It Happened. Sexual Side Effects with finasteride.

[Gatsby]

Well I went back on Finsateride about five months ago at 0.5mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Over time I increased Friday to 1mg. Then later on I upped the Monday dose to 1mg. Just recently I upped Wednesday to 1mg and so far so good. If this keeps up I reckon the next girl who takes me on is going to light up like a pin ball machine and pay out in silver dollars! 🤑 😂 🙏

[WhiteyUK]

42 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Well I went back on Finsateride about five months ago at 0.5mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Over time I increased Friday to 1mg. Then later on I upped the Monday dose to 1mg. Just recently I upped Wednesday to 1mg and so far so good. If this keeps up I reckon the next girl who takes me on is going to light up like a pin ball machine and pay out in silver dollars! 🤑 😂 🙏

Haha ... she’l be shiting doughnuts for a week

[Gatsby]

Well it happened again! 🙄 A few weeks ago I felt like my libido had been extremely low for a couple of weeks. I put it down to stress as I have been working crazy hours over the last few months. After another week of waiting nothing had changed and my libido and interest in sex had flat lined. So two weeks ago I ceased taking finasteride 1mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My objective with finasteride was to keep my donor hair strong and to prevent future senile alopecia. At this stage I have my holiday booked for Thailand only nine days away so I've decided to just let it rest until I get back. The last two days I have to admit my libido has begun to start getting more than just curious! 😍😉 It's also in line with how long it took my libido to return after the first time I stopped the drug - about 10-12. I may look at topical finasteride when I return.

[BurnieBurns]

2 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Well it happened again! 🙄 A few weeks ago I felt like my libido had been extremely low for a couple of weeks. I put it down to stress as I have been working crazy hours over the last few months. After another week of waiting nothing had changed and my libido and interest in sex had flat lined. So two weeks ago I ceased taking finasteride 1mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My objective with finasteride was to keep my donor hair strong and to prevent future senile alopecia. At this stage I have my holiday booked for Thailand only nine days away so I've decided to just let it rest until I get back. The last two days I have to admit my libido has begun to start getting more than just curious! 😍😉 It's also in line with how long it took my libido to return after the first time I stopped the drug - about 10-12. I may look at topical finasteride when I return.

Oh nooo

[futureresearch]

On 4/20/2022 at 5:39 AM, Gatsby said:

Well it happened again! 🙄 A few weeks ago I felt like my libido had been extremely low for a couple of weeks. I put it down to stress as I have been working crazy hours over the last few months. After another week of waiting nothing had changed and my libido and interest in sex had flat lined. So two weeks ago I ceased taking finasteride 1mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My objective with finasteride was to keep my donor hair strong and to prevent future senile alopecia. At this stage I have my holiday booked for Thailand only nine days away so I've decided to just let it rest until I get back. The last two days I have to admit my libido has begun to start getting more than just curious! 😍😉 It's also in line with how long it took my libido to return after the first time I stopped the drug - about 10-12. I may look at topical finasteride when I return.

Hey Gatsby, just had a question. I’m 25 and also experience side effects from fin, both topical and oral. Was wondering, would you still have gotten a transplant at 25 without medication given everything you know now or would you just have made peace with it. I only ask because I have a lot of hair now but will likely end up a norwood 6-7 in the coming years and have started shaving my head in preparation the last year but am having great difficulty getting used to it and my dating life has certainly suffered a bit. Just wondering if I should just accept my new world order haha or would you keep up the fight using transplants and minox at 25?

I’ve thought of fue and smp but people seem to often discourage doing both so I suppose there’s a reason for that. On the plus side I have a super thick beard haha.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[SLA]

I know the topical finasteride from Xyon (Dr. Hasson's company) is purported to be as effective as oral and only go minimally systemic.

[Gatsby]

7 hours ago, futureresearch said:

Hey Gatsby, just had a question. I’m 25 and also experience side effects from fin, both topical and oral. Was wondering, would you still have gotten a transplant at 25 without medication given everything you know now or would you just have made peace with it. I only ask because I have a lot of hair now but will likely end up a norwood 6-7 in the coming years and have started shaving my head in preparation the last year but am having great difficulty getting used to it and my dating life has certainly suffered a bit. Just wondering if I should just accept my new world order haha or would you keep up the fight using transplants and minox at 25?

I’ve thought of fue and smp but people seem to often discourage doing both so I suppose there’s a reason for that. On the plus side I have a super thick beard haha.

 

Thanks!

