Anyone take Propecia Long Term & Quit w/out Problems

Just wondering if anyone can share experience with quitting propecia after many years of use and quit?

If so, how did your body recover? I have read about Post Finasteride Syndrome and after 13 years of being on and worried about potential hormone shift after quitting.

Lastly, after quitting how long was it before you started losing hair? My guess is hopefully it took several months?

Hi.. I was on Propecia for 7 years & then stopped. I did not experience anything. Hair started falling out pretty much right after and I had noticeable hair-loss in ~ 2 years.
That's when I re-started taking it everyday. Been on it again for ~ 5 years since. My advise - don't stop taking it!

That's my worry - there doesn't seem to be many men who have quit after longterm use with good results!!! Seems like people who have taken the drug for years and then quit suffer NEW sides... Some sort of hormonal shift!!!
I certainly hope this isn't the case - hopefully it's only a small minority of men who have permanent side effects that emerge only AFTER quitting (hopefully the majority do fine).

I hope that we can hear from several guys who took it for years, quit and are fine (healthy sexual functioning)!!


--thanks rave (sounds like YOU did fine stopping after 7 years) - let's hope there's more like you out there!!
--u said hairloss started right after, but that it was noticeabl at 2 yrs?

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Originally Posted by blakes33

That's my worry - there doesn't seem to be many men who have quit after longterm use with good results!!! Seems like people who have taken the drug for years and then quit suffer NEW sides... Some sort of hormonal shift!!!
I certainly hope this isn't the case - hopefully it's only a small minority of men who have permanent side effects that emerge only AFTER quitting (hopefully the majority do fine).

I hope that we can hear from several guys who took it for years, quit and are fine (healthy sexual functioning)!!


--thanks rave (sounds like YOU did fine stopping after 7 years) - let's hope there's more like you out there!!
--u said hairloss started right after, but that it was noticeabl at 2 yrs?

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I have never heard of anyone developing side effects after stopping when they had no side effects on the drug. I suppose anything is possible, but it is certainly not "many" men who experience this. I stopped almost 2 years ago after being on the drug for 12 years. All my hormone levels went back to where they are supposed to be as soon as I quit. A few days after I stopped the drug, I noticed slightly improved sexual performance and the return of morning erections. I guess I lost these while taking the pill and never even realized it.

As far as hair loss goes, I noticed some increased shedding starting a couple of months after I stopped and lasting several months. Nearly two years later, my hairline has thinned some, but I am certainly not bald as I thought I would be.

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Originally Posted by ryan555

I have never heard of anyone developing side effects after stopping when they had no side effects on the drug. I suppose anything is possible, but it is certainly not "many" men who experience this. I stopped almost 2 years ago after being on the drug for 12 years. All my hormone levels went back to where they are supposed to be as soon as I quit. A few days after I stopped the drug, I noticed slightly improved sexual performance and the return of morning erections. I guess I lost these while taking the pill and never even realized it.

As far as hair loss goes, I noticed some increased shedding starting a couple of months after I stopped and lasting several months. Nearly two years later, my hairline has thinned some, but I am certainly not bald as I thought I would be.

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Thanks Ryan - great to hear from someone who took this longterm like me. I have been on since it was approved (~13 years). I'm like you for the most part - no problems at all really with the drug over that long period (dry skin and few other things at the end). Just curious, since you weren't having problems, why DID you decide to stop taking it?

Did you have ANY adjustment period at all when you quit? - after all, your body goes through a hormonal shift (good thing) when the DHT is no longer suppressed. For me, I have noticed some testicle pain (particularly after sex)that is troubling, but hopefully is just my body just re-adjusting.... Did you quit cold-turkey?

When you say your hormone levels went back to normal - did you check them or did you just know by the way you felt?

Thanks for your input. I am at week 7 now without and hoping I recovery well...

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Originally Posted by blakes33

Thanks Ryan - great to hear from someone who took this longterm like me. I have been on since it was approved (~13 years). I'm like you for the most part - no problems at all really with the drug over that long period (dry skin and few other things at the end). Just curious, since you weren't having problems, why DID you decide to stop taking it?

