Finasteride 0.25 mg twice per week. Works for me.

[Loomings]

Thanks Gutted,

My research into reflex hyperandorgencity all seems to indicate that it is very rare.

I've found nothing to suggest that this is something I should count on happening.

One source called Dr Patel actually mentions that this condition seems to manifest more in people using alternate DHT blockers.

Just a quick update on my hair. Have noticed a tiny bit of shed...but all the hairs that come out seem to be very short, stumpy and very thin. Not long ones. Maybe my scalp is ditching the crappy hairs to make way for more luxurious ones?

There is not much shedding at all though, very mild. In all hair still looks fuller, healthier and getting better all the time.

Update on sides- they have lessened. Still odd twitches and pangs in my testicles, but libido still there. If anything Fin is helping me last longer. Was going at it with my gf for 1.5 hours on the weekend. Lost wood a few times but not significant, got back into it quickly.

In all, side effects not noticeable enough for me to question much...yet.

Still very happy with obvious positive effect on my hair.

[gutted]

Gutted- Interestingly, you have described exactly what's happening in terms of hairs feeling more tightly anchored to my scalp.

I'd really like to escape a dramatic shed (even though I know it means the drug is probably working).

I've read a few horror stories about guys who just keep shedding (even for 8-10 months). Seems like coping with the shed requires a lot of discipline, especially if it persists for months.

How did your shedding phase go? How did you cope with it.

I still have a lot of hair and can cope with a bit of shedding, but if I can keep my hair exactly where it's at now I'd be thrilled.

I never took fin, although i took some dht blockers which IMO were potent enough to mimic fin for me anyway.

Yes i noted the exact same effects as you almost within 1/2weeks of starting
- an undoubtable, MAJOR reduction in hairs that would fall out
- Hair much much more anchored to the scalp

This was short lived though and by the 4th week, i eventually started to shed very badly but did stick with it until the 4/5 months, when i eventually decided to stop, as i got some sides, and the sheds(or hair loss) was still continuing.

I say "hair loss" as i suspected "reflex hyperandorgencity" to occur, i dont know if you are aware of what this is? googling it should bring you up to scratch on it just for future referece.

You could be fine on propecia, the studies indicate it works for a significant amount of men so the statistics are on your side, but just keep an eye out on the sheds in the next few weeks, many men report them and some "claim" they are part of the treatment process.

[Loomings]

Gutted- Interestingly, you have described exactly what's happening in terms of hairs feeling more tightly anchored to my scalp.

I'd really like to escape a dramatic shed (even though I know it means the drug is probably working).

I've read a few horror stories about guys who just keep shedding (even for 8-10 months). Seems like coping with the shed requires a lot of discipline, especially if it persists for months.

How did your shedding phase go? How did you cope with it.

I still have a lot of hair and can cope with a bit of shedding, but if I can keep my hair exactly where it's at now I'd be thrilled.

[gutted]

Gutted, I'm glad you think these fast results are possible. My results seem to be totally counter to everything I have read about typical Finasteride results.

I'm really trying to avoid the Wishful Thinking trap. My goal is to gather as much truth about this drug as possible.

Not to hammer a point I have already made, but my total halting of further hairloss on this drug cannot be my imagination. I am constantly running my hand through my hair to see if I can pick up loose hairs.....I am coming up clean. It is almost too good to be true. I did not expect this. Especially as my balding is primarily frontal.

There is no question that since taking this drug I have stopped losing hair.

If I can maintain what I have now- I will be very happy and this drug will have been a success for me.

I am very wary about coming across as embellishing my results. I want to give as honest account of my experience as possible. If it goes downhill, I will be back to report immediately.

Fingers crossed about sides effects. Something I have noticed is that if I start thinking about them, then they seem to manifest. There is definitely a dangerous placebo paranoia associated with this for me. In between my first and second dose, I was positive I was a candidate for negative side effects.
Now- I am definitely more pragmatic. Definitely feel like there has been a change in my body, but it is becoming more elusive and I pretty sure there is a psychological component to it. If not, my body seems to be adjusting and taking it on board.

What I can say is that my side effects are now mild enough to beg the question as to whether it is in my head or not.

A definite physical symptoms are still the odd twinge and discomfort in my ball sack. Things do feel different down there and I am not prepared to readily dismiss this as psychological, but I am trying to keep level-headed about that. I am expecting that discomfort in my genitals will start to subside.

