worried about long-term unknown side effect of Finasteride

[hairlooser]

Yes, there are quite a number of reasons that could be causing your sexual problems. Age and medications are potential causes, but it pays to visit your primary care physician to really point out the problem.Don't stop Fin right away, not without your doctor's advice. Get the proper guidance and follow-up.

[BaronVonHairline]

I'm gonna chime in here, not to be an alarmist, but just to add another perspective.

 

Firstly I'll say, nearly any medicine will work for some, not for others, and will have some % who get side effects. Finasteride is no different.

 

As for me, I started on Fin in Spring 2017, but decided to stay low dose to monitor results vs. sides. I started at .5mg every other day. Within literally 1 week my shedding decreased dramatically, and my hair looked noticeably thicker and fuller. It was amazing, really.

 

Over the next couple of weeks, shedding was minimal, hair looked healthy and full, but libido was noticeably lower. It wasn't gone, just lower. I was less interested in sex, but not drastically, and my erection quality dipped to about 50% or so its usual. I also had mild to medium brain fog. It was a bit worrying, but given the results on my hair, I felt at the time it was worth it. I experimented with even lowering my dose, cutting to .25mg every 3 days, and saw no decline in results, though it was only for a couple of weeks.

 

Then, overnight, out of nowhere, something went wrong. My system "crashed," as PFS-ers call it. I felt groggy and disconnected one day and figured maybe I'd just caught a virus or something. Then, the next night began terrible insomnia, hot flashes, horrible anxiety, terrible headaches, severe brain fog, nausea, and an overall feeling of sickness both mental and physical. This lasted several days until I finally saw a doctor, who was no help other than prescribing Lorazepam (anxiety med) to help with insomnia. My sleep was neither normal nor good, but at least I could get a couple of sporadic hours per night now. From literally 0-1 hours/night to about 3-5. Still bad, but big improvement.

 

Also I had trouble with most foods. Anything with the slightest bit of sugar made me incredibly ill, and anything starchy made my brain fog even worse. So I whittled my diet down to fresh veggies and fruits, and organic meats, and only water or herbal teas to drink. I still felt terrible 100% of the time during this period, but the clean diet at least kept it from getting even worse.

 

By this point I had constant anxiety, like being stuck in fight or flight mode constantly, and terrible depression. I've had depression on and off for most of my life, but this was markedly worse. It was just jet black, utter hopelessness. My sleep was still mediocre at best, I had daily headaches, digestive issues, hot flashes, severe weakness and fatigue, trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, and brain fog that bordered on depersonalization. At times I'd literally have to be like, "relax, you're at work, it's Monday, you just had lunch, your name is ____, just do your work, get to bed early tonight." etc etc, I had to basically stop and remind myself where I was to just get back to reality a bit.

 

By now I'd obviously found my way to forums about PFS and all, but sensed very quickly that the horribly negative attitudes of those guys was going to be utterly unhelpful to me. So I avoided all the posts except those that discussed improvement and recovery. The common threads were, very clean diet, daily exercise, some supplements, and generally very healthy lifestyle.

 

So I kept diet to veggies and clean meat, daily high intensity exercise, daily meditation to calm the anxiety (meditation and deep breathing helped, a lot), relaxing as much as possible, going to bed early, doing my best to keep stress low. As low as my energy was, I could power through a 15-20 minute workout and it made me feel better. However, any kind of slow long exercise drained me unimaginably. If I went for a 20-30 minute walk around town, I would stumble back home and collapse, dizzy, unable to eat, and almost too weak to stand. I lost almost 30 pounds (and I'm already skinny) in less than 2 months, and looked a bit gaunt. My muscles got flabby and my limbs looked droopy and limp.

 

I went to doctors several times during this period. My blood pressure was chronically low, and my testosterone was very low. My overall T was at the very low end of normal, bioavailable T was below normal, FS and LSH and all those were abnormal as well. Also white blood cell counts dipped to very low.

 

The only things that kept me from feeling even worse were, as I said above, diet, exercise, meditation. So I stuck to these day in and day out, feeling horrible the whole time, sleeping inconsistently a few hours a night only thanks to meds, and just hoping that this was neither permanent nor even long term. The more I researched, the more I became convinced that if I could put my body in a place to heal itself, it would.