 

 

If I knew now what I knew then I would never have had a hair transplant at all. I would have shaved my head. End of story. My recent hair transplant was more about hiding the scars and damage from the first surgeries when I was a kid as it was about hair. If I didn’t have the scars from this now I would have stuck with my shaved head and SMP. No drugs, shampoo, hair cuts, thousands and thousands of dollars spent, etc. Surgery is always a last resort. I strongly suggest you consider going down this path rather than having surgery. All the best! 

[helpthisguypls]

8 hours ago, futureresearch said:

Hey Gatsby, just had a question. I’m 25 and also experience side effects from fin, both topical and oral. Was wondering, would you still have gotten a transplant at 25 without medication given everything you know now or would you just have made peace with it. I only ask because I have a lot of hair now but will likely end up a norwood 6-7 in the coming years and have started shaving my head in preparation the last year but am having great difficulty getting used to it and my dating life has certainly suffered a bit. Just wondering if I should just accept my new world order haha or would you keep up the fight using transplants and minox at 25?

I’ve thought of fue and smp but people seem to often discourage doing both so I suppose there’s a reason for that. On the plus side I have a super thick beard haha.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Very much in the same boat here. I'm gonna wait for the Pyrilutamide results. If they look promising I'll keep at it with the hope of stabilisation and no sides. If they flop (as I have come to expect), it's time for the chop

[futureresearch]

5 hours ago, Gatsby said:

If I knew now what I knew then I would never have had a hair transplant at all. I would have shaved my head. End of story. My recent hair transplant was more about hiding the scars and damage from the first surgeries when I was a kid as it was about hair. If I didn’t have the scars from this now I would have stuck with my shaved head and SMP. No drugs, shampoo, hair cuts, thousands and thousands of dollars spent, etc. Surgery is always a last resort. I strongly suggest you consider going down this path rather than having surgery. All the best! 

That’s good to know! Thanks for the advice, i think it’s what I’ll end up doing if these sides don’t subside. I’ll take a closer look at SMP and see what I  can do.

 

Thanks!

[futureresearch]

5 hours ago, helpthisguypls said:

Very much in the same boat here. I'm gonna wait for the Pyrilutamide results. If they look promising I'll keep at it with the hope of stabilisation and no sides. If they flop (as I have come to expect), it's time for the chop

Yup hopefully there’s a breakthrough someday, the hair will be missed haha

[Mike10]

20 minutes ago, Tej123 said:

people who get sexual side effects from fin usually have excess body fat and don't take care of their health such as doing exercise and eating healthily  which is needed to have a good hormonal balance 

LOL No

[mafpe]

18 minutes ago, Tej123 said:

people who get sexual side effects from fin usually have excess body fat and don't take care of their health such as doing exercise and eating healthily  which is needed to have a good hormonal balance 

unproven unfortunately, i might not have 6 pack abs but i do have outline of 4 (i'm not the skinny / lean type), and i workout regularly.
i get where the conception comes from though, normally people who workout and have fitter body have higher level of testosterone thus leading to more drive.

so far, i think it depend on the genetic side.

i do think if you workout it would help negate the side effect of that a little bit... although then i have no idea if having higher testosterone level would leads to more DHT which is like making DHT blockers less effective

[futureresearch]

45 minutes ago, Tej123 said:

people who get sexual side effects from fin usually have excess body fat and don't take care of their health such as doing exercise and eating healthily  which is needed to have a good hormonal balance 

Absolutely ridiculous. I’ve been working out since I was 18 and am pretty lean and muscular. Let’s not assume we’re medical researchers here.

[Gatsby]

Dude this was me with a few home free weights, a few protein shakes and a wig! 🤔🤣😉

[futureresearch]

Looking strong! One benefit of losing my hair early is I was way more motivated to take care of myself in other domains. I spent much more time lifting than I should have in college haha. Luckily I still ended up getting a degree and a good job 😁

[SLA]

Check out the video below from Rob English, medical researcher on topical finasteride while minimizing or eliminating side effects. Rob is all about the research.

Also, I think I may have mentioned it above, but xyon health (Dr. Hasson's company) has produced a formulation of topical finasteride that doesn't affect serum DHT nearly as much as oral finasteride and other formulations of topical finasteride.

 

 

[BaldDude]

Yep it destroyed my sex life (libido, ejaculation etc.) so I had to stop. Given the choice of (some) hair and sex I chose the latter and stopped using it.

[mafpe]

9 hours ago, SLA said:

Check out the video below from Rob English, medical researcher on topical finasteride while minimizing or eliminating side effects. Rob is all about the research.

