Fin side effects...advice?

[fran]

Hi,

 

I've been on 1.25mg finasteride daily for nearly 10 months. Up until 1 week ago I've had no side effects, but for the last 6 days I've been having pain in the right ball. I've had it once or twice before though it was definitely much milder and went away in a day or 2. Initially I was thinking of stopping cold turkey and starting again at a lower dosage once the side effects subsided, though by now I'm thinking of stopping completely due the discomfort (haven't taken any in last 3 days), and switching to Folexen and Rogaine foam (I currently also use kankho spray). I saw that post from Dr. Cooley which suggested 1 finasteride dose a week is effective in suppressing DHT, which is encouraging I guess...(would you still suffer sides with 1.25mg per week?)

 

Has anyone else experienced this particular side effect and had any luck curbing it by lowering the dosage of fin? I should point out that the kankho spray seemed to stop or at least slow down any loss for the 10 months I took it before I added finasteride to the regime. I can't tolerate constant pain in the balls, but I desperately want to keep my hair

 

Anyone have any advice or suggestions? Thanks.

[zenmunk]

No other way to do it except personal experimentation. Start taking it MWF for a week. See if that helps. If not, then try MTh. If not, then once per week. You can also try taking less per dose like 0.5mg or whatever. Everyone reacts differently to the meds. You've got to find out what works for you. If nothing works, then discontinue altogether.

[fran]

Thanks man, should I wait for the side effects to subside before I try the M W F dose?

 

Cheers

[zenmunk]

Hmm... that's a tough call. Finasteride is a funny thing. Very often a user will experience minor side effects that resolve on their own while still taking the meds.

 

However, if you feel more comfortable stopping until you feel better before you try MWF, then go for it. From what I've read, general consensus is stopping for up to two weeks won't do much to make you lose hair that finasteride was preserving. So, start the new regimen as soon as you can within a two week time-frame.

[fran]

Awesome, thanks zenmunk!