Feel like giving up

[Ab93]

Started finasteride around 6 months ago now, started at 0.25mg twice a week and built up to 1mg 3 times a week. Thought it gave me sides so chopped and changed dosage, frequency etc. Now I’ve settled on 0.5mg a day as I felt no different on the different dosages or frequency, which let me to believe the sides were in my head. In that time it has made no difference to my hair, I’ve lost a lot of ground. Probably shed similar or slightly less than when I was off finasteride. Feel like I’ve lost more hair on it than off it. Took so much courage to take it and it’s done nothing for me. I don’t know if it’s because I kept changing dosage and frequency which meant the hair kept shedding. At this point I’ve no idea what to do. Any responses are welcome 

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advanced 

[LaserCaps]

It takes a full year to see if you'll experience enhancement.  It takes only a few weeks to see if you'll experience retention.  Oh.......but wait!

Did you say "shedding?" That's normal.  (The follicle gets tired of producing so it goes into a dormant period for about 3-4 months.  That hair returns.  100 hairs a day is the norm.  Under a bright light look at the hairs in your temporal areas.  Notice how some strands are thick and robust.  Others not so much.  There may be even some that are so fine you can't hardly see them.  We refer to this process as miniaturization.  This is the hair we are trying to hold on to and to enhance.  When this happens, it looks like regrowth, but it isn't.  It is enhancement of something that hasn't left the building.  I would encourage you to continue the meds.  Take photos and keep track of what's going on.  I would also consider adding other modalities to the mix. The recommended dosage is 1mg per day.  Why not do that?

 

 

 

[Legend007]

I say u keep trying .. I was very frustrated with hairloss too .. tried fin for 6 months ,, didn’t notice any difference, because I thought it will regrow the temples I was losing .. but I still had a lot of hair.. so I stopped , never noticed any sides back then , cuz I didn’t read up on it so much .. if my physician was recommending it to me , I trusted his opinion ..

but still I stopped n 3-4 years later ,, my hair was getting thinner , less full.. n there was no more denial if I don’t do something it’s going to continue to get worse .. 

It wasn’t scary until my hair just randomly fall when I shake my head .. n at that rate I be bald in no time .. even though I was only a norwood 2 at that time .. 

 

well I’m back on it, since 38, n now 4 years later .. it did help n I’m still taking it .. 2-3 pills a week ..  the hair fall had stabilize ,, n some of the smaller hairs grew a little bit longer .. so it’s worked to maintain n slow down the hairloss ..

and I know I can’t stopped using it , cuz when I feel some of my hairs they don’t grow that long, compared to other sections .. so they just hanging on but not falling off.. so if I stopped fin, then those will get thinner sooner than later .. 

those are my experiences from it .. does it cause me sides ? No I don’t think so, possibly some days I think it might ,, but it’s probably just a combo of getting older n not in the right mood. So I can’t blame the fin for those things .. but yep definely less morning wood, n probably not as energetic as before .. but don’t know that could also be mood n getting older..

Kegel exercises helps to improve things .. n just nixoral shampoo n fin is all I use.. 

 

either way , if u do nothing it will get worse not better.. don’t give up, that will lead to more stress. Just try different things n be consistent with it .. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Hair loss medication primarily is used to STOP further hair loss. The only real way to regrow hair is through surgery. If you’re not losing more hair, the medication is working.

[ciaus]

You're only 6 months into the life long battle it is for all of us, keep your chin up! We all have to start here, to see how much benefit, if any, the meds are going to be in establishing your baseline loss rate so that you and your HT doctor can determine how many, again if any, hair transplants you're going to need.

Stick with the finasteride like others have said, as close as you can get to the standard 1mg dosage without side effects to minimize your DHT as much as possible. Even the .5mg a day is giving you most of the total benefit of the full dose.  

Another point about the finasteride, like Melvin said its primarily used to stop further hair loss, but it doesn't eliminate all DHT so you could still experience some additional loss here and there down the road. But it will always be less than what you'd have loss if you weren't taking anything at all. So even if it just slows down your hair loss alot, its still worth taking if that means you'll need less hair transplants over your lifetime. Hanging on to that extra hair, and the vulnerable hair that will hang around for longer, can be the difference between running out of donor hair down the road for any additional hair transplants.

And use this time you are waiting to do some research on the next phase, if you haven't already. Identifying some excellent hair transplant doctors with good reputations and results here on the forum in case you do end up needing hair transplants.

