How long to give different dosages of fin a shot before quitting?

[Hair-here]

I’ve been on fin for almost two years.

For almost all that time I’ve had some of the typical mild sexual side effects- lower libido, weaker erections, etc.  Everything still works, but it’s still kind of annoying. I’m a NW 6/7 and had a transplant so the doc recommended taking it to protect the transplant and whatever further loss could occur- so I’m not protecting a full head of hair with fin by any means.

I took 1mg of fin for a year then decreased to 1mg every other day for a few months and then have been doing 1mg/twice a week and .25mg every other day for a few months now.

The decreased dosage doesn’t seem to have helped the sides go away.  I think I’m at about the lowest dosage that could be effective and so I’m close to quitting.

Has anyone else gone this route of lowered dosages without getting rid of side effects? What did you do?

[12345]

manipulating doses does not work. if you are sensitive, you are sensitive, so i would quit, and then trial diff anti-androgens to see if you can tolerate them.

from my experience, if you are sensitive to one anti-androgen, you most likely will be sensitive to others, but you can still try and see as we are all different genetically, and tolerate diff meds.

Others here will convince you to try topical fin which will just go systemic. oral, topical, it all enters your bloodstream.

Some may even say try topical dut. It will more likely give you worst and longer side effects. The only person posting that they made the switch from  having side effects with fin to being side effect free on topical dut is the forum moderator. He uses xyon topical dut which happens to be the site sponsor

[OfficerWinslow]

I'm in the same boat as you @Hair-here.  You could try to go down to 0.25 once a week, or try a topical fin with a low concentration (such as 0.025%) and use that 1-3X a week to see how you fare.  The problem when low dosing like this is 1.) Will it even be effective? 2.) As the previous post mentioned, you may just be sensitive to Fin and any dose will give you side effects.  

I think it's worth it to try stepping down one more time just to see if it makes a difference, especially since you've already committed to Fin for some time. If that proves to make no difference, you have topical and oral min.

[Al - Moderator]

I think if you are down to such small doses only a couple of times per week and still having side effects then you should probably just quit it all together and try something else. You could try oral Minoxidil.

You also have to wonder if it's in your mind rather than an actual effect of Finasteride.

 

[Gatsby]

22 hours ago, Hair-here said:

I’ve been on fin for almost two years.

For almost all that time I’ve had some of the typical mild sexual side effects- lower libido, weaker erections, etc.  Everything still works, but it’s still kind of annoying. I’m a NW 6/7 and had a transplant so the doc recommended taking it to protect the transplant and whatever further loss could occur- so I’m not protecting a full head of hair with fin by any means.

I took 1mg of fin for a year then decreased to 1mg every other day for a few months and then have been doing 1mg/twice a week and .25mg every other day for a few months now.

The decreased dosage doesn’t seem to have helped the sides go away.  I think I’m at about the lowest dosage that could be effective and so I’m close to quitting.

Has anyone else gone this route of lowered dosages without getting rid of side effects? What did you do?

I was in a very similar situation as you. I started with 1mg a day and developed sexual side effects after 6-8 weeks. I stayed on the drug for another 6-8 weeks. The side effects stayed so I ceased the drug. I then waited two months so the drug was out of my system (and my libido had returned) and tried 1mg every other day. The same thing with sexual side effects happened again at about the two month mark. I stuck with the drug this time for six months in the hope that the side effects might eventually pass which they didn’t. After six months I ceased the drug again. I tried the same again on 0.25mg every day for for another five months at a later stage and again under the guidance of an excellent dermatologist using 0.25ml topical minoxidil for about six months which also resulted in my libido disappearing so I stopped that too. 
You could try a topical version of Finasteride at say 0.1ml’s as many people who get side effects orally don’t get side effects topically. This could rule out the drug if you still get side effects. The benefit of a 5ari is that even as a Norwood 7 like myself who has had surgery, you want to still protect your donor (and transplant) from thinning over time. The donor is DHT resistant. It’s not DHT proof. I’m currently taking 5mg oral minoxidil a day with no side effects of any kind and it has made my hair fuller and thicker. All the best. 

[12345]

11 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

I think if you are down to such small doses only a couple of times per week and still having side effects then you should probably just quit it all together and try something else. You could try oral Minoxidil.

You also have to wonder if it's in your mind rather than an actual effect of Finasteride.

 

I am appalled by the ongoing dismissal from you moderators regarding forum members who have documented experiences of sexual side effects with finasteride, treating them as mere figments of the mind.

[Gatsby]

Did you need read my response?

[Al - Moderator]

On 4/27/2024 at 7:35 PM, 12345 said:

I am appalled by the ongoing dismissal from you moderators regarding forum members who have documented experiences of sexual side effects with finasteride, treating them as mere figments of the mind.

 

How did I dismiss it? I literally said if he is having side effects he should stop taking it. In fact I had mild sexual side effects myself and I eventually stopped taking finaseride. I have posted that information about myself on this forum many times over the years.

I don't currently take any hair loss meds because I decided I didn't want to continue on meds forever. I tried minoxidil many years ago and had heart palpitations. Then I tried finasteride and was taking that for about 11 years until I noticed I had been losing hair anyway and as I said, with some sexual side effects and that fact that I would rather not stay on it forever, especially if it wasn't keeping my hair anyway, I decide to stop. However both finasteride and minoxidil do work for a lot of people, so I do think people with hair loss should seriously consider trying them or perhaps dutasteride or something else to see if and how well it works for them. If you are just beginning to lose your hair and can keep it or even get most of it back without having surgery then that is the way to go.