My Finasteride Story so far...

[Desmond84]

OK guys, here’s my story.

I first noticed my temples thinning around Dec 2011. I was in denial at first but things just kept getting worse. Now, being a pharmacist I knew about Finasteride but with all the horror stories going on at that point I decided I want to stay clear of it.

In a panic mode, I read lots of articles about hairloss and its causes. Websites like livingstrong.com claimed: stress, insomnia, vitamin deficiency, bad diet, etc to be the cause!

I bought into these theories for a few weeks but following their advice didn’t change anything!

So, I tried putting on emu oil, coconut oil and castor oil on my hair every night combined with oral saw palmetto TWICE A DAY for about 2 months and things just kept getting worse.

In a panic mode, I went and bought Minoxidil and applied it ONCE A DAY to start with on my temples (thanks to Tracy suggesting tapering up the dose)…but almost within 2 days of using it, my eyes started getting really sensitive to sunlight, I was experiencing blurred vision and my forehead started to feel really tight as if I had bloating happening under my skin…So after a week, I dropped it and moved on.

By then, I knew I’m only left with one option: FINASTERIDE. It was a scary thought, believe me!

So, I did my research and figured I should start low initially. So, I started taking:

0.25mg every 5 days

Within 2 weeks my shedding started, but also did the sides! My pubic bone above my groin and perineum started to ache pretty much all the time, especially when my bladder was full. I had an intense burning sensation when I urinated. My libido dropped. Testicular pain. Watery semen. Pain after ejaculation. It also felt really stiff down there too! It was no longer loose, but hard and rigid…

All these signs pointed to prostate problems and I knew it’s because I’m shrinking my prostate…It got so bad that I asked my GP to do a urine analysis test which came back as NEGATIVE! There was nothing wrong…no infections, etc…just finasteride shrinking my prostate!

So, I persevered; my libido dropped to an all time low by the THIRD month which really freaked me out! So I skipped it for 2 weeks and everything came back to normal (but so did the shedding).

So, I thought maybe every 5 days is NOT often enough…my DHT levels are swinging from left to right preventing fin from finishing what it started. So I took:

0.25mg TWICE A WEEK (Every Tuesday & Saturday)

By the 6th month, all of my shedding stopped!

By the 8th month, my hair had really thickened up including my temples…for those wondering all LOST hair returned! The pain around my penile area disappeared BUT my libido was still LOW…but I persevered thanks to the advice of Dex and others on BTT…

I am now 9 months and 3 weeks into taking 0.25mg of Finasteride TWICE A WEEK…my hairline is exactly where it was when I started it…my temples are a bit thicker…most sides have disappeared and my libido is almost back to normal.

Now, the product information claims if you hang in there 12 months, most sides should disappear and it may seem to be the case for me anyways…

I kind of feel bad writing this, as I know what Chrisis went through with Finasteride, which totally turned his life around for the worse…Hang in there brother. But I think it is important to share my experience anyway…Believe me I’m not a fin advocate but our options are limited as everybody knows.

At the end of the day, it is your decision and your decision alone. I took it because I didn’t want to look back with regret for not doing something about it when I had the chance!

My advice to those wanting to start finasteride is START low and STAY low. 1mg daily is NOT the holy gospel and luckily with fin you can play with the dose and still get the same benefits…

Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions as well…I’m more than welcome to share it with you…

Cheers,

- Des

[Jcm800]

Thanks Desmond. I guess I'll try a dosage like yourself if I take the plunge.

I think I'm more concerned that if I got sides, and tried to ride them out and I couldn't, what happens if I quit the drug? That's apparently when 'pfs' kicks in?

I guess sadly, we can't tell until we bite the bullet, shame that we have to roll the dice in such a way to try and save our hair or potentially screw our health.

I appreciate all your post's, thanks again and good luck.

[Henkeh91]

Thanks for sharing your story Des! I've been on fin for little more than 2 months and started at 0,5mg daily and changed to 1mg daily for about 2 weeks ago.

My libido is way lover than it was a year ago. I've pretty bad MPB and my hair loss accelerated the last year and I went into an deep depression for the last couple of months. That made me start with finasteride.

I had already low libido even before I started with fin. What do you think, shall I lower my dose before I notice any further sides? The thing is that I'm afraid that a lower dose will increase my hair loss.

It feels like I'm in the middle of an vicious circle.

[LongWayHome]

Hey Des.
First of all I must say that you and Hellouser are my favorite "Characters" on this forum. You two are the most helpful, at least for me, in this forum.

So...I was on fin 1mg every day 10 months ago for 3 months and stopped.
It didn't affect my libido at all, but it did do a nice job in the shrinkage subject, if you know what I mean. It had an effect on shrinking my little friend.
So...The question is, do you think it is something that can go away after some time?
I've tried so many things since then but we all know that everything, maybe except of RU, is bullshit.
Maybe 5 out of 100 things that are being sold can help, WITH fin or RU, but not alone. Impossible. Or possible for a few people. Anyway too rare.

