Thinking Of Quitting finasteride After Years Of Use, But I Want Objective Test Results Re. My Concerns.

[EBaley]

I'm 30 years old and I started thinning very early (in my teens). I can't remember when I started taking finasteride, but I've been on it for at least the past 5 years (I take 1 mg a day). I am 100% certain that finasteride stabilized my hair loss. Looking at my father's photos from when he was my age confirms it for me. So what's the problem? I'm constantly worried about sides. I always have a bit of a watery semen when I'm on finasteride. From time to time I get off finasteride and I notice things changing in my body. My semen gets noticeably thicker, I get acne (as opposed to practically none when I'm on finasteride) etc... If these were the only sides (less acne and watery semen) I wouldn't worry, but it's the less noticeable stuff that are worrying me.

I keep thinking I have gyno (I don't think I do, but I keep looking in the mirror and some days I get myself worked up). I constantly try to figure out if I have low libido or not. So I'm thinking of getting some blood tests done, but what should I look for?? Is there a bare min. DHT level that we need to have? How do I go about this in an objective manner. I'm sure I will lose whatever's left if I get off finasteride, but if I know for a fact that finasteride is causing mayhem in my system then so be it.

Also, I've been reading about topical finasteride. The only solution I've found here in Canada (so far) is the ridiculously high Hasson and Wong dosage, which I'd rather not use.

Any tips about my main concern is greatly appreciated. I've never had blood tests done to check my DHT levels btw. This also marks the second day I've been off finasteride. About once a year I go through one of these episodes where I get off finasteride due to anxiety about sides, but eventually I always return. This needs to stop.

 

[Roberto_72]

If you undergo DHT tests, you will also learn minimum and maximum levels.
For instance:
https://www.practo.com/tests/dihydrotestosterone-blood/p
I don’t think anybody can suggest you if you should continue with fina or not.
It is a very personal decision based on the advantages it has given you and the side effects you report, which are so subjective.

 

[Nostro100]

I started on dutasteride EOD 2 weeks ago and Idk either if I have gyno or my tits are from my already fat lazy ***. (82kg 1,70m ... now imagin)...
Anyway, my hairloss has worsen since I stopped working out regularly to a complete stand still. I wonder how heavy is the effect of working out on hairloss ( we all know that there are fat fucks with heads of full thick hair and therfore i'm no way saying that lack of exercise is the reason of hair loss, otherwise I would lose hair on all my head but it's just the classic male pattern baldness ).
My advise is to take pictures of your chest and see if you can later check a conclusive answer about your gyno. The libido, is more psychological to evaluate and unlike your "boobs", it can be affected by other things as simple as you aren't just in the mood (unless you are in the mood but the instrument doesnt want to get up, thats another story)

 

[Ricardo18]

I'm 30 years old and I started thinning very early (in my teens). I can't remember when I started taking finasteride, but I've been on it for at least the past 5 years (I take 1 mg a day). I am 100% certain that finasteride stabilized my hair loss. Looking at my father's photos from when he was my age confirms it for me. So what's the problem? I'm constantly worried about sides. I always have a bit of a watery semen when I'm on finasteride. From time to time I get off finasteride and I notice things changing in my body. My semen gets noticeably thicker, I get acne (as opposed to practically none when I'm on finasteride) etc... If these were the only sides (less acne and watery semen) I wouldn't worry, but it's the less noticeable stuff that are worrying me.

I keep thinking I have gyno (I don't think I do, but I keep looking in the mirror and some days I get myself worked up). I constantly try to figure out if I have low libido or not. So I'm thinking of getting some blood tests done, but what should I look for?? Is there a bare min. DHT level that we need to have? How do I go about this in an objective manner. I'm sure I will lose whatever's left if I get off finasteride, but if I know for a fact that finasteride is causing mayhem in my system then so be it.

Also, I've been reading about topical finasteride. The only solution I've found here in Canada (so far) is the ridiculously high Hasson and Wong dosage, which I'd rather not use.

