Survey: Finasteride Users on this forum (one big Finasteride Thread)

[Mr. 4000]

You’ve really had some bad luck in your hair loss battle Mr. 4000. I’m sorry hear about all of this.

yes, it has not been easy, but it is what it is........

[Manic]

Just want to show my thanks for this post (I joined to do so). I have had bad frontal hair loss for years now and have put off finasteride for years due to "sides". There are so many posts online about how horrible it can be which basically say "Take finasteride, you're castrated forever" (who would take it after that!).

I started getting a little depressed due to my balding so I finally invested in Finpecia. Have been on it for a week. I take only 0.5 mgs as well as having chucked 2 mgs into my minoxidil bottle. I feel better already for having started taking it. Not so helpless.

Only thing I have noticed so far is that I sometimes have a bit of heart palpitations. Anyone else have that? I'm gonna stick with my 0.5 for a while and see how I go.

Thanks again for the reassurance. It seems that only the very loud and angrily (perhaps justifiably) minority are the ones posting about this drug on the net.

[baldesswonder]

I found propecia 1mg was all I needed to stop all hair loss wish I had taken pictures cause i feel i might have gotten some hair regrowth. This is where I buy the generic without a prescription http://easy-to-use-pharmacy.com/ and had no problems.

[3rd time]

Started finasteride a few months before my first HT. The product itself worked very well for me. I noticed my hair was thicker, looked better and halted any further hair loss.
I noticed side effects from the third week but at the time continued to use it and give it a chance. I had read that side effects can subside as you continue with it.
At about the 6 month mark I could not maintain an erection, had no interest in sex and was suffering from anxiety. I was very upset that I had to stop taking it. Even though I was close to an NW6 I still noticed that within a year of stopping my native hair on the sides continued to recede lower. Making my first hair transplant look like an island of hair which needed to reconnect with the sides.
It took well over a month for the sexual sides to completely subside. My sperm was a lot healthier and got my libido back.
6 years have passed and recently had my third Ht. My doc suggested I give fin another try at a much lower dosage for me twice a week. Again 2 weeks into it I noticed the same side effects. Tried an even lower dosage after that and still no luck.
Im so upset that my body cannot tolerate even a small dosage. I really believe that even 1/4 twice a week can do wonders for a lot of people as it stays in your system for a long time. This was confirmed by my doc.
I do believe the product works well but for me it's not worth the the sides. I can only hope something better comes along in the future that will help those people who cannot tolerate even a small dosage.

[gillenator]

Glad to see many of you having effective results with low dose finasteride. Although it will never completely stop hair loss, it can however slow down the progression of MPB in many men including myself. I started it in 1996 before Propecia was approved by the FDA. So low dose finasteride can buy us time and it really is a matter of personal choice.

I do want to caution many of the men who are losing their hair to first get examined and properly diagnosed for MPB by a licensed physician experienced in treating genetic hairloss. There are qualified derms who treat MPB, medicinally speaking.

There are many internet sites where you can just go online and buy finasteride but you owe it to yourselves to first be properly diagnosed.

[Keyu33]

Who here has used finasteride vs natural? This ebook looks interesting http://www.hairgrowthcure.com ?

[sleepybp]

Hey Guys !
I am 32 years old and have been on propecia 1mg daily for 3 months now.
In the beginning, between weeks three and week 8 of taking the pill I noticed some increased shedding (I currently only am thin in the front and front corners of my head).
But after getting into the second month and third month I can see that my hair is growing in thicker now than before I ever started propecia. My hair density is improving slowly and covers my scalp better in the front.

I have had a noticeable decrease in sexual drive that started around week 3 on the drug. I am still able to perform and have fun with the girlfriend but I do not get random erections in shower or in bed as I did before. I also feel like my erection is not as firm as it was before the drug.

Despite these side effects, I believe that they would subside if I had to stop taking the pill eventually. So I will continue to use, because what is the point of having a stronger sexual drive if I scare all the chicks away with my hairless head? LOL Come on guys you got to appreciate some humor on this forum

Also some notes to some angry posters out there:
1. To the man who got breast cancer and blames it on propecia, I wish you a healthy cancer free life. But you must be aware that in life, there are some men who will get breast cancer. Just as there are men who will get testicular cancer or have a heart attack. You cannot blame a drug for something occurring because you do not know if your genetic condition would have caused you to get cancer whether you were on finasteride or on tylenol pills. People get cancer every day...

2. This same logic applies to the poor man who experienced permanent erectile dystfunction while on propecia, and it remained after stopping the meds as well. Honestly, my heart goes out to you man, that is something no man deserves.... but there are also many men who suffer from ED naturally. They suffer from ED without having ever taking ANY hormone influencing drugs such as propecia. My point is, you could have been one of the unlucky ones that would have gotten ED regardless of whether you took propecia or not. Only long term statistical data can prove if there is a connection between propecia and permanent ED.

