Hey everyone! I'm a new poster on here, having followed this forum for quite some time! Before I start, I just want to give my thanks to Melvin and all the regular posters who continuously work to make this into a valuable and informative network for all of us! It has certainly been of great help to me.
So I recently contacted a doctor recommended by the ISHRS about my hair situation. Having looked at my photos, they suggested I get on finasteride for a year before looking to operated. I was previously hesitant on starting it but its now getting to a point of now-or-never, and the doctor assured me that overall the drug is safe the reported side-effects only effect a small percentage, and even then he has never seen any permanent side effects. He also mentioned that the nocebo rate associated with the drug.
Today I started on 1mg finasteride daily. I was quite excited to get started as I was starting to see quite a few small hairs growing along my hairline and in my temples from just under two months of minoxidil 5% foam (twice daily). However, I can't helped get concerned about people online saying stuff like "finasteride ruined my libido", "I wish I'd never started" and everything concerning fertility issues (probably what I'm most concerned about), etc.
My question to the forum is, based on your experiences with finasteride, what should I expect in terms of side-effects and hair growth?
Please let me know if I need to elaborate on something or give more details. Thank you in advance!