Quitting propecia, share your thoughts:

[Jcm800]

back from the hairdresser: the sad thing is that I actually really like my new haircut!

I will wait at least three weeks off the propecia to decide anything, if my newfound sexdrive makes my life so much fun I wont give it a second thought!

I'll keep fighting hairloss no matter what, with minox only if I realy get a surge of sexdrive that I want to keep or I'll get back to my regimen if things don't seem much different!

What kind of haircut did you have?

[Assemblage23]

back from the hairdresser: the sad thing is that I actually really like my new haircut!

I will wait at least three weeks off the propecia to decide anything, if my newfound sexdrive makes my life so much fun I wont give it a second thought!

I'll keep fighting hairloss no matter what, with minox only if I realy get a surge of sexdrive that I want to keep or I'll get back to my regimen if things don't seem much different!

[Assemblage23]

To BigThinker: Getting a HT is still my goal, eventually. I hate the idea of going bald, I will never accept it. I have a BA and I refuse to go back to the university as a bald man, no ****ing way. I will never want social exposure like I used to. I just decided I'd rather live as horny baldman with a rich sexlife than as a lifeless insecure man trying everything to feel attractive to compensate for his thinning hair. If someday I can get my hair back I'll change my plans. Sure people will notice I did something about it and I will be embarassed with a few friends but they'll get over it and I'll be able to live again as a top of the food chain atractive man which I think I can be, sorry about the Highlander mindset. People like us are perfectionists and even if I admit I could tolerate fin(libido was low but bearable) it's no longer worth all the hassle, a Norwood 3 takes a lot of styling and it still looks like shit under the light.

As I'm typing this I have a raging hard-on it's funny how I decided to drop the fin when my libido went up these days, it had the opposite effect on my relationship with propecia I realized I am not living to my full potential because I remember how CRAZY I would get just two years ago. Nothing age-related I was 24 when I started and I'm 26 now.

I started propecia after a knee surgery, I remember waking up the night after the operation in pain, the nurse came to check and I had to jerk off as soon as she left because she was sexy enough to drive me so horny despite my pain and trouble to clean up. Before Propecia I was into call girls and all of my disposable income was burnt in prostitutes.

I got on fin, and felt like I needed to secuce because I had an expiration date coming up. I became all about slaying ***** and I had really impressive results for someone who wasn't that good in the first place. But it didnt come from my sex drive, it was mostly out of boredom, wanting to be adventurous and play mind games. Now I have proven to myself that I could pick up women I am left with half a dozen decent looking regular partners(I work in the night club scene this is the secret) but I really don't fully enjoy them deep inside.

I remember the raging horniness, the burning desire to ****, and it's gone. Is it because of fin or because ***** has become something a lot easier to access now?

Back on the original topic, the official study says original DHT levels are back after a couple weeks.

I read about PFS. This is scary but it seems rare and I believe there are a lot of hypochondriacs out there.

[Cr779]

How in the hell were you dividing up a pill to get 0.06 mg??

Estimation. Also on 1mh propecia makes it easier than the 5mg generic. quarter it to .25, then .25 in half to .115(roughly) then cut that in half as best you can and take the smaller piece which gets your roughly 0.006 to 0.010. Not exact but better than not trying to get as small as you can.

[BigThinker]

I still have some urges, but not like before. If I had a Norwood under 2 to maintain I would be able to accept losing my sexdrive as it was in my best days. Propecia is worth taking when you are in the early stages. But I was in denial at this point

I was in denial too, even though my dad was NW7 at age 25. Luckily I have 2% keto to keep my mind off of it until Feb 24th when I see the derm. Then it's fin time. After that, I've done all I can do and I play the cards that are dealt from there (I'll never use toppik, wear a toupee, ge ta HT, or use minox - just my preference).

[Assemblage23]

I still have some urges, but not like before. If I had a Norwood under 2 to maintain I would be able to accept losing my sexdrive as it was in my best days. Propecia is worth taking when you are in the early stages. But I was in denial at this point

[Assemblage23]

Judging from what I read online, the alleged 2% of side effects sufferers are those who had an hardcore experience on par with the worst propecia help horror stories. It makes sense to suppose that we all lose some sex drive and a lot of fin users go on with their lives.
Let's not end up discussing the prevalence of side effects though it's been done all over the hair loss boards.
As for the ladies... Some will be grossed out some will not give a **** that's simple as that it's like our reaction to a chick with no boobs some of us can actually have preference for this body type most of us wouldnt be too happy about it but still look past it and it's an absolute dealbreaker to a minority of guys. Being very active on the dating scene i really feel bad about losing my hair and I will never want to be the center of the attention like before. I have lost a huge amount of social confidence for ever.