3. I saw a post about a guy who quit taking finasteride after month two because he said his hair looked worse than before he started it. As I have posted above, my hair looked worse in weeks 3 through 7 also. I have read that there can be an initial shedding stage and am thankful that I decided to go into month 3 to see very positive results that are better than before I ever started the pill.


In closing: Us fellow hair follicle challenged males should always make posts in the best interest of all men out there. Keep your information factual in stating your results and side effects while taking the drug. Do not prevent others from the potential benefit of 10 more years of hair that propecia might be able to give them by making wild accusations that cannot be proven.

[sleepybp]

Hey Guys !
I am 32 years old and have been on propecia 1mg daily for 3 months now.
In the beginning, between weeks three and week 8 of taking the pill I noticed some increased shedding (I currently only am thin in the front and front corners of my head).
But after getting into the second month and third month I can see that my hair is growing in thicker now than before I ever started propecia. My hair density is improving slowly and covers my scalp better in the front.

I have had a noticeable decrease in sexual drive that started around week 3 on the drug. I am still able to perform and have fun with the girlfriend but I do not get random erections in shower or in bed as I did before. I also feel like my erection is not as firm as it was before the drug.

Despite these side effects, I believe that they would subside if I had to stop taking the pill eventually. So I will continue to use, because what is the point of having a stronger sexual drive if I scare all the chicks away with my hairless head? LOL Come on guys you got to appreciate some humor on this forum

Also some notes to some angry posters out there:
1. To the man who got breast cancer and blames it on propecia, I wish you a healthy cancer free life. But you must be aware that in life, there are some men who will get breast cancer. Just as there are men who will get testicular cancer or have a heart attack. You cannot blame a drug for something occurring because you do not know if your genetic condition would have caused you to get cancer whether you were on finasteride or on tylenol pills. People get cancer every day...

2. This same logic applies to the poor man who experienced permanent erectile dystfunction while on propecia, and it remained after stopping the meds as well. Honestly, my heart goes out to you man, that is something no man deserves.... but there are also many men who suffer from ED naturally. They suffer from ED without having ever taking ANY hormone influencing drugs such as propecia. My point is, you could have been one of the unlucky ones that would have gotten ED regardless of whether you took propecia or not. Only long term statistical data can prove if there is a connection between propecia and permanent ED.

3. I saw a post about a guy who quit taking finasteride after month two because he said his hair looked worse than before he started it. As I have posted above, my hair looked worse in weeks 3 through 7 also. I have read that there can be an initial shedding stage and am thankful that I decided to go into month 3 to see very positive results that are better than before I ever started the pill.


In closing: Us fellow hair follicle challenged males should always make posts in the best interest of all men out there. Keep your information factual in stating your results and side effects while taking the drug. Do not prevent others from the potential benefit of 10 more years of hair that propecia might be able to give them by making wild accusations that cannot be proven.

[buford]

I started taking fin about 5 months ago after hair transplant surgery. Started noticing side effects maybe a few weeks to month in. 3 months in, I reduced dosage from 1.25mg to half that (.625mg). It did not help. Now I am taking .625mg every other day for the last two weeks hoping the side effects will decrease, but they have gotten worse. I now can almost have no climax or ejaculation. The other problems are low sex drive, lower volume, less number of contractions, less distance shooting, more watery, a little ED as well. My question is: should I completely stop taking this now or give the .625mg every other day more time or come off by weening off? I read a lot of conflicting info on cold turkey vs weening. Thanks

[GoingBald34]

I figured maybe it'd be a cool thing for everyone on here using Finasteride (Propecia/Proscar) to give their experiences in one thread so anyone considering doing it can check it out.

It'd be easier to write a small quick summary good or bad instead of going into depth... but it's your call if you have more time to put something more detailed in. Even if you already posted in here about it. Having all the stories based in one area for reference would be nice. Also it's a nice thing in that this forum is one of (to me, the only) real honest place when it comes to information of Hair Treatment/Balding.

I just recently started taking it and I see threads on it all over that are all mixed results. One thread will have 5 people with bad results. Another with 2 people with amazing results... it'd be nice to get it all together and sort of tally it up.

I plan on continuing it (though like every guy I'm a little paranoid) but I intend on putting my results in here as well.

Anyhow, have at you!

34 years old. Had great results for 9 years while taking Propecia. Kept me at a NW 1 to 1.5 before losing its effectiveness. Strange because my hair loss pattern was not that aggressive compared to some. I was a NW0 at 25 with a thick full head (thinning crown) when I started.