So after 3 1/2 months on finasteride, I see this:

[Thickandthin]

WTF? I have never been able to see scalp like that before.

I'm on finasteride primarily to attempt to stop my temples from receding further/preserve my crown and midscalp.

The thinning seems to be a direct line down the middle of my scalp. I can comb my hair forward and cover it, but 9 times out of 10 I see scalp in the mirror now. Whereas before I NEVER saw my scalp.

Is this just shedding from the finasteride? Should I try to ride it out? Or am I suffering from the same thing as Irishpride?

And trust me - this is not the natural part in my hair or anything like that. This is a recent development, as in the last month, and I think it is getting worse.

It almost seems like female pattern loss, which would be just dandy since I'm already suffering from male pattern baldness.

 

[zeroheat]

It could be shedding, or maybe your male pattern baldness is accelerating. Either way, finasteride does not hurt your hair in the long run, so stay on it and see what happens. You don't really have a choice.

 

[Thickandthin]

Another question: I take 1.25mg every other day. Is my custom dosing having a negative effect? Should I start taking it every day?

 

[eth0]

it doesn't matter whether you take 0.5mg or 5mg, as long as you keep taking it daily it'll be doing its job

 

[joshua88]

You got that after 3 months on finasteride? Relax. Most likely it's a shed.

Naturally we tend to expect the worst and think it's DUPA or FPB, but it's far more likely that it's a shed.

 

[Thickandthin]

Yeah. I've calmed down a bit about it today. Praying that it is simply a shed and will grow back. To be honest, I've noticed in the shower for nearly the past two years that the hair on top felt slightly thinner than the rest, so maybe the finasteride is causing those miniautrized hairs to shed. But I've never seen scalp before - its a pretty alarming sight, to be honest.

 

[zeroheat]

I went through a devastating shed on month 2-3 mark and I've recovered fully. Don't let this scare you! Stick with it..

Your dosage is fine, but I think you should take it every day.

 

[honk]

same thing happened to me. i started using finasteride for temple recession, however as soon as i started i lost hair on the crown and down the middle which had never been an issue in the past.

i assumed it was a shed so i stuck it out for a year, but the shed never stopped and i lost a huge amount of hair all over. i wish i'd quit earlier. i'm convinced that while it does help the majority, there is a small few that it has detrimental effects on

 

[Dylan1]

It's really difficult to stay calm when you are using a product that is supposed to stop hair loss and you get shedding. But shedding is a regular feature of finasteride. use in the early stages. The question though is when do you decide that it's more than just the shed and switch products?

 

[Hiker]

Propecia is supposed to keep the hair on the sides and the back. It doesn't claim to save the frontal hairline and the hair behind it. If it saves those areas, you can have a transplant and still look good. BTW, you need to give Propecia a minimum of 12 months.

 

[Thickandthin]

I just got my hair cut and I'm not seeing my scalp as much. Like I said, I know the top is thinning, albeit very mildly, as it feels thinner than the rest of my hair in the shower.

I don't think I have RH either. My sex drive/erection quality are both diminished (although still functional), and my face isn't more oily. I have had a mild acne outbreak on my forehead though, which is almost certainly due to the finasteride, as I almost never get pimples now. But all in all, I don't think it's RH.

I guess I'm going to ride it out until 6 months, and if it still seems okay I'll give it a full year. I just really don't want to accelerate my loss, since I have a good head of hair right now with mild thinning and NW2 recession (with thinning in a NW3 pattern).

 

[shadowRX]

Looks like you're doing pretty well honestly.. I can't even tell you're balding.

 

[Thickandthin]

My hair looked better before I started finasteride. Therein lies the problem.

 

[shadowRX]

how is the acne, side effects, breast tenderness etc?
Are you shedding more or less in the shower?
If I remember correctly, the 3-5 month mark was when I did the most thickening up.

 

[Thickandthin]

So I'm almost 6 months in, still taking 1.25mg EOD.

Still seeing scalp in certain lighting conditions. My part has become much more prominent as well, and most attempts at styling my hair have it visible (and it NEVER was before finasteride).

Also, I am seeing a ridiculous amount of scalp when my hair is wet. Again, something I never experienced before.

