Finasteride has killed my hair!

[Artas]

It has gotten to the point that where I cannot even style my hair anymore, it has gotten unbelievably thin ALL over. I am definite a diffuse, 4 months in and it has made my hair look sh*t. I know some members here have advised me to carry on with it, but how do I know it won't turn me completely bald... The only other reason why this may have happened, is either because I have gotten very stressed or something wrong with my throid... just seems a bit strange this has happened halfway taking finasteride...

What can I do? Is it possible that finasteride can have a reverse effect or something... ):

 

[StartingTreatment]

Are you noticing the sheds? Like, are you seeing hair on your hands and pillow, computer keyboard, in the shower, etc? And how bad was your baldness before?

I went through some pretty gnarly initial sheds on finasteride. By the two month point, I was seeing a really really good outline of a Norwood 5'ish/6 (that's no sh*t...thinning and loss on my crown and throughout the anterior portion of my scalp). I wasn't going smooth bald, but I could COMPLETELY see the outline of it throughout the entire top of my head where things looked so much thinner. It was driving me crazy, so I buzzed it.

Now that my buzz is growing back in, and I'm coming up on four months of treatment...the finasteride is kicking ***. I'm seeing some really good improvements in the crown of my head and at my temples/anterior scalp. At worst before treatment, I was a NW3/4ish. I think soon I'll be back to my NW2, and maybe MAYBE by the year (or two year) point...I could be back to my NW1. I'm hoping.

Maybe it's possible your shed cycle is like a month or two off? Like I said, my sheds were pretty rowdy. I was pretty worried about them too, because my hair wasn't THAT bad to start...but I was definitely thinning pretty well at my crown, and a little bit in my hairline/temple area receding (before starting finasteride).

And as far as your situation goes, four months really isn't that much time on finasteride. Not even half of what most doctors suggest before you make decisions to stop or continue (1 full year).

 

[sgtpep]

yeah i agree with the post above. just wait it out. you have nothing to lose. i'd rather be shaved than one of those noticeably bald people who try and cover it up.

take a look at my post, 2-3 month photos looks worse than when i started and it make my right temple recede pretty heavy. but after that cycle, my hair looks thicker than ever. i don't know how valid my in put is because i was only losing a very small part of my crown, but the point is, i started taking fina, and my temple receded, and now its coming back, aswell as my crown.
how much are you taking?

 

[TheGrayMan2001]

It's helping my hair. Sorry.

 

[Artas]

Are you noticing the sheds? Like, are you seeing hair on your hands and pillow, computer keyboard, in the shower, etc? And how bad was your baldness before?

I went through some pretty gnarly initial sheds on finasteride. By the two month point, I was seeing a really really good outline of a Norwood 5'ish/6 (that's no sh*t...thinning and loss on my crown and throughout the anterior portion of my scalp). I wasn't going smooth bald, but I could COMPLETELY see the outline of it throughout the entire top of my head where things looked so much thinner. It was driving me crazy, so I buzzed it.

Now that my buzz is growing back in, and I'm coming up on four months of treatment...the finasteride is kicking ***. I'm seeing some really good improvements in the crown of my head and at my temples/anterior scalp. At worst before treatment, I was a NW3/4ish. I think soon I'll be back to my NW2, and maybe MAYBE by the year (or two year) point...I could be back to my NW1. I'm hoping.

Maybe it's possible your shed cycle is like a month or two off? Like I said, my sheds were pretty rowdy. I was pretty worried about them too, because my hair wasn't THAT bad to start...but I was definitely thinning pretty well at my crown, and a little bit in my hairline/temple area receding (before starting finasteride).

And as far as your situation goes, four months really isn't that much time on finasteride. Not even half of what most doctors suggest before you make decisions to stop or continue (1 full year).

I noticed the sheds for a short while, but right now I am not shedding as much.