 

Then, very very thankfully, at about the 3 month mark, my anxiety and depression decreased significantly. I still had terrible brain fog, fatigue, weakness, digestive issues, headaches, intermittent skin rashes, dark circles under the eyes, dark spots on the gums, joint and muscle aches, several other symptoms....but my anxiety and depression dropped a lot, and this was enormous. Now at least I felt like a person again. I was a very tired and groggy person, but I wasn't panicking or hopeless.

 

It's now been ~6 months since I crashed, and I'm mostly normal again. Things have improved slowly but noticeably. I can digest most foods again without much trouble, other than maybe mild uptick in brain fog, digestive issues in general are subsiding, fatigue and weakness are there but much lower, and in general I am doing ok. Not surprisingly, my hair has begun shedding a lot again, and is looking thinner and sparser than ever. Regardless, given the above, Finasteride is off my radar for good, whether topical or oral or whatever.

 

I've left out some of the details of how ill I felt early on, cus this post is already too long.

 

Again, this isn't to scare you or be one of those horribly angry PFS guys who spend their lives hating on fin. But if you're wrestling with the idea of trying fin or coming off it or etc, I think it's only fair to get all the info.

 

For most people, fin will work to some degree, for some it will work wonders and they'll save their hair for years or decades, but for some % there is the possibility of horrible side effects.

 

The first 3 months after I crashed were undoubtedly the worst 3 months of my life. I wouldn't want to feel that way again for anything. Not even for a fucking day. It was nightmarish. And at the time, I didn't know if it was long term or permanent. I feel really lucky that the worst was over in 3 months, and the rest has been slowly improving since then. But there are stories of guys out there who took 2 years, 5 years, 8 years to recover. And others who are over a decade without recovering yet. And again, even at nearly 6 months, many of my symptoms are just starting to level out now.

 

Anyway, I had heard of PFS before all this happened, and decided the risk was worth it, so I tried Fin. So ultimately, whatever you read or hear, it is up to you. No one can make the decision for you. There is no easy answer.

 

For the record, I am 38. I'm also not one of those propeciahelp guys who just come here to post angrily--you can search by my name and see my posts for months before all this happened, where I was weighing my options on Fin, HTs, Min, etc etc.

 

Also, interesting to note, I took Fin for ~6 months in my mid 20s, and stopped not due to sides, but cus I was nervous about potentially being on any med for the rest of my life. Though, looking back, I did have sides then too, I just didn't realize they were due to fin.

 

Anyway, I'm going to go back to Regenepure and might consider Minoxidil. But I don't think those do as much as we all wished. The only thing that we know really works is fin, but for me, it's a no-go. Too bad really, cus like I said, it stopped my hair loss dead in its tracks in literally days. But it's also important to remember, slowing hair loss is actually a side effect of fin, not its original purpose. It's just a byproduct of it shutting down major hormonal processes in your body.

 

Anyway, I'll end this novella now. Too looong.

[Gasthoerer]

 

Within literally 1 week my shedding decreased dramatically, and my hair looked noticeably thicker and fuller

 

This is very unlikely. Every hair product needs weeks or month actually to show some positive results. Just Google "hair cycles" and you will see that one week of medication cannot have a cosmetic effect.

 

Such unrealistic statements make the rest of your story hard to believe as well, sorry.

[BaronVonHairline]

This is very unlikely. Every hair product needs weeks or month actually to show some positive results. Just Google "hair cycles" and you will see that one week of medication cannot have a cosmetic effect.

 

Such unrealistic statements make the rest of your story hard to believe as well, sorry.

 

Not really concerned with what you do or don't believe, actually. But when you go from palmfuls of shedding to literally 10-20 hairs lost per shower at worst, it's noticeable.

 

Additionally, there are numerous stories of men who had noticeable changes in short periods of time, mere weeks, where side effects where nearly immediate. If someone has a strong reaction to a medicine because their body is exceptionally sensitive to it, there is no reason to think this an unbelievable or impossible time frame for changes.

 

Further, the neuroendocrinologist I saw, who specifically specializes in finasteride side effects, told me to my face he has hundreds of patients suffering side effects, and a couple of dozen or so who were on the medicine mere days or weeks before things went south.

 

Your position is tantamount to saying, certain courses of antibiotics are meant to last 6 weeks, so it is impossible that any noticeable effects could emerge prior to that. Well, there are some people who have unknown allergies to certain antibiotics and can get ill after just a few days worth.

 

So, again, not overly concerned with your belief or lack thereof, but my first hand experience, numerous (albeit anecdotal) stories, a growing body of studies and cases, a slowly growing chorus of doctors, a specializing neuroendocrinologist, and the basic idea of potential overreaction to medicine due to personal sensitivity all disagree with your position.

