Anyone on Finasteride?
Was thinking about jumping on it because I was losing hair (I’m 22 for ref) and just wanted to see if anyone had any experiences with it? I’ve heard a lot about the side effects and post Finasteride syndrome, just wanted to see if y’all have been on it? Thanks!
As someone that has experienced hair loss and read a lot about this, there are pros and cons to being on hormones that keep your hair. If you look fit, dress well, the receding hairline/and eventual baldness is ok. Embrace growing old. You definitely don't want to date someone for the long term who only values hair, because what will happen when it goes away??? Furthermore, bankers have it great in this dating environment (you have lots of $$$$ to blow)
Can't disagree with this more there are very minimal to no sides. Saying "you can still..." before anything is meaningless bc all else equal you'd still rather just have your hair. Why not be all those things but also just with hair?? Why compromise
https://www.economist.com/1843/2024/04/05/would-you-risk-a-breakdown-to…
Just have a good read of this first.
Not using it but know a little bit about it, I'm pretty sure fin has a lot of side effects, Maybe you should try minoxidil first? Honestly I'd try and find a GOOD dermatologist, Your hair is worth far more than whatever he/she will charge.
Been on it almost three years. Virtually no side effects. My hair has made a complete 180: its much thicker and darker now. People actually give me compliments on it which is crazy to think since 3 years ago I was clearly balding.
PFS has been debunked and isn't based in actual evidence. You'll read so much shit about people trying to sway you away from it because they hate to see guys "having it all" while they're ugly and bald. Just get the prescription, take the pill everyday and forget about it.
what is virtually no side effect?
He has mind crushing depression - but that is common in the industry so it’s ok.
I started taking it 6 months ago and am very happy with the results.
I regret not hopping on earlier. Side effects are super individual, can always stop if you’re not happy with the trade-off. Can also try topical first if you are anxious, Hims has a good formulation with minoxidil.
Im 20 and I just started a topical mino and fin serum. Been losing hair for about a year now. Ive only been on it a week but have not noticed any side effects. I probably should have gotten on it sooner but it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that you’re starting to bald at 19…
Also noticed my hair thinning at 22 (26 now) and got on minoxidil and finasteride. Personally have had no side effects and hair loss completely stopped. Def notice my hairline thinning when I get lazy with it but comes back when I’m consistent again.
Have an older brother whose hair loss was even worse and it almost completely reversed his hair loss. Including him and multiple of his friends, none have experienced negative side effects.
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I've been microdosing topical finasteride with my minoxidil for ~3 months and have already noticed the corners of my hairline coming back and other parts of my scalp looking more dense and thicker. I'm excited to see how things turn out by end of the year. I did have some sides when I first started. I took a break, tapered the dose upward (i.e. went from every 4-5 days to every other day, back up to everyday), and haven't had issues again so far (knock on wood).
Like others said, I don't doubt that certain people get sides, so I dont want to say my experience will be the same for everyone. That said, from everything I've read, PF syndrome is very difficult to prove and even in clinical trials, the difference between placebo and finasteride experiencing side effects were pretty similar. This may indicate some of the symptoms are psychological or were already there but you feel/notice it more since now you're on fin. That said, I've also read a lot of studies saying that the typical 1mg a day orally might be unnecessary. I take the equivalent of 0.25mg orally, but apply it topically, so I absorb even less of it. I've still noticed results.
The dose curve of fin is such that even tiny amounts will nuke your DHT and taper off very quickly. You can use pretty small amounts and take breaks every 6 months and still get good results from what I've read
i've been on it 3 years, hair better than ever, brother was bald at my age. no side effects (other than my test levels increasing by 15% as they aren't bieng converted anymore
26, been on it for 4 years (mostly preventative as both my grandfathers starting to lose around 22 and I was noticing slight recession). 1 mg daily ever since, no side effects and couldn't be happier. From my experience if you get on in the early stages, a minimal dose helps to maintain what you have and reduces the risks of the (albeit, unlikely) side effects. Talk to your doctor first, but my experience has been positive.
I’m close to pulling the trigger but am worried about the shedding stage. Has anyone shed some crazy hair in the first couple of months of using topical fin?? Also, curious to hear if anyone has had any side effects such as libido, decreased energy, etc.
