obvious than it was when I first noticed it. Is this par for the course with finasteride, or should I think about increasing to half a tablet in hopes of seeing some more effective results?
Should I increase the amount of finasteride I'm taking?
- Thread starter wanderkid
- Start date
- Reaction score
- 11,939
Finasteride has a flat response curve.
If you're not getting regrowth, you can add a different treatment. Increasing the finasteride response will help you at best by a very, very, very small amount.
If you're not getting regrowth, you can add a different treatment. Increasing the finasteride response will help you at best by a very, very, very small amount.
Interesting. I'd heard that 3 months was about the time I should wait to see if I'd experienced any positive results. How long should I wait before judging then?
I actually didn't know this, but it's actually interesting advice because I'd been having anxiety over whether or not I was taking enough for a few weeks, so it's kind of relieving to know it doesn't matter.
- Reaction score
- 11,939
The response curve of finasteride is nearly flat between 0.20 (maybe even 0.05) mg/day and 5.00 mg/day. As you increase the dose from 0.05 to 5.00 mg/day, you go from 60% to 70% DHT inhibition. 100x more, only 17% more effect.
The variables this refer to are DHT concentrations in the scalp and in the blood. Finasteride's response isn't necessarily flat for other variables, for example it also inhibits other hormones, and it effects the brain. Nobody knows what the response curve of finasteride in the brain is.
I would suggest adding either:
- 2% Nizoral;
- A minoxidil mixed with a RU58851;
- Oral castor oil (~2ml/day) or dermarolling, I don't know what the science is there but a lot of people are claiming success.
The variables this refer to are DHT concentrations in the scalp and in the blood. Finasteride's response isn't necessarily flat for other variables, for example it also inhibits other hormones, and it effects the brain. Nobody knows what the response curve of finasteride in the brain is.
I would suggest adding either:
- 2% Nizoral;
- A minoxidil mixed with a RU58851;
- Oral castor oil (~2ml/day) or dermarolling, I don't know what the science is there but a lot of people are claiming success.
up your dose man im telling you, for some people with slow hair loss they could survive with .25... i tried to and it was a fail. now im a little over 2 months in on 1mg finasteride and just got a haircut today and could definately say im not losing ANY ground now that im on 1mg... id say you could do well by taking .5 each day, i take 1mg 4x a week.
- Reaction score
- 11,939
The clinical data is clear that there is very little difference between 0.25 mg/day and 0.57 mg/day which you're taking now. Most likely your body was taking time to adapt.
no, i actually went from solid nw2 to nw2.5 with .25mg a day. Some people need more to slow down hair loss.
The crown is the easiest spot to get regrowth. There is nothing that works on the temples that won't work on the crown too. There's anecdotal evidence that castor oil works, but minoxidil is superior to anything else for regrowth.
I've thought about minoxidil but everything I've seen says that the percentage of people it works for is much, MUCH smaller than the ones it doesn't work for, and in some cases actually ends up speeding up hair loss.
+1 do this and I'd make sure I'm on brand from merk.
I don't know what that means, but I'm not taking propecia if that's what you mean. I get proscar from CVS cause my insurance doesn't cover it and I can't afford propecia
It works for more people than not, and it works really well for a lot of people.
This study found a response rate of 83% for 5% minoxidil:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3549811
I've never seen any evidence that it speeds up hairloss. People think it does because when they discontinue use they lose hair rapidly, and their hair is worse than before they started using it. The fact is though, they are only losing the hairs that they would've lost if they never took minoxidil to begin with because their baldness would've kept progressing.
I'm doing a bit of research and it looks like it could work for me, early 20s, early hair loss, but I'm afraid of what happens if I lose a handle on the regiment. I'm a musician and part of that is touring in a van with a few guys on an erratic schedule. So I'm gonna wait until the end of this year to see if finasteride and castor oil work on their own. If that doesn't work, then I'll give it a shot.
- Reaction score
- 11,939
Castor oil and minoxidil are not alternatives to one another, they are complementary.
How do you know that when you don't even know how either one of them work?
- Reaction score
- 11,939
Fair enough, but there are more ways for them to be complementary than for them to be identical.
There's no harm in taking both, but if you're only going to take one it should be Minoxidil.
NeedHair101
Member
- Reaction score
- 4
Is it never to late to start finasteride or Minoxidil?