6 Month finasteride Frustration

[Maelstrom]

I've been on 1mg of finasteride since early Aug '09. I haven't noticed any side-effects and my shedding seems about the same as before. In short I haven't noticed anything from taking finasteride. My hair continues to look slightly worse as I was a Norwood 3.5 but feel I'm now approaching a NW4.

I keep hoping that things will improve in the next 6-9 months but frankly I'm losing hope regarding Propecia. I'm unsure what to do next. Either:

1) Leave things be and see what happens with finasteride only in the next 6 months and then add minoxidil.

2) Add minoxidil now hoping it'll combine well with the finasteride and use the 'kitchen sink approach'.

I'm reluctant to add minoxidil due to my scalp psoriasis and not wanting to do anything to make that flare up. OTOH I'm getting a bit desperate to see some improvement.

Any of you guys have thoughts about when to add minoxidil to your regimen?

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Mods - please move this if you think it more appropriate in General Hair Loss Related Discussions or Growth Stimulants.

 

[bezerra]

Without pics of before and after we can't argue about that.

Some people take up to 2 years to see effects of Propecia, after that time, if you still does not see your hair get any better or at least slow down the balding process then you should, for sure, add minoxidil to your regimen.

Also, I strongly recommend you Nizoral 2%. It'll make your scalp a lot healthier and some studies even proven that it has an anti androgenic effect. It won't hurt you, that's just a shampoo, no side effects at all (at least for the big majority of people).

Good luck and if you have photos, post to us!

 

[Hoppi]

Sounds like your hair loss is just quite aggressive ._.

I know NOTHING about Minoxidil.

However, I'm going to recommend what I often do, and say it might be worth coming at this from some more angles as well, and maybe boosting your DHT reduction on your scalp.

If you grab these and possibly these, you will be enriching your hair follicles and reducing your sebum. This can't be bad.

I know the Coenzyme A is expensive but it may not be essential. Coenzyme A is fantastic for regulating sebum production.

Then there are a few handfuls of ways to reduce scalp DHT, but I'm afraid that's not an area of expertise for me. I've heard good things about stuff like spironolactone cream. It might be worth waiting for someone else to post to get info about that kind of stuff, I'm still learning myself!

Good luck though man. If it's aggressive, you have two options. You can give up and go for a hair system or something, or get aggressive too and keep throwing the right things at it!

You could even try taking some beta-sitosterol in with your Finasteride, as there are theories this can help as they both work in different ways. Just don't overdo it as they both lower DHT.

Don't worry, there is more you can do!


oh, EDIT -- Alpecin is a weird one as many people claim it does nothing for them. The affects of topical caffeine on hair follicles is not really a proven thing I don't think... I'd be very interested to hear more on it though

 

[G k]

Are you ordering your finasteride online? Could it be bunk finasteride?

 

[Guest]

In the same boat as this guy. Getting proscar 5mg prescription from a physician.

 

[Maelstrom]

Thanks for replies guys.

I'm already using Nizoral shampoo, although it can be difficult to fit it all in as I need to use plenty of coal tar shampoos to keep my scalp psoriasis under some kind of control.

I get my Propecia from Boots chemist here in the UK so it's genuine.

I wouldnt say my hairloss is aggressive particularly. I am 36 yo and was a Norwood 2 at 25yo. It's just that every 6 months or so it seems to get just a little bit worse y'know.

I would like to post pictures. I know I should really, but with all my problems inc. a possible case of BDD...I'm real reluctant to. If I pluck up enough courage though, then I just might.