Can Finasteride Stop Working After Two Years?

[LonelyWolf]

Hello everyone,

I am currently going through a hard time, so I would be grateful if someone could help me. I have been taking minoxidil 5mg and finasteride 1mg every day for two years. It has gone tremendously well and my head was full of healthy hair. However, this past two months I have lost a lot of hair and I am probably the same or worst than I used to be. I have read that if you are taking finasteride you should not loose hair, especially if it was working well for more than a year. I have been told that minoxidil is the medicine that could be causing trouble. Could any of these things be possible? From what I have read from the internet, it seems rather unbelivable that finasteride looses its effectiveness after so much time working well. I am thinking of the possibility that my private clinic has given me less effective medicine so I buy a more expensive program. I would only like to know if it is normal for finasteride and minoxidil to loose its effectiveness so suddenly. Thank you in advance.

 

[Kambrira159]

The effects do diminish over time as you build tolerance.

 

[Hair-pun]

It's true that the effects of finasteride do wear off, though two years seems quite a short time for this, particularly if you had initial regrowth. I had no regrowth but maintained for 9 years. Have you checked that it's not a generic finasteride that you're on? Some say generics can be less effective. Always stick to brand name propecia for peace of mind. It's possibly just a shed, due to synchronisation of your hair's cycles, but don't get too comfortable thinking this. I would say give it a maximum of 4 months from when you noticed a reduction in density, book in an appointment with a derm and get a prescription for dutasteride adding one capsule per week. Give this 3 months keeping a close eye on hair fall (maybe buy a shower hair catcher) if no reduction in hair fall it may be a good idea to increase to every other day dutasteride or even failing 0.5mg. I've been quite badly burned by leaving it too long to switch to dutasteride so I might be a bit trigger happy with it- it would be interesting to see what others say...

 

[LonelyWolf]

It's true that the effects of finasteride do wear off, though two years seems quite a short time for this, particularly if you had initial regrowth. I had no regrowth but maintained for 9 years. Have you checked that it's not a generic finasteride that you're on? Some say generics can be less effective. Always stick to brand name propecia for peace of mind. It's possibly just a shed, due to synchronisation of your hair's cycles, but don't get too comfortable thinking this. I would say give it a maximum of 4 months from when you noticed a reduction in density, book in an appointment with a derm and get a prescription for dutasteride adding one capsule per week. Give this 3 months keeping a close eye on hair fall (maybe buy a shower hair catcher) if no reduction in hair fall it may be a good idea to increase to every other day dutasteride or even failing 0.5mg. I've been quite badly burned by leaving it too long to switch to dutasteride so I might be a bit trigger happy with it- it would be interesting to see what others say...

Thank you so much for your valuable advice. I am currently staying in Japan for a few years, so I am going to a private Androgenetic Alopecia clinic here. They give me their own medicine which is supposed to contain finasteride 1mg and minoxidil 5mg. Now, I stopped taking these two medicines and switched to their so-called medicine "D" which is supposed to contain Dutasteride 0.5mg. I am just very skeptical of their medicine after what has happened, I am thinking of importing Dutasteride. I also stopped taking minoxidil in pills and bought a cream that contains minoxidil 5%.
I have attached a picture of the evolution: the one below is from six months ago, the one above is from just a week ago.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Hair-pun]

You’re very fortunate in that you still have lots of hair to work with- but it is essential that you maintain this by acting quickly. It could well be that their meds are just not any good so get on proper Propecia ASAP. dutasteride is licensed for hair loss in Japan so you should be able to get Avodart (May be called Zagallo) from a proper bricks-and-mortar chemist. Get rogaine foam minoxidil if you can too, it’s great and very practical day to day

 

[Hair-pun]

Also never switch from dutasteride back to finasteride, you will get a massive shed due to upregulation

 

[LonelyWolf]

You’re very fortunate in that you still have lots of hair to work with- but it is essential that you maintain this by acting quickly. It could well be that their meds are just not any good so get on proper Propecia ASAP. dutasteride is licensed for hair loss in Japan so you should be able to get Avodart (May be called Zagallo) from a proper bricks-and-mortar chemist. Get rogaine foam minoxidil if you can too, it’s great and very practical day to day

Thank you so so much for your fast reply and all the useful information. I have been going through some very stressful days so I really appreciate your help.
Do you think it is possible to regain the hair I have lost these past months if I drink Dutasteride for a long time? Also, do the pictures look like a seasonal shedding? In any case, I have already switched to Dutasteride so there's no way back. I'll stop buying the medicines in the private clinic (it's all too suspicious) and start buying them from a chemist, as you recommend.

