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I got sides from it, too. I know you can keep taking it and they might go away (like mmhce says) but I stopped taking it altogether, because it's not something I wanted to push through, nor risk permanent damage. I know Merck says everyone goes back to normal, but Propeciahelp forums are bloody scary. I'm sure some of those guys are suffering from psychologically induced impotence from the scare, but a lot of them are also getting bloodwork done and getting strange results even after months or years off Finasteride. I just didn't want to risk it. Even if it is psychological, it doesn't mean you can just snap out of it. It's really regrettable as Fin seems to be an awesome hairloss treatment for people who react well to it, but some of us are just unlucky. I'm now on Rogaine alone, and I'll see how that works out.

Chocolate contains polyphenols too. Does it help? Thanks for the tip on the apples. I'll try to add them to my diet, even if it doesn't help my hair, it's good for me, too.

Finasteride, in any of its forms, is a prescription-only drug in every country I've ever heard of. It's a pretty powerful drug that can cause serious problems if used incorrectly (by a pregnant woman, for example.) You may be able to purchase it without a prescription on the internet but there are no guarantees when sending money to an online pharmacy in India.

I've been rubbing it in. I guess I don't need to, but is it detrimental to the effects? I used to just leave it, but there was the odd drip running down. Since I started massaging it in, that stopped. Is the sprayer really that much better than the dropper? I don't have a sprayer, but could I just put it in a normal sprayer or take the pump spray nozzle off an old perfume bottle? I've got another bottle of the solution that I need to take. Once that's finished, I'll switch to the foam.

I was just curious about this, since people's own hair is limited, if you could find a willing donor, is it possible?

Fair enough, I wasn't saying that diet was the cause. But I think it could definitely be a contributing factor. The study in the newspaper didn't say anything about diet, either. They speculated the high-stress of big city life, the diet part was something I was thinking about on my own. I mean, there is speculation that soy helps with DHT inhibition, some people seem to have seen results with fish oil etc. Obviously propecia/minoxidil are powerful pharmaceuticals with properly measurable results, but do you think it's that far outside the realms of possibility that a combination of certain foods that are present in certain diets could help with slowing hairloss and vice versa? That said, I'm not attacking the western diet. I still prefer a nice roast chicken with stuffing or steak to rice. One other observation I have made that I didn't include in my first post was that of the 3 boys in my family, at 29, my older two brothers had experienced far greater hairloss at age 29 than I have. Perhaps coincidentally, they both live in Europe and have always lived in western countries. I grew up in the same country as them, but at 24 moved to China and have been living here the past 5 years eating a lot more Chinese food than I did when I was living in a western country.

I'm guessing mild sides from the Finasteride, so he doesn't want to push it further with any more Saw Palmetto? Anyway, Fookin_Alo, I think a decent multivitamin or something for overall hair health would be your best bet. Seems like the Propecia is doing well for your hair regrowth/stopping loss.

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Why not?

Would you say it's not worth getting a third party laser-comb, then?

http://youa.baidu.com/item/88ebb5ebb5a1bbe0dffb0381 I can't read a thing on that site, but looking at the picture, is that the kind I should be using alongside Rogaine?

Just for those who are a bit anxious, I got sides within the first week. I didn't get brain fog, but erections were weak and kind of numb. It took about 3 weeks in total to recover completely but some people take 45 or so days. If it persists longer than that, it seems you're in that group of guys who now want to start a class-action lawsuit. No one really understands the effects fully, but I'm sure in SOME of those permanent side-effect cases, it's just the psychological shock of your junk not working that causes the problem.

Yeah, Propeciahelp is scary as hell. I got some sides, then read up on that site, I decided to stop it, and I'm back to 100% which is a relief. I'm almost considering going back on it to try again, but I think 1.25mg is too strong for me - I'm only 5'6" and about 140lbs. Maybe I don't need all that much DHT blocked. I was using 1/4ths of Proscar, but I don't think 1/8ths are really feasible, especially since the finasteride might not be evenly distributed throughout the pill. I'm also considering Saw Palmetto which is supposed to have similar sides, but is overall less strong...

In these situations, I think a lot or most of it is in the mind of the (balding) guy. I'm not saying women aren't superficial or prefer full heads of hair, but it's not like all the bald men in the world are lonely, all the bald husbands wives left them, all the bald single guys can't get dates. Some women are superficial, but who cares? You don't need someone like that anyway. And then again, aren't we all a little superficial? It seems like a lot of us don't like our bald selves in the mirror - how can we expect anyone else to? I want to keep my hair, but I'm not terrified of it. I'm short, too. I'm pretty confident that even if/when I get noticably more bald, I could still get girls. Who knows, maybe I'm in for a shock.

Is there any problem with jumping straight into the strongest % of Rogaine?

I'm planning on starting Rogaine only pretty soon. I'll let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed - it's not exactly ideal for my situation, frontal thinning. Considering taking some Saw Palmetto since the Fin sides were *almost* tolerable, and I was probably taking too much for my body. (1.25g/day - I'm only 5'6" and 64kg) Anyone know how good the chances of vellus hairs becoming terminal are, with Minox? And is it OK to start with 5%?

