AB0274

Thanks @Gatsby, appreciate your well wishes! As a fellow Aussie, i've read-up on the literature around OM: https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/the-australian-scientist-winning-the-hair-loss-battle-20220914-p5bi0i. If I can't tolerate oral FIN so well, would it be a waste of time to put all my eggs into oral minoxidil? The way I've always understood it is finasteride prevents further hairloss and OM stimulates the hair you have. And what would be a suitable micro-dose of finasteride? 0.25mg/daily or EOD?

Hi team - I'm 2 months into the fin journey (1mg/daily). For the first 4 weeks all was going swimmingly, and then suddenly I experienced head aches, brain fog and this general low-energy/dizzy feeling. I tapered off the finasteride for a week and these issues resolved. I went back onto finasteride last week (at the same 1mg dose) have noticed the brain fog and dizziness return. Seems like finasteride (at least at 1mg) doesn't work for me. Which is a shame. I guess the most daunting thought was the prospect of low libido/sex drive, but I've had no issues in this department. In the 2 months I've been taking FIN, my hair has been shedding like a tree in autumn. I've never looked so sparse around the crown as I have now, but was excited about the prospect of new hair growth. My main question, if I go off the finasteride, will the hair I've previously had (aka 2 months ago) re-grow post-shed, or is this my new baseline? I'm curious to explore alternatives - oral minoxidil and topicals, or at least finasteride at a lower dose (if at all effective),

Thanks @Hairagainnwould suggest perhaps Finasteride 0.5mg/daily for a few weeks and then re-assess? hard to know, as most of reading I've done suggest dizziness/light headed side effects come from minoxidil - but it's such a small amount at 2.5mg.

I would add the dizziness is tolerable, as in I can complete normal duties and exercise - but sorta feels like I'm operating at 80%.

Hi there team, hoping for some guidance and advice! I recently took the plunge, starting Finasteride (1mg/daily) on Jan-4 and oral minoxidil (2.5mg/daily) on Jan-13. Both taken at night before bed. So far the journey has been great. Minimal side effects, other than heavy shedding and some minor thinning around my crown and mid-scalp - which I believe to be a good sign? It's quite remarkable I can run my hand through my hair and little hairs falling onto my fingers. But last week, about a month in, I experienced 3 days in a row of bad headaches. Since then, the headaches have subsided, and I feel this minor dizziness / brain fog feeling - particularly in the morning. It's the sort of feeling you get when you're dehydrated or feeling groggy after a big night out! what I'm unsure about is whether this is Finasteride-induced or OM-induced and how I should proceed? I'm mindful I have been making great progress over the last 6 weeks and would hate to lose ground. - should I push through, mindful that sometimes the body takes time to adjust? - should I cut back on OM to firstly see whether this reduces the dizziness? - cut back on the Finasteride? - or cut back on both? The Finasteride I take comes in 1mg pills, and I use a pill cutter to Quarter the OM.

How old are you, if I may ask?

@JoDimaggio22 have you had a consultation with Pinto's clinic as yet?

Just wanted to report back - I'm now on the finasteride journey (1mg/daily) and humbled to have access to FIN and the depth of knowledge of this forum! I've decided to hold on minoxidil for now - do you think this is a prudent measure to first see how finasteride works for me? Early days, but no sides as yet and hoping to see some progress in the coming 6-12 months. One thing I have noticed is a change to my sleeping pattern. I generally sleep at 10/11pm and wake at 7am. I've noticed since starting FIN, myself waking up a lot earlier.. Nothing significant and not affecting energy levels at all.

Any updates @drawdownfx

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Looks amazing @Harry Bosch! Pinto is a star!

Thanks everyone for their words of wisdom! I'm feeling comforted with the FIN journey. Would you recommend easing into it with FIN, or just taking the 1mg as prescribed daily? And if I was looking at oral minox too, should I just throw them together at once?

@NARMAKhahaha 🤑

When it comes to Finasteride, what should I expect from shedding? (Again, I take it it varies person to person). but I often hear of the "shedding cycle" when you start Finasteride. Is this shedding at the same rate you would untreated, or does it accelerate and then subside? All going well

Wow this is amazing!