im pretty close to giving up on propecia

[kosmo]

im currently nearing the end of month 10 of propecia.

i had messed around with the dosage in the initial few months due to side effects (mostly acne and dry skin) but i have been consistantly on 1mg/day since around the end of may '05.

i added minoxidil in mid august because i had experienced some major shedding and was worried propecia wouldnt work. i did see some regrowth along my hairline and temples after about 7 weeks on minoxidil. however, i also had major side effects with it (increased acne on body and face, increased body hair, significant increase in facial hair, and very dry and irritated scalp). i quit minoxidil in mid november due to side these side effects.

since stopping minoxidil my hair has thinned considerably. my hairline has visibly thinned to the point that people have commented on it. the back and top of my head have also thinned considerably and i am seeing more and more scalp back there.

im at the point now where i am really unsure whether propecia will work for me.

messing with the dosage in the first few months probably contributed to the shedding i experienced. and i know that adding and stopping minoxidil also made the shedding worse. but looking at pictures from one year ago, i have lost a significant amount of hair.

im really struggling right now and my self-confidence is taking a beating. im only 23 and none of my friends are losing there hair.

minoxidil gave me really bad side effects so propecia is my only hope. and it hasnt started to work yet so im really worried that it never will.

if anyone has any advice or comments i would appreciate it.

thanks

 

[Dinzy]

The only thing you can do is stick with finasteride and hope that after the stopping and starting of minoxidil has worked itself out it will at least help you maintain. It is very possible that your shed hairs will grow back.

Quitting finasteride won't gain you anything now so don't do it until you are absolutely sure it doesn't work for you. Also I am a bit skeptical that minoxidil is causing acne. It irritates the scalp and may cause scalp acne but not regular acne unless you let it drip down onto your face. Anyway since you did respond to it perhaps you couls lower the dosage and get something to help with the irritation such as a CP like tricomin, folligen or Amercian Crew.

 

[Adrian1]

I was exactly your age when I started on Propecia, 7 years ago. I had awesome results. You really need to stay on the drug and take the full 1mg for a year before you can make any jugements. My hair gains peaked around 2 years into treatment and then levelled off and maintained for a long time after that. Stick with the Propecia. It works!

 

[EasyEd]

Adrian 1, I noticed you said you were on Propecia for 7 years and had great success. What else were you on? I am just starting out on finasteride (started January 1) and would absolutely love 7 years of great maintenance. Are you still on finasteride? If so, how is it currently working for you? Please be as specific about your regimen and experiences during the 7 years as possible, it'll give me some hope that I can maintain what I currently have for a long time.

I'm 24, by the way, and have slight recession of my hairline but am experiencing some pretty strong thinning at the top of my head and more hairloss than ever before.

Please reply and help out. Thanks!

 

[jeffsss]

I've been on propecia for 4 months and a week.

I havent really noticed a decrease in hair loss. my scalp, especially the front is thinned out to the point where I can't style my hair anymore. I just have to comb it a little and let it be.

I came across this new putty styling gel that helps hair stay in place without the "wet" look. but it's not like i can style it the way i want. just helps a little.

I'm going to stick with propecia for at least another 8 months. Hopefully something new will come out?! if not.. there is always the next powerful thing... dutasteride!

I just started using rogaine on my hairline and temples, so i really cant comment on if it is causeing your acne. my guess is no. but i'm not a Doctor...

 

[cook'n'milkies]

I've been on propecia for 4 months and a week.

I havent really noticed a decrease in hair loss. my scalp, especially the front is thinned out to the point where I can't style my hair anymore. I just have to comb it a little and let it be.

I came across this new putty styling gel that helps hair stay in place without the "wet" look. but it's not like i can style it the way i want. just helps a little.

I'm going to stick with propecia for at least another 8 months. Hopefully something new will come out?! if not.. there is always the next powerful thing... dutasteride!

I just started using rogaine on my hairline and temples, so i really cant comment on if it is causeing your acne. my guess is no. but i'm not a Doctor...

Jeffsss, I'm really glad you're attitude concerning your regimen seems to have really improved. I've read enough success stories to see that this stuff really does work in a majority of people, especially those who are consistent and patient. Just keep a good attitude and give them time to work.

 

[jeffsss]

I've been on propecia for 4 months and a week.

I havent really noticed a decrease in hair loss. my scalp, especially the front is thinned out to the point where I can't style my hair anymore. I just have to comb it a little and let it be.

I came across this new putty styling gel that helps hair stay in place without the "wet" look. but it's not like i can style it the way i want. just helps a little.