Its very possible to note a total stop, i remember experincing the same.
The hairs felt more tightley anchored to the scalp too. So i belive its very possible and you are experiencing the same.
And IMO most fin users experience the same but dont have the observational awareness neccassary to perceieve such benefits as either, they are "taught" results are not expected for another 6/12 months hence dont pay attention OR they have short hair so this effect becomes difficult to note.

The question is will this effect remain forever?...imo i doubt it will last, and the point at which this drug causes increases in hair shedding, i expect it to be at the 3rd/4th week, hence why im asking you to pay very close attention in the upcoming weeks.

hope it works out, keep us updated.

[Loomings]

Gutted, I'm glad you think these fast results are possible. My results seem to be totally counter to everything I have read about typical Finasteride results.

I'm really trying to avoid the Wishful Thinking trap. My goal is to gather as much truth about this drug as possible.

Not to hammer a point I have already made, but my total halting of further hairloss on this drug cannot be my imagination. I am constantly running my hand through my hair to see if I can pick up loose hairs.....I am coming up clean. It is almost too good to be true. I did not expect this. Especially as my balding is primarily frontal.

There is no question that since taking this drug I have stopped losing hair.

If I can maintain what I have now- I will be very happy and this drug will have been a success for me.

I am very wary about coming across as embellishing my results. I want to give as honest account of my experience as possible. If it goes downhill, I will be back to report immediately.

Fingers crossed about sides effects. Something I have noticed is that if I start thinking about them, then they seem to manifest. There is definitely a dangerous placebo paranoia associated with this for me. In between my first and second dose, I was positive I was a candidate for negative side effects.
Now- I am definitely more pragmatic. Definitely feel like there has been a change in my body, but it is becoming more elusive and I pretty sure there is a psychological component to it. If not, my body seems to be adjusting and taking it on board.

What I can say is that my side effects are now mild enough to beg the question as to whether it is in my head or not.

Definite physical symptoms are still the odd twinge and discomfort in my ball sack. Things do feel different down there and I am not prepared to readily dismiss this as psychological, but I am trying to keep level-headed about that. I am expecting that discomfort in my genitals will start to subside.

[gutted]

I beleive you can have such results in a short space.
I experienced something similar.

Im keen to follow your experience on fin.

Monitor your shed levels for the next 3/4 weeks VERY carefully, and i would be greatful if you could report back. Also how oily your current scalp and then after the 3/4 weeks.

[mattj]

I'm glad you feel that you're benefiting from the treatment already, although to be honest I doubt if your hair could actually look thicker at such an early stage. The reduction in hair fall is a good sign, though, and also very early.

The side effects could possibly be entirely psychological and I'm glad you're aware that this might be the case. I'm by no means dismissive of the side effects related to this drug but it's genuinely possible to bring on side effects by thinking about them too much, or to imagine them, and this can happen to completely reasonable and intelligent people.

If the drug is causing side effects at such a low and infrequent dose then this could mean that you're especially sensitive to it so I would definitely advise against increasing the dose.

Good luck with it!

[chrisis]

No worries Loomings. By all means continue if you think your sides may be related to psychological factors, but I'd stick at the dose you're at unless you're absolutely sure about moving up. I think at max you could get away with 0.25mg daily. I don't really see the benefit in anyone being at 1mg, because for the minor comparative difference, the risks of upping dose just aren't worth it.

[Loomings]

Guys,

Thanks for your input.

Skipstah, I do not believe my hairloss is stress-related. I do have a stressful job, but my pattern is following that of my father's who is now totally bald (wheels fell off for him well and truly at 30). I have his genes. I can track his progression through photos.

Khan, thanks mate. My balls feel better today. I know how much libido/erections depends on psychology- Fearing sex is not sexy and it's a downward spiral.

Chrisis, I've followed your posts in the past with keen interest. I know you have had some serious problems with this drug. I take that very seriously hence my low dose regime. I agree that upping my dose to 1mg to test for more severe side effects is a bad idea.


Have taken 3rd dose of 0.25mg this morning.

This is the first day where side effects seem to have abated. Pretty normal day, feel calm.....I would say I'm presently in a good mood.

Hair looking, feeling better at the front. This is subjective.

Hair has stopped falling out. This is objective.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but Finasteride has taken effect very quickly in at leats halting my progression (thinning). At present (fingers crossed) I think starting this treatment was an excellent choice.

Had sex with my girlfriend last night and definitely lost a bit of wood mid-insertion from time to time, but ultimately got the job done to normal standards and she was happy. I think my loss of wood was purely psychological, and not a result of finasteride. I think the less I think about it, the better I'll perform (easier said than done).