Right now I have what seems like a full head of hair, just for everyone to understand, some girl in my work told me that I remind her of Jim Morrison.
For those of you who know who he is and how he looked like, I was all like "THANK YOU MADAM! (just dont touch my hairline, or I'll look like Jim Temple-son)"
I'm heading into NW3 too fast these days, and I just have no choice.
If I'm bald I look like crap cause I have small head, if I have hair I look like an actor (Or a singer, whatever).

Desmond, waiting for your reply, and thank you again.

[Jcm800]

LongWayHome, has you regained any size down there? That's an awful side effect, Jeez.

[UK_]

Longwayhome - is it actually physiologically shrunk or do you mean it doesn’t become as erect as before? Btw, DHT in a cream form has been shown to increase the size and strength of erections so I am guessing a DHT inhibitor would do the opposite.

[LongWayHome]

Tell me about it..
I don't really know if I regained, that's the insane part here, that you can't really know. You only can assume.

[Desmond84]

Hey Des.
First of all I must say that you and Hellouser are my favorite "Characters" on this forum. You two are the most helpful, at least for me, in this forum.

So...I was on fin 1mg every day 10 months ago for 3 months and stopped.
It didn't affect my libido at all, but it did do a nice job in the shrinkage subject, if you know what I mean. It had an effect on shrinking my little friend.
So...The question is, do you think it is something that can go away after some time?
I've tried so many things since then but we all know that everything, maybe except of RU, is bullshit.
Maybe 5 out of 100 things that are being sold can help, WITH fin or RU, but not alone. Impossible. Or possible for a few people. Anyway too rare.

Right now I have what seems like a full head of hair, just for everyone to understand, some girl in my work told me that I remind her of Jim Morrison.
For those of you who know who he is and how he looked like, I was all like "THANK YOU MADAM! (just dont touch my hairline, or I'll look like Jim Temple-son)"
I'm heading into NW3 too fast these days, and I just have no choice.
If I'm bald I look like crap cause I have small head, if I have hair I look like an actor (Or a singer, whatever).

Desmond, waiting for your reply, and thank you again.

Hey Longwayhome

Thanks for the kind words brother...with regards to shrinkage, that does happen and it is related to both the sudden change in prostate size and lack of morning wood...

Same thing happens when ppl undergo prostectomy (esp., TURP operations)...these effects are temporary and only last between 6-12 months...

To prevent fibrosis, try and keep it erect for 30 minutes to 1 hour by watching some of your favourite movies to mimic the effects of morning wood...Once you go past the 12 month mark, I doubt you would have any more problems...

With patients that undergo prostate operations, doctors generally prescribe Cialis 5mg once daily for 6-12 months to ensure adequate blood flow till the body recaliberates itself...

Just as your semen volume returns to normal after a while, you can be sure the shrinkage will too...for most ppl anyways (there are always exceptions as we've seen the poor souls @ PropeciaHelp)...

Good luck brother...

Also, if you want check out my new thread about a german topical that has the same mechanism of action as Finasteride without the sides...very interesting stuff:

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12723

[Desmond84]

Thanks for sharing your story Des! I've been on fin for little more than 2 months and started at 0,5mg daily and changed to 1mg daily for about 2 weeks ago.

My libido is way lower than it was a year ago. I've pretty bad MPB and my hair loss accelerated the last year and I went into an deep depression for the last couple of months. That made me start with finasteride.

I had already low libido even before I started with fin. What do you think, shall I lower my dose before I notice any further sides? The thing is that I'm afraid that a lower dose will increase my hair loss.

It feels like I'm in the middle of an vicious circle.

Henkeh, I don't know if you were following our discussions late last year but the amount of DHT decreased by 0.25mg is almost identical to 1mg...furthermore, the effects of 1 tablet last for about 3.5 days! If sides are bothering you reducing the dose will not have a dramatic effect on your hair! I personally think ppl should not take 1mg daily until they tapered up the dose over 12 months!

With regards to libido...the product information claims everything should go back to normal by the 12th month although there has been exceptions...

I almost kept my libido in check by dropping fin for a given period of time (2 weeks for example) to make sure my libido returns if it did I knew that the effects are reversible in my case...you can do something similar

[Bluecarlos]

Hi

My first post on this forum. In my mid 40s and started on minoxidil about 15 months ago and been on propecia about 12 months. Found the minoxidil foam better than liquid from the point of view that it doesn't make my hair greasy and scalp itchy. Been taking 1mg of propecia daily and hard to say if it is working or not. My hair has receeded mainly at the temples and front to Norwood 2 to 3 but no thinning on crown gradually since I was about 20. Have booked in for about 1000 grafts of FUE in July. Side effects wise my libido decreased but not to a problem level, I had a high sex drive before so it's probably more normal now. Have some gesticulate pain now and again but not much. However since last 3 weeks my eyes have become very dry and lids and lower eyes look swelled. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm worried now that if I have to stop propecia I will have to cancel FUE treatment. Last thing I want is the rest to thin out and be left with hair horns at the temples. Any advice welcome please.