Any tips about my main concern is greatly appreciated. I've never had blood tests done to check my DHT levels btw. This also marks the second day I've been off finasteride. About once a year I go through one of these episodes where I get off finasteride due to anxiety about sides, but eventually I always return. This needs to stop.

I used Finasteride for about 12 years. For 10 of those years I NEVER got morning wood. In the end I thought f*** it, I'd rather be capable of sex than worry about keeping my hair. Been off it for about 3 years now and hardly noticed any difference to my hair - maybe slightly more receded and a lot greyer. It took over a year, but now I'm getting morning wood - every morning, just like before. If I were you I'd come off that stuff. It's not good. R

 

[Nimatus]

I used Finasteride for about 12 years. For 10 of those years I NEVER got morning wood. In the end I thought f*** it, I'd rather be capable of sex than worry about keeping my hair. Been off it for about 3 years now and hardly noticed any difference to my hair - maybe slightly more receded and a lot greyer. It took over a year, but now I'm getting morning wood - every morning, just like before. If I were you I'd come off that stuff. It's not good. R

Why get off it, maybe thing to do was just pop 1mg every 4 days just to keep things stabilized

 

[Nostro100]

I used Finasteride for about 12 years. For 10 of those years I NEVER got morning wood. In the end I thought f*** it, I'd rather be capable of sex than worry about keeping my hair. Been off it for about 3 years now and hardly noticed any difference to my hair - maybe slightly more receded and a lot greyer. It took over a year, but now I'm getting morning wood - every morning, just like before. If I were you I'd come off that stuff. It's not good. R

Finasteride half life is 6 hiurs. If it took u a year then it wasn't a finasteride problem

 

[Ricardo18]

Finasteride half life is 6 hiurs. If it took u a year then it wasn't a finasteride problem

Not true my friend. You should actually read the research - I mean actual data....some ex-users take several years for libido/ sexual function to return. For some it never returns - and this is guys who are way younger than average for these problems to occur. You are in denial I think, which is dangerous for your own health!

 

[Nostro100]

Not true my friend. You should actually read the research - I mean actual data....some ex-users take several years for libido/ sexual function to return. For some it never returns - and this is guys who are way younger than average for these problems to occur. You are in denial I think, which is dangerous for your own health!

It's always funny when people tell us "to read THE RESEARCH - I mean the actual data" but sh*t... They never ever give it to you.. "Just google it" is the easiest answer.
Breaking news: *Low libido happens to people that don't take finasteride*
Those cases are so low that you couldn't even find me one as proof! THats how desperate you are to prove your point without any proof. Like trying to find a needle in an haystack, thats what you would be doing trying to find me a case like that.

Those people don't disclaim that they smoke, and there is an high chance that they do. Smoking is also claimed to reduce erections but when these people complain about their lack of erections, they forget to link it to smoking and put all the blame in finasteride.

 

[Ricardo18]

Ok, so you're definitely in denial, which is a risky strategy. It simply means that you are prepared to risk your sexual function to hang on to a few strands on top of your head. Fundamentally, that's it. You base your argument qualitatively, i.e. without empirical data. The empirical data indicates a statistically significant cause/effect of long term finasteride use on sexual function. My sexual function diminished but has now returned after more than a year off the stuff. Not everyone will respond in the same way but EVERYONE taking it is playing russian roulette with their sexual function.

 

[abcdefg]

Ok, so you're definitely in denial, which is a risky strategy. It simply means that you are prepared to risk your sexual function to hang on to a few strands on top of your head. Fundamentally, that's it. You base your argument qualitatively, i.e. without empirical data. The empirical data indicates a statistically significant cause/effect of long term finasteride use on sexual function. My sexual function diminished but has now returned after more than a year off the stuff. Not everyone will respond in the same way but EVERYONE taking it is playing russian roulette with their sexual function.

