So at this stage I'm at crossroads w.r.t to whether or not I should continue finasteride.
Literally all my hairs have gotten thinner in the 4 months that I have been on finasteride, including sides and back of scalp. Especially the last 1.5 month had been dramatic. Diffusely thinning all over. I have had a big shed in the last weeks actually still seems to continue. Guessing I lost about half the density at this point. Pictures can be found in my previous thread: "Hair gotten much thinner after 4 month on Finasteride (What should I do?)".
I noticed that im shedding thin hair in areas that werent thin before starting finasteride. Moreover, I'm now shedding hairs that obviously show they were much thicker about 1.5 month ago (assuming that grows, indeed, half an ich per month). Also, the shedded hair rarely have this white bulb at the root that I used to have before treatment.
I've read stories from good responders saying it is best to ride out the shed and that is gets worse before it gets better. But I've also come across other stories of people who very much regret having continued taking finasteride after seeing such a shed and reduction in hair thickness, saying they should've followed their gut much sooner. A large amount of people in the latter group seemed to have other 'atypical' responses (such as increased libido, increased ejaculatory volume, more acne) and report cases of finasteride-induced Tellogen Effluvium or Reflex Hyperandrogenicity. Aside from really bad acne, I experience(d) the same.
Personally, I feel that I may have messed up with the dosage of topical finasteride, having used 8 months of supply in just 4 months. I had bumped up the dosage from 1mg ED to 2/3 mg ED in the last 1.5 month after noticing an increase in hair loss. Studies found that an oral dose of 5mg/day increases circulating levels of testosterone by approximately 10%, while local concentrations of testosterone in hair follicles increase by around 27 to 53%. At the same time, I assume other factors may have contributed to an increase in my testosterone level such as supplements (zinc, DIM, , ashwaghanda, whey protein, casein protein) and taking up weight lifting. I know DHT is the main enemy, but T is also blamed for affecting scalp hair follicles, right?
So, for those that turned out to be good responder to finasteride: what was was your shedding like in terms of hairs falling out? How many month into treatment did you start shedding? Was it a gradual shed or a sudden one? Did it continue? Were you only losing the weak ones? Were there hairs that seemed to be tapered quite a bit in a short amount of time? Did the hairs have a white bulb at the end? How much density did you lose? Were you experiencing 'atypical' sides right around the time of your your shed?
TLDR: title
Literally all my hairs have gotten thinner in the 4 months that I have been on finasteride, including sides and back of scalp. Especially the last 1.5 month had been dramatic. Diffusely thinning all over. I have had a big shed in the last weeks actually still seems to continue. Guessing I lost about half the density at this point. Pictures can be found in my previous thread: "Hair gotten much thinner after 4 month on Finasteride (What should I do?)".
I noticed that im shedding thin hair in areas that werent thin before starting finasteride. Moreover, I'm now shedding hairs that obviously show they were much thicker about 1.5 month ago (assuming that grows, indeed, half an ich per month). Also, the shedded hair rarely have this white bulb at the root that I used to have before treatment.
I've read stories from good responders saying it is best to ride out the shed and that is gets worse before it gets better. But I've also come across other stories of people who very much regret having continued taking finasteride after seeing such a shed and reduction in hair thickness, saying they should've followed their gut much sooner. A large amount of people in the latter group seemed to have other 'atypical' responses (such as increased libido, increased ejaculatory volume, more acne) and report cases of finasteride-induced Tellogen Effluvium or Reflex Hyperandrogenicity. Aside from really bad acne, I experience(d) the same.
Personally, I feel that I may have messed up with the dosage of topical finasteride, having used 8 months of supply in just 4 months. I had bumped up the dosage from 1mg ED to 2/3 mg ED in the last 1.5 month after noticing an increase in hair loss. Studies found that an oral dose of 5mg/day increases circulating levels of testosterone by approximately 10%, while local concentrations of testosterone in hair follicles increase by around 27 to 53%. At the same time, I assume other factors may have contributed to an increase in my testosterone level such as supplements (zinc, DIM, , ashwaghanda, whey protein, casein protein) and taking up weight lifting. I know DHT is the main enemy, but T is also blamed for affecting scalp hair follicles, right?
So, for those that turned out to be good responder to finasteride: what was was your shedding like in terms of hairs falling out? How many month into treatment did you start shedding? Was it a gradual shed or a sudden one? Did it continue? Were you only losing the weak ones? Were there hairs that seemed to be tapered quite a bit in a short amount of time? Did the hairs have a white bulb at the end? How much density did you lose? Were you experiencing 'atypical' sides right around the time of your your shed?
TLDR: title
Last edited:
