My Finasteride Journey!

[Balding Bad]

21 hours ago, J.A.C said:

Definitely improved your crown a lot ! Looking at the front I can see some improvement also. 

Oh? I'm curious where precisely on the frontal region it has improved? To me, I don't see a difference...but thanks for the kind words!

[Balding Bad]

May 1 update photos will be inbound either later tonight or tomorrow.

So I have been on Fin for 5 months now and as May begins I am now entering month 6!

Anyways, quick recap...so far, so good it seems in terms of regrowth. As I had mentioned prior, the hairs that are regrowing again in the frontal region are definitely thinner and weaker, but that's not surprising. Hopefully as they continue to grow, they can provide some better coverage and give the illusion of more density.

Something encouraging did happen though. So I don't let many people see what the real damage/thinning of my front looks like in-person. The only person who really does from time to time is my mother. When she saw my hairline a few weeks ago she commented that it looked more dense! She has no idea I'm taking Fin...in fact no one in my family does, so to me that was a very positive thing to hear!

My skin has seemed to reel itself in and is no longer going bonkers with any cystic acne, but once again I'm not sure this was ever related to the Fin, however it was still worth noting in my opinion.

As of now, still no sexual side effects. As far as I can tell, my libido is still normal and my ejac is still the same consistency it's always been...none of this watery stuff I've heard some people suffer from.

All in all, we are on a pretty good track I'd say. While I likely won't fill out my frontal hair line ever again with only the use of Fin, I am happy with the fact that I can maintain/salvage the remaining 75% of my hair. Ultimately, I know a HT will be in my future later on this year perhaps.

Anyways, that's it for now!

EDIT: Photos now added.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Balding Bad

[Gatsby]

I see a difference. It will be interesting to see where you are by month 12. Definitely a huge improvement in my book! I had to come off my finasteride sadly as I developed sexual side effects. But once my hair transplant gets to 12 months I will try topical finasteride and minoxidil (I don't want to risk a shed while I'm still in the growing phase post op). Thanks for sharing these excellent updates man! 👍

[Balding Bad]

58 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

I see a difference. It will be interesting to see where you are by month 12. Definitely a huge improvement in my book! I had to come off my finasteride sadly as I developed sexual side effects. But once my hair transplant gets to 12 months I will try topical finasteride and minoxidil (I don't want to risk a shed while I'm still in the growing phase post op). Thanks for sharing these excellent updates man! 👍

Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that. How many months were you on it before you started noticing the sexual side effects?

[Gatsby]

I was on 1mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about 4 months but this was also after being on 0.5mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about 5 months prior. I probably should have just dropped back to 0.5mg but I'm heading to Thailand tomorrow and I really want to be 'match fit' if you know what I mean! 🤣😉When I get back from Thailand in three weeks I 'll try again but on topical I think.

[PsSAU]

On 5/2/2022 at 3:08 PM, Gatsby said:

I was on 1mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about 4 months but this was also after being on 0.5mg Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about 5 months prior. I probably should have just dropped back to 0.5mg but I'm heading to Thailand tomorrow and I really want to be 'match fit' if you know what I mean! 🤣😉When I get back from Thailand in three weeks I 'll try again but on topical I think.

Even I faced the issue when increased to 1 mg everyday or alternate day . Hence I have now reduced it to .5mg every day . Will see how it goes . 

[Gatsby]

3 minutes ago, PsSAU said:

Even I faced the issue when increased to 1 mg everyday or alternate day . Hence I have now reduced it to .5mg every day . Will see how it goes . 

@PsSAU how long has it been now on 0.5mg everyday?

[PsSAU]

9 hours ago, Gatsby said:

@PsSAU how long has it been now on 0.5mg everyday?

6 weeks . 

[Gatsby]

4 hours ago, PsSAU said:

6 weeks . 

You should be fine. In many ways perhaps I should have stayed at this dose. All the best mate. 🙏

[Balding Bad]

A bit of an update. Not sure if this is cause for concern yet since this is the first time I noticed and will need to see maybe a week from now, but today was the first time I noticed my semen was actually watery in consistency. Moreover, I noticed my orgasm didn't feel entirely complete. It felt as if it was being held back and it wasn't fully achieved...

