Noob questions on the big 3.

[PatientlyWaiting]

I would get finasteride if I were you. Sides are rare, and extreme cases are even more rare. It's worth a shot.

[cs2257]

I have to ask, how could the side effects be rare?


From the forums it seems like its 50 50 or people are just accepting that it harms their sex drive.

You are messing with a male sex hormone. Surely desire at the least goes down a little bit.

Personally, a slight dip with my sex drive wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. Im worried about the brain fog. I need my mind in top shape.

[clandestine]

I have to ask, how could the side effects be rare?


From the forums it seems like its 50 50 or people are just accepting that it harms their sex drive.

You are messing with a male sex hormone. Surely desire at the least goes down a little bit.

Personally, a slight dip with my sex drive wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. Im worried about the brain fog. I need my mind in top shape.

There's no telling what sides you might get. Most people try the medication, see if they are side susceptible or not, and make a decision from there. Most come off it no problem, without permanent or lasting effects.

[25 going on 65]

I have to ask, how could the side effects be rare?


From the forums it seems like its 50 50 or people are just accepting that it harms their sex drive.

You are messing with a male sex hormone. Surely desire at the least goes down a little bit.

Personally, a slight dip with my sex drive wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. Im worried about the brain fog. I need my mind in top shape.

Tallying posts on a hair loss forum is a bad way to calculate risk of sides on fin IMO
It probably does have a higher rate of sides than the <5% you always see in controlled studies but if they are not noticeable to the user, is it not worth the very noticeable effect on hair?

[PatientlyWaiting]

I have to ask, how could the side effects be rare?


From the forums it seems like its 50 50 or people are just accepting that it harms their sex drive.

You are messing with a male sex hormone. Surely desire at the least goes down a little bit.

Personally, a slight dip with my sex drive wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. Im worried about the brain fog. I need my mind in top shape.

50-50 is too much, I doubt that number is correct.

I take both fin and dutasteride and i'm fine.

Anyway, it's your hair, treat it as you please. But a hair loss treatments' bread and butter is finasteride and rogaine. Good luck.

[25 going on 65]

I take both fin and dutasteride and i'm fine.

So do I, so does Aames.

DHT-stomping crew!

[cs2257]

Patiently and 25, I've been reading the forum and can appreciate your perspectives. Your posts have actually been my guidance thus far. Looking at the forum in general, i wouldnt even have obtained an Rx for Propecia, if it were not for you guys.

50-50 is too much, I doubt that number is correct.

I take both fin and dutasteride and i'm fine.

Anyway, it's your hair, treat it as you please. But a hair loss treatments' bread and butter is finasteride and rogaine. Good luck.

I will start on fin for sure. Im going to guess that your recommendation is to take 1mg.
I'll consider rogaine, but for now it will just be Propecia and nizoral.

Are any of these treatments helpful for the hairline and temples?

[cs2257]

Also, Ill throw up my story in a few days, but basically I've been on Benzos and a benzo analog for sleep problems for the last year and have been stop and go with them before that. I suspect that this might have had an impact on my hairloss, as it was not an issue before then.

Compounded with stress, cheating ex, new job, lack of sleep, high caffiene intake... and dropping about 20lbs in the span of 3 months...

I wonder how much of this I could have prevented without hairloss meds.

Now my hair is not horrible, but i can see the contour of my scalp via my hairline...itch my scalp and hair comes out....all the time...Additionally, my temples have receded quite a bit.

Since my hair is longer, its not so bad. Ill post pictures tomorrow in an introductory thread, but any thoughts on these potential aggravators?

[25 going on 65]

Not sure if benzos are known for hair loss? I know some SSRI's definitely can have that side effect.
However stress can definitely cause hair loss. It is called telogen effluvium and you can read about it on wiki. Sounds like you are in a very stressful time of your life. However from your loss pattern it sounds like you also have MPB so I would not assume you are just stress shedding and kick the meds....this could lead to disaster down the road.

But yes, these meds work for the temples/hairline, however more for maintaining and regrowing. If you have thinning in these areas, meds can thicken them up, but as far as slick bald temples/hairline it is virtually impossible to get significant regrowth on current meds

[cs2257]

Yeah, thats my thoughts as well. If it was just TE, it wouldnt occur in a MPB pattern.

However, I do have some itchiness on the sides/back and hairs do come out there as well...but its no where near as thin as on the top.

[PatientlyWaiting]

I'm glad my posts can be of help to you or any guest looking through this site. You are not alone in fearing Finasteride, so many people are afraid of this drug. The only thing I can do is talk about my own experience and how this drug has helped slow down my hair loss. I think there are a lot of people who use finasteride successfully but they just don't post, so all you hear is the negative news of fin. Hopefully if you get on it, you do not experience these negative side effects and you can pass on your positive experience to some one who's just starting out their hair loss. Finasteride and Dutasteride are really wonder drugs if you catch your hair loss in it's early stages, unlike I did.

[PatientlyWaiting]

So do I, so does Aames.

DHT-stomping crew!

[cs2257]

Should I just start on propecia or wait about a week to get a blood test?

Really want to feel like im doing something proactive...Windy today... :/

No bald spots yet other than the temples, just getting real thin and itchy up top.

[25 going on 65]

If it was me I would just jump on the drug, which is exactly what I did (have not had a single test after 2.5 years on fin and 2 months on dut). However you are not me....I would have accepted pretty much any side over going bald

Realistically you are not going to make or break your hair if you start in a week vs. tomorrow

[cs2257]

Some people start them at the same time others wait a little while after starting the other. I am taking Finasteride right now and want to add Minoxidil but I want to see what results I get with Fin on it's own first.

As for 2% Keto, I am not sure. Where I live it is available OTC at any store but in the U.S. you need a prescription. Perhaps inhousepharmacy or a similar site.

I have no knowledge of spiro so can't help you there.

So i ordered from inhousepharmacy. Can anyone tell me if this is legit?
There was no seal under the cap. I heard there were fakes online. Just want to be sure.

Anyway to tell?