New finasteride user

[TheNitwon]

I'm almost 22 years old. I first noticed slight hairline recession back in May of 2011, but I didn't think much of it until around November when I noticed it had progressed even further. I got pretty depressed about it for several weeks (so much so that I even stopped eating and dropped 10 lbs - yikes!). After about a month of self-pity I decided enough was enough and I went to the doc. She prescribed finasteride (in my case generic Proscar cut into fourths...much cheaper to pay $9 every four months than $900+ a year for brand-name Propecia), told me to use Nizoral shampoo twice a week and ordered blood tests. Tests showed my serum DHT levels were really high and free testosterone levels were very low, so the fin should be pretty good for me. I've been taking it for a month as of last week. No side effects whatsoever thus far. I added biotin to my regimen, just in case that might help...not expecting it to do much, but ya never know. I'm holding off on minoxidil for the time being. I wanna see how I respond to the fin before I decide whether I need the minox.

So my question to the seasoned fin users: what do I expect from here on out? I want to at least keep what I have. Despite my previous lapse of depression, I'm no longer terrified of going bald (I actually think I'll look pretty good bald), but I'd like to keep my hair if I possibly can. I noticed from the forums here that there may be new hair restoration treatments coming out in the next few years, so I'm pretty optimistic about it.

And to the people who scream about side effects and/or risks: I know what the side effects are, I know the risks, and I'm willing to take them. All of them. So don't lecture me about them.