You're not meant to shed on finasteride

[Skaff]

At least that's what any Doctor will tell you. They concede that minoxidil causes shedding, but you'll be hard pressed to find a Doctor that admits finasteride promotes a shed period. Funny that, given the experiences of people in this forum. Maybe it's in our heads?

 

[barnabas]

Most hair loss docs I've seen junk from on the internet seem to agree it does. If you're talking normal dermatologists who don't actually have much experience with propecia since the focus of their job is not hair loss treatments, then maybe you're right.

 

[beaner]

I was at a party recently attended by a bunch of folks in the medical field. I spoke with a derm who claims that between he and his partner they have prescribed propecia to several hundred patients over the last 5 years or so and had only a handful complain of shedding. He didn't come right out and say the finasteride doesn't cause shedding, but based on his patient response, I would tend to think shedding is not a common occurrence.

 

[barnabas]

I was at a party recently attended by a bunch of folks in the medical field. I spoke with a derm who claims that between he and his partner they have prescribed propecia to several hundred patients over the last 5 years or so and had only a handful complain of shedding. He didn't come right out and say the finasteride doesn't cause shedding, but based on his patient response, I would tend to think shedding is not a common occurrence.

There are a variety of possibilities here:

1) More than a handful experience it, and either don't complain (and continue or quit), or don't notice.

2) Only a handful experience it, but the propecia does cause it.

3) Everyone who sheds while on propecia is having an unrelated shed they would have had anyway, and it means that propecia is not working.

 

[blandflabbis]

Even if it did cause some shedding I feel the general consensus amongst those who use it would exaggerate the problem. There are two reasons for that, firstly there are still a great many people who see the amount of hairs falling out as an indicator of whether they're going bald or not and secondly it's a fairly obvious point that when someone starts taking propecia they tend to pay more attention to indicators of hair loss to try and assess whether it's working or not.

 

[lain]

Perhaps the shedders are more likely to find internet forums such as this one to voice their concerns.

 

[H/B]

It is possible some don't notice or sinply don't shed. i have personly experienced a couple bouts of heavy shedding in the first year. just speculation of why it may occur. I usually noticed shed after a brief period of improvement, kind of like 2 steps foward one step back. I believe when semiterminals thicken up in a sycronised manner, they may have a short life span at their first attempt to grow because they were initially shortend by male pattern loss. being that the started growing under the influence of finasteride in a snyncronised manner, they will shed in the same manner which may be traumatic to some because of the numbers. Its best to ride it out till things stablize again.

 

[Guest]

I have said this already in another thread but my assumption is that many people on finasteride have a regular male pattern baldness shed before their finasteride starts working and hence blame their loss on the drug.

 

[vidareal]

I have just started on proscar. (1 week)

I was wondering if the drug can increase anxiety levels in some people so that they can be too focused on apparent (and real) hair loss.

 

[Far Too Young]

Some people think it increases depression and anxiety. There is a study out there that suggests as much. I imagine you were already spending quite a bit of time looking at your hair before you began the drug. I don't see why anxiety would have heightened now that you're actually doing something about it. I'm waiting for bloodwork to come back until I get my prescription, though I told my damned derm that there's no way this is anything other than the initial shed of male pattern baldness. It'll be such a relief once I can at least get on an anti-androgen other than 1% Nizoral. If I was on my own ticket I'd just order cheap Proscar from overseas. But I'm on my parent's, who insist that I get the appropriate prescription. I should just be happy that they're willing to foot the bill. But I think that if anxiety increases while on the drug it would have to be the result of the drug (and maybe its not working).