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I stopped because I developed an unrelated health issue and my doctor wanted me off all medications while I am recovering.

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Did you have ANY adjustment period at all when you quit? - after all, your body goes through a hormonal shift (good thing) when the DHT is no longer suppressed. For me, I have noticed some testicle pain (particularly after sex)that is troubling, but hopefully is just my body just re-adjusting.... Did you quit cold-turkey?

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Yes, I stopped cold turkey. The only adjustment was that I think my testosterone spiked for about a week. My sex drive was off the charts as I recall and I felt a little "amped" up.

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When you say your hormone levels went back to normal - did you check them or did you just know by the way you felt?

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Yes, I had all my hormones checked before I stopped, one week after and one month after because I was paranoid after reading all the hysteria online. My testosterone went from about 700 while taking the finasteride, up to over 1,000 a week later, and then finally back down to about 650 afterward due to the decrease in free testosterone caused by the conversion of DHT. I had read that finasteride actually increases your testosterone levels a little bit so this was an expected outcome. I also saw my DHT level creep up from about 15 before to 25 at one week off and about 70 after a month (a normal level).

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Thanks for your input. I am at week 7 now without and hoping I recovery well...

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Are you having side effects other than the pain after sex? It sounds like you're doing just fine. Trust me, if you were having some kind of hypogonadism or some of the other awful symptoms people talk about having, you would know it for sure. And you are not going to start having bad symptoms at 7 weeks off if you don't already have them.

I thought of two other side effects from the drug that became apparent only after stopping and having them reverse. First, I have noticed a definite increase in body hair since I stopped. Second, I have a stronger urine flow now that I'm off. That one still seems strange to me because the drug is supposed to shrink your prostate and should therefore have the opposite effect but I can say with certainty than this was the case for me.

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Originally Posted by ryan555

Yes, I had all my hormones checked before I stopped, one week after and one month after because I was paranoid after reading all the hysteria online. My testosterone went from about 700 while taking the finasteride, up to over 1,000 a week later, and then finally back down to about 650 afterward due to the decrease in free testosterone caused by the conversion of DHT. I had read that finasteride actually increases your testosterone levels a little bit so this was an expected outcome. I also saw my DHT level creep up from about 15 before to 25 at one week off and about 70 after a month (a normal level).



Are you having side effects other than the pain after sex? It sounds like you're doing just fine. Trust me, if you were having some kind of hypogonadism or some of the other awful symptoms people talk about having, you would know it for sure. And you are not going to start having bad symptoms at 7 weeks off if you don't already have them.

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Ryan,

I had my hormone levels checked also - at 5 weeks out and everything looked good according to my Urologist. Testosterone was 564.

Yes, I am having some side effects like some difficulty with libido, getting good erection, etc. but I have been worried A LOT (from reading forums and hysteria as you mentioned) so I do believe (and hope) that this is psychological. The ONLY possibility it seems for anything to have gone wrong would have to have been after 5 weeks - and from what I have read of the horror stories most people know they have issues by 5 weeks out (most seem to know in the first couple to 3 weeks...).

I am actually considering going back on propecia and weening off VERY slowly. After all, I wasn't having ANY issues when I was taking.... IF my hormones are heading for a "crash" i would think the drug might offer some protection against it.... long enough then to figure out what to do/ ween off slowly to let my body adjust over longer period.

I would however like to have my levels checked again - What type of doctor checked your levels? How did you convince him/here to check three times like that in the course of only 1 month!!?? Lastly, did insurance pay or did you have to pay out of pocket to get that many in that short of time? (wish I knew of a lab i could walk up and tell them what to test for for couple hundred bucks...)

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Originally Posted by ryan555

I have never heard of anyone developing side effects after stopping when they had no side effects on the drug. I suppose anything is possible, but it is certainly not "many" men who experience this. I stopped almost 2 years ago after being on the drug for 12 years. All my hormone levels went back to where they are supposed to be as soon as I quit. A few days after I stopped the drug, I noticed slightly improved sexual performance and the return of morning erections. I guess I lost these while taking the pill and never even realized it.

