Can't Tell How If Thinning, Receding, Or Both?

[Thins]

so I know it's only been 3 days since I've taken the medication, but two things I've noticed right off the bat were: I got acne, which I rarely get, and they're the deep cystic kind...and that I've had trouble sleeping since day 2 of the medication, are these symptoms because of my hormones changing?

 

[Sliceofbread]

so I know it's only been 3 days since I've taken the medication, but two things I've noticed right off the bat were: I got acne, which I rarely get, and they're the deep cystic kind...and that I've had trouble sleeping since day 2 of the medication, are these symptoms because of my hormones changing?

Some say it’s 5ar1 going crazy to make up for the lack of 5ar2 or a brief reflex hyperandrogenicity and should pass. If it never does may be a bad sign.

I had the sleep problem as well on propecia, woke up at 4 am every time

 

[Thins]

Some say it’s 5ar1 going crazy to make up for the lack of 5ar2 or a brief reflex hyperandrogenicity and should pass. If it never does may be a bad sign.

I had the sleep problem as well on propecia, woke up at 4 am every time

thanks for the reply! did your symptoms ever go away or are you off the medication? I honestly didn't think side effects would occur after only 4 days since I've been relaxed and busy since taking it but I definitely notice the quality of my sleep changing, and I workout 4 times a week.

 

[Sliceofbread]

thanks for the reply! did your symptoms ever go away or are you off the medication? I honestly didn't think side effects would occur after only 4 days since I've been relaxed and busy since taking it but I definitely notice the quality of my sleep changing, and I workout 4 times a week.

I stopped it, oily skin went away and sleep is great unless I put topical Zyrtec on

 

[Thins]

I stopped it, oily skin went away and sleep is great unless I put topical Zyrtec on

I see, my skin was already oily to begin with but now it's even more oily haha and I never get pimples so this giant zit really surprised me. Anyone else care to share their experience so far? It's only been 4 days but I don't really like the changes I'm seeing so far, may just stop it and try again once my hairloss gets to a point where it's actually noticeable.

 

[Mushu]

I see, my skin was already oily to begin with but now it's even more oily haha and I never get pimples so this giant zit really surprised me. Anyone else care to share their experience so far? It's only been 4 days but I don't really like the changes I'm seeing so far, may just stop it and try again once my hairloss gets to a point where it's actually noticeable.

I recall getting a bit oilier but now I'm less oilier. My face/hair used to be oily. I use to break out pimples on my hairline occasionally and mostly near the temple area. Now I rarely do. I also used to get pimples on my chin occasionally, but much less now. I've only remember two times 1 pimple broke out on my hairline since taking Finasteride. So it did the opposite for me.

It's strange you have a hard time sleeping. For me, it made me sleepier/tired. I got a deeper sleep from it.

These sides sound tolerable and personally I'd ride it out. But it's up to you, if you feel you're okay with letting it go for now.

 

[Thins]

I recall getting a bit oilier but now I'm less oilier. My face/hair used to be oily. I use to break out pimples on my hairline occasionally and mostly near the temple area. Now I rarely do. I also used to get pimples on my chin occasionally, but much less now. I've only remember two times 1 pimple broke out on my hairline since taking Finasteride. So it did the opposite for me.

It's strange you have a hard time sleeping. For me, it made me sleepier/tired. I got a deeper sleep from it.

These sides sound tolerable and personally I'd ride it out. But it's up to you, if you feel you're okay with letting it go for now.

So I've actually decided to stop taking finasteride for the time being. I thought I was mentally prepared for it but after taking it for a few days the thought of taking a hormone altering medication for the rest of my life (or essentially many years) didn't really sit well with me. I think the mental stress and anxiety of me thinking of all the negatives this drug could potentially have long-term in my body most likely caused me to have trouble sleeping for the past few days. Not sure if the medication could've caused mild insomina within only 4 days, but the acne for sure I know was a sign that something was happening to my body, since I NEVER get acne on my face (haven't had pimples since I was 22) and these are the big deep in your skin kind. I have 3 on my face after taking finasteride and that kinda kills my confidence more than my slowly thinning hairline haha! Other than that I've had no side effects in the short 4 days I took Proscar.

