Alternative options to finasteride?

[rgm82]

Hi ya'll,

Just hoping to get some advice here on what my options might be, if anybody here has had any similar experiences...when I started noticing hair loss a few years back I tried out the Keeps plan, using their monthly shipment of oral finasteride and topical minoxadil. At some point I started noticing some of those dreaded sexual side effects, so after about 8 months or so I stopped taking both. 

Fast forward to now and I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a hair transplant, which I have scheduled for March. The doc at that clinic told me as part of my post op care plan it's probably going to be necessary to start finasteride again after the procedure to make sure I don't start losing hair again, otherwise I'm likely to have to keep coming in every few years for expensive touch ups. I talked to him about my issues in the past with finasteride and he recommended I try the new topical version of finasteride which apparently has less pronounced side effects. So I found that I could get a finasteride+minoxadil topical solution from forhims.com and I've been using it for a few weeks...and I'm starting to feel some of the same side effects, albeit less pronounced, but still there and I'm wondering...is there anything I can do besides finasteride to keep my hair? Of course I want this surgery to be successful and keep what I have, but I really, really hate taking this stuff. 

My follow up question here is about PRP injections...anybody here have any experience/knowledge of this sort of procedure? I actually tried it myself a few years ago, and in all honesty I felt a bit swindled at the time as the doctor all but guaranteed me I get some of my hair to come back and that didn't happen at all, but he swears up and down that my remaining follicles look healthier after the procedure and that I'm less likely to lose what I have after having had that done...is it possible he's right? Could having to take dick-numbing finasteride every single day possibly be replaced by getting PRP shots done every few years to keep my hair?

Also, what about just minoxadil by itself, no finasteride? Would that accomplish anything? I have a receding hairline btw, no vertex baldness

Edited November 22, 2021 by rgm82

[TEXAN35]

PRP is very iffy, not sure if it does anything on its own. Some doctors use it with Transplant. Some people have started trying topical Dutersteride (From Strut in US, Fueclinic in Europe) and have heard some good feedback but I think it is still new. But even Topical may go into blood stream and mayhave some side effects though lesser than oral version.

 

 

[devop911]

I would to the following:

Get off Fin for a month now, to get your mind a bit calmed.

You are using forhims, this might be the 0.1 or 0.05 solution (UK and US) differs.

Mix it up with Minoxidil liquid version, so you get a 0.025percent solution, this solution is stable and still potent.

Apply it every second day for the first month and see how it gets, if good try to use it every day.

I also suggest using a dropper(1ml) over the spray application.

Fin has a very high bioavailability and besides Minoxidil it does not need to get converted to its active form.

 

 

 

 

 

[Balding Bad]

@rgm82 sorry to hear about the negative sides. May I ask what your dosage was and how frequently you were taking it?

Perhaps all it takes is a simple tweak of one or both and your body may be able to tolerate Fin better without the sides. I say this because there are clearly millions of men out there who are taking Fin without those pesky sides. Everyone is different so no two people will respond exactly the same to the drug. So maybe in your case you just need a lower amount.

Just some food for thought.

Also, to answer your question. I've been on Minoxidil only for the past 6 years and my front hair line has continued to progressively thin out whereas my mid scalp and crown have held up quite well. I obviously have no basis of comparison, but I genuinely do feel that without Minoxidil my mid scalp and crown would probably be thinner. So while not a game changer, it has helped me maintain what I do have or at the very least slowed down the miniaturization process.

I would still continue Minoxidil if I were you. Anything helps!

Edited November 22, 2021 by Balding Bad

[rgm82]

1 hour ago, devop911 said:

 

Fin has a very high bioavailability and besides Minoxidil it does not need to get converted to its active form.

1 hour ago, devop911 said:

 

What exactly does high bioavailability mean?

 

 

 

 

[rgm82]

@Balding Bad

I don't recall the dosage of the Fin i took years ago from keeps, I took it daily though I can't remember if it was 1/day or one each morning and evening

The current dosage of the topical stuff from forhims is .1% fin, 6% minoxidil, 6 sprays to the bald spots 2x/day

I can try it applying it less and see if that helps. It's a combined solution though, so I can't mix up the dosages individually

[rgm82]

@TEXAN35

Dutersteride? Never heard of it, this is new? Where I can find info on it/possibly acquire it?

[pkipling]

The only all-natural potential alternative I know of is Saw Palmetto - but given that it's a supplement, I don't believe there's any science based studies done to prove it's efficacy, so I wouldn't bank on it. Some people swear by these alternatives, and I'm sure some people think it's all snake oil. Lol. But it's worth looking into at least if you want to avoid medication and go a different route. Couldn't hurt. 

[devop911]

15 minutes ago, rgm82 said:

@Balding Bad

I don't recall the dosage of the Fin i took years ago from keeps, I took it daily though I can't remember if it was 1/day or one each morning and evening

The current dosage of the topical stuff from forhims is .1% fin, 6% minoxidil, 6 sprays to the bald spots 2x/day

I can try it applying it less and see if that helps. It's a combined solution though, so I can't mix up the dosages individually

Ofc you can