[MattyNJ1]

I had I had the same exact pliminary effect when I took finasteride at a very low dose 1.25 mg every day (1/4 tab )... almost instantaneously the shedding stopped and if you look at my thread for my 3 Month update my density nearly doubled in the first month and 1/2 so I'm inclined to agree... it's very alarming to hear the side effects that he had, or what underlying circumstances were prevalent before during and after the use of this drug. I didn't get any sexual side effects from the drug In fact my libido increased quite a bit in the beginning as if my testosterone levels increased... oddly even certain problems I was having like joint pain and things like that seem to subside and go away. I did however develop a skin allergy of some sort when I increase the dosage slightly I broke out in hives. but nothing as severe as what he said although I'm not doubting what he said.

 

That being said nothing is worth your health and well-being.

[BaronVonHairline]

...or what underlying circumstances were prevalent before during and after the use of this drug.

 

This is something I am curious about too, is underlying circumstances. I think certain guys have a predisposition for whatever reason to respond badly to this med. Maybe for some of us it just affects the hormone levels too much or something. But I think there is something specific, maybe a compromised immune system, or I don't know... Interestingly, in researching all this, I found there are cases of women who have nearly identical issues to what I listed, but from the birth control pill. So I think maybe just some subset of people have a sort of delicate hormonal balance and can't handle it being disrupted.

 

As for the libido thing, mine went down somewhat early, but wasn't terrible. It didn't get really low until all those other sides hit, but even then, I think it was more that I was locked in fight or flight mode, and when your nervous system is in that state, just from a biological perspective, sex isn't important. No use trying to get laid when you're running from a predator, in evolutionary terms. So I think for me at least, a significant part of the libido issues was just being too distracted by the other sides to even think about sex.

 

Also, as for the appearance of the hair improving so quickly, I noticed that when I was on Fin, my usually slightly oily/greasy forehead and scalp were much less so. So maybe that oiliness is caused by DHT, and once Fin shuts that off, the hair is no longer laying kinda flat and bunched together as much, as oiliness can make it do. So maybe the fuller appearance is from that, a drier scalp just allowing the hair to stand up more and give the appearance of more coverage. But also, in general, I have pretty dry and frizzy hair, not shiny. When I was on fin, this changed almost instantly, and it looked shiny and healthy. Honestly, I was really surprised at how quick and drastic the change seemed to be as well.

 

But seems like you're having good results, so good on you for that. Again, despite how I reacted, I don't demonize Fin like I've seen some others do. I just think there is some small subset of men who are going to have bad issues. Unfortunately for me, and my hair, it seems I'm one of those.

[MattyNJ1]

Fin absolutely affects hormone levels...which is why its surprising to me that there isnt more CLEAR clinical studies and treatments associated with this drug. Im by no means a Doctor, but it would see to me that this PFS that some seem to experience could be bc of a hormone spike and then crash.....It reminds me of something similar to what a Body builder would experience when on steroids after doing a cycle of Test and other androgenic or anibolic steroids.

 

Which is why when i noticed a slight crash in my libido, i started to take testosterone, and hormone inducing supplements. I started taking Maca, which is known to regulate hormone levels as well as increase libido....along with zinc, and other supplements.

 

It seems to me that your PFS doctor you mentioned would have treated you syndrome by dialing in your hormones after the crash on FIn??

 

At any rate, for me i will just get off this seemingly unpredictable drug until they figure out how it effects the immune system and hormones. Nothing is worth what you seem to have gone through. And even though im not having any ED or Libido issue (that i can tell) the subtle issues iam experiencing, like rash, hives, itchy scalp, itching spells, tingling in the lips, dry skin etc...seem to "developing issues" in that, the effects of this drug CHANGE which tells me its NOT consistent, or worth a future "developing" issue...i mean whats next??? is what you will constantly ask yourself.

 

In closing its a shame bc Fin works for sure...its the only thing that works that ive tried. It grew my hair back. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/188196-finasteride-3-month-results.html

 

The only thing i would ask would be did the hair that Fin grew fall back out after you stopped? if so how long after? My hope is to hopefully keep what grew with minoxidil although im not very optimistic about it.

[BaronVonHairline]

I've read similar theories, re: hormonal spike and crash. Some think the reason is Fin slows down conversion of T into DHT, then when you come off it or get some kind of tolerance, DHT floods back in mass amounts and overloads and damages the receptors, which results in the body being unable to properly process the T/DHT, which leads to all the hormonal imbalances et al. But I can't say. There are several theories out there.