Obviously Rogaine is the original, but I was reading up on Spectral DNC which is Minoxidil with various other pro-hair growth junk in it. It looks and sounds pretty promising, but I wondered if there was a brand that was universally favoured by most people? Also, how flexible is the routine? If I take a week or two off, now and then, will that be detrimental?

I don't know the price of Proscar in the US, but I got a pack of 10 Proscar tablets (just over a month's worth if you're cutting them into quarters) for what is about US$11 going on today's exchange rate. These are proper Merck tablets from an established pharmacy chain/franchise. Unfortunately, I experienced side effects, so they're going to waste here.

I don't know if shedding is such a big thing to worry about. Normal, healthy follicles drop hairs too, it's when they stop growing back, or they grow back softer and smaller that your head starts to look more barren. If you live with women, take a look how much hair they lose - check a shower plughole or a hairbrush - they shed like crazy but still keep their hair. I'm 29 and unless someone examines my head very carefully, and contrasts it with a photo from when I was 20, they wouldn't know that I was going bald (I'm just vain and want to catch it early), but I've ALWAYS lost a ton of hair every day, even since my teens.

Someone on another forum just said that using minoxidil will put finasteride into the bloodstream? I didn't think it contained Finasteride, but maybe I misread the post?

One more question - I know I can research it myself, and I'm in the process of doing so, but more feedback is also welcome... Are generic minoxidil products problematic? What's the difference in the different percentages in minoxidil? Has anyone here used a lasercomb? I read that an independent doctor did a small not terribly scientific survey or something, and found some regrowth and perhaps no further hairloss in about 20-30% of the users. I'm not going to spring for a hairmax comb, but I was considering a generic lasercomb, too.

Sounds like a rough deal. Finasteride does have side effects, but so many people are happy with it - can't hate on it for that. I do agree that Merck probably fudged the numbers as best they could, because it sure seems like more than 2% of the people talking about it have had side effects. (Perhaps 2% of the people who continued to take it.) I don't think it needs to be taken off the shelf, but it would be good if there were more conclusive tests that doctors could perform to determine whether someone is at risk of side effects or not.

Thanks for the reply Clint. It's encouraging to hear what you have to say about Rogaine. Have you come across any significant complaints about Rogaine side effects? I'm actually more like a NW1, than NW2, so perhaps the baby hair thing is more for people trying to rejuvenate mostly inert follicles. I've also read a lot about Soy milk, which I've been drinking lately. I must say that hairloss among European/Caucasians is ffar more common than in Asians. Perhaps it's just genetic, or perhaps it's something in the diet. I've read some interesting stats that hairloss has become more prevalent and occuring earlier in Chinese men in the wealthier, coastal cities where a more westernised lifestyle is being led. I'll pass on the HT option though. It's a bit invasive for my liking. I'm not really a fan of surgery, and in a lot of cases I find it kind of obvious. I know there are some awesome HT doctors out there, but I don't know if I could afford it either the surgery or the time off/plane tickets to go get it done (I don't want to do it in China. There might be good HT doctors here, but I wouldn't know and I'd rather consult in my first language.) Just because you didn't experience them, it doesn't make them BS. I'm envious, really. I wish it was simple as just taking Finasteride now and that would be all I really need to worry about. I thought it would be that simple, and I liked my chances and frankly didn't even consider it a possibility that I'd fall into that 2%. It's been 2 weeks since I stopped the Finasteride and I'm almost completely back to normal.

I know you're a big Finasteride fan, and experienced excellent results, but not everyone is as lucky as you are. It's not that I don't want to "take a chance" with it - I've already tried it. I experienced side effects (weaker erections, aching joints) so it doesn't matter how small the % of people by affected it, I'm obviously part of that small percentage. I could have tried to ride it out, but frankly, I'm not prepared to sacrifice my sex life (and put up with joint pain) for however many months it would take to see it out. Obviously my body needs DHT more than yours (and millions of men around the world) does. Anyway, the side effects usually aren't permanent, but considering that I'm already part of that small minority, then I'd rather not push my luck further. In summary - I'm not anti-Finasteride, but it's simply not suitable for me. As for the Chinese tonic, it's pretty successful in China - you may not have heard of it, but people here certainly have. It's based on traditional Chinese medicine, so it's herbal/natural. Worst case I'll just stop using it. Outside of all this, I already stated in my first post that I don't want to use Finasteride, so aside from adopting the Finasteride defense stance and calling me crazy, do you have any suggestions or other products that you could recommend? Onlineonline - thanks for the info about Spiro. It's a bit disappointing to hear, but oh well. What about what I said about Rogaine? Do the hairs it grows ever get mature? Or just stay all small and downy?

I know finasteride is considered the cornerstone of hair maintenence, but I'm not prepared to live with the side effects. I'm 29 and I still hope to keep my hair, which is in the very beginning stages of NW2 (most people can't tell). I was thinking about using topical Spironolactone cream and Nizoral a few times a week. I'm also thinking about getting a laser comb. But do brand X ones do the trick or is there more to it? I'm not sure about Rogaine as most people say it just seems to groow baby hairs, and it seems to be a lot of trouble. Any other suggestions/additions? Incidentally, I'm an ex-patriate in China, so I don't always have all options available. I'm currently trialing some kind of Chinese tonic that I was recommended in a pharmacy when I first went to ask about finasteride. It stinks but who knows whether it'll help (or make things worse!)