As far as hair loss goes, I noticed some increased shedding starting a couple of months after I stopped and lasting several months. Nearly two years later, my hairline has thinned some, but I am certainly not bald as I thought I would be.

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How aggresive was your hairloss when you started propecia? Was it frontal hair-loss?

I am kinda glad to be off now for 11 weeks but very worried I will have "catch-up" hairloss soon if I don't start back? I don't know if it's true that happens (Merck claims it does) but will I really go bald within a year?

Blake what happened to you.

Why ask now after taking it for 14 years . sounds really strange.
Just quit for 6 months and find out.
Your asking questions nobody can answer.
Everybody body is different.

But you'll lose a lot pretty soon.
Just take the pill and forget it.
Im old couldn't care less about sex.
I've had plenty.

Yeah - not many worries until I found out the new information on propecia side-effects that have been recently released that are permanent.

I do realize that at 65 sex may not be that important anymore. But, at 35 my friend, loss of sexual ability is akin to losing the ability to walk!!!

Anyone else multi-year user of propeica and ended up OK after quitting????

Or like me, did problems emerge months after quitting?

I'm even MORE interested to know (and there seems to be NO answer to this) if someone who had no problems on the drug but developed major problems after quitting, RESTARTED the drug and if it restored them back to health again!!!!

Over the 13 years I took the drug, I would occasionally quit for several weeks (even as long a 3 months around year 10) just to give my body a break. It wasn't until quitting this last time, around end of 2011 that the symptoms struck me and the nightmare began... I was a great responder all those years with no side-effects, until the end of my usage of the drug, and in particular after I stopped it.

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Originally Posted by blakes33

Over the 13 years I took the drug, I would occasionally quit for several weeks (even as long a 3 months around year 10) just to give my body a break. It wasn't until quitting this last time, around end of 2011 that the symptoms struck me and the nightmare began... I was a great responder all those years with no side-effects, until the end of my usage of the drug, and in particular after I stopped it.

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Hello Blakes33,
Do I understand correctly that you quit fin in 2011 and have been having problems ever since? I have been on for about 13 years myself, with the exception of one short break at the 10 year mark. I have had no issues beyond the occasional testicular pain/low libido. What sort of problems are you having, and what specifically has brought you back to the forum today? How has your hair held up? Forgive me if I've missed something.
Best,
Karlton

Hi Everyone . I took Propecia in 2006 and noticed that it certainly helped . Propecia is expensive and I was told by a Doctor that taking Proscar would be far cheaper option. I was told do divide the tablet into four equal segments . Throughout the years I have decreased the dosage . I divided a Proscar tablet into four equal segments . Took each proscar segment on a Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday .... I then proceeded the same
schedule the week after . This certainly worked for me .

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Originally Posted by Andrew Vernon

Hi Everyone . I took Propecia in 2006 and noticed that it certainly helped . Propecia is expensive and I was told by a Doctor that taking Proscar would be far cheaper option. I was told do divide the tablet into four equal segments . Throughout the years I have decreased the dosage . I divide a Proscar tablet into four equal segments . Take each proscar segment on a Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday .... I then proceed the same
scedule the week after . This certainly worked for me .

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And how does this pertain to this topic, or the situation that Blakes33 is going through?

Blakes33

For me initially taking Propecia made me ' Cloud headed ' and my inhibition to have sexual urge was slightly diminishing . However after switching to Proscar and lowering the dosages . I found that I have regained all my faculties again .

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Originally Posted by Karlton

Hello Blakes33,
Do I understand correctly that you quit fin in 2011 and have been having problems ever since? I have been on for about 13 years myself, with the exception of one short break at the 10 year mark. I have had no issues beyond the occasional testicular pain/low libido. What sort of problems are you having, and what specifically has brought you back to the forum today? How has your hair held up? Forgive me if I've missed something.
Best,
Karlton

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Karlton,

Thanks for your response. Sorry it took awhile to get back.

