I can't recall exactly because it was a very stressful time, but I would say after 2 weeks I started feeling sides, I was absolutely fine until then and it was not gradual. I woke up one day feeling like sh*t and just "off".
I however was desperate for something to work so I kept at it, I want to say like 2 to 2.5 months it might have been three, but I recall that by the time I gave up I was more of a mess than when I started it and I am honestly glad I got off it.
I went back to using a concentrated beta sitosterol complex (the active ingredient found in saw palmetto only concentrated) and I wish I could find the webpage but there was some literature talking about how beta sitosterol worked as a slightly less potent alternative to finasteride only with dramatically less reported side effects, and that is my experience.
I use "new roots" brand sterols and sterolins complex and have done so on and off for 10 years, it was what helped my hair recover from a patterned and sudden hair loss event in my late 20s.
I had virtually no side effects at all when I was in my late 20s but as I approached 40 it did because even though my testosterone is still clinically high, "too high" as my doctor has stated - my body for some reason is not converting as much testosterone to estrogen, and I think that's basically the kiss of death for people who take finasteride and it doesn't work out for them.
This is something the makers of finasteride should research but I believe I am correct in this, that those who do not respond well to finasteride still have low estrogen levels after taking the medication and thus feel essentially like they have menopause.
My estrogen went up dramatically although not with any serious side effects at all in my late 20s after being on the beta sitosterol for a while and it only helped my skin and hair, I didn't have gyno or excessive body fat, I just had my lovely mop of hair back and healthy, hydrated skin.
These days I have to either take a beta sitosterol capsule every other day or half dose it. I am now a firm believer that estrogen must shore up any loss of DHT for the majority of finasteride users to see positive benefits otherwise you just feel menopausal. My hypothesis now is that people who are androgen sensitive have some need for DHT that testosterone itself cannot fill on its own, estrogen paradoxically must fill the hormonal balance otherwise you just feel like garbage and your skin and hair look like sh*t.
Estrogen makes hair grow back period, limiting testosterone and DHT is only half the battle. I am not talking sh*t about finasteride, it's basically a life saver for some people who have androgenic hair loss, but I believe there is a not insignificant portion of men who simply don't have the hormonal profile for it to work and thus you get my result.