 

As far as that Dr. treating my hormonal imbalances, it was an option that I didn't want to do. I didn't want to treat the symptoms. Had I gone that route. I'd likely have been on T replacement therapy for life, which leaves you infertile, as well as needing anti-depressants et al. It would be like wack-a-mole--low T? here's a pill for that, depressed? here's a pill, brain fog, here's 2 more pills, insomnia, here are pills, anxiety--pills. I did not want to go down that rabbit hole and am glad I didn't. I felt that blindly shoving pharmaceuticals into my body caused this issue, it wasn't the way to solve it.

 

Anyway, I realize I've come off as quite negative in this thread, which I genuinely didn't mean to. As far as your quitting or not, it's totally a personal choice. Some men have issues, many others do not, and go on to have great hair for years and years. It's a hard choice and a gamble.

 

As for the hair, I stopped losing almost instantly on fin and that remained the case for a good few months after coming off. Maybe at about 3-4 months shedding increased somewhat, and recently it has increased even more, back to about pre-fin levels. It seems that the better my other symptoms get, the worse the shedding gets, sadly.

 

I'm considering trying Minoxidil, but like you am kinda skeptical. During the worst part of my situation I thought, after going through all this I won't care about hair once I'm well again. But as I get better, I'm like...damn...hair loss sucks! Haha...oh well.

[MattyNJ1]

I agree with you....makes you re evaluate how important hair is after a good scare on Fin. My goal is to do a HT this winter, and let the cards fall where they may...No Fin...No minoxidil....just a HT. And hopefully that gets me well into my 60s at least (im 49 now). Even noticing some sides with Rogaine now after 1yr str8...heart palpitations, and who knows if my allergic reaction and rash was from the Minoxidil and not the Fin..?...either way HT, with no chemicals or Rx is the path i will take from here on in. Rolling the dice with impotence shows how desperate we all are, but losing one of the greatest pleasures is not the way i plan on spending the rest of my life thats for sure.

[Gasthoerer]

Sorry guys, but hair growth in cycles. Before the hair is pushed out, it is already detached from blood supply and nutrition for days/weeks. No way, that (3x0.5mg) FIN will have the described benefit in one week.

Furthermore the hair when grown out does not get blood or nutrition either. So no meds can affect its appearance (Assuming you still wash your hair), until it is regrown.

Meds for hair requires a long time to work. That is the reason why research is so slow and expensive and your stories appear very “anecdotal”.

 

Meds for hair requires a Long time to work, That is the reason why Research is so slow and expensive and your stories apear very anectotal.

[Afterparty76]

Not sure which stories you are claiming to be anecdotal. I would suggest caution to anyone who is going on the medication. While it works for its intended purpose the threat of the sexual side effects is not fake and is proven through many studies.

 

I personally used it at 0.25mg daily for 1.5 years and decided to quite because I was 21 and experiencing sexual side effects. You can clearly tell when you are 21 and have absolutely no problems and then after taking a medication you clearly have a problem. The effects went away about 4 months after stopping. Just be sure that if you decide to take this medication that you monitor yourself.

[Gasthoerer]

Not sure which stories you are claiming to be anecdotal ... While it works for its intended purpose the threat of the sexual side effects is not fake and is proven through many studies.

 

Well, if you would have read this thread and my post in particular you would have known which "stories" I was talking about.

 

Hint: I was speaking about enourmous benefits in just a couple of days which is completely unrealistic.

 

Regarding the side effects it is a complete other Story. I do not (!) think that the side affect are anectodal, but I think at least (!) they are severly overstated. Actually, this is what is proven by many scientific studies.

[mitch1]

And iam praying that my body bounces back from whatever this is.

 

This quote made my stomach drop and brought back a feeling and bad memories to me.

 

I found this amazing forum after reaching a HT and thought I would take the plunge and used a recommend surgeon from this forum, after visiting the surgeon I was recommended to take Propecia which I did once a day for just over 3 months.

 

So at first I got mild sexual sides after about 6 weeks, then I got at 3 months a weird feeling each day of not being able to concentrate and a really down the dumps feeling please understand this has never happened to me before and it got very bad and I really struggled at work.

 

I came of Propecia straight away as I new by body and new it was 100% from this and then a week later I had a crash and things got a whole lot worse and I did not no hoe to cope with this feeling.