Yes, that is correct - I quit in Nov 2011 for just a "break" and to prove that all the fuss about the drug that it could cause permanent damage was not true. I had seen the George Washington University study and it made me a little nervous, although I had taken the drug for so long without any real side-effects (until the very end of usage), I thought it was surely bogus or biased. So I just thought, I've quit before for several weeks to give my body a break and been just fine - I'll do it again and then feel better that this information and fuss about Post-finasteride syndrome isn't true or real.

Symptoms are sort of difficult to explain, because this is not a problem in which you develop a few symptoms, it is truly a whole-body or hormonal system shutdown. I don’t want to list everything here, as it is personal (look in your PM Inbox for details). Overall, metabolism has slowed to almost a shut-down with all symptoms of a hypogonadal condition, even though my testosterone, estrogen, free T, etc.. levels all "show" to be in perfect normal range! So, my body responds as if my hormones are not there at all.

The two studies being done right now, one at Baylor College of Medicine headed by world-renowned Dr. Mohit Khera and the other at Harvard University are both looking at the two most prevalent theories to describe what happens in PFS - that there is brain-damage (neurosteroid levels altered) and that the androgen receptors have become sensitized so that testosterone and DHT cannot be absorbed by the body anymore. They are beginning to think it is NOT only happening to men that have some sort of genetic pre-disposition - how do I know this? *Because Dr. Khera did genetic testing on me, testing my number of CAG repeats and mine were completely normal showing I was a "good responder" to propecia (which of course I was for a long time).

The two studies by the way, are investigating and looking into almost EXACTLY what this comprehensive article (The 5ARI Withdrawal Syndrome) reports on. --> http://www.protocol-online.org/forum...1282061244.ipb

One more side-note: I ran across this article yesterday and it made me really feel for the loss of this family. This good-looking bright young man took propecia and his damage from the drug led him to a place of desperation and hopelessness. His family has asked that in lieu of flowers/cards, donations be sent to the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation. He was a Doctor (PhD) and Professor of Criminal Justice, where he taught at University of North Texas. His story here --> http://www.pfsfoundation.org/news/da...art-1976-2014/

It definitely seems like there is growing evidence that some people's endocrine systems are permanently messed up by finasteride. It is disconcerting to say the least. I personally have benefitted, and continue to benefit from this drug, which makes the decision whether to continue treatment extremely difficult, in light of the recent PFS evidence.
I have never had any issues, and I have my organs and hormones checked regularly. I planned on taking the drug forever, as crazy as that may sound to some people. I have shaved my head before, and I hate the way I look without hair. Finasteride has given me comfort over the years by keeping my recession at bay.
Personally, I feel like the best thing I can do is to stay on the medication until more is known about the withdrawal and weaning off process. If this problem becomes more prevalent in the coming years, there are going to be hundreds of thousands of men affected, and the drug companies are going to have a serious sh*t -storm to deal with. If there are studies being conducted, then more information will begin to surface in the coming years, and we will eventually all know more about how to safely quit the medication if we choose, and what course of treatments may be necessary in conjunction with weaning off.
I have thought about quitting, but I am just not ready to be bald first of all, and if it is likely that quitting will cause complications, I would like to see more of these scientific studies reach some kind of consensus
on the best course of action before I simply stop the treatment on my own.

i think you shd ween off..... . you know reduce it to .25 daily, then twice a week, then constant doses below .2 mg and then intermittent and stop, over a period of 6 8 months maybe.

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Originally Posted by stan

i think you shd ween off..... . you know reduce it to .25 daily, then twice a week, then constant doses below .2 mg and then intermittent and stop, over a period of 6 8 months maybe.

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I doubt I will ever quit, unless something better comes along. I was responding to Blakes33 , as he seems to be experiencing PFS.

I do take the new evidence seriously, but I have no plans of quitting Fin. There's not enough evidence to suggest that everyone reacts badly over time. There are guys out there that have been taking 5mg for 20+ years with no sides.

I agree that if one does decide to quit, it should be done very slowly

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Originally Posted by Karlton

I doubt I will ever quit, unless something better comes along. I was responding to Blakes33 , as he seems to be experiencing PFS.

