Yet Another Propecia Question, To Soon To Start? Sensitivity

[JNATT]

I know this treatment has been discussed over and over, But I cannot seem to find the answer I'm looking for. Does anybody know "roughly" how quickly additional DHt receptors and enhanced sensitivity to DHt become apparent or active in your body after starting Propecia ? I'm not sure if its called "up regulation" or what as I'm new to this.

I have been taking finasteride 1.25mg for exactly 5 months now. I probably started this treatment earlier than I needed to, as I had very good control of my hair with Saw Palmetto and many other Vits and minerals.

I had more of a slight recession of the hairline, but considering I'm 47 years old that would make since. I have no crown or top thinning and very slight temple thinning. Propecia quickly changed that. It seems to be thinning out all areas. Not terribly, but I can see the difference. I also never "shed" I could brush my hair for an hours and maybe find one or two hairs in the brush?? Not sure if that's good or bad? If I were to stop finasteride now, to "save it" for when I really need it ( maybe years from now), would I already be susceptible to the enhanced DHT receptors after 5 months? Or should I just stay on it?...Hope this made any since.

 

[JNATT]

Any thoughts?
I really want to pull the plug on this experiment. My hair in under six months went from thick and healthy to razor thin. This can not just be a coincidence ? I went into this with some hairline recession and slight thinning to just a disaster !! Its been almost 6 months now and it continues to get worse. Is this normal? If my hair is wet you can see through it now very easy. I will post pics soon, but any thoughts? Would I lose more by stopping Finn even though I have not gained anything? Would I possibly get back what I lost ? Or at least stop the propecia thinning? And please tell me, I DO NOT shed?? Ever! I can use any brush and not pull out a hair. Or any oil and not pull a hair out. I can never find any hairs on the pillow or shower but it is definatly going some where ?? Help !

 

[g.i joey]

Well in my opinion something must have warranted you putting your foot down and starting propecia? So was your hairloss starting to get aggressive prior to you starting treatment? If not, you should also consider the fact that you're only 5 months in and getting off now really has no upside as most users don't see much if any benefit 5 months in. Ride it out for 7 more months to at least know if it's doing something or not. Also, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get a blood test done as well.

 

[JNATT]

Thank you SO much for your reply! In retrospect I had one area on the hairline ( left temple) I thought was receding a bit more and wanted to stop everything in its tracks as its suggested to start treatment at the first signs of loss. I have since lost most of my hairline ( in 5 months) and the top of my hair has so much less density now you can see through it when wet, where before it was pretty darn thick. My hairloss was not aggressive whatsoever. I have had any and all blood tests done and all came back normal. I should have a DHT reading by the end of the day I'm hoping.

Is thinning the same as shedding? Would it be believed all the hair that is gone now is just in the resting phase?

 

[JNATT]

The first picture is before I started finasteride, (I will look for a better one), I had no need at that time to take photos per say.... The second two are after finasteride and the current situation!

 

[Hippocrates21]

Your first photo is way too blurry to make any judgements. Also 5 months is not nearly enough time to judge whether the medication is working for you or not. Give it 12-24 months and then see.

 

[JNATT]

I understand the first pic is not the best, I will find a better one. But my point is my hair was pretty thick with a nice part line. Now there is a huge gap in the part and the hairline is gone. I'm asking for a leap of faith I guess to believe from that first pic that indeed I had pretty decent hair. I'm not trying to rip in finasteride, just wondering in my case if this is a normal reaction to it. If I continue down this road, it seems in that 1 year judgement period, there will be little hair left to judge. I will still ask though, is thinning the same as shedding ?

 

[Hippocrates21]

Well the next important question is when was the first photo taken? A month before finasteride? A year?

Androgenic alopecia can happen very rapidly to a man of your age. Shedding is not the same thing as thinning. You could be going through a shed from finasteride right now and in 6-12 months you may see regrowth and thickening when the shed stops. Seeing you are already presumably going through a shed you may as well start Rogaine liquid now and not have to worry bout a shed from it. Also consider Nizoral 2% shampoo a few times a week. If you do these things ur really doing all you can to fight it and you can hope for a good outcome. If your doctor is willing to prescribe Dutasteride (stronger, more effective version of finasteride), then maybe you can look into this too. Otherwise, just keep the faith and take photos at monthly intervals.

 

[JNATT]

Again, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the response. One big concern is again the difference in thinning and shedding. I don't seem to find hairs in the tub or brush or anywhere else.... And yet I cant imagine they are just "shrinking" right before my eyes, so they have to be going somewhere? I have been using Nizoral 1% Mon, Wend, and Fridays, and minoxidil on a two "test" areas for a couple months now. It could have been just coincidence and my hair was going to rapidly thin anyway, but it really was like flipping on a light switch when I started taking finasteride.

 

[Alk]

Yes you would shed if you stopped finasteride at this point. No shedding is a good sign i would stay on it for another six months. No dont save finasteride for in the future best to continue now.

 

[JNATT]

Thank you so much for your replies ! What do you mean though when you say " susceptible to patterned hair loss it can accelerate it"? I honestly do not know if I was suffering from male pattern baldness to begin with. The finasteride seems to have accelerated thinning my hair, albeit though, in places seen in male pattern baldness. It seems to have stabilized now. Again I have never shed. If I see a single hair fall out when I comb my hair its a surprise. If I were to stop using, I know it was mentioned I would shed. Would this hold true since I have never gained or shed before or after using finasteride? Would I "re-experience the telogen effluvium effect when the DHT returned to normal? What if just say, I was not sensitive to DHT in the first place?...I know, probably difficult to answer, but what would the guess be? I would sure prefer not to be taking this....Also, Would the hair I lost do to the Telogen effect come back if I were to stop using do you think?
Thanks again !

 

[abcdefg]

A little off topic, but age has nothing to do with male pattern baldness. Ive met guys turning 40 that have zero hair loss teenage hairlines with not a hair missing on their entire head. The typical response from anyone is well he is lucky because no one has explanation because no one knows anything about male pattern baldness.

 

[JNATT]

Hey all ! A quick update on my progression so far, as I know so many of these threads are left with no follow ups. I am now at 10 days shy of 8 months on finasteride. I am happy to report that although not back to baseline in a few areas, things are slowly improving....It is a roller coaster ride for sure....My hairline is a bit BETTER than baseline although my top is a bit thinner but "seems" to be improving. I have always wore my hair long, so some areas are hard to tell....I am at a point were If I were to remain for sometime I would be pleased...I had very slow hair loss before finasteride which did seem to rapidly speed it up, but now it seems to have settled in and getting better ( Fingers crossed as things change quickly)!! BTW, I do myself no favors as I live a VERY stressful life at work and average 3-5 hours a night of sleep...I'm 47 so to see anything better than baseline is great! Hope things continue to improve!

 

[JNATT]

Hey all! Another update and question...I am now at 1 year two months on finasteride and up until about month 10 had no sides of serious concern...However around that time I noticed the dreaded "weak" erection...To a point were even getting a condom on was um "challenging"...I also can be a bit OCD so I tried to take that into consideration...Anyhow I cut back on the dosage from 1.25 (pill split into 4) to the best of my ability now cut into 8 or "roughly" .60mg ( hardly accurate)...After a couple months of terror my erections came back to almost 100% with even morning ( you know what) ! Hair still looked great ! Now 4 months into the lower dosage, I can tell I am losing ground and my hair is thinning again.....Minoxidil does not seem to do anything for me....What should I try? And where do I purchase? I still have a decent head of hair at almost 48 now so I am happy, but I want to continue to fight this !
Thank you !