5 Months On finasteride Results - Getting Nervous (and Questions)

[Wisemiller]

Started finasteride on January 1, 2018 and have a few questions -

I am not thinning as many thick hairs as I was earlier, they are now mostly the thin ones. Does this mean anything?

I had large sheds in February and May, is there supposed to be two sheds?

See first a picture of when I started finasteride, and then a picture now. The third picture is of the hairline front as it is now



The crown is thinning too but its not as noticeable. I have always had a very high forehead since I was a teenager so I don't mind the hairline where it is, but it has gotten very thin and see-through, so I am just aiming to have it stop shedding. Does it look too late to save my hairline?

I have been reading these forums for months, and for a drug that's supposed to work 85% of the time, I'm not seeing very encouraging posts and I'm getting nervous here that it might not work. A lot of the success stories I do happen to find involve very young men (under 25). I'm 32, am I too old for it to work?

I have also used minoxidil for a year, but only once a day application (I used twice a day for the first 7 months but didn't slow anything down), and nizoral shampoo. Family history of mild balding only (no NW4s). I don't have any side effects except sometimes itchy scalp (however I itch much less than I did months ago.)

Thanks for the input I still consider myself very new at this.

 

[reyl]

I don't have your before pictures for reference but it looks like your hairline is thickening. Check again in 4 months and you'll probably have improvement or a consistent stabilization which would be considered a success.

 

[Derelict]

still too early to see maximum results. Give it a year and reassess. Some people gain even after a year but you should get a fair idea after a year where your hair is going.

 

[Obsessive]

Started finasteride on January 1, 2018 and have a few questions -

I am not thinning as many thick hairs as I was earlier, they are now mostly the thin ones. Does this mean anything?

I had large sheds in February and May, is there supposed to be two sheds?

See first a picture of when I started finasteride, and then a picture now. The third picture is of the hairline front as it is now

View attachment 89333 View attachment 89334 View attachment 89335

The crown is thinning too but its not as noticeable. I have always had a very high forehead since I was a teenager so I don't mind the hairline where it is, but it has gotten very thin and see-through, so I am just aiming to have it stop shedding. Does it look too late to save my hairline?

I have been reading these forums for months, and for a drug that's supposed to work 85% of the time, I'm not seeing very encouraging posts and I'm getting nervous here that it might not work. A lot of the success stories I do happen to find involve very young men (under 25). I'm 32, am I too old for it to work?

I have also used minoxidil for a year, but only once a day application (I used twice a day for the first 7 months but didn't slow anything down), and nizoral shampoo. Family history of mild balding only (no NW4s). I don't have any side effects except sometimes itchy scalp (however I itch much less than I did months ago.)

Thanks for the input I still consider myself very new at this.

Can you provide an update on your finasteride experience? Many of us are in your situ of waiting for results after many months.

 

[hz123456]

The now photo is blurry so it’s hard to make out exact progress... but I’d say it looks better than the before. In the before the hair in the hairline looks somewhat sparse, but it’s not the easiest comparison as the now photo is too blurry to give a direct comparison

 

[Wisemiller]

Can you provide an update on your finasteride experience? Many of us are in your situ of waiting for results after many months.

Unfortunately I do not think the big 3 is working even now at the 10.5 month. I feel that I don't shed in the shower as much, but just seems to look worse to me, the itch remains as strong as ever, and hair feels WAY thinner. I promised myself I will wait the year (Dec 31) before I examine the before/after pics and yeah I will post it then. I have been fairly open about my finasteride use, and in this last few months I didn't realize how many of my obviously bald/balding peers are using/have used finasteride. I thought I found the secret cure but nope, everyone has used it before and it didn't work on anyone. Even my pharmacist says that over the last three years she has worked there, she has watched all her finasteride regulars get balder and balder with every 3 month refill. No side effects at all though, but at this point I'm going to have to say this just does nothing, the drug is nothing, and there's a reason it is hardly advertised and no one cares about it.

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

I began taking finasteride when I was 34, roughly 11 years ago. I had 3 or 4 sheds in my first year of finasteride and my hair did thicken up and I got some growth by the second year. I've had many sheds in the past 11 years and for the most part it always grows back. All three of my younger brothers are NW4 vertex and NW5 vertex. I told each of them when they started to lose hair at 33-34 years old a to try finasteride or minoxidil. I practically begged them and used the older one as a reference of what would happen if they don't begin treatment. They had their false reasons and excuses and they regret not trying.

I'll let you know how I explained it to my brothers. If you are genetically predisposed to be a NW5, then you are going to be a NW5. We now have treatments that can "possibly" change that or at least prolong it, so why not at least give it a try. If you get any side effects that you are not willing to live with then stop taking it; simple as that. At least you can say you tried and it didn't work for you rather than looking back and regretting not taking action.

If you aren't getting any sides then you should continue to take it past your personal "deadline." Do you want to be one of those people who stop taking finasteride early on only to find out it was actually helping them? I see too many people who give up way too soon. I don't see much difference in your hair in the side view pictures which is not a bad thing considering you started treatment over 10 months ago for a reason. You mentioned the type of hairs that you are shedding and to be honest I would be more concerned with the amount of hairs you shed at this point. You mentioned that you shed less which is a definite positive. Our hair cycle is excruciatingly slow. As long as your follicles aren't dead, then they have the potential to produce hair, but it takes time.