Hey guys, so here's my story. I'm in my early twenties, and started mildly diffuse thinning at 20; I'm 22 now. At the age of 21, I noticed that I was starting to thin as I was able to see my scalp in the shower when I slicked it back- when I was 19, there would be no scalp showing, even when wet and slicked back. I went to a dermatologist the year after once I felt that it was getting worse.
I took 1.25mgs of finasteride for four months last year, but stopped because of the sexual side effects. It definitely maintained my hair and thickened up the follicles I had, as my cowlick's Having lost a ton of hair after 4 months of stopping finasteride, I decided to revisit it through a microdose approach.
I started microdosing .05mgs of finasteride on a month and a half ago and noticed an intense shedding 1 week into it as well as a major amount of itching which lasted only about 5 days. About one month later this shed has slowed down but now i'm just shedding thin weak hairs. My sex drive is at about 70-75%, and there is mild brain fog on some days. My skin looks great though, I have oily skin and prone to acne if I don't wash my face, but now I can get away with not washing it for a while without facing the consequences of pimples. My scalp itch has been reduced to nearly nothing; there are some days where I don't even think about it and others where there's a slight itch but nothing uncontrollable. My hair is looking worse than ever I gotta say, but it's only been a month and a half so I'm not letting up yet.
I recently read somewhere that it takes a few weeks for the initial shed to start, and that if it starts much earlier [like within a week], it could mean a hyperandrogenic reaction. I'm sure my body did experience this within the first week due to the intense shedding and itching, but since then, my skin is less oily, sex drive is lower, and itching has subsided.
Here's the question. Am I experiencing a hyperadrogenic reaction? Is the reduction in sex drive a good sign that finasteride is working? What about the reduction in oil and itchiness? Are those good enough signs to tell that finasteride is working? I have taken it before and it did maintain, but at this point, I just need reassurance as this shed is definitely the worst I've seen yet, before I could style my hair so that my thin cowlick would be hidden but now it's visible with the slightest breeze.
I took 1.25mgs of finasteride for four months last year, but stopped because of the sexual side effects. It definitely maintained my hair and thickened up the follicles I had, as my cowlick's Having lost a ton of hair after 4 months of stopping finasteride, I decided to revisit it through a microdose approach.
I started microdosing .05mgs of finasteride on a month and a half ago and noticed an intense shedding 1 week into it as well as a major amount of itching which lasted only about 5 days. About one month later this shed has slowed down but now i'm just shedding thin weak hairs. My sex drive is at about 70-75%, and there is mild brain fog on some days. My skin looks great though, I have oily skin and prone to acne if I don't wash my face, but now I can get away with not washing it for a while without facing the consequences of pimples. My scalp itch has been reduced to nearly nothing; there are some days where I don't even think about it and others where there's a slight itch but nothing uncontrollable. My hair is looking worse than ever I gotta say, but it's only been a month and a half so I'm not letting up yet.
I recently read somewhere that it takes a few weeks for the initial shed to start, and that if it starts much earlier [like within a week], it could mean a hyperandrogenic reaction. I'm sure my body did experience this within the first week due to the intense shedding and itching, but since then, my skin is less oily, sex drive is lower, and itching has subsided.
Here's the question. Am I experiencing a hyperadrogenic reaction? Is the reduction in sex drive a good sign that finasteride is working? What about the reduction in oil and itchiness? Are those good enough signs to tell that finasteride is working? I have taken it before and it did maintain, but at this point, I just need reassurance as this shed is definitely the worst I've seen yet, before I could style my hair so that my thin cowlick would be hidden but now it's visible with the slightest breeze.
