Stopping finasteride after 6 months

[Theonestoppingfin]

So my hair was initially fine. I just had a small whorl i was insecure about. I saw a few derms who said it was nothing to worry about. But one derm said propecia would be a great preventative measure for the future, and r/tressless seemed to agree. So I hopped on 0.5mg every day for the last 6 months. My hair has become wrecked. My sides and back began thinning and my crown is way worse. My sides and back were fine before starting finasteride. I never experienced much shedding, my hairs just became way more miniaturized. If I had to say, I’d say maybe 1-10 hairs if I pull at them or after a shower. Also, I started having bad acne around my face after 3 months of finasteride and it only got worse. My doctor, once seeing my “progress” told me to stop finasteride. He said if I were shedding it would be a different story, but in my case I should stop. So I guess I am, and hoping for the best. My best theory is my scalp was sensitive to testosterone, not DHT. Otherwise I got no clue why what happened happened.

https://imgur.com/a/WOzeXSl

 

[czecha]

5AR is needed for hair growth and finasteride works through inducing estrogen dominance, but not in you
DHT is misunderstood

 

[Selb]

This is why you should do a hormone panel before starting finasteride just in case. In your case maybe you’ll respond better with a topical AR blocker. I’m not entirely sure

 

[Selb]

Also here’s an explanation of hyperandrogenicity following finasteride:

“When the effects of androgens in the body are lessened, e.g. through lowering DHT or by systemic hormone receptor blockade, the body seeks equilibrium through a process called upregulation. This can take the form of increased hormone production and/or increased tissue sensitivity to the remaining hormones. The reason side effects usually gradually disappear with finasteride is probably due to such upregulation. In a small percentage of individuals, it may be that this process overshoots the mark, resulting in significant hyperandrogenicity. This is marked by such signs as greatly increased facial oil, increased pimples, and greatly elevated libido. It’s possible that in certain cases such hyperandrogenicity overcomes the hair-protective effect of, say, finasteride, though this does not appear to be the case for the vast majority of people.”

Might be possible with your acne and more hair loss. Now that I think about it, a good counter to something like this might be topical estrogen and keto cream similar to this regimen: https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...ecia-great-results.130241/page-2#post-1924412

It may be a good counter as it affects the AR itself plus estrogen also provides a downregulatory effect on androgen receptors

 

[TDE97]

What Selb said is true, i plan to follow that regimine since finasteride doesn't have much of an impact/worse my hair loss.

We are just the unlucky ones that didnt benefit from finasteride and possibly dutasteride.