10 months post-op with Dr Feriduni

[Rizaan]

Thanks for responding.
Do you take propecia (and/or minoxidil) to maintain the remaining DHT-prone hairs you have?

[clee984]

Thanks for responding.
Do you take propecia (and/or minoxidil) to maintain the remaining DHT-prone hairs you have?

No worries, glad it's helpful - do I take propecia and minoxidil? Yes and no. I have a prescription for proscar/fin, and I do take it when I remember but I lose track of when I last took it, and the same with rogaine - you're supposed to use rogaine twice a day, so 14 times a week. I probably use it 5 or 6.

I do really sincerely wish that I had been more confident in my early 20s when I first noticed I was balding, and got a doctor to prescribe me propecia. I didn't because I was too embarrassed, I didn't get a prescription for it until I was in my late 20s, so I lost those vital few years. If I had taken it, I might not have needed an HT. I do go off and on propecia, foolishly, because of various reasons, although it does seem to work for me, my wife did ask me why my hair looked thicker, when she didn't know I'd started taking it again.

[Rizaan]

Don't you worry about side effects? I've read a lot about how men notice them much later after having been on the drug for years

[clee984]

Don't you worry about side effects? I've read a lot about how men notice them much later after having been on the drug for years

Tbh, not at all. There are always side effects for some people for any medication, and I'd rather have hair than worry about it. My wife has to take a couple of pills every day to stay alive, so the sides from propecia don't seem that scary - the possible side effects for aspirin are worse.

[Rizaan]

Tbh, not at all. There are always side effects for some people for any medication, and I'd rather have hair than worry about it. My wife has to take a couple of pills every day to stay alive, so the sides from propecia don't seem that scary - the possible side effects for aspirin are worse.

But I've seen a lot of threads here where people mention how they got minor sides like watery semen and decreased libido at first, and then after a few years it got way, way worse and couldn't be reversed fully(infertility, testosterone levels of an old man, no erections, no libido, depression, prostate problems) It's shit like this that scares me.
I've been losing a lot of hair over the past couple of months and I'm seriously considering taking finesteride. But I'm worried of side effects, and since the drug takes months to come into effect, if I stop, I'll lose any hair i gained.

[clee984]

But I've seen a lot of threads here where people mention how they got minor sides like watery semen and decreased libido at first, and then after a few years it got way, way worse and couldn't be reversed fully(infertility, testosterone levels of an old man, no erections, no libido, depression, prostate problems) It's shit like this that scares me.
I've been losing a lot of hair over the past couple of months and I'm seriously considering taking finesteride. But I'm worried of side effects, and since the drug takes months to come into effect, if I stop, I'll lose any hair i gained.

Well, obviously it's up to you mate, and I would certainly encourage you to keep asking questions, but I will say this, and not to disparage the struggle that some people go through, but people who post on internet forums are usually doing so because something has gone wrong. I say this to my wife all the time when she gets upset reading about her medications in forums - the people who take the medicine every day and never have a problem, don't post on internet forums. They just get on with their lives. Same with propecia. It sells by the bucket-load, and how many of the guys taking it every day would take the time to 'check in' on a forum just to say "Everything's fine. My hair is stable and I don't have any side effects."

The only person I can think of who I met in real life who admitted to taking propecia over a long period was a guy who had taken it for 20-odd years (started in his early 20s, when I met him he was early 40s), and still had all his hair, had had kids, all that stuff, and suffered no sides. Clearly some people do, but how much of that can be attributed to other health problems, ageing etc, rather than propecia? I don't know.

Sooooo......I guess from your pictures you're a young guy, if I was you I'd just do it and try not to worry about it, but that's just me, nobody can decide for you. My advice would be the same as it is to my wife: by all means read the forums, but don't assume that it's a representative sample of people who have the condition/take the medicine.

[Rizaan]

Yes, exactly, out of all the people who use a drug, it's mostly the users who've suffered from the sides that will post more on forums. I remember once seeing a video on youtube of Ashton Kutcher on a talk show, and he mentioned his webbed toes. I scrolled down to the comments and literally all the top comments were people saying they had webbed toes too. You'd think MOST people have webbed toes based on what you saw but in reality the people who don't have them have no reason to mention that in the comments.
But I still think the percentage of men suffering from side effects is more than just 2%, and I hope to god I'm not one of them, because I'm losing hair fast and topical finesteride is one of my last few options left. Do you think a much less percentage of finesteride (0.1% w/v)applied on the scalp goes into systemic circulation?

Speaking of having kids: i'm worried about that aspect too. Finesteride interferes with androgens in our bodies, and sperms develop in presence of those hormones. Is there reason to be worried in the long run because I am right now?

Thanks for answering my questions. Much appreciated.

[clee984]

Yes, exactly, out of all the people who use a drug, it's mostly the users who've suffered from the sides that will post more on forums. I remember once seeing a video on youtube of Ashton Kutcher on a talk show, and he mentioned his webbed toes. I scrolled down to the comments and literally all the top comments were people saying they had webbed toes too. You'd think MOST people have webbed toes based on what you saw but in reality the people who don't have them have no reason to mention that in the comments.
But I still think the percentage of men suffering from side effects is more than just 2%, and I hope to god I'm not one of them, because I'm losing hair fast and topical finesteride is one of my last few options left. Do you think a much less percentage of finesteride (0.1% w/v)applied on the scalp goes into systemic circulation?

Speaking of having kids: i'm worried about that aspect too. Finesteride interferes with androgens in our bodies, and sperms develop in presence of those hormones. Is there reason to be worried in the long run because I am right now?

Thanks for answering my questions. Much appreciated.

No worries mate, happy to help where I can, although I'm afraid some of your questions I can't answer - as for having children for example, I don't want kids and neither does my wife, so that isn't an issue for us.

And yeah, I believe it's called 'selection bias' in sociology/psychology that you observed with Ashton Kutcher and his webbed feet, and with forums like this one. I suppose we all often see what we're looking for, and actively seek it out. I hope you find some peace soon anyway, please hit me up if you have any more questions, like I say, I'm afraid I can't answer a lot of them but I'll do my best.