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Hello all,
After a very long time contemplating using finasteride, I've decided to make a hard decision and get on it (I've gotten a prescription for it). In terms of my hair loss, I haven't seen any noticeable recession of the hairline when I've compared it to about a year ago (I first started noticing it the summer before I turned 18; probably started even earlier; correction: 9 months). A year ago (correction: 9 months), I had something between a Norwood 1.5-2. As of right now, I still have something between a Norwood 1.5-2. In fact, in one of my earlier postings on this website under a different account (I lost that account's information) people thought I was a NW1 with BDD.
In terms of its shape, the hairline is about one-index finger above the top wrinkle of the forehead (I believe NW0 and NW1s start right at the top wrinkle), and has a straight middle with two sharp triangle wedges at the temples. The temporal triangles are surprisingly intact.
Even though the hairline hasn't shown more visible recession, and my hair density is still good, and my crown is nowhere near thinning (You couldn't see scalp if you tried there), I think it's just a matter of time. Some forms of male pattern baldness are very gradual and can take decades, while others are very rapid and can take months. I might fall into the former category, but don't want to wait and find out. Or it could become rapid next year. I don't want to experiment with that. I can't seem to help but take several pictures every day, looking for even the most minute differences. It's almost an illness. I've read postings from several members on here who kept putting it off and then got on finasteride later with regret for not starting earlier. I think the whole regret-not-starting-earlier argument seals the deal for me.
I'm going to be getting my actual prescription starting the following week, so I have some questions for veterans and long-term finasteride users on here:
(1) What is the recommended starting dosage? Is 1mg a good start point, or should I start from 0.25mg or 0.5mg and gradually increase the dosage to 1mg or above?
(2) If I begin to notice sexual side effects (ED, watery semen, etc.), should I stop finasteride altogether and never come back to it, or should I suspend my usage for some amount of time and retry using it with a lower dosage?
(3) Are side effects inevitable over usage of finasteride for a long period of time (>2 years)?
(4) Are some supposed "side effects" reported on here, such as p**rn star c**** becoming micropenises and other seemingly outlandish ones (minoxidil aging you 20 years) psychologically induced out of fear that finasteride or other products are horrible drugs (in medicine, this is referred to as the nocebo effect) or do some of them hold weight?
(5) Other than using Nizoral/Ketocanoazle to reduce inflammation in the scalp (which I've been using for almost a year), and minoxidil ( I haven't made a decision with minoxidil yet since I don't have horrible bald patches), are there any other products or dietary supplements that are recommended (I think my current shampoo has Saw Palmetto in it; maybe that's playing a role)?
(6) As a person who will be very busy at university and will have several other responsibilities, how often should I check to see if finasteride is actually working or I need to go on something more extreme (Dutasteride or the like)? I won't have hours to spend on this site, and would mostly be a person who takes this pill and moves on with the rest of their day.
(7) Am I just insane, as I've been told by some other members of this forum (though not in an offensive way)?
Pictures below, the first the hairline from about almost a year ago (9 months) (the earliest I could find anyway), and the second a picture I took of it a few days ago:
By the way, I know the pictures are blurry. That's the best I can get with the technology I have. I would get bettter ones if I had the money to afford a good quality camera or a phone with one. Also, those are the only areas where any recession is noticeable.
After a very long time contemplating using finasteride, I've decided to make a hard decision and get on it (I've gotten a prescription for it). In terms of my hair loss, I haven't seen any noticeable recession of the hairline when I've compared it to about a year ago (I first started noticing it the summer before I turned 18; probably started even earlier; correction: 9 months). A year ago (correction: 9 months), I had something between a Norwood 1.5-2. As of right now, I still have something between a Norwood 1.5-2. In fact, in one of my earlier postings on this website under a different account (I lost that account's information) people thought I was a NW1 with BDD.
In terms of its shape, the hairline is about one-index finger above the top wrinkle of the forehead (I believe NW0 and NW1s start right at the top wrinkle), and has a straight middle with two sharp triangle wedges at the temples. The temporal triangles are surprisingly intact.
Even though the hairline hasn't shown more visible recession, and my hair density is still good, and my crown is nowhere near thinning (You couldn't see scalp if you tried there), I think it's just a matter of time. Some forms of male pattern baldness are very gradual and can take decades, while others are very rapid and can take months. I might fall into the former category, but don't want to wait and find out. Or it could become rapid next year. I don't want to experiment with that. I can't seem to help but take several pictures every day, looking for even the most minute differences. It's almost an illness. I've read postings from several members on here who kept putting it off and then got on finasteride later with regret for not starting earlier. I think the whole regret-not-starting-earlier argument seals the deal for me.
I'm going to be getting my actual prescription starting the following week, so I have some questions for veterans and long-term finasteride users on here:
(1) What is the recommended starting dosage? Is 1mg a good start point, or should I start from 0.25mg or 0.5mg and gradually increase the dosage to 1mg or above?
(2) If I begin to notice sexual side effects (ED, watery semen, etc.), should I stop finasteride altogether and never come back to it, or should I suspend my usage for some amount of time and retry using it with a lower dosage?
(3) Are side effects inevitable over usage of finasteride for a long period of time (>2 years)?
(4) Are some supposed "side effects" reported on here, such as p**rn star c**** becoming micropenises and other seemingly outlandish ones (minoxidil aging you 20 years) psychologically induced out of fear that finasteride or other products are horrible drugs (in medicine, this is referred to as the nocebo effect) or do some of them hold weight?
(5) Other than using Nizoral/Ketocanoazle to reduce inflammation in the scalp (which I've been using for almost a year), and minoxidil ( I haven't made a decision with minoxidil yet since I don't have horrible bald patches), are there any other products or dietary supplements that are recommended (I think my current shampoo has Saw Palmetto in it; maybe that's playing a role)?
(6) As a person who will be very busy at university and will have several other responsibilities, how often should I check to see if finasteride is actually working or I need to go on something more extreme (Dutasteride or the like)? I won't have hours to spend on this site, and would mostly be a person who takes this pill and moves on with the rest of their day.
(7) Am I just insane, as I've been told by some other members of this forum (though not in an offensive way)?
Pictures below, the first the hairline from about almost a year ago (9 months) (the earliest I could find anyway), and the second a picture I took of it a few days ago:
By the way, I know the pictures are blurry. That's the best I can get with the technology I have. I would get bettter ones if I had the money to afford a good quality camera or a phone with one. Also, those are the only areas where any recession is noticeable.