Not really everyone. The studies and empirical evidence say that only a minority of men are playing roulette with their sexual function. I guess you were one of the unlucky ones, and everyone has to make this choice for themselves. Some people might like their hair over some minor sexual problems it just depends on what each person is experiencing. Its certainly not all or even most men statistically speaking.

 

[g.i joey]

Finasteride half life is 6 hiurs. If it took u a year then it wasn't a finasteride problem

Holy f*** you sound so stupid. Finasteride half life has almost nothing to do with the way it works.

 

[EBaley]

Thanks for all the responses guys. Even though I didn't post, I read all your replies, so thanks.

Update: it's now been 25 days since I stopped taking finasteride and I discovered something interesting yesterday: a couple of months ago, me, my brother and my father decided to do genetic testing (both for ancestry information and also for health reasons). We all used Promethease to get a detailed health report based on our genetic data. My brother and father both had the male pattern baldness gene and according to Promethease they are 7 times more likely to go bald than the general population (my dad is completely bald). I did the Promethease thing last night and I was surprised to not see anything regarding male pattern baldness. The report gave over 20,000 individual results, but there is sweet f*** all for male pattern baldness.

Might there be a mistake here? Of course. I'm not a biologist and even if I was I probably wouldn't be able to confirm or deny mistakes. But I followed the same process as my brother and father. We all got our DNA tests done at 23andMe and we all sent the information over to Promethease. They both tested positive, I didn't. Based on this result I'm now completely convinced that I won't be continuing with finasteride. To be clear I'm not convinced that I don't have the gene, but since I was going to drop finasteride anyway, this is enough for me.

Now I have to find out why I've lost the hair I've lost. My hair loss is definitely less than that of my brother, but my temples have receded while his haven't (his hair loss is all over without the usual receding temples). The one thing it could be is stress. I've always been a very anxious person. I'll try to reduce my overall anxiety to see if it'll make a difference, but with law school starting this September, I won't hold my breath.

On an unrelated note, I highly recommend Promethease. Get your DNA test done at ancestry or 23andMe and send it over to Promethease. The amount of sh*t you'll learn about yourself is mind boggling. It will take months to absorb it all. I was concerned about privacy issues before, but now I don't even give a f***. This was worth it 100%. For example, my father realized that he's 10-18 times more likely to get type 1 diabetes than average. He's since completely changed his diet. My brother realized that he has a problem with gluten, so he changed his diet and I followed suit (my results came in last so I went off his results at first). My gut/digestion improved on day 2 and I've never felt better. And there's a lot more than this that I won't go into.

 

[Nostro100]

Holy f*** you sound so stupid. Finasteride half life has almost nothing to do with the way it works.

Stupid is a person who can't make the connection between the half life of a drug and their side effects. One reason that dutasteride side effects take longer to subside is because it has a longer half life.

 

[Nostro100]

Ok, so you're definitely in denial, which is a risky strategy. It simply means that you are prepared to risk your sexual function to hang on to a few strands on top of your head. Fundamentally, that's it. You base your argument qualitatively, i.e. without empirical data. The empirical data indicates a statistically significant cause/effect of long term finasteride use on sexual function. My sexual function diminished but has now returned after more than a year off the stuff. Not everyone will respond in the same way but EVERYONE taking it is playing russian roulette with their sexual function.

Yes, i'm prepared like you and everyone else is to risk it's sexual function, in the knowledge that studies show that side effects are as low as 1% and permanent side effects are a fraction of that. "The empirical data indicates a statistically significant cause/effect of long term finasteride use on sexual function." I think that you saw that written on a sheet of toillet paper after you wiped your *** with it.
Sexual desire reduction is the most anecdotal evidence people have on hairloss treatments. The Finasteride studies show that the placebo control group had just slightly lower sexual function side effects when compared to the active substance group.

You talk about empirical data but again, fail to post it. That's because every time you try to search on google an article that supports your "high chance of low libido" theory, you fail miserably.