2 weeks ago I could style my hair and it would feel and appear quite thick, but then after I showered a week a go. I did everything as normal... add mouse to my hair, blow dried my hair, applied wax and it just looked thin, lifeless and flat. I got in such a state

My scalp still itches and I do shed a bit when I comb my hair, but when I started finasteride I tried not to notice the shedding. Whenever I combed my hair I would not look in the sink. I'd just carry on and comb it, but I think i might have suffered sheds 1-3 months into finasteride.

I really hope it grows back thicker, I mean I am only 18. Should I get a buzz cut? (it really wouldn't suit me) Or shall I leave my hair as it is now?

The only thing I can do now, is use a good concealer to help make my hair look fuller. This has knocked my confidence down so much. I am praying that my hair will feel and look a lot thicker over the months.

yeah i agree with the post above. just wait it out. you have nothing to lose. i'd rather be shaved than one of those noticeably bald people who try and cover it up.

take a look at my post, 2-3 month photos looks worse than when i started and it make my right temple recede pretty heavy. but after that cycle, my hair looks thicker than ever. i don't know how valid my in put is because i was only losing a very small part of my crown, but the point is, i started taking fina, and my temple receded, and now its coming back, aswell as my crown.
how much are you taking?

I am taking 1.25mg of the generic proscar once in the morning every day. How long have you been on finasteride now?

 

[StartingTreatment]

I would stick with it I think. I know that's easier said than done when you're losing your hair to a possible shed, but what have you got to lose besides your hair?

I noticed my sheds a lot when they took place. I tried not to count hairs too, because it'll drive you crazy...but you kind of can't help it. Instead of 3-5 hairs on my pillow in the morning, it was more like 20-30.

My sheds were really cyclical too. 1st month in, big shed. About 2nd month in, even worse shed (that's when my hair was looking the worst and my "old man" outline/pattern was starting to show, so I buzzed it). And at 3 months, I had a smaller shed that wasn't as bad as the first two. And they all lasted about a week and a half and then slowed.

Like I said, 4 weeks coming up in about four days (and no signs of a new shed yet)...and the hair on my crown is really really showing signs of improvement. Not completely filled back in, but it's going that direction for sure.

The three things I told myself: A) I'm going to try not to count hairs because it'll drive me crazy. B) I'm going to stick this thing out for one full year no matter what, and only maybe expect results by 6 months (I'm ahead of that now). C) If it really gets bad, I'm just going to buzz it. Out of sight, out of mind...although, sometimes that might not work for people. I pull off the buzz ok, I'd just rather have my hair. Hope that all helps.

 

[nickypoos]

Finasteride in no way can damage your hair in the long-term. Just a shed.

 

[balanceguardian]

Bullshit finasteride can damage your hair.

You are unfortunately like myself a diffuse thinner which means your follicles are sensitive to testosterone aswell as DHT.

DHT tends to cause localised thinning but testosterone causes all over thinning.

Finasteride has uprated the free serum testosterone in your body and you are ultimately suffering a phenomenon known as hyperandrogenicity and your hair is in a constant state of Telogen Effluvium.

Get off finasteride asap. I quit about 3 months ago after being on it for a whole year. It destroyed my hair but thankfully in the last three months it has somewhat recovered.

finasteride isn't for everybody.

What now? After much reading i have come to the conclusion that hairloss needs to be tackled in a multifaceted way.

The main culprits are, primarily, Androgen sensitivity, and secondly inflamation. Stress levels and diet are important too but the first two is what you need to focus on.

It appears that many diffuse thinners are having great success with RU so i am currently looking into that.

Other than that, try aerobic excercises such as running at least twice a week as this increases SHBG levels which mops up some of the free testosterone.

Cut down on masturbation or sex (ejaculation) to at most once a week at least until your hair gets bettter and then you can perhaps move to no more than twice a week. (Its tough but you do want to keep your hair, right?)

Ejaculating your seminal fluids causes a deficiency in the zinc and other mineral levels which are vital for healthy hair. Also, immidiately after ejaculation the body spikes the levels of the more potent androgen, DHT, in order to compensate for the loss of testosterone levels in your blood stream.
Additionally the arousal process incresase inflamation and this is number two in the male pattern baldness villains so cutting down on masturbation really will help your hair.

