Been on Finasteride for 9 years, Shedding again

[mrclean]

Just an update: things are not looking good. I am still losing over a 50-100 hairs in the shower + when combing it just seems like they keep coming. Seems like no matter where i pull, I always end up with a piece of hair or 2. This was never the case in the past 9 years. Also happens in non mpb areas. I went ahead and put in a consultation to be prescribed Avodart. Since I’m already shedding, I’m no longer concerned about the Avodart sheds. I am extremely scared but at this point I can’t just depend on Propecia since it isn’t doing anything for me anymore. Could be TE due to the severe stress/depression this summer but I can’t just sit and wait for things to get worse 😢

I get it from this place and just pick up at my pharmacy.
https://www.medicalwellnesscenter.com/

[mrclean]

I also tried this for anxiety and it seemed to work. The main ingredient also helps for depression.

Just google it:
Zen Anxiety and Stress Relief Supplement

[GoingBald34]

I also tried this for anxiety and it seemed to work. The main ingredient also helps for depression.

Just google it:
Zen Anxiety and Stress Relief Supplement

Thanks for your help. How well has avodart worked for you in terms of stopping/slowing hair loss? I also used medicalwellnesscenter and had the doctor call in prescription to my local safeway. I have Avodart, I’m just so nervous about the shedding stories..a part of me says to continue to ride it out on propecia since it maintained for 9 years and didn’t kill my hair line, but a part of me says that if I don’t do something now, I may lose too much for Avodart to grow back.

[mrclean]

It seems to work after the propecia stopped working. You are shedding now so what do you have to lose. I never had any shedding on it but you can find horror stories on any medication on the web. Have you tried microneedling?

[GoingBald34]

It seems to work after the propecia stopped working. You are shedding now so what do you have to lose. I never had any shedding on it but you can find horror stories on any medication on the web. Have you tried microneedling?

Thanks for the helpful information. You have me convinced on starting Avodart. Do you recommend loading doses or start at .5mg per day, or is it better to continue to take propecia and substitute a couple days then slowly increase. Your insight is absolutely helpful and I appreciate it very much!

[mrclean]

I would just stop propecia and start Avodart 3 days a week. Unfortunately there are no good studies on dosage but i only take it 2 days a week and it seems to maintain what i have.
Here is some more information:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6388756/

[GoingBald34]

I would just stop propecia and start Avodart 3 days a week. Unfortunately there are no good studies on dosage but i only take it 2 days a week and it seems to maintain what i have.
Here is some more information:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6388756/

Thanks so much. I went ahead and took my first .5 mg pill just now. Fingers crossed, I definitely feel a bit relieved that I’m using the strongest attack against DHT. I will keep it posted on my progress.

[HairGuru]

Hey good luck I buy my lotion through The medical wellness center.

[GoingBald34]

Thanks HairGuru! I will look into the lotion as well. My update for day 1 is that I don’t know if it’s placebo effect or indeed real, but I feel a bit zombie like with a headache & I’m experiencing hot/cold sensations, also I feel that my scalp has more heat. I know that its too early to tell but the side effects are a bit more noticeable than when I first started propecia. It also could be the depression and Anxiety of the uncertainty of this not working for me/making things worse. I’ll try to update weekly on the progress. I hoped that Finasteride would continue to work for me, but the hair loss pattern (excessive loss during shampooing/combing, hairs popping out of head, sitting on other hairs, finding them on my hands through out the day..on my phone screen, etc. It resembles much like before I started propecia so I’m giving DUT a try.

[iwannakeephair1674]

Hey GoingBald34.. it's been a long while since I've last posted. I've been on Finasteride since I was 19 and am 32 now. Overall it's helped me and the fear of losing some ground got to me too about 7 years ago. My recommendation is not to jump in with full Dutasteride. I do, however, do a combination of both Finasteride and Dutasteride where I take 5mg of Fin Monday - Friday and then on Saturday I do one 0.5mg Dut tablet. The reason why I only do DUT one day a week is because of the long half-life (weeks) whereas the half-life of Finasteride is only like 4-6 hours.

Beyond that there are a few other options that I do as well:

-Lasercomb.. I feel as though some efficacy has been clinically shown and published in some medical journals. I don't believe it can hurt you and you can find a cheap used Hairmax Lasercomb on ebay for less than $120. Just to let you know, I've been using a lasercomb since I was 19 and only needed to replace it once so far.
-Dermaroller - I get mine from owndoc (dot) com where there are shown to be good quality and good prices. You can see comparison reviews on there as well. I don't dermaroll very often anymore but there is efficacy.
-Check out some of the articles at perfect hair health (dot) com that shows to be very scientific and interesting and can't hurt
-PRP with Dr. Greco. There's published data on medical journals about PRP and it's effectiveness as well.


Please don't obsess about this topic. I get it, but in the end it's not worth it and you WILL regret it later. Just do what you can... and Remember even there can be hair transplant in the future if it gets that bad. I feel as though you will always have hair and won't go a full NW6 or NW7... and with hair transplant technology and you throwing the kitchen sink at hair loss you can make this manageable and now things like SMP / Dermatch can make you appear to have a full head of hair. Don't stress over this.

One last thing, regardless of what people say, I have seen when changing to eating mostly organic whole food plant based diet (I do have some meat though)... my hair health has improved a lot. Also, I believe there's some evidence of natural anti-cancer therapies and improvement of hair such as a small amount of Turmeric with a small amount of black pepper and oil every so often.. in addition to Sulforaphane from Broccoli Sprouts and maybe DIM, which has been shown to downgrade androgen receptors in the prostate.

All in all.. live your life and don't sweat this. You're at the BEST time in history to have hair loss.