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

Following

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!

Hi, I'm Will, a 27 year old MPB sufferer here! I've been a long-time lurker on the Hair Restoration Network and wanted to share my story. I’ve always found the network to be extremely supportive and informative and a particular shout out to fellow Aussie @Gatsby and others. I first noticed my hairline starting to weaken when I was about 24. It started with whispy little baby hairs around the forehead and temple and over the last three years has progressed. At first I didn't take much notice of it, but in recent months I feel I've started losing ground faster and faster. As a young kid I always had thick, copious amounts of hair. My Dad - now in his mid 60s - still does. I always assumed I was destined to inherit is lot! What got me worried or "the moment" you could call it was about a year ago when I was at the beach. I'd been for a swim, had wet hair and a friend had taken some photos of the group. I noticed my wet hair had lost ground around the forehead and from that moment, hair loss has been a seed growing in my head (and on it quite literally). When my hair is dry and styled, I'm quite happy with how it looks. If the appearance I have today is what I can maintain - I would be content. But I have accepted the fate of MPB and the way things are going... downhill slowly. I'm fine to accept MBP, I just find it hard to accept it in my 20s and 30s. Which led me to the Hair Restoration Network and spending hours and hours of reading from similar MPB sufferers About 3 months ago I noticed this revolution of hair transplants among people my age - 20s/30s and the emerge of automated machines (one called the ARTAS machine). From the marketing campaigns and healed results, there look to be some solid outcomes, but I felt it would be unwise to invest $20,000 at the first option, without more research and consultation. And the advice from the network and others has probably saved me from making rushed, uninformed decisions. I was ignorant in thinking I could throw money, have a procedure and 'fix' the issue. So where I'm at: So far, I've been doing desktop research and I've seen two GPs. The first was my family doctor - certainly no expert in MPB, but recommended and prescribed oral Finasteride 1mg. My family GP was supportive, optimistic and encouraged me to do it. Said that most of his patients had positive experiences with Finasteride and were still on it some years later. The second GP, was one referred to me by a friend. He offered a different route - Dutasteride 500mcg daily or EOD and Minoxidil 2.5mg daily. This doctor was supportive, but leaned very heavily on warning of the symptoms particularly around libido and sex drive. He asked - is hair worth low libido etc. So far I have a filled script for Finasteride and it's siting on my bathroom sink, but have just been contemplating my next move. If I fast forward to what I want to achieve - my goal would be to stabilise my hair loss, perhaps even strengthen my hairline using medication and consider a surgical options in time, to restore my hairline from 2-3 years ago. So with that - I would love to hear more about your MPB stories and pick your brains and wisdom for people further down the journey + any advice if you were in my situation. What you feel are the best tools/treatments to slow down the rate of MPB and/or growth? And when it comes to side affects, how prominent you feel these are from your observations and time in the community? I've read some awful examples of irreversible side effects etc. In terms of Finasteride / dutaseride - I feel there is a lot of stigma around these still, given a side effect is related to ‘manhood’. When I mentioned to my yoga instructor about considering it, he was horrified i would consider taking something that affected my testosterone levels and libido. For me, the libido side effect is slightly worrying., but I am comforted by some of the studies into this which show the rate is relatively low and have seen low libido rates in comparable placebo studies. I otherwise have no health conditions, exercise daily and try to eat and drink a healthy lifestyle. With that, my rant is over! I'll try and send some hair pics through as I work out how.

I had wondered the same. Thanks!