Experiencing finesteride side effects

[Kevin20]

Hello

I have been on finesteride 1 mg for 3-4 months and experiencing sexual side effects. Should I stop taking it now or take half a tablet ? My HT is scheduled in nov 

[LonelyGraft]

I'd def follow up with your hair transplant doctor to get their opinion on this. Have you had side effects the entire 3-4 months or did they just recently creep up?

[Kevin20]

49 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

I'd def follow up with your hair transplant doctor to get their opinion on this. Have you had side effects the entire 3-4 months or did they just recently creep up?

Doctor mentioned that I can take on alternate days. I didnt realize about the side effects earlier but definitely since past month or two,  just not feeling right

[LaserCap]

4 hours ago, Kevin20 said:

Hello

I have been on finesteride 1 mg for 3-4 months and experiencing sexual side effects. Should I stop taking it now or take half a tablet ? My HT is scheduled in nov 

What exactly are you feeling?

The "true" side effect is lack of interest, sex wise.  It's like turning off the faucet. So, besides no interest, what else?

Where are you getting the medication?

Have you started taking it every other day as per your doctor's suggestion?

What have you noticed hair wise?

Did your doctor suggest any other modalities?

 

 

[Kevin20]

1 hour ago, LaserCap said:

What exactly are you feeling?

The "true" side effect is lack of interest, sex wise.  It's like turning off the faucet. So, besides no interest, what else?

Where are you getting the medication?

Have you started taking it every other day as per your doctor's suggestion?

What have you noticed hair wise?

Did your doctor suggest any other modalities?

 

 

Main problem I'm facing is impotence . Have started taking the alternate day from today onwards only. About results, I'm not sure as it's only been 3-4 months I'm on finex but I havnt seen any improvement or anything. HT surgeon just advised to take it alternate days. Nothing else

[Melvin- Admin]

It’s a personal decision, some guys tough it out and claim it gets better. Personally, I stopped taking it when I had the same side effects. I did go totally bald. I don’t regret it though, given the choice I choose sexual health over hair. 

[pkipling]

There's no way that anyone else can answer this for you. Either decision (to take or not take finasteride) comes with risks. You just get to weigh for yourself which risks you're comfortable with. I gave Finasteride two gos... I stopped after a year or so the first time due to mild side effects, primarily weaker erections and a decreased libido, in order to see if things would improve. They did - and I also seemed to notice slightly more hair fall once I stopped. I then decided to give it one more go and see if things would be different on a second attempt by not taking the medication every single day... but the side effects came back. 

And that's when I was left with a choice to make: Do I want to continue with Finasteride and essentially trade in my sex drive for a longer shelf life for my hair? Or would I rather risk my hair loss increasing/speeding up but get to keep my stronger erections and libido? For me, I chose to stop taking it altogether, as my sex drive and sex life was/is much more important to me. 

All of that said, I also acknowledge that my hair loss isn't as severe as many other guy's, so in a way, I was granted a luxury that many people don't have in terms of stopping finasteride being a viable option. However, one thing I always come back to is that as effective as Finasteride is, it doesn't prevent hair loss... It simply slows it down. So the way I looked at was this: "If I'm eventually going to lose the hair that I'm destined to lose regardless, does it really matter how quickly it happens? If I'm going to get a second procedure at some point down the road anyway, does it really matter if I do it in 5 years or 15? And is that a trade I'm willing to make so that my sex drive stays in tact?"

[Kevin20]

Thanks everyone.  I havnt taken it past 2 days and thinking to start it again after my sxheduled HT in 2 months. Sounds a good plan ?

[Kevin20]

22 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

It’s a personal decision, some guys tough it out and claim it gets better. Personally, I stopped taking it when I had the same side effects. I did go totally bald. I don’t regret it though, given the choice I choose sexual health over hair. 

So u never took it even after all your HTs? Anything else helped u as an substitute?

[Melvin- Admin]

1 minute ago, Kevin20 said:

So u never took it even after all your HTs? Anything else helped u as an substitute?

Nope, I took it for a few months when I was 21. You know what’s worse than hair loss at 21? Having sexual issues.

I figured I could find a girl who’d put up with my thinning hair, but not being able to perform would be harder no pun intended. 

I take minoxidil and pumpkin seed oil. My hair hasn’t changed . Although, most of my hair is transplanted. 

[gillenator]

The main side-effects can be lack of libido, inability to maintain an erection, and a decrease in semen.

Some docs may recommend a decrease in the dosage as well.  Sometimes this alone can decrease and even dissipate the side-effects and then gradually bring the dosage back up to 1 mg daily or 1 mg every other day...sometimes every third day.

Regardless, you definitely want to seek the advice from your prescribing physician.

Edited September 6, 2019 by gillenator

[Kevin20]

22 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Nope, I took it for a few months when I was 21. You know what’s worse than hair loss at 21? Having sexual issues.

I figured I could find a girl who’d put up with my thinning hair, but not being able to perform would be harder no pun intended. 

I take minoxidil and pumpkin seed oil. My hair hasn’t changed . Although, most of my hair is transplanted. 

Very true. Stopped taking finex since last 3 days . Will decide if I start after my HT. Can u share which pumpkin seed oil u take as there are many on amazon ? Besides,  while I was doing my research on pumpkin seed oil, somebody mentioned he's also using lipogaine along with it and has seen result. Though I dont beleive a shampoo could bring back any hairs but may be prevent the hair loss ?

[Melvin- Admin]

12 hours ago, Kevin20 said:

Very true. Stopped taking finex since last 3 days . Will decide if I start after my HT. Can u share which pumpkin seed oil u take as there are many on amazon ? Besides,  while I was doing my research on pumpkin seed oil, somebody mentioned he's also using lipogaine along with it and has seen result. Though I dont beleive a shampoo could bring back any hairs but may be prevent the hair loss ?

Lipogaine is the brand of minoxidil, it is what I use. I find it to be good quality. You can buy any 1,000mg pumpkin seed oil, they're all pretty much the same.

[Kevin20]

31 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Lipogaine is the brand of minoxidil, it is what I use. I find it to be good quality. You can buy any 1,000mg pumpkin seed oil, they're all pretty much the same.

U mean u use lipogaine which is a minoxidil or a shampoo? I use minoxidil too but checking if it's the lipogaine shampoo u use ? Best of all, if u could share the link pls.