Propecia, The Good and the Ugly

[joer1212]

I have been taking 1 mg. brand-name Propecia for 3 years and 1 mg. generic finasteride for nearly 2 years. As a result, I have not had further hair loss.

My 2-part question is:

(1) If I decide to take a break from taking finasteride, how long will it take for my hair to start falling out again. 1 day? 1 week? 1 month? In other words, how long is it safe to stop finasteride before visible hair loss recurs?
How often can this be done. For example, if I can take a break from taking finasteride for 3 days, how often can I take this 3 day break without hair loss consequences?

(2) The reason I want to take a break from finasteride from time to time is because I have recently noticed the infamous sexual side effects that have been so widely reported with finasteride. There is a numbness in my penis, like it has lost a lot of sensitivity. Even my ejaculations are not as pleasurable as they were before.
I don't recall if I started getting these side effects when I first started on Propecia almost 5 years ago and didn't notice, or if it is a recent onset, but it's starting to become an issue.
I also fear that these side effects may be permanent (as reported), even if I should stop taking finasteride in the future.
Has anyone else noticed these side effects?

[Notcoolanymore]

Instead of taking breaks, why not just reduce the daily dose? I think not having fin in your system daily would cause you to lose ground.

[Diffuser44]

Instead of taking breaks, why not just reduce the daily dose? I think not having fin in your system daily would cause you to lose ground.

What dose do you take?

[joer1212]

Instead of taking breaks, why not just reduce the daily dose? I think not having fin in your system daily would cause you to lose ground.

I thought about this, but wondered if I would still lose hair if I did this.
Do you mean that I should try permanently reducing the dose, or only temporarily (in place of taking a break from it altogether)?

[the_dude78]

I took 1 mg every day for about 3 years, and about a year ago I decided to try 0.25 mg every day to save money - Propecia is quite pricey in my country and if you want finasteride Propecia is the only option here. I haven't noticed any difference in shedding what so ever and it's been a little more than a year now. Also, I took 3 weeks break from fin before going back on 0.25 mg, and so far everything is fine.

[joely]

Im the same I have been on it for three years with no problems, but this last week or so I have for some reason really struggled to get an erection and when I have its only been about 80% and can disappear very quickly!

I don't know what to do, I thought id stabilized my loss and recently just undergone my first HT now I don't know what to do

[garageland]

I would try a reduced dosage either take less every day or take the usual amount every other day. I have been on fin for 8 years nearly and did take a break for a few months many years back. I noticed that my hair had gotten a little worse in the crown I didn't really notice a difference in anything else performance wise in that dept.

Don't always assume it is the fin maybe other factors are causing this like stress and now the problem is it is on your mind every time and that is not going to help you perform when you are worrying whether you are going to get wood.

[joely]

You could be right Garageland I have recently been diagnosed as depressed and given tabets for that which may not be helping

[Aeroes]

Man I got those sides from fin. The numbness lasted
3 months. Thank god everything came back after
Quitting that poison.

[joer1212]

Man I got those sides from fin. The numbness lasted
3 months. Thank god everything came back after
Quitting that poison.

I'm hearing reports that fin can cause permanent numbness to your penis in some people. This worries me.
I also heard that finasteride can cause prostate cancer to be more aggressive if you get it.