[chrisis]

I'll tell you that if you are showing any problems this early on and on such a small dose, that is not a good sign. My best advice, find out if this is real or in your head by taking a regular 1mg dose for two weeks to a month.. then you will know what you are really dealing with. You will be able to sort out much better what is "in your head" and what isn't because the changes will be that much more dramatic.

This is absolutely shocking advice. Do not take Propecia at all if you suffered sides on 0.25mg every few days. You were cautious and discovered it's not good for you, so back the heck away from it. Anything else would be sheer lunacy.

[khan]

Loomings, after reading your post, I think you might be setting yourself to believe you are getting sides. You stated in your post that you are experiecing mild issues, but you are doing fine on your own every night.

Try not to think too much about taking this drug. My sincere advice is to stay away from hairloss websited the first 6-12months of taking the drug. It will only make matter worse, you will be thinking of it 24/7.

As for the nut discomfort, you can do a simple search on bald truth forum. Most people get this early on, and it goes away.

Whatever you decide it should be your decision. I am not telling you to take the drug or not take the drug. But just know that if you do decide to continue with the drug you are not helping yourself my over analyzing the situtation.

[skipstah70]

I'm not belittling you, I'm just stating a simple fact... That don't know what you are talking about with regards to the drug.

As another point. Have you ever considered the following (and I have NO idea exactly what is going on your life in this regard, but can guess quite accurately that you are fairly high stress and hair obsessed by details of your first post). We all know that stress can be a major factor in hairloss as well. There are many times in a persons life when extreme stress can cause hairloss in people with or without typical allopecia. College exams, sickness or death of a loved one, physical trauma, obsessive worrying. When you took that first .25mg pill you either consciously or unconsciously told yourself that.. "this will stop my hairloss", or something even simpler "now I'm dealing with this problem". As an immediate effect, this could immediately lower your stress levels and hence ameliorate your hair loss. I want to point out that this effect is very real, but has NOTHING to do with the actual taking of the drug. It's the placebo effect of taking medication, which is something I think you may have overlooked.

The other point is, that you are dealing with a whole hormonal system in your body which works in phases that are impossible to manifest in physical appearance so quickly. It's not just my opinion, it's medical science. If you do your research on this drug, you will understand exactly what I am saying. This drug doesn't instantly work like magic, which is what you seem to be describing.

[Loomings]

No need to be belittling.

I do believe the jury is still out on the full mode of action of this drug.

Some people take one dose, and they swear it has messed them up for life.

Others like Spencer have been taking it for years with no issues.

Some people find their baldness accelerated on this drug and some grow breasts.

Nobody really knows why results vary.

I will state a simple truth: My hair has stopped falling out on a dose of 2X 0.25mgs of Finasteride in one week. My hair stopped falling out on the days between the first (Thursday morning) and second (Sunday morning) dose. I may not be thickening, but I am maintaining.

[skipstah70]

'Your experience with the drug'?? What ****ing experience? You haven't even taken a milligram of the stuff over the course of 3 weeks yet!? LOL Do you even know the basics about how this drug works in your body, judging by what you are saying, I know the answer is no. Get real man.

[Loomings]

Skipstah, I made full acknowledgement that my experience on Finasteride is very unusual. I can acknowledge that because I have read the experiences of many other users, and none seem to see results like mine.

Objectively, my hair has stopped falling out. There is no way I'm imagining that. I run my hand through the front of my hair and come up clean of loose hairs. Before Finasteride I would get a reliable 4 or 5 hairs.

My girlfriend, who is a straight shooter, will back this up. She's as surprised as I am.

At the very least Finasteride is already starting to maintain my hair.

Trust me, I had zero expectations of this drug having any effect at 0.25mgs twice a week. The reason I started at this dose was to see if I could preempt side effects and stop using Finasteride before I risked permanent damage.

The surprising part was the immediate effect it has had on my hair. And I must correct you, I have only been on Finasteride for a week and have taken a total of 2X 0.25mg hits (Thursday morning and Sunday morning).

I have no agenda or reason to make this up. I'm extremely worried about negative effects of this drug, the unexpected surprise is how powerful it actually is in halting hair loss for me.

What is clear is that everyone responds differently to this drug. I am glad I started on this low dose, because 1mg per day would definitely be overkill for me.

The only unfortunate part of this experience for me is that while it seems to be very effective on my hair, it does seem to be exerting a negative influence on my dick and brain.

If it persists and my body does not adjust to this drug in a way that is acceptable for my libido/ sense of well being, I will discontinue using it.

The being said, I felt much better today than I have since starting, although I am due for my next hit tomorrow morning.