Try to occupy your mind and try to keep busy as this will help reduce stress. Stress causes an increase in the cortisol levels in your blood stream. This in turn causes inflamation and this in number two in the male pattern baldness villains.

I really do believ that hairloss can be controlled and slowed down by everybody. Its just a case of finding out what is the major cause of your hairloss and then to make adjustments and carry out treatment accordingly.

DHT is not the only culprit and therefore finasteride is not the solution for everybody.

 

[Loolapalooza]

I was thinking about creating the same topic. I am on 3 month mark and my hair looks horrible as I´ve never imagined in my whole life. I started finasteride mainly because my temples were receding, but the rest of it was still good and dense. I was just a healthy-hair Norwood 0.5 scared of the advances at the temples.
Today I looked at the mirror and was horrified looking at my scalp. Yes, for the first time in my life, I could .. LOOK AT MY SCALP!!! GAAH!! I am loosing hair all over my head, mid, frontal, back, crown .. Areas that were super healthy at mark 0 are turning into a disaster of epic proportions!

I dont know what to do, I had similar effects on minoxidil.. I used it for 4 months and destroyed my hair with that cr#p. I stopped minoxidil and the hair seemed to get to normality.

I have stated before.. some people are just not ment to f"ck with their their metabolism, in any form whether it is minoxidil, finasteride... I am starting to think I am one of those persons!

But really .. what should I do???? Its getting really bad!!!
Stop, continue..please help ....

 

[sadscalp]

Bullshit finasteride can damage your hair.

You are unfortunately like myself a diffuse thinner which means your follicles are sensitive to testosterone aswell as DHT.

DHT tends to cause localised thinning but testosterone causes all over thinning.

I've never heard this before. Link? Doesn't make sense considering I've seen plenty of diffuse thinners respond well to finasteride.

 

[Artas]

I'm going to trust what most of you say on here and will carry on finasteride... just hope this hasn't destroyed my hair...

I'm starting to believe that I am suffering from side effects now

 

[nickypoos]

Bullshit finasteride can damage your hair.

You are unfortunately like myself a diffuse thinner which means your follicles are sensitive to testosterone aswell as DHT.

DHT tends to cause localised thinning but testosterone causes all over thinning.

Finasteride has uprated the free serum testosterone in your body and you are ultimately suffering a phenomenon known as hyperandrogenicity and your hair is in a constant state of Telogen Effluvium.

Get off finasteride asap. I quit about 3 months ago after being on it for a whole year. It destroyed my hair but thankfully in the last three months it has somewhat recovered.

finasteride isn't for everybody.

What now? After much reading i have come to the conclusion that hairloss needs to be tackled in a multifaceted way.

The main culprits are, primarily, Androgen sensitivity, and secondly inflamation. Stress levels and diet are important too but the first two is what you need to focus on.

It appears that many diffuse thinners are having great success with RU so i am currently looking into that.

Other than that, try aerobic excercises such as running at least twice a week as this increases SHBG levels which mops up some of the free testosterone.

Cut down on masturbation or sex (ejaculation) to at most once a week at least until your hair gets bettter and then you can perhaps move to no more than twice a week. (Its tough but you do want to keep your hair, right?)

Ejaculating your seminal fluids causes a deficiency in the zinc and other mineral levels which are vital for healthy hair. Also, immidiately after ejaculation the body spikes the levels of the more potent androgen, DHT, in order to compensate for the loss of testosterone levels in your blood stream.
Additionally the arousal process incresase inflamation and this is number two in the male pattern baldness villains so cutting down on masturbation really will help your hair.

Try to occupy your mind and try to keep busy as this will help reduce stress. Stress causes an increase in the cortisol levels in your blood stream. This in turn causes inflamation and this in number two in the male pattern baldness villains.

I really do believ that hairloss can be controlled and slowed down by everybody. Its just a case of finding out what is the major cause of your hairloss and then to make adjustments and carry out treatment accordingly.