I think I will revisit the thought of taking it once I am more mentally prepared and accepting of taking this medication, or if my hair really gets to a point where I can't handle the loss. I'll be seeing my dermatologist again around October/November and if he says it's getting a lot worse I'll start the medication with a more firm conviction.

I know it's better to start early but I just want to postpone taking it for as long as possible, no drug no matter how safe can be good for the body when used for a long period of time. I'm going to try and fix other things in my life such as my self-esteem and confidence (since hair is essentially a big reason for my confidence) and try to enjoy life other than always trying to keep up appearances. Won't deny hair is important for first impressions and how people initially view you but it's your character that ultimately matters in the end.

TLDR; Trouble sleeping + cystic acne within a few days of taking finsteride. Will reassess my hair in a few months with the dermatologist, if it's a lot worse within only a few months then I'll consider taking the medication. Stress and anxiety of taking meds lifelong didn't sit right with me.

 

[abcdefg]

I know it's better to start early but I just want to postpone taking it for as long as possible, no drug no matter how safe can be good for the body when used for a long period of time. I'm going to try and fix other things in my life such as my self-esteem and confidence (since hair is essentially a big reason for my confidence) and try to enjoy life other than always trying to keep up appearances. Won't deny hair is important for first impressions and how people initially view you but it's your character that ultimately matters in the end.

True. Medication is not the answer for everyone. Every drug has sides, but if the sides are minor than its debatable how unsafe it is for the body. The drug was modeled after men that live full healthy normal lives lacking this exact enzyme propecia inhibits so its not just a random shot in the dark.
Its safety is debatable, but saying its evil poison or its perfect are just untrue extremes. It has pros and cons some known and some unknown. You have to weigh this decision yourself. A lot of men have used it successfully for many years now, and have not died prematurely so it cant be that horribly toxic.

 

[Thins]

True. Medication is not the answer for everyone. Every drug has sides, but if the sides are minor than its debatable how unsafe it is for the body. The drug was modeled after men that live full healthy normal lives lacking this exact enzyme propecia inhibits so its not just a random shot in the dark.
Its safety is debatable, but saying its evil poison or its perfect are just untrue extremes. It has pros and cons some known and some unknown. You have to weigh this decision yourself. A lot of men have used it successfully for many years now, and have not died prematurely so it cant be that horribly toxic.

definitely. I am open to taking the medication, but would like to hold off on using something that is a lifelong commitment for as long as possible. I know that people say starting early and catching hairloss as early as possible is the smart choice but for now I'd like to say that the situation isn't as dire yet (this'll probably bite me in the *** once I start losing craptons of hair though haha), but if I can hold off using medication for an aspect such as appearances then I'd like to for as long as I can. I definitely agree that the medication has it's ups and downs but ultimately it's how it affects the individual. If it makes you happy and creates better quality of life for you, go for it, but if it causes you stress and anxiety, wait until you are either more mentally prepared (like I'm trying to do), or you've gotten over how your hairloss affects your life.

 

[marcos334]

definitely. I am open to taking the medication, but would like to hold off on using something that is a lifelong commitment for as long as possible. I know that people say starting early and catching hairloss as early as possible is the smart choice but for now I'd like to say that the situation isn't as dire yet (this'll probably bite me in the *** once I start losing craptons of hair though haha), but if I can hold off using medication for an aspect such as appearances then I'd like to for as long as I can. I definitely agree that the medication has it's ups and downs but ultimately it's how it affects the individual. If it makes you happy and creates better quality of life for you, go for it, but if it causes you stress and anxiety, wait until you are either more mentally prepared (like I'm trying to do), or you've gotten over how your hairloss affects your life.

yep you could hold off bro , i think ur hair looks fine in my opinion

thinning a lil doesnt mean u will be bald next year or stuffs

 

[Thins]

yep you could hold off bro , i think ur hair looks fine in my opinion

thinning a lil doesnt mean u will be bald next year or stuffs

thanks man and yeah definitely I know but my dad lost a significant amount of hair starting at the same age as me until 30 so I'd like to try and nip it in the bud as soon as possible. I think I'll muster up the courage to try finasteride again in 2-3 months after reassessing my hair with the dermatologist If I do get any sides I'll try and at least stick with this medication for a month and ride it out to see if things improve or get worse. As of now I'm not worrying too much about my hair but I know some crazy shed will eventually kick in that'll bring me back to square one LOL.

