New to Finasteride! Got some questions.

[nts1986]

So i went to a really highly respected hair restoration surgeon recently after getting over my denial that my hair was thinning. I am just shy of 26 years old and the doc told me I was a NW2 with some thinning in the crown. He put me on Finasteride 5mg which i've been cutting into quarters and taking every day.

This particular doc has been at it for years and believes that taking roughly 1.25 mg on MWF and skipping weekends is enough to halt further hair loss in most men. He also wanted me to get on Minox but I'm holding off for a year to see if I get good enough of a benefit from the fin. Why add another product if I can keep what I have and be happy, is my thinking.

So the deal is that even though he told me to take it MWF, I am thinking, this stuff is dirt cheap for me and my general practitioner (another doc) basically said, "the stuff's safe and as far as I am concerned 5mg is safe. I say the more you take the better." Thus, I have been taking 1.25mg per day for almost 5 weeks now.

I am definitely experiencing some side effects. I was never worried or concerned about getting them beforehand and have only just now admitted to myself that something is definitely different. I get the standard more watery sperm (though volume is the same) occasional mild aching in the balls (although more than the balls, it feels like a tightness in the prostate region or an aching in the "pipeline" in general) but most upsetting is my decreased sex drive.

To be fair, I had a monstrous sex drive before starting the stuff and I still have morning wood, no trouble getting an erections, etc. I just don't think about it nearly as much and have trouble getting as imaginatively excited like I did before I started. Not a big deal right now because I still want sex and when it's time to perform it can do so, but it's like ... not a consuming passion like it was before. More like ... "oh, this is nice. Wonder what material this blanket of hers is made of ..." Don't really know how to explain it but maybe you all get the idea.
It's weird.

Anyway I've read that some people lower the dosage and get back to normal, some people keep the dosage the same and give their body time to get used to it and they're back to normal in 6 weeks. I've been waiting it out and I'm a week away form six weeks. I'm still taking it every day (took one this morning) and I still want to believe in this drug.

Has anyone else got any insight or had a similar experience that ended positively.

Looking for some good news!

[chrisis]

Interesting that it's your first post as well. Clearly you didn't get the side effects just from reading this forum - common defence/excuse by the deniers.

My story with finasteride is similar to yours and started in November. I didn't notice side effects until mid-January, though I think I had them and just didn't realise or maybe I subconsciously put them to the back of my mind. One day I had a realisation when my load was a pathetic dribble. I knew something was definitely wrong and I decided to quit cold turkey. Haven't taken any finasteride since then and I'm suffering, but I think the side effects are slowly ebbing away.

If I was you, I'd cut back the dose until you're taking about 0.25mg. Do it slowly, so from 1.25 to 1mg for a week, then 1mg to 0.75, and so on. Then once you get to 0.25mg stick with it for awhile and see how you cope. That's what I would have done in retrospect, but I think I panicked. Regardless, it's probably better if you slowly come off the drug, rather than quitting altogether - in case you get some kind of endocrine crash. Once you've been at 0.25mg for a few months you'll know if the side effects remain, and if they are, whether it's a fair compromise to save your hair.

Personally I'm on the fence as to whether I'll go back onto finasteride. The longer I perceive that I'm suffering from side effects, the less inclined I am to touch it again.

By the way, I'm not a doctor so all of the above is just my advice to take or leave for whatever it's worth. I'd be interested to hear what you decide to do, so keep us informed!

[jayth]

So i went to a really highly respected hair restoration surgeon recently after getting over my denial that my hair was thinning. I am just shy of 26 years old and the doc told me I was a NW2 with some thinning in the crown. He put me on Finasteride 5mg which i've been cutting into quarters and taking every day.

This particular doc has been at it for years and believes that taking roughly 1.25 mg on MWF and skipping weekends is enough to halt further hair loss in most men. He also wanted me to get on Minox but I'm holding off for a year to see if I get good enough of a benefit from the fin. Why add another product if I can keep what I have and be happy, is my thinking.

So the deal is that even though he told me to take it MWF, I am thinking, this stuff is dirt cheap for me and my general practitioner (another doc) basically said, "the stuff's safe and as far as I am concerned 5mg is safe. I say the more you take the better." Thus, I have been taking 1.25mg per day for almost 5 weeks now.

I am definitely experiencing some side effects. I was never worried or concerned about getting them beforehand and have only just now admitted to myself that something is definitely different. I get the standard more watery sperm (though volume is the same) occasional mild aching in the balls (although more than the balls, it feels like a tightness in the prostate region or an aching in the "pipeline" in general) but most upsetting is my decreased sex drive.

To be fair, I had a monstrous sex drive before starting the stuff and I still have morning wood, no trouble getting an erections, etc. I just don't think about it nearly as much and have trouble getting as imaginatively excited like I did before I started. Not a big deal right now because I still want sex and when it's time to perform it can do so, but it's like ... not a consuming passion like it was before. More like ... "oh, this is nice. Wonder what material this blanket of hers is made of ..." Don't really know how to explain it but maybe you all get the idea.
It's weird.

Anyway I've read that some people lower the dosage and get back to normal, some people keep the dosage the same and give their body time to get used to it and they're back to normal in 6 weeks. I've been waiting it out and I'm a week away form six weeks. I'm still taking it every day (took one this morning) and I still want to believe in this drug.

Has anyone else got any insight or had a similar experience that ended positively.

Looking for some good news!

