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Finasteride- do side effects subside with continued use?


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Hey everyone. I’m 24 years old and have been experiencing hair loss for a few years now. I’m probably around a Norwood 2-2.5 at this point with some crown thinning. I’ve been using minoxidil for over a year now, and tried to add on Finasteride about a year ago. I experienced some sexual side effects after only a week of use and decided to immediately discontinue use. The side effects continued for a bit after stopping, but eventually went away.

Obviously, I’m still experiencing hair loss and I know I’m a bit limited on options. My question is, does your body need to get used to Finasteride? If I continue use through the side effects, are they likely to lessen? Just looking for other people’s experiences. Thanks

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Great question. I don't think side effects would subside with continued use. Have you considered using topical finasteride? The chances are side effects are MUCH less (since it's not systemic) and you still get the benefits.

My advice does not constitute a patient-physician relationship nor as medical advice and all medical questions/concerns should be addressed to your medical provider. 

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2 minutes ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Great question. I don't think side effects would subside with continued use. Have you considered using topical finasteride? The chances are side effects are MUCH less (since it's not systemic) and you still get the benefits.

I have recently thought about that. However, I know it is not commercially available in the U.S. How do I go about getting that? Does a pharmacy have to make it?

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I’ve heard anecdotal stories that side effects go away. However, that doesn’t make any sense. I think what happens is that users become used to the side effects, so they don’t notice as much. I’ve heard at least one forum @pkipling say he didn’t notice side effects until he got off of fin.


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5 hours ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Great question. I don't think side effects would subside with continued use. Have you considered using topical finasteride? The chances are side effects are MUCH less (since it's not systemic) and you still get the benefits.

And where do we buy this topical fin? Is this available in USA? 

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On 4/27/2020 at 10:28 PM, Panamera13 said:

And where do we buy this topical fin? Is this available in USA? 

Here's the one I use. I think they've got a 10% as well. I get it from eBay:

image.png.4f2e35a26766544527d413c239562563.png

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My advice does not constitute a patient-physician relationship nor as medical advice and all medical questions/concerns should be addressed to your medical provider. 

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http://www.minoxidilmax.com/?aff=132
 

minoxmax website has different products, could get topical fin or topical fin with minoxidil. Just a heads up this is an affiliation link they gave me, i got it so me and my friends could all get 15% discounts. Not some scam or something, if you care to use it, it also just give me 15 percent. Anyway  look through their catalogue and blog there’s a lot of good info there 

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18 hours ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Here's the one I use. I think they've got a 10% as well. I get it from eBay:

 

Any side effects Dr Khokar? I'm surprised very few ppl know about this or are taking this.

What could be the reason? Shouldn't it be number 1 medication if it's that effective or no side effects?

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On 4/27/2020 at 5:10 PM, Jaer said:

Hey everyone. I’m 24 years old and have been experiencing hair loss for a few years now. I’m probably around a Norwood 2-2.5 at this point with some crown thinning. I’ve been using minoxidil for over a year now, and tried to add on Finasteride about a year ago. I experienced some sexual side effects after only a week of use and decided to immediately discontinue use. The side effects continued for a bit after stopping, but eventually went away.

Obviously, I’m still experiencing hair loss and I know I’m a bit limited on options. My question is, does your body need to get used to Finasteride? If I continue use through the side effects, are they likely to lessen? Just looking for other people’s experiences. Thanks

Jaer,

Over the years, a number of guys (a dozen or so) have told me that the side effects went away when they stayed with the medication but as Dr. Khokhar stated, not everyone.

I have always been an advocate of starting the medication on a reduced dosage and gradually bringing it up to the daily recommended dosage...but only do this under the advice and supervision of a licensed physician who is experienced in treating hair loss.

Years ago I decided to take the drug at half the dosage, approximately .5 mg every other day and it has worked just as efficient as 1 mg daily....I cut Proscar tablets.

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I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

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16 hours ago, Panamera13 said:

Any side effects Dr Khokar? I'm surprised very few ppl know about this or are taking this.

What could be the reason? Shouldn't it be number 1 medication if it's that effective or no side effects?

The chances of side effects are much less with topical finasteride than oral finasteride because the topical route of delivery isn't systemic (though the overall rate of side effects with oral is still low). The efficacy between the topical and oral is similar. For more info, you can read this study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6609098/

I'm unsure as to why the topical isn't as well known as the oral. I think more and more people are learning about it though. 

My advice does not constitute a patient-physician relationship nor as medical advice and all medical questions/concerns should be addressed to your medical provider. 

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On 4/27/2020 at 2:10 PM, Jaer said:

Hey everyone. I’m 24 years old and have been experiencing hair loss for a few years now. I’m probably around a Norwood 2-2.5 at this point with some crown thinning. I’ve been using minoxidil for over a year now, and tried to add on Finasteride about a year ago. I experienced some sexual side effects after only a week of use and decided to immediately discontinue use. The side effects continued for a bit after stopping, but eventually went away.

Obviously, I’m still experiencing hair loss and I know I’m a bit limited on options. My question is, does your body need to get used to Finasteride? If I continue use through the side effects, are they likely to lessen? Just looking for other people’s experiences. Thanks

My advice would be to listen to your body. 
 

I also experienced sides with fin, and made the decision to power through for a period of time while adjusting dosage and frequency. In hindsight, I should have just stopped altogether earlier. The sides ultimately didn’t get better despite the adjustments, and this resulted in me struggling with them long after I did finally discontinue the drug. 

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Definitely consider starting with minima dosage and slowly increase it. That's how I did https://youtu.be/cVF49myjgbU

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2nd FUE - 03/06/2021 - 2881 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira

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I'm not a medical professional, thus any information given by me is my own observation and should not be treated as professional advice.

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The topic of sexual side effects in relation to Finasteride is very tricky, particularly due to how much of an impact our thoughts/anxiety over potential side effects can actually lead to us experiencing them psychosomatically. This isn't to say that side effects aren't real, but I do think it takes a certain amount of mindfulness for each individual to be able to more accurately determine what is going in their own body. The placebo effect (and the power of the mind) can't be ignored. I'm not sure of the likelihood of you experiencing noticeable side effects after just one week, but I suppose it is definitely possible. It's also possible that by simply having the threat of sexual side effects floating around your brain, you gave extra attention and meaning to things happening in your body that were otherwise normal and falsely misidentified them as physical side effects. Only you can trust your own judgment, and in my experience, the only way to know is trial and error. 

All of that said,  I'm someone who truly believe I did experience side effects with the drug. They were subtle (less frequent "morning wood", erections weren't as strong, etc.) and I did my due diligence to make sure it wasn't all in my head. I stopped taking the drug after being on it for a considerable amount of time (a year and a half, or so - the timeline is fuzzy),  and little by little, noticed my body getting back to what I considered to be my normal. I then tried the drug again to see if the side effects started back up, making sure to "take it and forget it" so that I wasn't giving it more attention in my mind, and they did start to come back. I then stopped taking the drug altogether, things returned to normal, and I am very happy with my decision. 

I hope that supports you in navigating what can often be a very confusing, complicated experience. There's no universal hard and fast rule for how any one person will respond to Finasteride, so you'll need to find a formula, dosage, routine, etc. that works for you. 

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My views/opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

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