DHT is not the only culprit and therefore finasteride is not the solution for everybody.

Well you obviously don't realise the 'slight' increase in testosterone is only raised within the few months of finasteride useage and actually declines over use.

Masturbation theory is bullshit, their is NO i repeat NO evidence to suggest ejaculation progresses hairloss. Very few people are deficient in any of the vitamins you claim.

Telogen Effluvium is however possible from finasteride, but not only is it very unlikely the damage to your hair is deffenaintly reversable.

Obvious fear monger is obvious.

 

[Artas]

Is erectile dysfunction a temporary and common side effect when on finasteride?

 

[Gene_Fighter]

Not to excessively worry you or anything, but you should read the popular thread by "IrishPride" (might be spelled "Irish_Pride", or something similar). He had a very bad reaction to propecia, and over the course of six months to a year he lost a large amount of his hair, going from a Norwood 1 to an advanced diffuse thinner. After he stopped however, his hair did fully recover.

It's important to note though that this is EXTREMELY rare, and also, IrishPride really didn't look like he needed propecia to begin with. So if you're a nw1 and perhaps just over-reacting, save yourself the time and money and get off propecia. Otherwise, stay with it, just watch closely. If the sheds continue and get worse over the next year, then I would say stop, depending on the severity of the loss.

 

[Gene_Fighter]

Is erectile dysfunction a temporary and common side effect when on finasteride?

Not at all common and more often than not temporary. Just get off finasteride and try a minoxidil solution (I use spectral DNC-L).

 

[Artas]

I'll wait maybe one month more... that side effect could be due to stress or something else. I don't want to draw conclusions just yet.

 

[Loolapalooza]

This statement is from Dr. Lee and may help people like us who experience massive shedding with propecia. I guess explains it all.

"Myth: Shedding is an indication that Propecia is working

It is not normal for Propecia to cause shedding at any time during its use. Binding the type 2 5-alpha reductase does not cause a shift from anagen to telogen, so no shedding would be expected to occur. If shedding does occur, it is not a sign that finasteride is working. There have been rare cases in which
patients have reported a telogen effluvium months after initiating treatment with finasteride. Apparently, a drop in the systemic levels of DHT had been the inciting event in causing these cases of telogen effluvium. Although a telogen effluvium usually begins somewhere between 11 and 16 weeks after the inciting event, it can start as soon as 4 weeks thereafter.

There are no specific numbers that we can put on the amount or percentages of hair shed in a telogen effluvium. The amount and degree of hair loss is dependent on the severity of the telogen effluvium. Rarely, will the amount of hair loss exceed 50%. The shedding is generally diffuse (global) and can affect areas of the scalp not usually affected by male pattern baldness. So, it would be common to note shedding from the sides and back of the head in addition to the crown, vertex and frontal areas. The shedding tends to be fairly symmetrical, but will be more noticeable in the areas affected by male pattern baldness, because there is a higher ratio of hairs in the telogen phase than in the other areas of the scalp not involved with male pattern baldness. The shedding lasts about 6 weeks. It usually takes 4 months to a year for the hair to grow back."

 

[StartingTreatment]

Well acknowledging the above article...all I can say is that I went through a few pretty nasty sheds when I started on finasteride during the first three months.

They weren't something that I was "thinking up" on my own that weren't existing either. They were legit sheds. They were "wake up and see hair on your pillow when you usually don't see much hair on your pillow" kind of sheds. They were "run your hand through your hair after you shampoo it, and see 20 hairs instead of 3 or 4 hairs" kind of sheds. They were "man...there's a lot of hair in front of me on my desk and keyboard" kind of sheds.

So either my treatment kicked it all into gear...or my "rowdy new shed" timing was right on with when I started on finasteride.

 

[Artas]

I haven't had severe sheds where my hair has came out after it has been washed and dried. I am shedding a lot less now, but I am worried that I may be experiencing some side effects... I can't win

 

[123000123]

the 'slight' increase in testosterone is only raised within the few months of finasteride useage and actually declines over use.

Where did you read this?