I do take the new evidence seriously, but I have no plans of quitting Fin. There's not enough evidence to suggest that everyone reacts badly over time. There are guys out there that have been taking 5mg for 20+ years with no sides.


I agree that if one does decide to quit, it should be done very slowly

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sorry that was for blake

Thats why after long researching i opted for RU58841 instead of finasteride or dutasteride. I think the pharmalogical profile of RU58841 is WAY more efficient and better. Inhibiting 5ar2 systematically is pretty retarded as the only thing you need to do is stop binding to the androgen receptor locally. RU is eliminated and metabolized extremely fast to a very weak metabolite and the all studies have shown no systematic absorption in almost all cases.

Finasteride is taking a huge beating at the moment;

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24955220
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24943080
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24959691

But conclusion is you are going to risk side effects whether that is fin, dut or ru. If you don't you are going to lose hair simple as that. That is until cb-03-01 comes out as that is devoid of side effects, theoretically at least.

I've been taking peopecia over 10 years and don't want to think what would happen if I stop

btw did anyone of you conceive a child??

i quit after 2 years and then got catch up loss.. about a year later i restarted.. probably would have been ahead if i had never quit.

Stop taking this drug immediately!

I'm new to the site, I just started today. I've been on it for about eight years and just quit three days ago. I'm so scared because my side effects are already so bad. I never made the connection until just a few days ago. The side effects come on slowly but it all started with depression, anxiety, mental fogginess, and insomnia. Now I have horrific panic attacks that I'm one step away from going to the hospital. The thing that scares me is I hear it only gets worse and I don't know how much more I can take. This drug undoubtedly ruined my life. I'm so scared I could care less about my dick at this point. I'm afraid I'm going to die!

I think we need to keep in mind no one would be on it if something better existed. Instead of saying propecia does these bad things how about a real viable alternative treatment that works as well? Millions of people and doctors say propecia isnt good, but not one of them has any viable alternative. Talk is cheap and pointless. At the end of the day your going to keep losing hair without it.

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Originally Posted by burtandernie

I think we need to keep in mind no one would be on it if something better existed. Instead of saying propecia does these bad things how about a real viable alternative treatment that works as well? Millions of people and doctors say propecia isnt good, but not one of them has any viable alternative. Talk is cheap and pointless. At the end of the day your going to keep losing hair without it.

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I understand the fear of going bald I do, but u don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. These side effects anxiety, depression, insomnia, joint pain, bowel issues, impotence slowley creep up on you WHILE you are still on the drug and believe me they are far worse than going bald. I almost checked myself into the emergency room several times in the past few months and I cant even imagine what's to come a few weeks from now if I experience this so called crash I'm terrified. I'm afraid I either wont live through it or I will never be the same again upstairs in my head. This drug does something to your mind and before you know it you wake up and you realize I'm not even the same person. I now suffer with debilitating terror attacks and I haven't even crashed yet. I'm scared! Trust me **** YOUR HAIR! It's not worth it bro!

Anyone ever stop and think that the few people on these sites that are saying that they have never had any side effects and have been on it for years are people from MERCK advertising there poison for profit. They have a financial reason to take the time and get on these sites and pretend like a happy user. Unlike the thousands of poor guys suffering and will never be the same again like myself. What reason do we have to take the time to do this. Think about it!

All drugs are just attempting to help with difficult unsolved problems so drastic results take drastic changes. Yes there are risks and sides to it, but MPB was previously completely untreatable so its an option where there never was one. Thousands of poor guys might suffer, but it helps millions of others live life keeping their hair. Still probably worth keeping around I think. Have sides or dont want to risk issues? Dont take it. Pretty simple
Existing stats speak for themselves, and this debate on propecia safety is in hundreds if not thousands of previous threads.

Hi Calvin. I have also been on this drug for 8 years and stopped cold turkey 4 weeks ago. I feel for you as I am experiencing exactly the same symptoms. The fist two weeks were the worst by far for me, insomnia, panic attacks, crippling depression. I still feel weak, run down and anxious at the moment but am hoping and praying things will improve. I find exercise, running and weight lifting has helped somewhat. How are you now? Have you improved in anyway? Keep positive. Time and keeping good care of yourself really does seem to be the best solution overall. People do recover, its not all horror stories out there.

