Started taking Propecia

[Notcoolanymore]

Like redy said you just gotta ride out the shed unfortunately. Waiting to see results is probably the worst part of the hair loss battle.

[DuckingAngels]

Progress Update: Six Month mark

Hi guys.

I've been taking Propecia 1mg for 5 1/2 months now and was taking 0.5mg for the month before, so this is effectively the six month mark. Figured it was time for an update.

Hair
Dramatic shedding of early months eventually stopped, and the shedding seemed relatively low/normal until recently where it has picked up again (but not to insane previous shed levels.)

However my hair itself has definitely got worse. In terms of receding, that has actually stayed almost the same, save for a very gradual amount on both temples. The major issue has been the thinning of my hair. That started out at pretty much just my left temple around the time i started fin, but that has spread to most of the frontal hair. When wet my hair now looks like its almost not there. Furthermore, my temples on both sides have continued to thin. The weirdest thing is that the main area I seem to have lost hair is on the "corner" of my head, where the hair on the side of my hair meets the hair on the top of my head - if that makes sense. Unfortunately my idiot Dad accidentally deleted my baseline photos so I don't have anything to compare with - but it seems fairly obvious to the naked eye.

I can still style my hair to look acceptable on most days, and if I use a lot of product / thickening spray then I can get it looking good. But this is becoming harder and harder to do.

Side-effects
Sexual sides - none really to speak of. Had increased libido for most of these 6 months, which i partially attribute to the zinc tablets ive been taking. Libido is now back to normal levels. Erection strength/ maintenance is fine.

Other sides- I have definitely developed a case of gynecomastia. It's not particularly severe considering that I have gotten a bit out of shape anyway. Furthermore, from doing a quick test based on some information I found online, it seems as if my case may be far more 'pseudo-gynecomastia'. Aka i just have fat there, that could go away with exercise. It's an issue that is bothering me currently, but I would certainly be willing to put up with it at these levels if my hair was being helped significantly.

My skin has also gotten worse, in terms of a slight reddish area on both cheeks and a few more spots. Obviously hard to necessarily 'prove' fin had anything to do with this.

Conclusion
I'm sure a lot of people will say that you have to wait until 6-12 months to see results, which I'm sure is true. I will continue to take the pills until the 12 month mark and then evaluate. However, I am pretty pessimistic now. I wouldn't have thought that people who find themselves this far below baseline at 6 months go on to make incredible gains over the next 6 months. I would have been completely fine with simply keeping what i had but even this seems unlikely.

On the flip side, the annoying thing is that you would assume that if it is affecting me enough to give me man-boobs, then surely it should be affecting me enough to actually work. Oh well. Fingers crossed.

[Mike K]

How much zinc per day do you take to combat sexual sides? How much zinc did your friend take per day to combat his sexual sides?

[DuckingAngels]

I take a daily effervescent zinc and vitamin c tablet. It has 15mg of zinc per tablet.

Although to be honest I have the pack at my work, so its actually more like taking it 5 days a week.

[Mike K]

Thanks. You mentioned you had a friend who had sexual sides and successfully combatted them with zinc. Any idea what his dosage was?

[DuckingAngels]

I'm not entirely sure of the quantity he was taking to be honest, but knowing him, I assume it would have been the maximum daily quantity (which i think is 25mg). I'm pretty sure he cluster ****ed his body with zinc for a while and then settled down to that kind of amount.

[Mike K]

Interesting. Thanks man.

[Lewis Hamilton]

So I've just finished my first month of taking Propecia 0.5g daily. A general summary:

-No real persistent side effects as far as I'm aware (although i have been taking zinc supplements so perhaps that's helped alleviate potential sexual sides). If I was to be fully comprehensive, then I guess the whole process of masturbation has become (very slightly)
harder to do- in terms of libido, erection strength etc, but its pretty much negligible.

-Shedding has got far more dramatic. A caveat is that my shedding got much worse in the weeks leading up to jumping on propecia- it was actually the motivational kick that got me to be proactive in fighting this hairloss- so that upward trend was already present. But yeah, for sure my shedding has gone through the roof. It increased as soon as I started propecia, but in the last week or so it has really gone into overdrive. Today has been a monumental shed. Every time I run my hands through my hair its like 5-10 hairs coming out, and waxing my hair this morning was like I had put superglue on my hand and slapped a wig. Another caveat potentially is that I have started applying regaine to more of my hairline, so perhaps that is also contributing to the shed increase.

I'm not overly worried about the insane shedding by itself, as I understand that it often happens and is sometimes a sign that the treatment is working well, but I am concerned when it is combined with the fact that my hairline seems to have gone to shit. At baseline, my left frontal hairline was noticeably thinning, centre frontal was fine, and right frontal was just beginning to thin. Now it seems as if the whole of the hairline has shown major signs of thinning. I don't really have much appetite for a situation where the propecia drops me way below baseline, and then then spends 6-18 months slowly dragging me back up.

But anyway, I'm not gonna quit just due to intense shedding, as that would be foolish. I am actually starting a new regime tomorrow of upping it to 1mg per day. But I am definitely pretty concerned and depressed about the dramatic- to me at least- decline in my hairline.

Mate, you need to stop now before it is too late. What will happen is that you will kid yourself that the sides are worth the risk. You are already demonstrating classic symptoms of reduced absorbed testosterone. If you stay on this in ten years (before you are forty), your penis won't work, you will be constantly tired, you will be detached from reality. You're taking your life in your hands, which is more severe than your hair. Get off it now while you can. Also avoid minoxidil, which also buggers you up.