Also, I think I may have mentioned it above, but xyon health (Dr. Hasson's company) has produced a formulation of topical finasteride that doesn't affect serum DHT nearly as much as oral finasteride and other formulations of topical finasteride.

 

 

thank you for linking this, this is very educational, honestly i've known about the correlation but it broken down like this makes it easier to understand and lessen guesses.

the only thing that's left is how much is needed effectively which he said isn't conclusive yet (but his graph gave us the numbers on how much DHT reduction we would be subjected to generally so you can choose from these levels).

i found these numbers from hairguard/medihair respectively, but unfortunately i didn't find the actual scientific study, nor am i savvy enough to delve into them 

 

but... if these are right then i think microdosing around 0.01mg give the best scalp to serum DHT level, meaning the best effect on hair with negligible to almost no side to GENERAL POPULACE, or at least, according to the test subjects, although the dose is very small that despite it helping with hair loss, the effect isn't pronounced much as the dose we normally take, lets say only 20% as effective *this is a guesstimate by looking at the graft.

that said, we don't know YET which dose would be great for general. i suppose from the second graft, taking 0.2mg instead of 1mg daily is already 90% as effective while only consuming 20% of the dose, this is only for the efficacy however.

 

DISCLAIMER, I AM NOT A 'RESEARCHER', AND THESE NUMBERS I FOUND MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE
so take my writing with a ton of salt and do read, research, and think for your own, this is just my correlation, and to have at least a basis instead of blind guesses,

my take is if you are unaffected or doesn't care about the side effect, you can go the usual dose you're using that is effective, and it's recommended at our usual 1mg (this is just a baseline however, everyone have different reaction as some people here say they even take more than 1mg, or its ineffective that they need dutasteride instead)

1. if you are largely unaffected and or just want to take it safe, 0.2mg daily looks like a good dose as it might lower the risk.

2.if you want the best scalp to serum (blood?) ratio, lessening the risk of side effect,
.01mg to 0.05mg daily is good, with 0.05mg having the same effectiveness as higher doses ON THE SCALP (for hair, this is what we're looking for).
*probably with the less effect it has on our serum, the lesser the side effect, as Rob's video explains that people with 0.01, the side effect is miniscule

i would probably try at 0.05mg (around 1/20 usual dose) in stages, as im taking 1mg daily, i'm gonna reduce the dosage slowly, unfortunately i have no idea how it's going to really affect me unless i become a clinical study patient.

as dr rob said, topical solution also doesn't mean that you're safe from side effect, as its absorbed systemically so it would still get into your body not just the head, but it's hoped that with small enough dose, the amount of finas that gets into our body systemically is negligible compared to the amount that is absorbed in the head.

 

would love to get input from people researching about this and their finding.

[BurnieBurns]

In my opinion a lot of places like hims use higher doses of fin in their topicals as a selling point rather than any actual attempt to mitigate sides. They're aware most don't get sides anyway so it's more for people whom just the 'idea' of using a topical is less intimidating than taking a pill. Point of difference is those who 'don't want' to take it orally versus those who 'can't' it orally.

There's could be lot to be said for micro-dosing topicals as even the first topical fin study in the 90s using 0.005% solution showed no serum dht chances.

It's almost insane to me that's hardly ever talked about

[Curious25]

All I’m going to say, is that the posts on this thread just emphasise both the absolute imperativeness (in my mind) and benefits of hormone profiling before and during using a hormone altering medication - (sounds pretty common sensical right).

If side effects present, it’s not because of the physical pill itself, but rather because of the changes in your natural or usual hormonal profile - which with data and knowledge of where you usually sit at, or where would be a good place to sit at . . . . Can feasibly be addressed by either titrating the medication and/or addressing lifestyle changes to things such as exercise and diet - it’s not actually rocket science, and should be viewed no differently to the emphasis placed on people to run their bloods before, during and after running steroid cycles. 
 

It is completely irresponsible of doctors to not recommend this to their patients before commencing on 5AR inhibiting medication - because it’s quite a simple step to take, that can be the key to resolving any potential issues that may or may not occur down the line. 
 

This is not an anti fin or scare mongering of sides post in the slightest, it is actually quite the opposite - as I have came to learn that managing finasteride use effectively, is actually a relatively simple game of individualised titration of the medication through trial and error monitoring of efficacy vs. general feeling of well-being vs. hormone analysis.