 

I was going to cancel my HT (as I could not face up to doing anything to be honest) but went for it in the end and glad I did as its coming along now.

 

I am happy to say thank god (I did some praying and had not prayed in years) that I am now back to normal and I am enjoying life and working hard.

 

My only advice to you is to stop reading on the internet things regarding to the side of FIN as I did and it makes you panic more as it did that to me.

 

Best of luck to you kids are just coming the door now so I'm of :-).

[biolizard]

I personally used finasteride for many years, probably about seven or eight before I decided to stop… Not because of side effects either but because I just made a personal decision that I did not want to be on any medication for the rest of my life if I didn't have to. So I decided to stop taking it. That said, I have read about the possibility of short and long-term side effects even though they are supposed to be quite rare. At the end of the day, you will have to make your own decision however, you may want to speak to several physicians to get their input.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

 

So Bill, what are we suppose to do? How long have you been off Fin? I mean I’m near you in age. I’m 45 your about 40’ish. I personally freaked out a couple of years ago and had what I now call a mid life crisis HT. A 2000 graft FUE. By all accounts it would heralded by those on this forum site as a smashing success. However, there are still some grave problem it’s left me with to address. There is no ‘happily ever after’ to my HT story.

 

The recipient skin on the front of my head now has a permanent ‘plucked chicken skin’ appearance. The skin on my head almost never healed! The redness was SEVERE! And honestly after about a year, I just assumed it was permanent. It took OVER a year and half to resolve to the point where it wasn’t as noticeable. My main point with that, is that NO WAY my skin could tolerate another insult like that without potentially more severe and more noticeable disfiguring damage. So another HT is basically out of the question.

 

Which brings me to another issue. The meds! The Fin sex side effects has me freaked out. (If I’m being brutally honest here I’ve had some instances, not related to Fin, where I have had trouble getting big Jim up for the big game!). Also I have a VERY responsible job, and ANY brain fog issue would endanger the lives of those trusted in my care. It seems irresponsible for me to not only risk my on own health, but also potentially other people who wouldn’t have any way of knowing that I may be ‘impaired’ with this Fin induced brain fog.

 

I have been taking minoxidil for the past 2+ years without issue, until I recently developed a ‘whooshing’ murmur feeling and some chest discomfort in my heart from it. I’ve had to have expensive precautionary test ran on my heart. I discontinued minoxidil and within a couple of weeks, the side effects and chest pain seem to have gone away. Thank goodness. I hope I haven’t done any permanent damage to my heart with this.

 

So now, I can’t take Fin and I can’t take minoxidil. I’ve had a previous HT. What are we suppose to do in the future, Bill? Both of us aren’t taking (or can’t take) the most effective meds and we have had HT’s. So are we destined for ‘wigs’ now? Will we be able to just shave bald and hope it doesn’t look too bizarre? I don’t know, but for me, things seem fairly bleak at the moment. Maybe not at this particular moment, but in say 5-10 years.....then what??? What is you ‘plan’? What is your exit strategy from all this madness?

 

The most hilarious (and poignant) thing about all this, is that I no longer really care that much about being bald. I would love the opportunity to just shave it down to a no guard or a #1. But because of the damage to my skin in the way of donor scarring and recipient skin bumpy chicken skin texture appearance, I no longer have that as an option. At least I haven’t tried it yet.

 

Anyway, thank you for sharing the fact you decided to go off Fin. The post HT journey can be a rough one for some of us unlucky people. Honestly I would pay TRIPLE the cost if I could go back in time and never have done the FUE HT. Hindsight is always 20/20 though. One thing is undeniable.... I was VERY unhappy with my hair prior to the HT; and ironically I’m still unhappy with my hair situation following my HT. I think I was just going to be unhappy with my hair no matter what. Now I’m left try and figure out how the hell to manage this HT mess and not being able to take meds dilemma moving forward???

[mikeyhwk]

So Bill, what are we suppose to do? How long have you been off Fin? I mean I’m near you in age. I’m 45 your about 40’ish. I personally freaked out a couple of years ago and had what I now call a mid life crisis HT. A 2000 graft FUE. By all accounts it would heralded by those on this forum site as a smashing success. However, there are still some grave problem it’s left me with to address. There is no ‘happily ever after’ to my HT story.

