Starting Finasteride again?

[ace83]

Hi all,

 

I am thinking about starting Finasteride and minoxidil again, but just wanted to hear a few opinions before i do so.

 

I took Finasteride and used topical Minoxidil for about 4 years from 2008-2012. From 2011 ive had 3 Hair transplants in the temple region and stopped using Finasteride and Minoxidil.

 

I think i have lost some of the original hair that was in the temple or even transplanted hair as it is still not up to the standard I want.

 

Would Finasteride and Minoxidil maybe start growth again of the original and transplanted hairs that maybe stopped growing?

 

Also when i was taking Finasteride the side effects were not as serious as they seem to be now from what I have read on the internet.

 

During my time of taking Finasteride I don't recall having any side effects nor do I think I have any now. But I am worried about the new side effects listed such as the prostate cancer, depression and anxiety.

 

If I started taking it again what is the chance of me having side effects this time compared to when I was taking it a few years ago? or does it mean that I wont have the side effects if I start again?

 

Are there any actual stories regarding the prostate cancer that has been linked to Finasteride?(as that is what is putting me off taking it at the moment) as well as the depreession/anxiety)

 

Thanks everyone and appreciate anyone who can give some advise.

A

[BaronVonHairline]

Re: prostate cancer--as I recall, the study I read said not that fin CAUSES that cancer, but that it can mask symptoms due to its effect on the prostate, which can result in false negatives for a man who in all likelihood would have gotten that cancer anyway, and that can allow the cancer more time to spread further. So fin doesn't cause the issue, but may make it harder to detect. (My memory on this is a bit fuzzy, though.)

 

As far as other sides, the medicine is the same, so you statistically have the same % of chance of having sides now as you did then. But, yes, stories of bad effects from sides are much more prevalent now than they were a few years back.

 

I'm in a similar boat. I took fin in my early/mid 20s (I'm now 37) for a bit less than a year. It did seem to halt my hair loss, and I don't recall having any sides, but I didn't like the idea of being on it indefinitely, so I stopped. Then, for whatever reason, my hair loss didn't really resume to a worrisome degree until about the last year or so. Now I'm shedding a lot and have gone back and forth on the idea of using fin. But now, with all the horror stories out there, I am very reluctant to do it.

 

Also, I've started to wonder, did that ~1 year on fin affect me slightly for these last ~13 years? I know it's probably crazy, but I was shedding a lot, started fin, shedding stopped, then stopped fin but hairloss didn't resume for a loooooong time. And at the same time as hairloss has resumed, I've noticed some other stuff, like my semen was suddenly thicker/less watery than in years, morning wood came back as a very regular thing, erections come easier and more often now than in years. Now, I know this is all uber-anecdotal, and I may be crazy...but I don't know, it seems like things that had been gone for years and I chalked up to aging are now coming back out of nowhere, and at the same time as hairloss has resumed. The very idea that maybe 1yr of fin altered my body for that long is terrifying. But I could just be batshit insane.

 

I wish the old story on fin were true--ie, try it, if you have sides, wait it out or stop and they WILL go away. If that were the case, I'd have started months ago. But the stories out there about PFS and the cognitive issues and genital shrinkage et al, no matter how low the odds of being one of those guys, those are mortifying, utterly horrifying potential sides.

 

So, here I am, balder by the week, and still unsure. So, in closing....I have no real advice for you. You just gotta decide if stopping baldness is worth the gamble; because, essentially, with current options, for most of us the choice really is gamble on propecia vs. guaranteed baldness. Sigh.

[ace83]

Thanks for your reply regarding the prostate cancer. I guess finasteride is the only thing besides a hair transplant to help with hairloss so i think I may start it again as it would of been pointless having those hair transplants and then losing further hair.

 

Hopefully one day there is something better i mean its 2017...there has to be by now..

[Rashid36]

I stopped and started fin many times when i took it regulary after about 2months i saw a big difference to my hair.

I've been told by many people if i was able to have a ht it would be pointless if i stop taking fin.

 

some can get away with not taking it while others have to keep taking it so long as they care about hair

 

lol, they must be making alot of money with these hairloss produts the costs add up alot