 

[HappyMan2021]

I know you are stressed, but 6 months of taking Fin is hardly any type of sacrifice or investment in the hair loss battle. Many guys literally adjust their whole lives in the quest for satisfactory hair. This website wouldn't even exist if the solution was as easy as taking a pill everyday. 

1) Hair Transplant 2) Hair System 3) Shave it off 4) Just keep taking FIN and be grateful for the hair you have left 5) SMP

Those are the options, all with pros and cons. None of these options are fun, some are very expensive and/or risky. 

How badly do you want your hair back? The choice is yours. 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by SadMan2021

[Sean]

Let meds take a full year to see the effect. Surgery is definitely last resort.  It can create more probs if done wrong.  You definitely do not want that.  I am a person that is going through that.  

[Ab93]

Thanks all for the replies. I’m well aware that finasteride is mainly to stop hair loss but that hasn’t been the case for me at all. Regrowth was nothing more than a dream. My hair has continued to thin and recede at an alarming rate. I have pictures over the last year and my hair looks worse and worse each month. My temples are deeper, my hair overall is so much thinner. I’m certain my sides are thinning too now. I want to believe that it will get better but going backwards at 6 months has me pretty much close to giving up. It seems my body hair grows a lot slower and my beard is either growing slower or thinning out. So finasteride is definitely doing something to my body but nothing for the hair on my head. Not sure what to do, whether or not I should carry on.

[HappyMan2021]

7 minutes ago, Ab93 said:

Thanks all for the replies. I’m well aware that finasteride is mainly to stop hair loss but that hasn’t been the case for me at all. Regrowth was nothing more than a dream. My hair has continued to thin and recede at an alarming rate. I have pictures over the last year and my hair looks worse and worse each month. My temples are deeper, my hair overall is so much thinner. I’m certain my sides are thinning too now. I want to believe that it will get better but going backwards at 6 months has me pretty much close to giving up. It seems my body hair grows a lot slower and my beard is either growing slower or thinning out. So finasteride is definitely doing something to my body but nothing for the hair on my head. Not sure what to do, whether or not I should carry on.

have you even seen a hair transplant doctor or dermatologist to talk about your hair loss? Seems like a lot of rumination, anxiety, and worry to deal with without even consulting a medical professional yet. 

I will also say it again. While I understand your pain, taking Finasteride is the bare bones minimum you need to do to combat hair loss. If taking a pill is too much effort for you, I sincerely suggest you pause your hair regrowth journey for now and start looking at hair systems (which have their own terms and conditions for sure)

 

[Ab93]

6 minutes ago, SadMan2021 said:

have you even seen a hair transplant doctor or dermatologist to talk about your hair loss? Seems like a lot of rumination, anxiety, and worry to deal with without even consulting a medical professional yet. 

I will also say it again. While I understand your pain, taking Finasteride is the bare bones minimum you need to do to combat hair loss. If taking a pill is too much effort for you, I sincerely suggest you pause your hair regrowth journey for now and start looking at hair systems (which have their own terms and conditions for sure)

 

Yep I saw a hair transplant doctor just before I started finasteride, he recommended I jump on fin which I’ve done. I saw a dermatologist a while back and they confirmed there was nothing wrong with my scalp and it’s simply MPB. Taking a pill isn’t too much or else I would have stopped by now. When you pucker the courage to take fin and not only not see stabilisation but hair loss getting worse so quickly I feel I’m well within my rights to feel disheartened by it. 

[LaserCaps]

1 hour ago, Ab93 said:

Thanks all for the replies. I’m well aware that finasteride is mainly to stop hair loss but that hasn’t been the case for me at all. Regrowth was nothing more than a dream. My hair has continued to thin and recede at an alarming rate. I have pictures over the last year and my hair looks worse and worse each month. My temples are deeper, my hair overall is so much thinner. I’m certain my sides are thinning too now. I want to believe that it will get better but going backwards at 6 months has me pretty much close to giving up. It seems my body hair grows a lot slower and my beard is either growing slower or thinning out. So finasteride is definitely doing something to my body but nothing for the hair on my head. Not sure what to do, whether or not I should carry on.

In rare cases, meds may do nothing.  If you continue losing, despite the meds, I would shave or look into other alternatives.  Did you try all modalities simultaneously? Propecia, Rogaine, PRP, Laser? The mechanism of action of each is totally different and there is synergism when used at the same time.  Perhaps you could try this for one year and see what happens.