Been on the sauce 6 years with no side effects. I was paranoid about getting ED when I started it, but it was all just mental. I get compliments from friends about how much my hair has maintained/fill back in. I take 1mg finasteride daily, and topical minoxidil twice daily (I prefer the dropper to foam, don't like getting my hands dirty).
Tip to save money: get the finasteride from RedBox RX ($100/year), and minoxidil from Amazon ($28/6 month supply). Both are much, much cheaper than paying Hims/Keeps/Roman to cover their advertising budgets.
Costco will give you a year prescription for like $40. No insurance or membership necessary
That's good to know. One benefit of RedBox RX is you can get e-prescribed on their website for $20 by just answering a few questions and uploading pictures of your hair. For Costco you need a prescription from an outside doctor, which could be more cost and effort.
I'm in my 30s and have traditionally had great hair. Noticed a bald spot at the crown about a year ago--actually, out of nowhere it got kind of bad. Dropped my Head and Shoulders shampoo and started using Etaderm shampoo (all natural hippie shampoo that promotes hair retention and regrowth) and Rogaine. Has worked pretty well. After 10 months, about 70% of the bald spot is gone. You've got to be diligent--you're not going to see results over night.
Most shampoos and other hair products cause damage to the scalp. Most people assume because something has a brand name, it must be okay to use. Companies are allowed to put terrible chemicals into hair products. People assume that these products do not cause hair loss when they actually do. For several years, I used baby shampoos which I thought would cause less damage but I was wrong in that they are just as bad. I did not see improvement until I switched to an all natural shampoo and then saw more improvement when I switched from a hair gel to a pomade. None of this will help if you have bad hair genes, though.
I started Finasteride and Minoxidil through Hims this past January. No side effects.
Not a real doctor and never took the drug, but I'm always curious about weird conditions like post-finasteride syndrome, long Covid etc. Like why do small pockets of people report these problems.
I don't want to dismiss anyone or the possibility that these things are real. But there's a lot to suggest they might be bogus.
For one thing, "everyone responds differently" is an overstatement. Somewhat true, sure. But we're really not that different as humans. You never hear someone say they drank 6 beers and nothing happened, or they took cocaine and got sleepy. But we're supposed to readily believe that someone took a clinically tested drug and had a totally different experience than anyone in the sample . . at least be skeptical.
A bigger clue is that the people who report these kinds of unique experiences always have a lot of other things in common. Long Covid, for example, is strikingly prevalent among young urban adults who are prone to . . let's call it advocacy. Way more long Covid cases in Portland vs. Kansas City. Haven't looked into the post-finasteride syndrome crowd as much, but I'd bet anything it's not the only thing they have in common.
What my doctor (one of the rare critical thinkers in the field) would say is, you can always take a smaller dose or less frequency than the recommendation. Instead of 1mg daily, try 0.5mg every other day or something. If you are concerned about side effects.
Many years I ago I started a course of accutane for acne. Three days in, I noticed my libido was completely gone and I couldn't even get an erection. I stopped after a few more days when I realized it wasn't getting any better. I told my dermatologist what happened and she had no idea that erectile dysfunction was a potential side effect of accutane. When I googled it, I found plenty of anecdotes from accutane and ED forums describing the same symptoms, and even permanent ED after finishing their accutane course. However, this was never listed as a potential side effect on the drug label .
Yeah I'm gonna say this is bullshit and just your personal confirmation bias showing. Do you have anything showing that Long Covid is more reported in some communities over others?
And yes, it totally makes sense to readily believe that someone can take a clinically tested drug and have a totally different experience than anyone else. Without going into any further context that sentence describes allergies perfectly, something I doubt you'd say is a fiction.
It's easy to find. I did the work already, long ago, you can do it yourself now. Unless maybe you're the biased one and don't care to know.
I'm 23, been on fin+min+microneedling+rosemary oil for 6 months. For fin I got sides on topical, tried the oral, and now I'm back to microdosing topical (0.05mg / 0.005% daily). Sides are definitely still there, but they got milder once I worked out/lifted, slept well, ate lots of food, and stayed away from porn. Guess I'm in that unlucky 3-5% or whatever. But to be fair, my sides usually go away just after 2-3 days of quitting. Can get back on the drug at any time.