I was kind of taken aback by it, but I'm not freaking out yet. I'm aware watery semen is a side effect, however before I make any rash decisions I'll wait to see if this happens again. If so, I may consider dropping Fin usage to just twice a week...

Lastly, I'm not sure if my libido has been impacted or not, but to my knowledge it hasn't...

Edited May 16, 2022 by Balding Bad

[Balding Bad]

I just took my Monday Fin pill before and I know in my last post I stated that I would continue on my Fin regime as usual and see a week later if I still had the watery semen issue, but I decided maybe it might be smart to take a break for the next week or two to see if my semen returns to its normal, viscous consistency.

Thinking about it again, I've never experienced watery semen before and doing some quick research it seems that others usually develop watery semen around the 6 month mark, which is where I currently am in my own time line. There's no such thing as coincidences, so therefore I must assume this is a side effect of Fin that is sadly rearing its ugly head.

That being said, to err on the side of caution I won't be taking Fin again until 5/23 or 5/30 at the latest.

If anyone has any thoughts or comments, please feel free to chime in.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Balding Bad

[BaldDude]

Ditto for me with sexual side effects so I had to stop.  I haven't tried topical yet but I've heard most still get sexual side effects from higher doses of topical.

[Thomo]

Thanks for documenting your journey; sorry to hear that the side effects have appeared after 6 months! 
 

What’s your plan of action going forward? 
 

I think I’m going to start on 0.5mg 3 days p/w.

[RTC]

My finasteride journey was one day 

Took half a tablet then stopped. Topical only if I do re-attempt, atm just using Dutasteride mesotherapy

[RTC]

16 hours ago, BaldBobby said:

Ditto for me with sexual side effects so I had to stop.  I haven't tried topical yet but I've heard most still get sexual side effects from higher doses of topical.

There is a good video online about this - the side effects usually are because the dose of topical is too high. Check out 'Perfect Hair Health', he delves deep into the studies on this

[Balding Bad]

On 5/16/2022 at 1:43 PM, BaldBobby said:

Ditto for me with sexual side effects so I had to stop.  I haven't tried topical yet but I've heard most still get sexual side effects from higher doses of topical.

If you don't mind me asking, at what point did the sides show up for you and what specific sides were you experiencing?

[Balding Bad]

On 5/17/2022 at 12:21 AM, Thomo said:

Thanks for documenting your journey; sorry to hear that the side effects have appeared after 6 months! 
 

What’s your plan of action going forward? 
 

I think I’m going to start on 0.5mg 3 days p/w.

Appreciate your concern.

I think for now I'm going to go on a pause my Fin regimen for 1-2 weeks. I'll need to reassess the quality of my semen later this week and then go from there. If by the 2nd week everything returns to normal then I will likely drop from 3 days per week to 2 days per week with the Fin and see how I respond then.

 

So I won't be taking Fin for the rest of the month and the earliest I'll get back on again would be in June and would likely take it only on Tuesdays and Thursdays then, instead of my usual Monday/WednesdayFriday.

But it's a wait and see approach for me now. I don't want to be completely deterred from Fin just cause of one instance of watery semen.

[BaldDude]

1 hour ago, Balding Bad said:

If you don't mind me asking, at what point did the sides show up for you and what specific sides were you experiencing?

Was a couple months after taking it…loss of libido and enjoyment of sex, ED, reduced semen. 

[Balding Bad]

3 hours ago, BaldBobby said:

Was a couple months after taking it…loss of libido and enjoyment of sex, ED, reduced semen. 

What are you doing now to combat your hair loss?

[BaldDude]

56 minutes ago, Balding Bad said:

What are you doing now to combat your hair loss?

Minoxidil and keto shampoo. May try dermarolling. 

[Balding Bad]

So another update I wanted to provide was that during these past couple of months, I didn't really notice it at the time, but I became depressed/anxious and looking back at it now I feel like this was another side effect of Fin.

