It's just a pill that reduces my male sex hormones which are supposed to be there...
I want to keep my hair of course..but i have so many reasons why i don't want to take finasteride.
I thought exactly like you 3 years ago.
My hairline is more receded and I have lost a ton of density. All I can think about is how I could have filled in my hairline and maintained my thick hair if only I started 3 years ago.
Now, it may be too late for me. Even if it isn't, I will never get what I could have gotten.
People told me the same thing 3 years ago when I was in your position and I scoffed at their insistence to take a drug that would "mess with my male hormones".
I understand now why they said what they said.
You will try all the treatments- minoxidil, saw palmetto, nizoral, dermarollers, scakp massages, banging your head against the wall, handstands, biotin, whatever. Some of them will stave off the hairloss but none will stop it like finasteride.
And what will happen is you will eventually cave out of desperation and try finasteride 3-4 years later and at that point you will be fighting an uphill battle.
I'm really not trying to be dramatic here. Many others will back me up in what I am saying- if you truly want to keep your hair, you're going to try finasteride at some point. Trying it later will provide you with no benefits and only deep, sincere regret.
Btw...i notice that your regime is nizoral ×2 per week. This is something i do use. How does it help for you?
My hair is thinner than ever. Really bummed. I have no clue if it's the male pattern baldness suddenly crossing the line and I didn't notice, or it could be a combination of a nizoral/minoxidil shed. I quit minoxidil back in october because it didn't seem to do anything for me and I think it caused a shed....it very well could have helped me maintain, but I wanted to quit it before I start finasteride. Believe it or not, I have been putting off ordering finasteride because I'm so depressed that I feel like it won't save my hair at this point. Please don't become me. I know you're worried about finasteride, but there will be a point where you'll look in the mirror and feel absolute horror and confusion and a total loss of control, and suddenly all the sides in the world won't matter.
If you get sides from finasteride- legit sides- just quit. Permanent sides only happen in like .5% of patients, and those were the guys that kept taking it for months despite the sides. If you feel that worried, ask people on this forum.
Bottom line: if you ever think you will try finasteride, just try it now. Don't wait. if you are positive the risk is never going to be worth it, I suggest you start shaving your head now and accept it. Don't fool yourself because you will watch your hair slowly die over the years and it will be way worse than you can even imagine.