Please come and share your post finasteride experience on here this is what I am very curious about. I wanna know what i have been missing out and if getting up a norwood in a few months will be worth it.

[blakes33]

I agree with you here but I actually have something interesting to say about this. I went to my doctor to look at the results of my blood test that was taken the day before my last dose of propecia. I was only taking like 0.06 at this point barely any of the drug and had been weaning off for over a month. My DHT was still inhibited by about 50% at this point, pre fin I was at 3199 DHT at this point I was at about 1588. So the drug is far more effective at lower doses than people think.

Not to derail I plan to make an update thread soon enough.
But I still think weaning off is the best choice.

How in the hell were you dividing up a pill to get 0.06 mg??

[DepressedByHairLoss]

This is the dilemna with me too. I've been on Propecia for about 2 and a half years and have the same side effects as lower libido, not being able to get it up in bed, and feeling the same levels of attraction and arousal towards women that I used to. However, I still continue to take Propecia because I don't think that I could handle living life as a bald man, especially within the rock n roll scene which I love being a part of.

However, these side effects have really been pissing me off lately. I've always been a big weight-lifter and I feel that Propecia has really affected my lifting and my muscular structure. Pre-finasteride, my muscles always felt hard and firm, and now oftentimes they feel soft and flabby, even after a workout. This makes sense that Propecia would be affecting my muscles this way because it inhibits the production of a chief form of testosterone throughout the entire body, and testosterone is what causes muscles to grow and remain firm. This is why men are more muscular than women, because of the levels of testosterone that they produce.

I actually want to get back on creatine for a bit because it really boosts my workout performance and could counteract the muscular side effects of Propecia. But I've heard that since creatine elevates the levels of testosterone in the body, it could cause hair loss. And frankly, I'm getting sick and tired of constantly lowering the levels of testosterone in my body. Hell, most men are looking to increase their testosterone levels for things like workout and sexual performance. However, men who are committed to stopping their hair loss will watch out for products that elevate their testosterone levels. This is just ridiculous.

[BigThinker]

Want to start by thanks for the post. It was powerful and provided a lot of insight. I'm 25 with a thinning NW2, and I have probably lost about 4 months of being on fin. I read your post and realize I've already lost some time. But, strangely enough, at the same time going through hairloss up to this point has made me stronger.

The crazy thing is that before I took propecia I had only laid four girls at 24.
I started taking it and now I get laid with a new girl LEFT AND RIGHT about twice a month. I started taking it and it gave me a sense of urgency about my powers of seduction.

Maybe my loss of libido make me look at girls in a different way that makes me more attractive to them. I'm no longer needy and my thoughts are clearer when I interract with them. Getting laid is very easy for me these days it's just about going out and flirting with every woman I see and a couple will respond positively every night. Two thirds don't reply the next day and some of them give me the relationship/I've been hurt before lecture but I still live in a porn movie these days.

Wow, this part spoke to me. Although I havn't been on fin yet, I also saw my deterring hair as a time bomb until I was completely and utterly unaesthetic, even though I have had every indication from girls that isn't the case.

Last year, with full hair, I was staying at home on the weekend and playing video games, copping out on my friends and blaming it on lack of money (which was hardly true). This year, I said f**k it, moved into a sick condo with a good buddy and have been going out every reasonable opportunity I get. In addition, my game has been totally on point and I've never been so uninhibited in my entire life.

Two nights ago, I had a work party where I stole the dance floor and had a circle of girls clapping and dancing with me as I "taught them out to dougie". Ended up going home with a girl from work whom I've been attracted to for ages, and only after I had multiple other women from work approach me. She ran her hands through my hair, which is obviously thinning and I decided to not let it bother me, and it ended up not bothering her or deterring her from what we were about to get into. I couldn't believe how "in control" I felt of my own projection onto women. It was sort of like I had nothing left to lose.

Many men with my level of libido probably feel fine. I am fine actually, I can still perform but I just miss the random thoughts and being exited about seeing someone and the very intense arousal. I just screw around like a sociopath trying to feel something and I don't feel happy about it. I just want the random boners to come back and to have fantasies and strong urges to keep the fun in my dull sex life.

