Fin 9 month mark and NO results

[AbeLincoln]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this and would greatly appreciate any info. I noticed my hair was falling about 1.5 years ago so i decided to go to the dermatologist for a checkup. They sent me for some lab work and everything looked good so there was no underlying reason for my hair loss. Dermatologist said there was some hair miniaturization and i was headed to NW2 (MPB). She prescribed Fin for 6 months and said she thought i'd have a very positive reaction to it (I was 28, healthy and active with a still pretty dense hair). I took fin for 3 months as prescribed, but then stopped during the summer as i went away on an internship abroad. From mid July to October i did not take the Fin. Once i got back (10/16/17) i immediately hopped back on my normal routine and began taking the Fin every day. I went back to the dermatologist after i ran out of the 3 months left on the prescription and she gave a 6 month refill and i took it religiously every day.

So as of 07/23 i have 10 pills left on my 6 month refill and my hair is a lot worse (9 months consistently, 12 months total). A few friends have commented how they can see my scalp when we're out during the day and i can now see it in the morning when i'm combing my hair. I recently went for a check up with the dermatologist and she said i was still at a NW2 (hairline still strong) but she could tell the hair up top had thinned out a bit. She gave me a 6 month Fin refill and asked me to add Rogaine. According to her, i should try it for a year and a half total since i messed up the cycle by doing 3 months on and then stopping for 3 months. I'm currently about to finish month 9 of consistently taking the Fin.Has anyone had an experience like this? Any positive results? Is there any truth to what she said that i messed up my hair cycle by taking Fin for 3 months and the stopping? Should i go ahead and stay on the Fin for 6 more months or just stop? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Sean]

I would inform the doctor. It is good to use finasteride for a year straight with “no breaks or missed doses” in between to gauge it. If you start and stop in between it can mess up the hair cycles and you may experience a shed. Shedding may be normal as your hairs shed weaker hairs for stronger ones. Rogaine is an added security to increase blood flow to the scalp. Some folks have better results with finasteride, some with a finasteride and rogaine combo, some with a finasteride + rogaine + nizoral combo. Definitely take hd pics to track your progress month to month. If you are still shedding after a year, ask your doc what it could be- could it be a vitamin d deficiency? Could it be something else?

Id definitely talk more in depth with the doc and just in case, it doesn’t hurt to get a vitamin d blood test and a tsh (thyroid test) blood test. Sometimes it is good to do this to limit outliers that may be detrimental to hair as they may or may not be the factor that is hindering new growth.

Best of luck.