survey on finasteride

[wb280]

Hi all! I'm a 35 year old hair loss sufferer and having a really difficult time deciding whether or not to take Finasteride. It seems to me that more and more people are sporting permanent side effects

 

The credibility of your feedback will be much higher than those u read in Merck websites or related. And i really appreciate if any of you can share your experience and help me in making this decision.

 

1. How long have you been on Finasteride?

 

2. Have you experiencing side effects? If yes, what are the side effects?

 

3. Did you quite the drug once the side effects came up?

 

4. Did the side effects go away after you quite?

 

5. What is your overall feedback on this drug?

[sandy221981]

Hi,

 

I am 30 years old and have been taking generic finastride for the past 3-4 years. I havent felt any side effects. I feel it has stopped my hair loss completely.

 

Regards,

Sandy

[1978matt]

1. How long have you been on Finasteride?

 

Since 01 April 2012

 

2. Have you experiencing side effects? If yes, what are the side effects?

 

A dull headache / spaced out feeling after the first 5 days on 1mg per day.

 

Possibly some loss of libido, but who wouldnt with a headache!

 

3. Did you quite the drug once the side effects came up?

 

No. Reduced the dose to 0.5mg every other day, then 0.25mg.

 

4. Did the side effects go away after you quite?

 

There is still a slight sensation of being 'spaced out' but this is subsiding everytime I take the drug. I take it in the evening so it wears off overnight.

 

5. What is your overall feedback on this drug?

 

It dramatically stopped the rate at which my hair sheds. I'm on Regaine and have noticed some good results and a bit of regrowth.

[comeundone916]

So sandy, have you seen any sign of regrowth?

[Mikeylad]

my experience was awful - took propecia for about 6 months. Side effects kicked in after a few weeks of taking 1mg per day, I reduced to 1 mg per week and side effects continued to get worse - starting with a change in sexual function and watery semen and ending in complete impotence. Came off the dug and it took nearly 2 years for complete normal function to return - semen continued to be watery and lumpy for some time. My opinion is that for some people this drug messes up hormon levels and is extremely dangerous - the drug did reduce hair shedding but didnt see any re-growth - at the end of the day it is your choice but I would never touch the stuff again

[Bobilero]

1. How long have you been on Finasteride?

 

Took it for 3 and a half years stopping in October last year.

 

2. Have you experiencing side effects? If yes, what are the side effects?

 

Not at first. Just reduced watery semen and a couple of darting pains when starting up. Huge side effects kicked in after 3 and a half years.

 

3. Did you quite the drug once the side effects came up?

 

Yes. Massive loss of libido etc kicked in after 3 and a half years.

 

4. Did the side effects go away after you quit?

 

Im 8 months off and i think now i am slowly getting back to normal now. Big improvement in last 2 months. Went for Blood work. My free testosterone level was half of what it should be for someone my age.

 

 

5. What is your overall feedback on this drug?

 

Agree with the above poster. Extremley dangerous for some people and i dont think we know the half of what the long terms effects are. Never going near it again.

 

Ps The drug ' i think' may have helped stabilised loss but no regrowth and i even thinned slightly in crown while on it.

[aaron1234]

1. How long have you been on Finasteride?

 

2. Have you experiencing side effects? If yes, what are the side effects?

 

3. Did you quite the drug once the side effects came up?

 

4. Did the side effects go away after you quite?

 

5. What is your overall feedback on this drug?

 

1. 6 years.

2. No sides except for slight testicle pain for first 2 weeks. Went away - never came back.

3. No.

4. NA

5. It has saved a lot of my hair. Should have gotten on it sooner.

[chrisdav]

1. 5 years

2. No side effects

3. No

4.No

5. Great and the best non surgical treatment currently available.

[comeundone916]

So after seeing Dr Feller, and im guessin results were great, u still need to take propecia ?

[chrisdav]

Finasteride is a long term commitment and if you stop taking the drug, any gains you have made you will lose.

 

Finasteride is good for slowing down or in some cases halting/stopping hair loss and transplants are used to regain your hair in the balding areas by distributing your donor supply efficiently.

 

But it is a long term commitment so you have to weigh up all the positives and negatives.

[wb280]

thanks guys for the input! What i have gathered is finas is defn the most powerful weapon against MPB right now, and the side effects are very real and do occur to a small handful of users.. I guess the key will be how much hair matters to each individual and whether that risk is worth taking..

 

My question now is this, lets say i take a very small dosage, like 1 pill a week, for lets say months, does it still help a bit? Or is there a very strict dosage we need to adhere to for any effect to take place?

 

thanks!

[aaron1234]

That's hard to say. I know some people who have been on the drugs for many years get by with just one dose a week or so. But maybe to start it would be better to do one ever other day or .25/.50mg every day and taper upwards.

[wb280]

that sounds quite scary. i am really worried abt the sides so probably i will take it really slowly like 0.25mg once a week for a month first... some dosage is better than none and i will take it from there

 

I will probably do a series of tests first PRIOR to any consumption so that i can actually measure the levels numerically rather than leave it to psychology

 

Any parameters that i should take note of?

[Bobilero]

Absoloutly make sure you get all your blood work done before starting up on the drug. That way you have base line results to refer back to should you experience bad side effects.

 

This is something a lot of people dont point out enough to you.

[wb280]

Thanks bob! However, do u have any parameters in mind?

[Bobilero]

Zenmonk has another thread in this section of his test results which just about covers everything as below.

 

Bloods:

 

Liver function tests (LFTs): all within normal range

Testosterone, serum: within normal range

Testosterone, free: within normal range

Thyroid profile: within normal range

Estradiol, serum: within normal range

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH): within normal range

Prolactin: within normal range

Lutenizing Hormone (LH): within normal range

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG): within normal range

PSA: within normal range

DHEA: slightly below normal range

 

Semen Analysis: all normal

[wb280]

thanks bob!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mikeylad]

if you do experience side effects think very carefully because the effects (for those of us who suffer them) get worse the longer u take the drug (at least they did for me) - good luck

[1978matt]

 

My question now is this, lets say i take a very small dosage, like 1 pill a week, for lets say months, does it still help a bit? Or is there a very strict dosage we need to adhere to for any effect to take place?

 

thanks!

 

I read (on Dr bernstein's website possibly) that the half life of finasteride is about 6-8 hours but the effect it has lasts for 30 days.

 

Smaller doses won't block as much DHT. Spex posted a chart showing 80% DHT blocking affect with 1mg+ daily doses. 0.5mg was about 70%, 0.25mg 60%...

[wb280]

matt, point taken. However, i am sure u are aware of the recent mayhem associated with finas and Merck in particular. No matter the argument, nobody can dispute the fact that it did cause some permanent health issues for some, so i am taking a very precautious approach. Hopefully i do not belong to that small category guys.

 

It would be more assuring if more finas users can contribute to this thread!

[alix]

1. around 9 years (started when I was 23,various brands used: propecia and generics)

2. no sides at all

3. n/a

4. n/a

5. has saved alot of my hair,reduced my hairloss

[wb280]

happy for u alix!!! hope i can say the same when i start consuming it