I guess I'm going to give it a full year, but I kind of wish I had never even started taking it. The longer I take it, the more afraid I am to quit because A) I might be about to explode with regrowth, B) It might be maintaining, or C) I might shed a massive amount as soon as I stop. Or I might have accelerated my male pattern baldness.

I'm actually very close to buzzing my hair, which is insane because I thought I was at least 5-6 years away from having to do that. If my hairline wasn't so shitty I would have done it yesterday.

Here's an example of what I am talking about:

Literally every single time I run my fingers through my hair and it stands up, that's what I see. My vertex, crown, midscalp, etc, all used to be perfect. Now diffusing in a straight line.

 

[Esprit]

Not making light of your 'plight' but I'm guessing most people on this site, me included would kill for the amount of hair you have, in the first and last picture

 

[Loolapalooza]

I think it is very difficult to say when to stop a medicine like finasteride or minoxidil, when it causes shedding. Strongly depends on the metabolism of the individuals organism.
For example, I was on Minoxidil 5% for about 5 months, I had terrible shedding starting at week 2. By that time, everybody told me to calm down and stick with it, "hey pall, it is normal". Well, I continued the treatment for the next months and in the end the results were .. Zero. So, I am pretty sure I lost a big slice of my frontal hair with minoxidil. But on the other hand .. I could have had success like some people had, with a similar initial effect (shedding).
I am starting Finasteride now, I am on it for about a week. Shedding started again, this time like crazy ... I am afraid of even touching my head. Hopefully Finasteride will be different this time, I put all my hope on it... Or maybe it will have the same disastrous result?? I don´t now, but you know what? I will continue it, at least all my doubts will be clarified.

As some guys have stated before, I think some people have such an unique metabolism, that are better off without any kind of hair loss treatment. I am starting to think I am that kind of people. You see, when I stopped Minoxidil, shedding stopped. I was about half a year without a single hair falling. I started on finasteride and shedding got back again like a raging army..

As for you my friend, I don´t see what the fuss is about. You have totally normal hair. Why are you on finasteride anyway?
Stick with it, and if by month 9, 10 or something like that, shedding continues, then stop. With that amount of hair, even if you loose something, I think it won´t be a great deal!

Cheers

 

[DoctorHouse]

When I see cases like yours, it just baffles me since the same thing happened to me. I have the exact same thinning pattern as you and it happened around the 6th month mark taking Propecia. I never full recovered those areas but they stayed about what yours is now. I think some people just get thinning down the middle and some don't. The good news is I notice those that get thinning down the middle tend to be diffuse thinners and don't recede too much. I think Propecia creates a much more synchronized shed on some people so it shifts more hairs to shed at the same time. Another words, before Propecia(finasteride) you shed only a small amount of hairs down the middle so you never noticed anything significant. But then Propecia kind of synchronizes more hairs down the middle to shed at the EXACT same time so you notice more loss at once than your previous pattern. So now what will happen is you will see the area get slightly better all at once and then when your hair goes thru another cycle the hairs will synchronize another shed and you will complain things are getting worse again but its just basically the cycle of your shed happening all over again. The more cycles you go thru, the less synchronized the shedding will eventually become but in a few years you may see your pattern still stay more thin down the middle as finasteride is not a cure and those areas were eventually going to thin anyway but maybe not as fast.

 

[Thickandthin]

I just got a shorter haircut a few days ago, and I think finasteride may actually have IMPROVED my frontal hair. And if I think my hair has gotten better, it probably has, because I tend to be a "doom and gloom" kind of person when it comes to hair loss.

My fringe seems to be slightly thicker, and the hairs less miniaturized.

However, the thinning on top persists. Combed forward and down it is completely unnoticeable. But when wet or elevated with product, it's pure scalp.

The only thing that makes me feel a little tiny bit better about the situation is that I did in fact notice my hair on top for the last 2-3 felt slightly thinner (primarily in the shower) than the sides and back. So I'm holding out hope that perhaps finasteride is shedding those hairs that were starting to miniaturize and making way for thicker ones to grow in.

I don't understand the science behind that logic, but it seems to be repeated on most websites regarding hair loss. So I'm gonna stick with that belief for another 6 months and pray it either grows back or doesn't get any worse.

 

[robert west]

Your at about the mark that if you are going to shed, it's going to happen now. Finasteride makes miniaturized hairs thicker, and those miniaturized hairs have to fall out to make way for them unk: