Started finasteride 4/01/2010

[bgr123]

Well I finally took the plunge and started taking the finasteride (that had been sitting in my cabinet for 2 years). I am splitting 1mg Finpecia from Inhousepharmacy, and taking .5mg daily. Will be taking my third dose tonight, no noticeable side effects so far.

I will post results (hopefully positive) here periodically. I buzz my hair short, here's a couple pics of where I stand now. I started shedding hair @ 17, I am almost 24 now. Any thoughts, suggestions, etc? I'd be happy just thickening up the areas that have miniaturized.

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/5830/HairLossTalk.com.jpg



thanks!

 

[Jokerman]

Good luck, man!

A couple things; first off finasteride is best for maintenance and a little thickening rather than regrowth, so if you maintain on finasteride that's considered a huge success. I'm the same age as you and have been on 1mg of finasteride daily for almost a couple years now and I've had some nice regrowth, but I seem to be in the minority for that. If you want regrowth best to add minoxidil, BUT GIVE finasteride AT LEAST A YEAR before dicking around with minoxidil so you can know whether or not you need it.

Don't worry too much about sides. I had them for the first few months but they subsided. Sheds are normal too so don't freak if you lose some hair to start with. finasteride doesn't cause hairloss, if you're losing ground after starting it's just a shed and it will most likely come back thicker.

Also, don't look in the mirror every couple days or anything like that. It takes a while (year or so) before you start seeing good results.

And make sure to use Nizoral shampoo every 3 days, leaving it on your scalp for five minutes or so. nizoral is a huge part of the finasteride regimen. You're not gonna see any regrowth if you have inflammation so best use nizoral. If it dries your hair out (probably not gonna be noticeable to you since you got it short) a trick to beat that is to shampoo before nizoral applications and condition afterward.

Again, good luck!

 

[bgr123]

I thought I should update this since it has been about 2 months. So far nothing major to report. Sometimes I think things are improving, sometimes things don't look any better. I think that's just the hair in its natural cycle. A couple weeks in I had a bit of groin pain and watery semen, but that subsided. Now I have absolutely no sides, and am just hoping for results!

 

[bgr123]

So I went through a couple months on it, and ran out of finasteride. I got busy and kept putting off ordering more and before I know it's almost 7 weeks before I ordered more. I'm disappointed because I felt I was holding ground the couple months I was on it, and now I've definitely lost some more since I've been off it. I'm hoping once I get my shipment here in a couple days I'll be able to at least go back to where my hair was the past couple months :/

 

[bgr123]

Finally got my new package of finasteride today. Think there's any hope I'll be able to recoup the last 8 weeks loss?

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

You need to order ahead of time to stay on it, 8 weeks off is a long time.

 

[bgr123]

So I figure I'd update. I started back up again the end of August and have been taking 1.25mg daily. Within a couple months the thin corners have definitely thickened up a bit. I've been able to buzz to a 2 guard and have it look decent. I had to use a 1 guard before.

Some days it seems like it doesn't look "quite" as good. Is it normal to have ups and downs along the way as things progress?


So basically I've definitely maintained and thickened up a bit from baseline 4 months ago. I have no sides and work out regularly with no issues.

 

[GeminiX]

Hi BGR, thank you for keeping us updated with your story.

Some days it seems like it doesn't look "quite" as good. Is it normal to have ups and downs along the way as things progress?

It seems to be perfectly normal to have ups and downs like that; I have days where I'm convinced my hair looks terrible, and other days where I feel it looks like I've gotten 100% recovery.

Something which many of us here on the forum appear to have in common is that we can over-obsess about our hair

 

[bgr123]

Yeah it's weird it seems like it started thickening up super quick within the first few months, then start regressing. Hopefully it's just a phase. I haven't done anything different besides more intense weight training the past couple months. I don't know if there's any truth that it supposedly accelerates hair loss?

 

[Wuffer]

I don't really think it's likely your hair is thickening up after just a couple months, but it's possible. Is that is the case, you will likely have great results after a year of constant use. As said before, you can't stop taking this drug for an extended period of time, because your hairloss plays 'catchup' and you may not ever be able to get back to the point you were at before you stopped. If you want to keep your hair, you have to keep taking this drug forever, or at least until a better treatment comes along. Don't get lazy, because 2 months off can cause permanent loss that you won't regain.

I don't think there are any studies that conclude working out can accelerate hair loss. It may make sense theoretically, but taking finasteride would cancel this effect out. I think this misconception is from when people take roids when they work out, which is proven to accelerate hair loss significantly. If you look at a lot of 'clean' bodybuilders, you will find many of them have full heads of hair. It may also be a misconception, because more bodybuilders choose to shave their heads than the average person.

Dont stop working out though; it has so many positive effects, and a balding fit/muscular guy looks a hell of a lot better than a balding fat or untoned/thin guy, regardless of your head shape

 

[bgr123]

Yeah I've been taking it consistently since the end of August now. I was surprised at the quick thickening in the front. So I'm definitely staying the course.

I kinda figured the whole weight lifting = hair loss thing was exaggerated. Like you said steroids have probably contributed to that belief.

I agree, I'm definitely not going to stop working out!

 

[Wuffer]

Yeah, results seem to top out after about a year. You should be able to maintain this growth and thickening after 5 years, then you may see it slowly decline. Though some people have kept all the hair they gained ever since the drug was released in 1999.