How long does the initial shed from Propecia? I started taking it three months ago and have noticed my hair getting much thinner... fast!

The first time I tried it from '96 to 2001 I don't think I shed. I started up again in preperation for my HT just in case it might still do some marginal good and I started shedding around my hairline and frontal core quite a bit so I stopped.

I don't know about you, but one thing that accompanied my propecia and dutasteride shed is I had a drastically lowered sebum production in the scalp. I normally can't go more than one day without using dandruff shampoo. But after trying duta a few years ago and restarting propecia recently, don't get oily scalp at all. I can go a week and just use regular shampoo and I get no dandruff. This should go back to normal though after testosterone/DHT levels re-adjust to where they were.

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My Hair Loss Web Site - Dr. Ron Shapiro

Yeah, my frontal area has shed quite a lot... Just wondering if I should stop the pill??

That's up to you really. The shedding is supposed to stop.

The first time I took propecia I didn't *seem* to shed. Or maybe I had such high density that I didn't realize it. After a few months, it started to restore all my crown hair. I'd say it brought me from a density of 10 FU/CM2 to 60+. However, it started to lose it's effectiveness after 4 years and I ended up where I started so I discontinued it. There was no difference after I stopped.

When I tried dutasteride however, I started shedding like crazy. My entire head. I got off that stuff quick and it took about 3 months before the shedding stopped and I started to regain what I lost.

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My Hair Loss Web Site - Dr. Ron Shapiro

Severn, so after Propecia stopped working, you tried Dutasteride and you regained everything again? Hopefully that can be our alternatives once Finasteride stops its effectiveness.

Oh nope, I didn't stay on duta long enough to see if it would help. After finisteride stopped working, I started reading a lot about dutasteride. I knew of its potential side effects so I was ready, but I wasn't ready for the severity.

About 2 years after stopping fin, I started duta. But I took about 1/4th the dosage that the hair loss forums recommended. But even at that dosage I started experiencing a massive shed. My frontal hairline and core started thinning rapidly. And my hairline had been stable for at least a decade. Actually, the hair all over my head started falling out very quickly. Even my usually coarse thick beard hair thinned out considerably.

The shedding effect was so severe that I didn't stick it out to see if the shed would subside. But duta stays in the body much longer than fin, so I continued to shed at least a month or two before it started to subside.

On duta, even for those that show good results, it's common that it wrecks your hairline and frontal core. B spot made a post about how some of their patients reported this. I also remember reading about it before I started taking duta. There were a lot of posts speculating why this would occur. The best guesses were that the frontal area and hairline were more susecptible to testosterone than DHT, while the crown was hurt more by the DHT than testosterone. Duta stops *both* forms of DHT by about 93% IIRC. (fin stops only one form at about 60%). Well, if duta is stopping the conversion of DHT, then a lot more of it stays in the form of testosterone. Hence more of it is circulated to the scalp. The follicles more sensitive to testosterone would be the ones hurt but duta.

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My Hair Loss Web Site - Dr. Ron Shapiro

Same I'm 3 months in and on top I have shed loads so it looks really really thin, swear theres a tiny bald patch too or maybe I'm being paranoid.

Hopefully its over now, weird as didnt shed for first month but have the last 2 months. A mate even said the other day its looking thin and I can tell if I tilt my head when looking in the mirror.

Looks like we are in the same boat... Let me know if you start to notice anything.