 

The recipient skin on the front of my head now has a permanent ‘plucked chicken skin’ appearance. The skin on my head almost never healed! The redness was SEVERE! And honestly after about a year, I just assumed it was permanent. It took OVER a year and half to resolve to the point where it wasn’t as noticeable. My main point with that, is that NO WAY my skin could tolerate another insult like that without potentially more severe and more noticeable disfiguring damage. So another HT is basically out of the question.

 

Which brings me to another issue. The meds! The Fin sex side effects has me freaked out. (If I’m being brutally honest here I’ve had some instances, not related to Fin, where I have had trouble getting big Jim up for the big game!). Also I have a VERY responsible job, and ANY brain fog issue would endanger the lives of those trusted in my care. It seems irresponsible for me to not only risk my on own health, but also potentially other people who wouldn’t have any way of knowing that I may be ‘impaired’ with this Fin induced brain fog.

 

I have been taking minoxidil for the past 2+ years without issue, until I recently developed a ‘whooshing’ murmur feeling and some chest discomfort in my heart from it. I’ve had to have expensive precautionary test ran on my heart. I discontinued minoxidil and within a couple of weeks, the side effects and chest pain seem to have gone away. Thank goodness. I hope I haven’t done any permanent damage to my heart with this.

 

So now, I can’t take Fin and I can’t take minoxidil. I’ve had a previous HT. What are we suppose to do in the future, Bill? Both of us aren’t taking (or can’t take) the most effective meds and we have had HT’s. So are we destined for ‘wigs’ now? Will we be able to just shave bald and hope it doesn’t look too bizarre? I don’t know, but for me, things seem fairly bleak at the moment. Maybe not at this particular moment, but in say 5-10 years.....then what??? What is you ‘plan’? What is your exit strategy from all this madness?

 

The most hilarious (and poignant) thing about all this, is that I no longer really care that much about being bald. I would love the opportunity to just shave it down to a no guard or a #1. But because of the damage to my skin in the way of donor scarring and recipient skin bumpy chicken skin texture appearance, I no longer have that as an option. At least I haven’t tried it yet.

 

Anyway, thank you for sharing the fact you decided to go off Fin. The post HT journey can be a rough one for some of us unlucky people. Honestly I would pay TRIPLE the cost if I could go back in time and never have done the FUE HT. Hindsight is always 20/20 though. One thing is undeniable.... I was VERY unhappy with my hair prior to the HT; and ironically I’m still unhappy with my hair situation following my HT. I think I was just going to be unhappy with my hair no matter what. Now I’m left try and figure out how the hell to manage this HT mess and not being able to take meds dilemma moving forward???

 

shave it down, get smp, stop being so dramatic.

 

edit, I apologize for the tough love but you're working yourself up to sound like there is no solution and that you're never going to be happy and if you approach it from that mindset you won't be. If you're not going to keep down transplant road, if you hate it now, there is your out.

[Rashid36]

I was trying to grow my hair a bit and started taking fin half a tab after about 3 month the results started to show hair was much thicker. Then for a little while I went up to full tab but was not comfortable with this so went back to half tab. After another few months when fin was in my system properly my hair never looked so thick since my 20s.

 

I stared noticing low libido, no early morning erection and even when I did get erection it was not firm.

Fin did help my hair a lot but it was still not enough to make a difference nw6 I stopped it completely. Now I feel fine and things are back to normal. After about 4 months my hair has returned to like it was before taking fin.

 

The only thing is now I have 3 months of Propecia original mercks make supply, brand new boxed (London, UK).

 

I'm still using min, hairmax laser comb, crlab products, vitamins and supplements.

 

Recently I buzzed all my hair down to no1 on a clipper and rounded the front hair line and feel comfortable with it. No worry about uneven hair, front hair line hair moving, grey hair showing, nothing. It feels nice all trimmed / buzzed down.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Rashid36

[biolizard]

shave it down, get smp, stop being so dramatic.

 

edit, I apologize for the tough love but you're working yourself up to sound like there is no solution and that you're never going to be happy and if you approach it from that mindset you won't be. If you're not going to keep down transplant road, if you hate it now, there is your out.

 

Actually this isn’t bad advice. Thank you.

Plus in 5-10 years maybe some new technological breakthroughs or perhaps even they will have figured out a way to make Fin WITHOUT it having the nasty side effects? Who knows. In all sincerity thank you for your ‘tough love’ and your suggestions I actually do read and internalize the feedback and advice I get on these forums. I mean I have no other place to turn, in which I can discuss this topic with other people who will at least be able to accurately comprehend and grasp my delimma.