Here’s an example - who can categorically say that for patient A’s level and rate of hair loss, 1mg daily oral is what he ABSOLUTELY needs compared to 0.025% topical twice weekly? Maybe the twice weekly topical has a fantastic effect on his hair loss - now work out the difference in systemic exposure between the two types of administrations just mentioned. 

You’re welcome. 

[Mat16]

8 hours ago, mafpe said:

thank you for linking this, this is very educational, honestly i've known about the correlation but it broken down like this makes it easier to understand and lessen guesses.

the only thing that's left is how much is needed effectively which he said isn't conclusive yet (but his graph gave us the numbers on how much DHT reduction we would be subjected to generally so you can choose from these levels).

i found these numbers from hairguard/medihair respectively, but unfortunately i didn't find the actual scientific study, nor am i savvy enough to delve into them 

 

but... if these are right then i think microdosing around 0.01mg give the best scalp to serum DHT level, meaning the best effect on hair with negligible to almost no side to GENERAL POPULACE, or at least, according to the test subjects, although the dose is very small that despite it helping with hair loss, the effect isn't pronounced much as the dose we normally take, lets say only 20% as effective *this is a guesstimate by looking at the graft.

that said, we don't know YET which dose would be great for general. i suppose from the second graft, taking 0.2mg instead of 1mg daily is already 90% as effective while only consuming 20% of the dose, this is only for the efficacy however.

 

DISCLAIMER, I AM NOT A 'RESEARCHER', AND THESE NUMBERS I FOUND MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE
so take my writing with a ton of salt and do read, research, and think for your own, this is just my correlation, and to have at least a basis instead of blind guesses,

my take is if you are unaffected or doesn't care about the side effect, you can go the usual dose you're using that is effective, and it's recommended at our usual 1mg (this is just a baseline however, everyone have different reaction as some people here say they even take more than 1mg, or its ineffective that they need dutasteride instead)

1. if you are largely unaffected and or just want to take it safe, 0.2mg daily looks like a good dose as it might lower the risk.

2.if you want the best scalp to serum (blood?) ratio, lessening the risk of side effect,
.01mg to 0.05mg daily is good, with 0.05mg having the same effectiveness as higher doses ON THE SCALP (for hair, this is what we're looking for).
*probably with the less effect it has on our serum, the lesser the side effect, as Rob's video explains that people with 0.01, the side effect is miniscule

i would probably try at 0.05mg (around 1/20 usual dose) in stages, as im taking 1mg daily, i'm gonna reduce the dosage slowly, unfortunately i have no idea how it's going to really affect me unless i become a clinical study patient.

as dr rob said, topical solution also doesn't mean that you're safe from side effect, as its absorbed systemically so it would still get into your body not just the head, but it's hoped that with small enough dose, the amount of finas that gets into our body systemically is negligible compared to the amount that is absorbed in the head.

 

would love to get input from people researching about this and their finding.

So you’re basically saying that taking 0.05mg would be still effective in preventing further loss?

If that is the thing, I will have to find a way to get it in that dose ASAP since I cannot even tolerate 0.5mg three times a week

[mafpe]

2 hours ago, Mat16 said:

So you’re basically saying that taking 0.05mg would be still effective in preventing further loss?

If that is the thing, I will have to find a way to get it in that dose ASAP since I cannot even tolerate 0.5mg three times a week

if we take the first graph at it's face value? yes.
what we don't know is how long does it stays, and how each person react to it.

do note the second graph though, the value of suppression is very high and start to plateau around 0.85-1mg, while before around 0.85, the less you take, the effect also drop steeply.
if we use the first source only, yes, 0.05 is good,
but if you use the 2nd graph, 0.1mg = around 45% suppression, and 0.05 = around 30%.

not to mention, this is daily dosage, although from what i read, i think it is better to cut the dosage to daily instead of per x days, so maybe you can get better result with cutting your dose?

it's best if you ask a tricho/derma/hair specialist though, perhaps one of the members here can help.

[MachoVato]

I believe the half life of finasteride is 4-5 days... in tissue, where it matters. So it builds up over time.

[Curious25]

16 minutes ago, MachoVato said:

I believe the half life of finasteride is 4-5 days... in tissue, where it matters. So it builds up over time.

Unless you take it every 4-5 days? 

[MachoVato]

22 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

Unless you take it every 4-5 days? 

Half life is interesting. Let's say you take 1mg pill. In 5 days, half of it will be gone, leaving you with 0.5mg in your scalp. Then 5 days later, half of that is gone, leaving you with 0.25mg in your scalp. Then 5 days later you will have 0.125mg... and on and on. So even if you take a pill every 5 days, there is still residual build-up.