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Originally Posted by Calvin

Anyone ever stop and think that the few people on these sites that are saying that they have never had any side effects and have been on it for years are people from MERCK advertising there poison for profit. They have a financial reason to take the time and get on these sites and pretend like a happy user. Unlike the thousands of poor guys suffering and will never be the same again like myself. What reason do we have to take the time to do this. Think about it!

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Propecia was a huge disappointment for Merck sales wise. They're too busy making new drugs to be sitting on hair loss forums. Get back to reality. Take the pill or don't bother fighting hairloss, you've no chance in hell without it. Go join slybaldguy forum and try to convince yourself you look great with your bald head.

You have 4 Posts and you're bashing the best hairloss treatment we have. You probably work for some snake oil company and are paid to make new accounts and bash things that actually work on forums so people buy natural garbage that doesn't make any difference.

Okay yes propecia sucks, and its dangerous. Where is your better treatment or the better equal alternative to using it? Millions of men would love for you to enlighten the rest of us. Also it does require a little thing called evidence it actually works.
Anyone can criticize things its very simple and easy to do. It does not solve or improve anything. Propecia is used simply because nothing is better right now.

Okay but you never gave a viable alternative to propecia that has evidence it works as well. Some of what you have there is flat out wrong. Not everyone requires different co-factors to reverse hair loss there is absolute proof that castration prevents MPB from ever happening. Nothing else in existence has ever been shown to do that. If thats not powerful proof its hormone related I dont know what else to say. Nothing now can reverse hair loss.

I will just chime in to what burtandernie is saying. Propecia unfortunately is not ideal and if there was something better id be taking it. But for the large majority it is a life saver. No hair tranplant will come close and look natural like your natural hair, so if you are noticing you are loosing hair my recommendation get on the only prooven treatment that works asap as it is very hard to regrow what you have lost. I personally know of 3 out 3 people who take the drug and it has worked wonders for them. And I am pretty confident they dont spend there spare time on these crappy forums telling everyone how good it is. They are out living life.

Lets prey one of these new treatments in the pipeline works and comes out very very soon.

Yes in the next year or two maybe something will show up that can at least replace finasteride like that s equol or something like that. Better major treatments are still a few years away most likely. A lot of people have been on fin for many years and never touch these forums. I knew some people in real life that were on it maybe years ago and doing fine. Derm I saw about 8 years ago had tons of men on it with no issues said it was very safe. These forums definitely skew results towards the negative aspects of fin, but you have to be aware they do exist.

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Originally Posted by Gotlieb

I understand.
But it´s a shame that our complex nutrients growing under feet is a past, and the drug industry is trying to copy it.
I don´t squeeze trees but it´s gone to far, and going back to basics is certainly a major key since we cannot fool nature or our system.

Edward Griffin explains it perfectly, nobody is going to spend their money on natural ingredients since they cannot patten it.
It´s a ongoing profit industry, from Merck to your friendly hair transplant doctor to keep your precious hair.
But i´m foolish enough to use growing plants directly on my scalp.

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You have the information, there is a lot of people who wish they had that as they first started loosing hair. See if your opinion changes as you continue to loose hair. I wish I had of hopped on fin earlier then I did. People have been talking about saw palmetto for years yet I have not seen one single picture of results with it. Good luck

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Originally Posted by Gotlieb

Yeas Saw palmetto covers the whole natural flora, and the only thing people remembers it´s the word natural, and just by guessing it´s in minimized form (pills,powder) for easy usage?

Fin seems amazing, since it´s has to be so exiting to inhale the drug, and just pray that nothing strange happen to your body.
And people are amazed if they can actually maintain some hairs, and praise it until they find out that they are dependable of the drug, and that sides can appear after 6-10 years of usage.

I have no clue regarding your statement of my treatment, since I´m regrowing hair so please let me know when I´m going to start loosing hair, since you already have the knowledge.

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If you can proove your growing hair without fin or to a lesser extent minox, I and many others would love to know. Clear pictures are the best form of proof..