21YearsAndScared

Thanks for the read kingsea, I'm very interested in your progress. I've read around a lot and it seems that minoxidil is supposed to do little to nothing for your temples (receding hairline is my problem too - NW II, i'm on finasteride only for it). Do you notice any difference from minoxidil that you haven't while taking avodart? Also, have you kept any pictures during these times? I'd really like to see the results.

Hi Stevo, I'm 20 years old, also taking .25mg finasteride, I've been taking it for a month had some side effects but i'll continue until they get unbearable. I'd like to ask, if the "shedding" made your bald spots more visible, and if the thickness later on made it better than before - or is it unnoticeable (exactly like before)? Also - I'm taking it only for my receding (frontal) hairline, are you seeing results in the front of your hairline (forehead), or just the top of the head (vertex)?

Thanks for the reply, so I suppose I was correct in my theory; finasteride in turn increases the speed of hair loss before adding density

What exactly is the "shedding" when on finasteride? Is it hair that sheds away forever, or hairs that shed and grow back? If a few hairs shed away forever, then is the risk to take = hair density over quantity, since it's supposed to make your hair more dense, but you lose quantity from shedding?

I just want to say, I believe the side effect percentage of propecia is much, much higher than dermatologists and pharmacists/advertisers claim. I 'experimented' the dosage by taking a lower dosage than recommended by my doctor (1mg) I'm 21 years old, I've been using 0.5 mg doses of propecia for only 3 weeks and I'm already experiencing soft, low quality erections that last for 1/10th of the time they used to. Also, when I ejaculate now, there is almost a pain I feel in my testicles. I really didn't think I would be one of the people who would experience side effects, and I can't even believe it now but if this is the result from 0.5mg in less than a month, I am much too scared to continue.

I've been on it for about 3 weeks now, and all was good until last night - My erection was not at all solid when it was supposed to be, (which never in my life happened), and during ejaculation there was almost a pain felt in my testicles. Can you comment on what your side effects were? I'm scared to death right now, and stopped using it as of today.

It's been almost 1 month now that I started 1mg propecia, in the first week I took 0.25mg, and in the 2nd and 3rd I took 0.5mg. I've been looking around and there's a lot of places claiming 0.5mg is almost as good as 1mg, so I was wondering if taking 0.5mg indefinitely instead of 1mg would be a wise choice? I would just like to avoid side effects as much as possible instead of taking it until I get the sides and then lowering dosage, but if this prevents the medicine from doing it's job, i'd reconsider. Any thoughts on this, especially for someone who's just started on finasteride?

After learning about this 12.5% Minoxidil and Azelaic Acid which is supposedly supposed to regrow your receded hairline (If you google it, you'll quickly learn about it), I'm thinking this is the only thing that might bring back my receded temples. I am however reluctant to try it due to the many complaints of minoxidil i've seen on this forum about the "Shedding" phase. If I apply minoxidil to my temples, NOT touching many hairs (other than the few vellus hairs I have left), would I still experience shedding? Keep in mind this 12.5% Minoxidil is more than twice the 5% potency, which is also why I am being cautious. If my hairline recedes further back before getting any better, there's no point in it since it would probably take years to recover so I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this.

I've got some questions, Do you suppose reducing the frequency from everyday, to every other day would also postpone the "start time" of the drug? By that, I mean how people have said the drug does not work immediately, it takes a couple months, up to a year to start. And following this, I would like to ask, what exactly takes time to start? Do you continue losing hair for months until finasteride kicks in, or is it regrowth that's supposed to start? I've been taking finasteride for a couple weeks now, of course I see no results - but what should I be expecting? Should I look for increase of density/thickness after a few months, or am I supposed to be looking for new growth? What am I to expect from this drug?

Koenig, I've been taking .25mg this week (Just started), and I will be taking 0.5mg indefinitely after next week. If I remember, I'll let you know how it goes over time.

I agree, it seems like all this week and last there's been another person complaining about side effects. It's scaring me really, as I've just started. Day 2, nothing wrong so far.

I'm just starting finasteride, and I'm currently the age you were when you last took it. When did you start noticing the side effects? Was it a year in, or a few months, or immediately?

Going for generic, I'm assuming there's no difference - how about yourself?

I see you've included procerin in the list, I'd like to ask if you know if procerin (I'm assuming mainly saw palmetto) has helped anyone with receding hairlines before on these forums, or if the medicine is used for such loss, or is it mainly for the crown?

Why do you want to get off Propecia, did it stop working for you? And are you thinning at the crown, or the temples or both? I'm also interested to know if any experiences users came off of propecia without much consequences. I've heard of someone on these forums going off it after 6 years, then noticing hairloss and when he went back on he had serious sexual side effects that he never had in those 6 earlier years.

I'm 21 years old, my hairline is very similar to yours, maybe slightly worse but I know from the past year of monitoring the loss that NOW is the time to start before it gets worse (My hairline was amazing at age 20 compared to now, if only I started then). I've researched the side effects for months and months, asked maybe 20 people, and went to 2 dermatologists. The number of people who get hit with side effects seems to be very low, I think I'll take the chances. I am starting propecia (1mg finasteride) Tomorrow.

This is a wild story infinity, The first few posts scared the Sh** out of me, but your next post about the surge of growth brought back some hope (I'm thinking about starting minoxidil), do you apply it to your temples however? (For receding hairline) Or just your crown? Pictures would be very helpful

I'm going out to receive 1mg propecia tablets tomorrow. I believe our hairlines may be similar (I'm 21, suffering from receding hairline). I'll try and keep you updated on how my finasteride adventure goes, and if I suffer any side effects (God, I hope not).

Hey Lukey, The initial pictures show great improvement, I'm really looking forward to seeing what your hairline looks like now after a few years of your regime. I'd also like to ask what made you go up to 5mg of finasteride a day? And is your finasteride in the form of propecia/proscar?

redman, Have you noticed any shedding or anything while trying out the 12.5%? Future_HT's post intimidates me as I hadn't thought of the extra concentration of not being FDA approved, but I'm actually looking to try this out if it's safe.

I was reading this topic on Belgravia's Website: In the 2nd last paragraph, it talks about this special minoxidil cream which claims to be "the best" for regrowing the hairline's vellus hairs. Has anyone tried this and had any luck, or has anyone heard of this before? I've been under the impression that minoxidil generally doesn't work for the hairline, and finasteride would be the best bet. Here are the Clear claims about the cream - outside link removed by moderator

Thanks for the reply icecream. I don't think it was just breakage as the hair would grow back then, but there's definitely a loss of density in the front/bangs. I stopped using heat products 6 months ago, but hair is just falling out at a higher rate than ever now. Thanks for your experience with fin, I'm just waiting to get an appointment with a dermatologist before I can get a prescription for it. All my hopes are in finasteride results now.

Too afraid to do that, it will show too much of my temples

I started using Nizoral 2% today, which I think might address my scalp: During these past 2 years, there have been oily white/beige/yellow "clumps" of my skin/scalp that were visible in my fingernails when I scratched my head (near the temples mostly). My hair has also started to get oily MUCH faster (within 2 days of not washing, it's very oily - just 3 years ago I could go almost week without washing it for it to get that oily) Has this happened to anyone else during early stages of receding hairline? And are there any pictures on this site where anyone was successfully able to grow back some/any of their frontal hairline (receding hairline) from Minoxidil/Finasteride/Nizoral/Biotin? I haven't been able to find any, if I were to find some that would definitely give me a glimmer of hope.

I'm 21 years old, and I think your hairline is probably better than mine. I haven't used any medications yet, and I'm planning on it soon - have you got any pictures of you before you started finasteride?