Going bald is still scary as ****. Truth be told, I wish I had gotten on fin at the first sign of hair loss but now I'm not sure what I have is worth fighting for. I have already posted pictures on here I'm an advanced norwood 3 at 26.


Sorry about the long biography. I will keep you updated about my libido coming back or not. I really hope someone can contribute to this thread by adding his experience.

I'm not sure your loss of random boners is due to fin, and not due to loss of ego or maturation. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't - hear me out. To be honest, in the last year I've also lost those tendencies, up until very, very recently. I still enjoyed being with women but havn't felt "head over heals" in some time.

I just said "up until very, very recently" and I'll elaborate: Since I started hitting the gym hard, my libido and random boners have came back. I'm back to laying in bed thinking of a girl from work or school I'm super attracted to until I fall asleep and into a great dream.

I should add I've put on 8 pounds of muscle in 1 month, and I love the way I look. I hit the gym and look in the mirror and love what I see. I run my hand through my hair and see my scalp 1 inch deep from the hairline and it just doesn't even bother me. I smirk, hop in the shower, rinse with 2% keto twice a week and just function.

I think I'm really close to being at total peace with myself. I think I'll still start fin next month just to keep an NW3, but I may still bare clipper it and take fin to maintain some stubble.

I hope you don't mind my rant, but your post really spoke to me. I can connect on a lot of levels. Also, I think learning to love yourself: face, body, identity (career, etc.), intelligence, game, etc is all you have to do to get the random boners back. Maybe I'm crazy, but give it a shot.

[clandestine]

Congrats on giving up on the dream. If that's what makes you happy, I guess.

dickbreak dream?

[Assemblage23]

I just had sex came twice and masturbated in her bathroom to cum a third time because she is asleep right now. My sex Life is very decent however at norwood 3 with a thin forelock i dont think i'm better off with hair and i know i could have a much higher libido

If I was happy with what's left I would stay on propecia. Feeling attractive is a greater satisfaction than running around as a horny bald man. But i cringe every time i look in the mirror at my current state. Lets see how much better i will feel sexually in a couple weeks.

[Aames]

Congrats on giving up on the dream. If that's what makes you happy, I guess.

[Cr779]

If you're going to come off it, I'd suggest doing so gradually, i.e. lower the dose over the course of weeks or months. I'm not sure if it will make a difference but I wish I'd done that.

I agree with you here but I actually have something interesting to say about this. I went to my doctor to look at the results of my blood test that was taken the day before my last dose of propecia. I was only taking like 0.06 at this point barely any of the drug and had been weaning off for over a month. My DHT was still inhibited by about 50% at this point, pre fin I was at 3199 DHT at this point I was at about 1588. So the drug is far more effective at lower doses than people think.

Not to derail I plan to make an update thread soon enough.

But I still think weaning off is the best choice.

[Kayman]

On the other hand I dont intend to give up the fight yet, I will keep using minox and nizoral, and I still hope to get a transplant or that a cure will come out before I'm too old.

It's just that I really can no longer accept not living to my full sexual potential. I might become the creepy bald man that hits on women and be considered gross by younger broads but I will experience intense lust and pleasure again from time to time.

I feel like I'm just chasing girls for validation now and it's a very bad place to be. I just hope this PFS is only hypochondriac fear-mongering and that my sex drive will be back in a matter of weeks. I will post regular updates even if I get back on fin, and I hope some other guys that have been riding the same boat will tell me what I want or don't want to hear.

It seems most guys recover after a few weeks, and they sometimes lose a little of that massive libido increase.

PFS: I don't know how much of this is true, it stopped me from quitting last year, I decided to cut it to every other day because of it.

My main side was brain fog, I suppose it went completely after about 3 months, 6 mil is long for a buzz cut, its natural to do it then look at yourself and freak out over it, you have to force yourself to keep doing it so you get used to it then it becomes the norm and that devastation you speak of disappears.
Bare in mind if you go down the transplant route its multiple surgery's over time or you'll be locked in to a life time of finasteride to prevent the native hair from falling out. That's a lot of money and personally I wouldn't trust finasteride to not completely **** my body up after taking it for twenty plus years or something, its a risk I wouldn't be willing to take. Being impotent would be much worse for me than being bald.
You might be able to maintain the stubble on your head with minox and nizoral and I think that's fair enough perhaps a cure will come out in the next few years who knows. Easier said than done I know but I think for now the best cure is a set of clippers and a change in outlook.