Welcome. Yeah like Chrisis said my story is similar. Started fin at 1.25 a day (generic proscar 5mg split in quarters) about 2 months ago. I had the nut pain, difficulty with erections, lack of sex drive etc... My side effects seem to be tapering off a bit. However, Now i'm noticing my hair feels thinner than usual?? I have'nt noticed any more shedding than usual though. Actually my hair has completely stopped falling out since I started, except the usual few hairs a day, but it just feels thinner. I hope this is normal?? Anyways, I do notice a lack of interest in sex but i cant blame the Finasteride for it (although i'm sure it contributes) because I had a lack of drive before I started Fin. It was stress induced. I was going through some serious financial problems and relationship issues which cause me tremendous stress. When I'm stressed the sex drive goes.

[nts1986]

Thanks for the input, guys. So as of today i'm at the 5 week mark. Still taking 1.25 a day and in the last 2 days I haven't noticed any decrease in libido, still watery semen, not as much lower region pain. Hoping this is a good sign that the side effects will taper off or at least not get any worse (knock on wood).

NOW I have a new question to go along with the first and I'm going to bounce off something you mentioned, jayth. In LITERALLY the last 2-3 weeks i believe my shedding in the temples, especially the left, and crown, maybe everywhere, has gotten worse. Before starting the treatment my hairline was clearly getting weaker but it would still all lay whatever way I combed it. Now there is a funky part in front that seems to be caused by the thinning of the temple area on the left so I'm left to assume that there is a "shedding phase" that most folks go through starting around the 1 month mark? Any truth to this? I read on one website that shedding at the beginning can be an indicator that you're a good responder to the drug, which would be encouraging to hear because right now I'm just freaking out a little. I never lost this fast before starting treatment.

It would be great to hear from someone who is further along on their fin journey but maybe had a similar experience in either of these things.

[jayth]

Thanks for the input, guys. So as of today i'm at the 5 week mark. Still taking 1.25 a day and in the last 2 days I haven't noticed any decrease in libido, still watery semen, not as much lower region pain. Hoping this is a good sign that the side effects will taper off or at least not get any worse (knock on wood).

NOW I have a new question to go along with the first and I'm going to bounce off something you mentioned, jayth. In LITERALLY the last 2-3 weeks i believe my shedding in the temples, especially the left, and crown, maybe everywhere, has gotten worse. Before starting the treatment my hairline was clearly getting weaker but it would still all lay whatever way I combed it. Now there is a funky part in front that seems to be caused by the thinning of the temple area on the left so I'm left to assume that there is a "shedding phase" that most folks go through starting around the 1 month mark? Any truth to this? I read on one website that shedding at the beginning can be an indicator that you're a good responder to the drug, which would be encouraging to hear because right now I'm just freaking out a little. I never lost this fast before starting treatment.

It would be great to hear from someone who is further along on their fin journey but maybe had a similar experience in either of these things.

I'm thinking this is what we are both experiencing (i hope). I just noticed this in the last week. I dont notice any shedding though....this is the strange thing. My hair just looks and feels thinner?? Also I do notice my temples and hairline seem a bit weaker. I'm confident that this is just part of the process. Can you imagine going through all the side effects and everything to have less hair!!

[khan]

nts1986, alot of people claim not having sides, or in some cases sides that are not as severe using a lower dosage of Fin. Try doing a search and you can find such posts. I also take 0.5mg daily, and into my 11th month without feeling any different then when I started Fin, but I never tried the full dose so I probably don't count in that category.

About the nut pain, again you can do a search on that aswell. Alot of Finasteride users get that initally and have posted about it. I also got occasional nut pain, it was mild but annoying. It was a on and off thing for about 2 months and then cleared away.

Chrisis suggested is a good idea, to slowly go on a lower dose of 0.25 and then waiting to see if things improve, but give it some time on the lower dose. Maybe lower it all the way to 0.25mg everyother day, just to see if thing subside.

But as Chrisis said none of us our doctors, this is just my personal opinion and could be completely wrong. The decision is completely suggest. But I will strongly suggest, to listen to all sides of the story not just the bad or good part.

[nts1986]

Hey guys, just an update.

I continued taking every day through last Saturday. The Nut pain was joined by occasional sharp pains throughout the "pipeline" or a dull, burning pain. Decided not to take it again and call my Doc on Monday. Sunday I went on a date. Nut pain was at it's most intense level near constant all day. Needless to say, my libido sucked but that could be because you're not thinking about messing around when your groin feels like it's just been kicked.

Called my doc and the receptionist picked up and rather rudely and dismissively (as if she wanted me to get off the phone) told me there was nothing to worry about, to lower my does to 3x per week or just get off if I wanted to. I was a little miffed so the next day I emailed the doc himself and he very quickly replied and politely addressed my concerns as completely as possible via email. He said to come off the drug, take an over the counter supplement to "boost my system" for a couple weeks, then consider starting back at 1.25 MG 2x per week after being off for a month.
Well, just started day 5 off of Finasteride and I'm happy to report that the nut pain was virtually non-existant yesterday. Today there actually seems to be a little more of a hint of it. I noticed I feel it significantly more now when I'm sitting for some reason. I've had no more sharp pains or dull pains along the "pipeline" or adjoining organs.

Here's to hoping that everything is back to normal in a couple of weeks and I feel comfortable starting a lower frequency dose on May 1. I want to thank you all for your input and just being there as "someone to talk to" when dealing with new and sometimes scary stuff. YOU ROCK.

[chrisis]

Can I ask what they recommended to "boost your system"? Still waiting to return to normal after a few months. Sigh.

Glad to hear your issues appear better but keep an eye on things and don't let people tell you side effects are in your head or whatever else. The receptionist is not qualified to give you medical advice. You should complain and warn your doctor that he is setting himself up to be sued.

[mattj]

"the stuff's safe and as far as I am concerned 5mg is safe. I say the more you take the better."

I wouldn't agree with this. There's a point where taking a higher dosage just won't block any more DHT, making the higher dosage pointless.