 

[Ricardo18]

Yes, i'm prepared like you and everyone else is to risk it's sexual function, in the knowledge that studies show that side effects are as low as 1% and permanent side effects are a fraction of that. "The empirical data indicates a statistically significant cause/effect of long term finasteride use on sexual function." I think that you saw that written on a sheet of toillet paper after you wiped your *** with it.
Sexual desire reduction is the most anecdotal evidence people have on hairloss treatments. The Finasteride studies show that the placebo control group had just slightly lower sexual function side effects when compared to the active substance group.

You talk about empirical data but again, fail to post it. That's because every time you try to search on google an article that supports your "high chance of low libido" theory, you fail miserably.

'I think that you saw that written on a sheet of toillet paper after you wiped your *** with it'. This ridiculous statement says a lot about you as a person and your state of mind. You are probably in denial, but you're definitely stupid enough to take a drug and accept the obvious risks. Your response to my statement demonstrates you're not thinking at a very high level. You also need help with your spelling.

 

[Alk]

Yes, i'm prepared like you and everyone else is to risk it's sexual function, in the knowledge that studies show that side effects are as low as 1% and permanent side effects are a fraction of that. "The empirical data indicates a statistically significant cause/effect of long term finasteride use on sexual function." I think that you saw that written on a sheet of toillet paper after you wiped your *** with it.
Sexual desire reduction is the most anecdotal evidence people have on hairloss treatments. The Finasteride studies show that the placebo control group had just slightly lower sexual function side effects when compared to the active substance group.

You talk about empirical data but again, fail to post it. That's because every time you try to search on google an article that supports your "high chance of low libido" theory, you fail miserably.

logged on to back up my boy joey and tell you that you dont know what youre talking about.

 

[Nostro100]

'I think that you saw that written on a sheet of toillet paper after you wiped your *** with it'. This ridiculous statement says a lot about you as a person and your state of mind. You are probably in denial, but you're definitely stupid enough to take a drug and accept the obvious risks. Your response to my statement demonstrates you're not thinking at a very high level. You also need help with your spelling.

SO you take the drug and complain that it gave you permanent side effects and I'm stupid to take the drug? Why is that you are the only one here that can take the drug and not be stupid? See how even in your little world you contradict yourself?
I advise you to google what means "to be in denial". The real person in denial here is the one that CAN'T accept that he was unfortunate to have side effects on finasteride, and if that happened to him then the drug is pure evil that will give side permanent side effects to everyone.

Really think Too much of yourself if you think that the results that you happen to have MUST be the bigger percentage. I see too that you got upset with the toilet paper comment. It was just an "elegant" way to say that you take your information out of your *** and not even from a controversial article from the web (was at least expecting that!).

To be in denial = to refuse facts (scientific facts from studies in this case). Funny how the one here refusing facts is Mr Ricardo18. Ironic how it turns out that it's you the one in denial . Basically you can't accept that you are one of the few that has side effects from Finasteride. In your little brain, that's not possible, it should happen to other people but not you, therefore, your conclusion is that the side effects you experience must be seen in the majority of finasteride users. That's denial in steroids!

"Your response to my statement demonstrates you're not thinking at a very high level."
At this point, anyone that takes finasteride, you will say said person doesnt think in a "very high level". Maybe if I smoke some pot I will think at your "high level" but then I would probably come up with anti hairloss theories that make no sense.
And at last, the proof that you have zero arguments agaisnt me or anyone here for that matter: you attack grammar that didn't need fixing for any practical purpose ( congrats at your 18 birthday!)

 

[Nostro100]

logged on to back up my boy joey and tell you that you dont know what youre talking about.

It's unfortunate that joey had you to back him up and not science... sad joey!

 

[Wilfido melendez]

So I’m thinking on taking finasteride but you guys are making me not wanna take it no more?? Lol

 

[Nostro100]

So I’m thinking on taking finasteride but you guys are making me not wanna take it no more?? Lol

Had they had good results with it, they would be calling you an idiot for not being on it already. Thats how these people are. They evaluate a drug's effectiveness on them and them only. If it doesnt work for them, it wont work for anyone else.