[Overthinker]

I’m not where I read it last , but I have read it a lot from time to time . Finasteride isn’t for everybody . There are some people that finasteride gives nothing. And hairloss is caused in the other enzyme which distributes to DHT. That’s why when they feel finasteride don’t work for them they add dutasteride or switch completely to it. And I know surgeons who recommend it too in some cases. My advise , wait until a year as been said , and if you feel that way , try out dutasteride . But before you do all that , go run some test about your blood to see what impact finasteride has on you . And then after a year . And see what you decide then . But as the guys above said , it’s mainly on your priorities and what you want . If it’s worth it losing your hair only for not taking a pill which you are not sure it has SE on you , then go for it . But if you want to keep them and make a surgical plan for the future when you stabilise it , quit thinking like this and try the solutions offered first . 
I thought about it from time to time but I find myself thinking this :

when it comes for my eyes, I wear my contact lenses everyday and I take them off at night . It has become part of my daily routine. Do I need to wear them ? No, I could wear my glasses around or nothing at all and be almost “blind” with the grades I have. So if you ask me I choose to see clearly everyday . The same goes for my hair . In my opinion even if I had side effects , I would rather be in pain until I can’t get more of it but hold my hair , than let dht to it’s sh*t and leave me sad . But that’s how I think . I hope that helps ! Best regards 

[aaron1234]

Give Fin a few more months, but keep Dutasteride in mind as a plan B. 

[dotdashdashdash]

On 12/23/2021 at 5:09 PM, Ab93 said:

Yep I saw a hair transplant doctor just before I started finasteride, he recommended I jump on fin which I’ve done. I saw a dermatologist a while back and they confirmed there was nothing wrong with my scalp and it’s simply MPB. Taking a pill isn’t too much or else I would have stopped by now. When you pucker the courage to take fin and not only not see stabilisation but hair loss getting worse so quickly I feel I’m well within my rights to feel disheartened by it. 

I know how you feel! I've been feeling really down lately and struggling with trying to understand how to differentiate between shedding from fin and hair loss. Is it just a matter of wait-and-see if it grows back? 

I'm going to stick with it, though, and hope you do, too. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

AB93,

"Giving up" is a pretty serious phrase.  What exactly are you giving up?  It is advised to give Propecia (finasteride) at least 1 year before evaluating its effectiveness.  Furthermore, there is often an initial shedding period during the first few months which may seem annoying but is a sign that the medication is working.  On the other hand, stopping use of finasteride early may result in a permanent loss of the lost hairs during the shedding period.

Keep in mind also that any hair loss medication is much better at helping hair loss suffering individuals maintain their existing hair and is not proven to grow hair in completely bald areas.  Only hair transplant surgery is proven to do that.

Without seeing photos, I can't give you a specific recommendation, but I suggest going the course with non-surgical treatments if you truly aren't experiencing side effects.  If you are, you may want to consider topical finasteride to see if you have any luck with that.  

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

[Sean]

On 12/23/2021 at 5:09 PM, Ab93 said:

Yep I saw a hair transplant doctor just before I started finasteride, he recommended I jump on fin which I’ve done. I saw a dermatologist a while back and they confirmed there was nothing wrong with my scalp and it’s simply MPB. Taking a pill isn’t too much or else I would have stopped by now. When you pucker the courage to take fin and not only not see stabilisation but hair loss getting worse so quickly I feel I’m well within my rights to feel disheartened by it. 

Hang in there.  It takes at least a year to see effects of finasteride.  Some Folks try the triple combo, finasteride, minoxidil, and ketoconazole shampoo.  One thing may help more then the other.  You can ask your derm about this option.  Then some folks also try the combo above and a dermaroller as well.  Something may work better for someone else vs you, vice versa.  
 

are your vitamin D levels in the blood good?    That can also be a factor. Healthy diet with adequate vitamin d, b, can help. 
 

you can also take, if you can tolerate, biotin, vitamins, fish oil as an added layer of protection.  Again, good to work with doctor on this but I like to eliminate outliers and keeping yourself healthy with right nutrients is key . 
 

Giving up is not the right phrase but I can feel the pain.  My stagnant situation hurts me more and more.  I have been trying to get successful repair for years.  I am aging and it has really put a damper on my life.