I'm normally a relatively cheerful/optimistic guy, but there were a couple challenging life events going on at the time so I just chalked it up to that. However now that I'm thinking about it, I do recall the only other time I ever felt depressed/anxious was back when I was prescribed steroids for a month to recover from an injury. That being said, depression and anxiety is one of the side effects of Fin, so this isn't surprising.

The last time I took Fin was a week ago and ever since then I've felt much better (but who knows, could be a placebo effect). I realize I shouldn't quit Fin as a result of these sides, however it seems I will need to cycle through it in intervals. I'm still gonna wait for another week and reassess after because my semen still seems watery for now, but at some point I may need to either consider taking 1-2 times a week or doing something where I go 1 or 2 months off and then back on.

As usual, I will keep you all posted.

[Balding Bad]

Alrighty guys, a day late, but I did take my photos on June 1!

So if you've been keeping up with my thread then you know I unfortunately developed a couple sides at around the 6 month mark: 1.) watery semen 2.) anxiety/depression.

The watery semen was ultimately the side that made me decide to take a pause on Fin, so the last pill I took was on 5/16. So it's been just a little over 2 weeks. That being said, I haven't actually had the time to check my semen consistency lately as I've been pretty busy with stuff. I hope to follow up on that sooner than later and hopefully report back that the wateriness has subsided.

My depression/anxiety has definitely improved too/if not gone entirely, so I'm happy to report that.

On the hair front, can't say I've noticed any progression or degression. It's kinda remained the same in my opinion, but then again I've only been off a couple of weeks. Maybe I can't tell, but you guys can spot a difference?

For now, I think I will continue to remain off the Fin maybe for another week and then reassess once I have a better understanding of where the semen situation stands. That being said, if I am to get back on Fin again I think I will now only be taking it twice a week instead of three times a week. I'll likely do just Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Anyways, pics below. Feel free to share your thoughts!

[Balding Bad]

Howdy gang -- it's been a little over a month since my last update, but felt it was appropriate to provide an update today since it's the first day I'm back on Fin since I hit the pause button on May 16.

If you've been following along then you're aware the reason I decided to take a break from my 3x a week Fin routine was due to a sudden development of watery semen (on May 15) and anxiety/depression that developed (around April). Anyways, those side effects have since cleared up and according to my records this seems to have happened around June 26 (in regards to semen returning to normal consistency).

So a little over a month off the Fin and I was back to normal, but out of an abundance of precaution I decided to continue to stay off of it just in case.

My game plan now for Fin is to only take it 2x a week (Tuesday and Thursday) and see how it goes. I was able to go 6 months on 3x a week before the sides showed up, so I'm hoping at 2x a week the sides will be kept at bay.

Anyways, I'm not sure if there's been any impact to my hair or not. As far as I can tell it more or less looks the same, but you people might be a better judge of that. So without further ado, here are the photos that I just took moments ago. Any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Balding Bad

[GoliGoliGoli]

Thanks for posting this thread and being honest about your situation. 

I gotta say, if you experienced sides I would recommend getting off of it. Obviously this decision is up to you. At most give it one more chance and see if they flare up again because hormone levels do fluctuate week to week and month to month and depression can come and go too, but honestly if you think it was the Fin causing these I would drop it. 

I say the above even though I'm curious to see if you develop sides again. I think if you are to develop sides again it will happen a lot quicker this time than the last time due to the half life build up in your body. 

[Balding Bad]

1 hour ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Thanks for posting this thread and being honest about your situation. 

I gotta say, if you experienced sides I would recommend getting off of it. Obviously this decision is up to you. At most give it one more chance and see if they flare up again because hormone levels do fluctuate week to week and month to month and depression can come and go too, but honestly if you think it was the Fin causing these I would drop it. 

I say the above even though I'm curious to see if you develop sides again. I think if you are to develop sides again it will happen a lot quicker this time than the last time due to the half life build up in your body. 

Yeah, obviously side effects aren't worth it, but Fin is the most effective medical intervention treatment when it comes to combating hair loss, so if I can tolerate it somehow then that would be ideal.

Anyways, yeah, I'm going to monitor my situation closely and see how I take to just 2x a week. If I still experience sides then I'll drop to 1x a week and reassess from there, but I do appreciate your feedback!