[Twentyfive25]

I’ve decided to not risk it and let my hair shed for the time being.

 

The stories of PFS have completely put me off because, whilst they’re rare, those side effects could destroy my career. I work in sales and 3-6 months of brain fog, anxiety and tiredness would prevent me from being able to work effectively.

 

If it was possible to stop as soon as you start to feel the effects and they wear-off, it might be a different story but it sounds like for some unlucky people this syndrome onset’s pretty aggressively and persists a long while after they stop taking it.

 

It’s not worth the risk.

 

Thanks all for sharing though!!

[MattyNJ1]

Well, if you would have read this thread and my post in particular you would have known which "stories" I was talking about.

 

Hint: I was speaking about enourmous benefits in just a couple of days which is completely unrealistic.

 

Regarding the side effects it is a complete other Story. I do not (!) think that the side affect are anectodal, but I think at least (!) they are severely overstated. Actually, this is what is proven by many scientific studies.

 

If you are referring to my results (on only 1.25 ed month 1 then eod month 2) i welcome you to visit my results in only 2 months. I assure you my findings are accurate. I went into using Fin, well educated and literally kept a daily log of everything that i experienced. Again...this is after only 2 months. Nothing "anecdotal" about it...

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/188196-finasteride-3-month-results.html

[hairman22]

fin didn't really help my hair.

 

Was on 2 years had to go off (was 100% fine for 1.9 years) after getting sides + have pfs now.

I am actually thankful I just have ed now & not the other sides maybe only to a minor degree.

 

I am off 6 months & have suffered no hair loss & my hair could actually be better since using Laser & CR labs shampoo's.

 

My hair will most likely though decline over the next 5-10 years but I can still get another transplant.

 

I would advice people not to use fin because you never know when you could get sides.

You can be on the drug side affect free for years & one day you could develop side affects.

[MattyNJ1]

fin didn't really help my hair.

 

Was on 2 years had to go off (was 100% fine for 1.9 years) after getting sides + have pfs now.

I am actually thankful I just have ed now & not the other sides maybe only to a minor degree.

 

I am off 6 months & have suffered no hair loss & my hair could actually be better since using Laser & CR labs shampoo's.

 

My hair will most likely though decline over the next 5-10 years but I can still get another transplant.

 

I would advice people not to use fin because you never know when you could get sides.

You can be on the drug side affect free for years & one day you could develop side affects.

 

I agree....IMO its a gamble, like flipping a coin. I developed a 'strange" condition after only 2 months. Although i didn't experience ED or sexual sides (aside from loosing morning wood) in the short time i was on, i did start getting itchy and breaking out in hives....this lasted for months after stopping (4 months now) and iam only now managing symptoms. After insane amount of research, ive settled on (although not diagnosed) a mast cell issue, where iam now histamine intolerant....Its like being allergic to everything you eat. Never had one allergy my entire life, coincidence ? i guess ill never know for sure. But the only thing that changed in my life was taking Fin.

[biolizard]

 

Anyway, I realize I've come off as quite negative in this thread, which I genuinely didn't mean

I'm considering trying Minoxidil, but like you am kinda skeptical. During the worst part of my situation I thought, after going through all this I won't care about hair once I'm well again. But as I get better, I'm like...damn...hair loss sucks! Haha...oh well.

 

I did read your entire story and it’s absolutely fascinating. I think more people should be exposed to stories like yours BEFORE jumping into HT’s and meds.

I dove head first (pun intended) into a 2000 FUE HT over 2 years ago, without taking or even researching FIN very much, first to see if I could tolerate it and secondly to see if the sides were acceptable. I just pretty much blindly took the MD’s word (or lack thereof ) for it. HUGE MISTAKE! But I definitely only have myself to blame for this. Sex side effect quickly turned me WAY off and as if that’s not enough the brain fog issue could potentially kill my career. So Fin is out of the question for me.

 

That left me taking Keto shampoo, and minoxidil foam.

 

All that said, I most am responsding to just briefly chime in on your considering starting minoxidil statement. The minoxidil is NOT as harmless as it seems.

After 2 years of taking it, I developed heart issues from it. This was compounded by anxiety over these issues. It took me a while and some expensive heart test, to finally deduce that it may be the Minoxidil causing this in me. Thankfully when I got off the Minoxidil the symptoms subsided and seem to have all but gone away. It was a rough 4 months until I got this figured out.

 

Just be aware that Minoxidil isn’t without its own set up very disruptive and scary side effects. This whole thing has me pretty freaked out over nearly all hair loss drugs now.