On the flipside: Hair regrowth is insane. I was a hyper responder and got absurd thickness and 40-50% of my temples back. Plan to continue it for the near future until I'm ready to buzz or get a hair transplant at 25/26. I don't have a gf and I work long analyst hours so I don't care too much for the sides atm.
I encourage every guy in his 20s should try it-- if you get sides at least you'll know... if you don't, congrats and enjoy having hair for the rest of your life
Del
Thought I would add, Took my first 1mg pill Monday night. Woke up Tuesday with minimal ball ache, and some increased brain fog, and slight increase in anxiety. Maybe I was nervous around the potential sexual side effects. Which were a little noticeable, slight genital retraction, everything worked fine by the end of the day.
I didn't take one last night and woke up fine the next day, with everything in working order mentally and physically.
Kind of a bummer about the sides, would have been great to not have any and just take 1 pill for the rest of my life.
Will try .5mg daily and see....also will report back
I signed up for Happy Head about 1mo ago. $80/mo. Am on 1MG Finasteride 1.25MG Minoxidil. Have not had any side effects except for the fact that I think there is a stage of shedding pushing old hair follicles out before the new ones come in and that is the only thing I've noticed.
lucky you.
You guys need to give your body a month to adjust not just stop after a day lol the overwhelming % of men have no long lasting sides
dude, non working peen is enough reason to stop.
I have been taking this for years. It has certainly worked for me. There are some potential side effects, but I haven't had any of them. At a minimum, you should talk with a doctor about it and just make sure you go in when your prescription is up and actually talk with them instead of just checking the box.
Instead of taking the full 1mg, cut the pills into 2 and take .5. I had trouble getting erections the first 2 days, but after that, everything was ok. It's a miracle drug as far as I'm concerned, started loosing my crown at 21, and now at 28, I have more of it vs when I was 20. Don't listen to the idiots telling you to go bald. There are no shortage of cultures in the world where doing so makes you look fucking ugly.
Do the topicals work well after a couple months or do people have to keep applying to maintain hair regrowth?
Myself and a close friend had sides with both 0.25mg EoD and topical. Two other friends can take it with no issues, worth a shot and just discontinue if you have an adverse reaction
Been on over 5 years, no issues
Oral? Results?
Yeah the pill form. Get it delivered from Keeps. Also use Minox liquid in the morning. I started doing this at the very moment I thought I was losing my hair so I was able to maintain everything and regrow a very small amount.
On a finasteride topical for about 9 months. Seen very good progress in getting some hair back in the really bad areas and thicker hair in the areas that were thinning. No noticeable side effects (maybe slightly less sex drive, but not sure if that's related to diet/sleep etc. as it comes and goes).
Further update, i have stopped the pils as the side effects were too much. I am on topical, which was great the first day or two. But I am still getting minor sleepy/brain fog side on .005% topical fin. This sucks.
Damn that sucks - sorry to hear
I tried and stopped due to sides (you know, those sides). Currently taking oral minoxidil without any sides.
You tried and stopped taking oral so you're currently taking oral? How does this make sense?
The thread is about finasteride -- which I took (orally) and stopped due to unpleasant side effects. As an alternative, I take minoxidil (orally) which is a totally different drug. I specified orally for minoxidil as minoxidil (i.e. 'rogaine') is typically applied topically in liquid or form.
Ask you PCP...? Asking for medication advice on a Finance forum is wild.
I'm on 2.5mg minoxidil and tbh haven't noticed huge results, but perhaps less thinning/receding being the biggest thing.
On a side note, in regards to beard growth, it's wild how effective natural remedies are. I was on a 200+ mile hiking trip earlier this summer, and in the sun virtually all day, and my beard hair grew significantly over that time period compared to before and since. Wish I could do that all the time.
Maybe it was the not shaving in that entire duration lmao
I did shave actually at the same frequency I regularly do (although it was much harder)
Another good and natural way to grow facial hair is to use retinol. I could hardly grow sideburns until I started using it on them. Now, they grow in pretty good
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