My treatment log, w/ pictures and weekly updates (Finasteride, Emu Oil, Minoxidil)

[UK_]

I decided to stop all treatment and just accept my hair loss. My reason is that I have no patience to wait for finasteride side effects to wear off (no telling if they even will), and without inhibiting DHT, other treatment is just a losing battle. The biggest problem for me was that it just made me feel like a completely different person, the lack of energy / strength / mental clarity was worse for me than the sexual side effects.

GL to the rest of you!

Man thats tough, hope all goes well and you recover - do post back and let us know how you get on.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Irishpotatoes: Lasty, you said that with all of the side effects you experienced with finasteride, you felt like you were a completely different person. I feel that way too, but unfortunately I'd also feel that way if I was forced to live life as a bald man. So I'm forced choose between bad (living a life with side effects of finasteride) and awful (living life as a bald man).

[irishpotatoes322]

Sorry to hear of your fin experience. What dosage were you on, did you taper on to it at all? I'm thinking about embarking on the treatment myself, but post like yours really make me think twice. Good luck to you.

Heya, I've got two experiences with finasteride, and they happened as follows:

First experience, start of last summer: 1.25mg proscar every day, I noticed intense sexual side effects on the 9th day. Immediately tapered down to 1.25mg every other day for about a month. Sides improved a miniscule amount, so I followed up with a last attempt at .625mg every third day for another 4 months, where I felt about 70% of my old self. My hair was improving for sure, but I wouldn't even trade being completely cured of MPB for what honestly felt like losing nearly a third of my charisma, energy, wit, strength, and sexual function.

Being off finasteride:
4 days off: morning erections
6-7 days off: this new "calm," what is this mood? I loved it, did I really feel this good pre-fin, even when I was losing my hair? (the answer, of course, is yes)
2 weeks off: hard-ons like gaaaaaahd damn,immense strength gains in the gym (DHT, baby), started adding lean muscle while abdominal fat melted off (keep in mind nothing about my nutrition / training changed in any drastic wa whether I was on fin or off, I think my recovering and calorie partitioning is just so much better with more DHT for a few reasons), and I felt a little like Bradley Cooper in limitless in terms of mental sharpness and just this sense of intuition and self-confidence, even when out in public with thinning, shitty hair.

My second experience, start of June (this month):

Chronicled at the start of this thread, noticed side effects 2 days into taking my first pill. Since then I've been tapering off with .31mg every third day, overall in general I'd say I feel about 80% of my old self on this dose, which isn't that bad guys don't get me wrong. I'm still trying to figure out if I should stick with .31mg every third day or second day for the rest of the summer to see if my body completely adjusts, or if its not worth it and I should just not take another dose and move on. What I can say is, even at .31mg every third day, with the exception of maybe a tad extra few hairs in the shower than .625mg every other day, I'm still not shedding so the drug is still working., Even when applying minoxidil liquid with a thorough scalp rub yields the same couple of strands of hair as when I was on .625mg (anywhere between only like 2 or 3), oh and still no scalp itch. But honestly, after being off fin compared to now, I know there is still a good 20% of the old me missing, I set a goal that if I didn't feel at least 90% of my old self, I would not stay on fin. It sucks because I know I am a good responder to the drug in terms of stopping further hair loss, thickening up what I have, and regrowth (I saw signs of all 3 last year when I was on for a while), but yeah, dem sides man, I still don't have my pre-fin "edge" that made me spring up every morning with a lot of energy and drive.

Sorry to hear that, man. Gotta do what's best for you and be true to yourself.

Hope all goes well with ya.

Thanks man.

I totally hear you. I've been on finasteride for 3 years and I'm experiencing some of the side effects that you mentioned: sexual dysfunction, loss of muscle mass, etc. I've actually been thinking of getting off of the medication for almost 2 years now, but I stay on it because I am so scared to death of losing my hair. My idols are some of my rock musicians and every time I see those guys with full heads of hair, I am given that extra motivation to stay on finasteride despite the side effects. But these side effects have really been pissing me off lately and I'm certainly not committed to monkeying around with my hormonal levels for the rest of my life. I know that it's not healthy, despite what some supposedly-reputable studies might say.

It always angers me because hair loss is something that affects people so greatly, yet we are given such limited options to treat it. This is an "epidemic of Biblical proportions" as Spencer so accurately puts it, and are given options that are fraught with setbacks and are just minimally effective. I always get a kick out of how some people come on here and claim that "most men aren't bothered by their hair loss and therefore don't do anything to treat it". That is such utter bulls**t. Most men are in fact deeply disturbed, if not devastated by their hair loss. They only do not seek out treatments because these treatments are either minimally-effective or whose setbacks outweigh the prospect of getting on these treatments.

I hear you bro, and agree with your sentiment, although I will say if you ever happen to actually, genuinely, fully accept your hair loss, I am willing to bet that 5 years into being bald (agan, provided you truly accepted it), you'd be fine.The question of whether or not you become something bigger than fine, you know, the best version of yourself, really succeed, would depend entirely on your attitude. This is a fact, we know bald people can still be successful and happy, even if its more challenging from the onset.

Man thats tough, hope all goes well and you recover - do post back and let us know how you get on.

Thankyuh!

Irishpotatoes: Lasty, you said that with all of the side effects you experienced with finasteride, you felt like you were a completely different person. I feel that way too, but unfortunately I'd also feel that way if I was forced to live life as a bald man. So I'm forced choose between bad (living a life with side effects of finasteride) and awful (living life as a bald man).

Lol, yeah I hear you, but again I'm willing to bet if any of us actually "really" accepted our hair loss and moved on, we would be fine. It's the emotional torment from the arduous task of keeping hair that makes us feel like we are left with two shitty options.