 

[Hair-pun]

No problem at all- I think that everyone here will agree that hair loss is extremely traumatic and upredictable- unfortunately even the doctors know very little about its cause or how different people will respond to treatment. Truthfully it is impossible for anyone to say whether the hair you have lost will grow back, it is just trial and error. At least you know that by taking dutasteride you are hitting it with the strongest weapon we have. I doubt it is seasonal shedding, I hoped for this too for my situation but it never came back and I have just continued to lose hair- for me I think that I've just had my run and there is now nothing that I can do to stabilise my hair loss. The most important thing for you to remember is that none of this is your fault so don't beat yourself up about it if your hair doesn't come back. You are doing the best that you can

 

[LonelyWolf]

I appreciate your advice. I really owe you one.
I am also sorry for your hair loss. Aren't you considering a hair transplant? Let's hope that sooner or later a pill even more effective than Dutasteride comes out.
I have checked the Zagallo prices in Japan and they are like four times more expensive than the price of Avodart in England. Is it safe to buy the medicine online?
Sorry for asking so many questions. I hope you don't mind.

 

[Hair-pun]

I appreciate your advice. I really owe you one.
I am also sorry for your hair loss. Aren't you considering a hair transplant? Let's hope that sooner or later a pill even more effective than Dutasteride comes out.
I have checked the Zagallo prices in Japan and they are like four times more expensive than the price of Avodart in England. Is it safe to buy the medicine online?
Sorry for asking so many questions. I hope you don't mind.

Yes you could buy it from the UK, the independentlypharmacy seems to be a reliable site. I think a transplant will be a waste of time for me as I’m diffuse and can’t stabilise my losses

 

[LonelyWolf]

I'm sorry to hear that. I guess when it's diffuse alopecia a hair transplant unfortunately won't work effectively.
I've already ordered Avodart from the site you recommended me. Thanks a lot.
Do you think I will experience even more shedding with Dutasteride at first? I feel like I'm loosing even more hair. It could also be because Finasteride only takes a few days to disappear from our systems but it takes months for Dutasteride to reach effectiveness, so we experience shedding more rapidly?

 

[Ollie]

Also never switch from dutasteride back to finasteride, you will get a massive shed due to upregulation

upregulation / down-regulation shouldn't be significant and re-regulation if it does happen normally happens in a week or 2.

 

[Hair-pun]

I guess it could be due to other factors that I don’t understand but I know for certain that three months after switching back to finasteride from dutasteride I had a terrible shed and lost 30% of my hair. Switching back to dutasteride couldn’t even control it and I continue to lose hair rapidly 6 months later.. don’t do it!

 

[Hair-pun]

I'm sorry to hear that. I guess when it's diffuse alopecia a hair transplant unfortunately won't work effectively.
I've already ordered Avodart from the site you recommended me. Thanks a lot.
Do you think I will experience even more shedding with Dutasteride at first? I feel like I'm loosing even more hair. It could also be because Finasteride only takes a few days to disappear from our systems but it takes months for Dutasteride to reach effectiveness, so we experience shedding more rapidly?

I didn’t really shed the first time I started Avodart (I just wish I’d stayed on it and not switched back to finasteride for 4 months). Continue to take finasteride for 6 months with dutasteride just for peace of mind

 

[LonelyWolf]

I didn’t really shed the first time I started Avodart (I just wish I’d stayed on it and not switched back to finasteride for 4 months). Continue to take finasteride for 6 months with dutasteride just for peace of mind

Got it. I will never switch back to Finasteride. I will also buy Finasteride tomorrow so I can take it together with Avodart for six months.
Thanks a lot for all the help, hair-pun.

 

[dm900]

Avodart is basically the last and best line of defense for hairloss. Once you start it, you’re on it for good, or as long as you want to keep your hair. Others will disagree with me, but I’m not convinced that anyone can lose a significant amount of hair on the drug.

 

[NorwoodingMyWay]

The effects do diminish over time as you build tolerance.

It doesn't work like that. You can't build tolerance to 5ARIs because they are always doing what they are supposed to do (block 5AR types). It's probable that his follicles got more sensitive due to AR upregulation, and let's not forget that Testosterone/hormonal imbalance will still cause hairloss not just DHT. He should do a hormone test check up to see his levels, there are some people reporting negligible DHT reduction on 5ARIs..

 

[NorwoodingMyWay]

Avodart is basically the last and best line of defense for hairloss. Once you start it, you’re on it for good, or as long as you want to keep your hair. Others will disagree with me, but I’m not convinced that anyone can lose a significant amount of hair on the drug.

It's not the best nor the last. You can still lose your hair on it due to Testosterone and or hormonal imbalance.

 

[dm900]

It's not the best nor the last. You can still lose your hair on it due to Testosterone and or hormonal imbalance.

Unfortunately if you’re losing your hair to the spiked levels of testosterone, then your hair would have been worse off without the meds in the first place. As for general imbalance, yeah probably true.

 

[avocado67]

I took finasteride for 18 years and the results peaked in Year 1 and maintained till year 9. After year 9, there was gradual loss at the hairline.

So, yes, the efficacy of finasteride is diminished over time.