So now, all I can take is the Keto shampoo. Hindsight being what it is, I of course immensely regret my hasty mid life crisis decision to have a FUE HT.

 

To each his own though. I realize there are many many people who benefit and are able to take the hair loss meds without negativie sides; but the flip side is that there are also a few unlucky souls like myself who experienced side effects are are unable to tolerate thiese meds. Plus, not trying to be conspiratorialist, but the more research I do on Fin, the less I trust the big pharmaceutical companies out there to tell us the real truth. They are loyal to their stockholders, and that’s where their concern primarily ends.

[Dolph1969]

Funny enough Bio, I notice some anxiety with minoxidil, but not heart issues.

 

Did you shed after stopping it? it's definitely thickened my hair though and i would be reluctant to come off it, in case of a massive shed.:eek:

 

I'm still happy with my HT, even though the density isn't great. When i look at before pics, i realise how bald i was..

 

Mine too, was a mid life crisis decision, 50 next year...

 

Safer than a motorbike....:D

[biolizard]

Funny enough Bio, I notice some anxiety with minoxidil, but not heart issues.

 

Did you shed after stopping it? it's definitely thickened my hair though and i would be reluctant to come off it, in case of a massive shed.:eek:

 

I'm still happy with my HT, even though the density isn't great. When i look at before pics, i realise how bald i was..

 

Mine too, was a mid life crisis decision, 50 next year...

 

Safer than a motorbike....:D

 

No. I have not experienced any additional significant shedding since discontinuing the Minoxidil. No more than ‘normal’. Since I’m not doing Fin, I still Shed a bit everyday I’m afraid. But that’s life I guess.

 

I was worried what might happen with my hair since coming off of it. But I quickly became more concerned about my anxiety and heart issues. If I’m really scrutinizing my scalp up close, maybe a little less ‘thick’?? But not noticeable to anyone else. My density already had a slight ‘thinning’ appearance anyway after the HT, so that’s nothing new.

 

The minoxidil ‘anxiety’ developed first, persisted and gradually worsened for around 6 months to a year before the heart issues kicked it. And that’s when everything bad really kicked into high gear. Even simple Walking (for exerciseI I started getting palpitations and reverberations in my chest. Along with some dizziness. Thought I was having heart attacks? It was weird. Once I stopped the minoxidil, the symptoms all but vanished after a couple of weeks. I sure hope nothing permanent in the way of damage was done to my heart over this.

 

I really was getting very minimal (if any) noticeable benefits from the minoxidil anyway.

It’s just a bummer, bc one by one, all my options to try and maintain my hair are disappearing. I’m kind of on my last gasp here. Just patiently riding out this HT for as long as nature will allow.

 

As I mentioned before, the HT was remarkably hard on my skin! The redness took nearly 2 years to subside. The trauma to my recipient area was quite severe! . Any further HT would risk some serious permanent tissue scalp damage. The recovery period for me was very painful and LONG! My poor skin just didn’t tolerate the HT well at all. I’m not a good ‘healer’ I reckon.

Can’t take Fin, and now can’t take Minoxidil. As you can see options are about exhausted. Oh well, I did most everything and more to attempt to maintain my hair. I gave it my best fight. But in the end I’m afraid my genetics will get the last laugh.

 

I do enjoy sharing my story on the forums and hope that I can persuade even just one person to not make my same mistakes. My biggest mistake (among many) was NOT FULLY DOING MY RESEARCH!!! I only thought I ‘researched’ HT, but really what I researched was the HT industry’s marketing promises. I didn’t find these forums until it was too late, until after my HT. I wanted to believe in the miracle cure of the new FUE, so I did. I’m honestly not trying to tell others never get a HT. Just do things differently than I did. The way I went about this was totally wrong, and I’m paying for it now.

 

A HT is SERIOUS life and permanent image altering SURGERY! Don’t fall for the it’s only a simple ‘procedure’ line!!! It’s major! Treat it as such when deciding what’s right for your unique situation.

 

Anyway, I rambled. I do that from time to time. Sorry.

 

Peace out.

Edited January 27, 2018 by biolizard

[MattyNJ1]

I of course immensely regret my hasty mid life crisis decision to have a FUE HT.

 

 

Rogaine gave me heart palpitations too....but iam confused why would you say you regret a HT as result of hair loss drugs? People are doing HT's like myself without ANY hair loss medication or chemicals. Did you have a bad HT?