Starting finasteride newbie questions

[maconomist]

I'm 27, male and starting to lose some hair in the back of my head - not a lot yet, but I can notice it. A couple of months ago, I visited a dermatologist that gave me Nizoral and suggested trying Rogaine. I never followed through on the Rogaine, but I'm now reading that taking Finasteride (Propecia) would be a better first line of defense. Visiting the doctor again to get a prescription is too expensive for me at this point, so I have decided to purchase a 30 day supply of Finpecia from Inhousepharmacy based on other reviews I read on this site.

Since I'm jumping into this cold-turkey, I was wondering if anyone could give advice on the following:

1. Is finasteride a better choice to rogaine as a first step to fight hair loss?
2. Is Finpecia from Inhousepharmacy legit?
3. What would be a good dosage to begin with? I read 0.5mg or 1mg per day is recommended. I'm about 140 pounds, 5 feet 10, and healthy.
4. Will I experience dramatic shedding when starting the treatment? And is this reversible if I decide to stop?

On this last point, with the exception of a small patch in the back of my head, my hair is still pretty thick and full. I'm just wondering how sever this could be. Do I risk losing the rest of my hair in a matter of days?

Any other advice for starting out is greatly appreciated.

 

[antman]

1. yes
2. yes, i use it
3. 1 mg and adjust afterwards if needed
4. shedding is common at the start - you may or may not experience this.

i'm not sure what you mean by reversible - once your hair sheds it will grow back

- you won't shed all your hair, it will probably just a bit more an the usual. even if this does happen there may not be a cosmetic change.

my advice would be to take a good pic your current hair loss (wet) and make sure that angle can be replicated, take finasteride for a year than take another pic like the first one and compare.

 

[Quantum Cat]

if the doctor is prepared to prescribe you Finasteride 5mg it might work out cheaper

 

[maconomist]

Thanks for your advice antman. Have you been on Finpecia for long with good results? I read on other threads that some people noticed decreased effectivity when switching from branded Propecia.

I'll be complementing this with using 2% Ketokonazole shampoo three times a week. Is there anything else you recommend I use as well? Or is this good enough to begin with?

Thanks again for the advice.