 

[Sliceofbread]

thanks man and yeah definitely I know but my dad lost a significant amount of hair starting at the same age as me until 30 so I'd like to try and nip it in the bud as soon as possible. I think I'll muster up the courage to try finasteride again in 2-3 months after reassessing my hair with the dermatologist If I do get any sides I'll try and at least stick with this medication for a month and ride it out to see if things improve or get worse. As of now I'm not worrying too much about my hair but I know some crazy shed will eventually kick in that'll bring me back to square one LOL.

I’m in the same boat as you dude... got oily as balls skin and some shedding got scared and dropped it (actually started and stopped like 3 times... im a dumbass). Giving myself sometime for hormones to normalize and to muster up some courage. Will probably start seti first as well. I think my hair is going faster than yours though...

Hang in there man. Balding sucks hard dick but I think we can beat it. Hoping both of us will make it to 40 as full heads

 

[Thins]

I’m in the same boat as you dude... got oily as balls skin and some shedding got scared and dropped it (actually started and stopped like 3 times... im a dumbass). Giving myself sometime for hormones to normalize and to muster up some courage. Will probably start seti first as well. I think my hair is going faster than yours though...

Hang in there man. Balding sucks hard dick but I think we can beat it. Hoping both of us will make it to 40 as full heads

definitely understand your pain...it's a bit frightening to stay on a hormone altering drug for a long period of time, but hopefully we don't experience many side effects once we stick with it or have stronger minds haha!

my hair has definitely thinned out more since the initial pictures I posted but it's still unnoticeable to the trained eye, it makes me more self-conscious though as all my friends show no signs of balding :/

 

[Thins]

Update: started 0.5mg generic finasteride every other day on August 1st. Changed to 0.5mg every day starting September 1, so far no changes noted except for some increased shedding and more thinning, especially on the left temple side since the last time I posted pictures, will keep it updated when I reach the 4-6 month mark!

 

[ToLGuy]

Hey Thins, how´s your progress going? Good to hear this time you have no sides. I think most of the reported sides here are cases of nocebo effect.

 

[Thins]

Hey Thins, how´s your progress going? Good to hear this time you have no sides. I think most of the reported sides here are cases of nocebo effect.

so far no progress, my hair is actually getting a bit thinner on the left side. Hopefully I'm going through the shed phase that most people say they've went through before seeing progress. In terms of sides, in the first month I didn't have any ball ache but I did have some shooting groin pains that would come and go, but it eventually went away. Also I had some breast sensitivity/tenderness for the first month and a half that seems to have finally subsided in the past few weeks, so I'll see if I eventually move up to the recommended 1mg dose if I feel okay after 3 months!

 

[Tommybommy1363]

Hey dude. This is sliceofbread. I asked for my other account to be banned and ended up making a new one. I’ve been on propecia since around 2.5 months ago. May hair improved but now I think I may be going through a shed... goodluck!

 

[Thins]

Hey dude. This is sliceofbread. I asked for my other account to be banned and ended up making a new one. I’ve been on propecia since around 2.5 months ago. May hair improved but now I think I may be going through a shed... goodluck!

hey! awesome to hear from you again, I guess we're both on similar timelines at the moment I feel as though my hair was improving after the first month but now I'm going through a shed too...lots of hairs in the shower and after styling, here's hoping we both improve in the months to come! Keep me updated on your progress too!

 

[Zwillard90]

How's everything been going for you dude?

 

[Zwillard90]

Whats your hair looking like now?