I'm going to stick with propecia for at least another 8 months. Hopefully something new will come out?! if not.. there is always the next powerful thing... dutasteride!

I just started using rogaine on my hairline and temples, so i really cant comment on if it is causeing your acne. my guess is no. but i'm not a Doctor...

Jeffsss, I'm really glad you're attitude concerning your regimen seems to have really improved. I've read enough success stories to see that this stuff really does work in a majority of people, especially those who are consistent and patient. Just keep a good attitude and give them time to work.

i still dont have the best attitude in the world about it.

I avoid mirrors, i avoid being in situations where my head could be a topic of discussion..

i'm on lexapro and take xanax as needed. I found that this helps a great deal.

i read once that diffused thinning is caused alot by stress.. i'm trying to get stress out of my life. it's hard. but i try my damnest to keep my mind off of hair loss.

obviously it issnt working that great b/c i'm on this damn forum. but i'm keeping the faith.

I'm keeping my hair a lot shorter.. so it's helping for the t ime being.

 

[hairwegoagain]

Completely agree with CnM's comments, Jeff. Getting your mind on track is the most important thing at this stage. Once you have that done, patience is the key. The stuff does work for most people...you just need to patiently give it the time it needs.

Hope you're feeling better and keep it up!

I've been on propecia for 4 months and a week.

I havent really noticed a decrease in hair loss. my scalp, especially the front is thinned out to the point where I can't style my hair anymore. I just have to comb it a little and let it be.

I came across this new putty styling gel that helps hair stay in place without the "wet" look. but it's not like i can style it the way i want. just helps a little.

I'm going to stick with propecia for at least another 8 months. Hopefully something new will come out?! if not.. there is always the next powerful thing... dutasteride!

I just started using rogaine on my hairline and temples, so i really cant comment on if it is causeing your acne. my guess is no. but i'm not a Doctor...

Jeffsss, I'm really glad you're attitude concerning your regimen seems to have really improved. I've read enough success stories to see that this stuff really does work in a majority of people, especially those who are consistent and patient. Just keep a good attitude and give them time to work.

 

[kosmo]

avoiding the mirrors is good advice. im trying to do that now cause for a while i was always checking to see if any new hairs were growing and it was really depressing me.

adrian1, you said you had good results, did it work for your hairline at all?


i dont think that minoxidil really caused my acne, it just seemed to make my skin oily which made the acne i was already having from propecia worse. but i did notice that once i started using it i could never get a good shave. i've always had a thick beard but minoxidil seemed to make it thicker.

i would like to try and stick to a consistant dose and not mess with my routine, but i had heard something about hyperandro (not sure what the word is) that makes the body overcompensate for the decrease in DHT. is it possible a 1mg/day propecia dose is too much since i have to take minocin 2x/day to control my acne? or is this something i should not be worried about?

 

[kosmo]

ok, so im officially in month 11 now.

looking at my pictures from a year ago my hair has thinned significantly. my hairline looks terrible right now and i can barely cover up my diffuse thinning.

i have had neither regrowth or maintenance. i thought i was smart by getting on propecia early, but it just seems to have accelerated my hairloss.

if propecia doesnt start to work, im pretty much screwed. i had alot of trouble with minoxidil so i dont know if i could start using it again.

i really dont know what i should do...

 

[SSM23]

i thought i was on a shed for the last 6 months,
Now my hairs quite bad so im quitting all treatments.

 

[kosmo]

ssm23, are you gonna try anything else or just shave it?

im gonna go to a derm and get him to evaluate my hair, but its not looking good. i might have been better not starting propecia as the rate i was losing hair was much slower than it has been since starting treatment.

 

[SSM23]

im gonna quit everything and shave it.

the best thing in my regimen was prob minoxidil but i can't be bothered to apply it 2 times a day.

 

[doubleplay]

ok, so im officially in month 11 now.

looking at my pictures from a year ago my hair has thinned significantly. my hairline looks terrible right now and i can barely cover up my diffuse thinning.

i have had neither regrowth or maintenance. i thought i was smart by getting on propecia early, but it just seems to have accelerated my hairloss.

if propecia doesnt start to work, im pretty much screwed. i had alot of trouble with minoxidil so i dont know if i could start using it again.

i really dont know what i should do...

Ill be hitting month 9 in a couple days. also diffuse and ive lost around 25% density from all over. never missed a dose. went from never hearing anything about my hairloss from others to 3x in the past month. So, in other words, according to the Propecia studies and diehards on the forum, we are the 2% who actually lose hair on finasteride! oh wait... i have to keep going to the magical 12 month mark where i regrow everything.... can't wait!

 

[kosmo]

ok, so im officially in month 11 now.

looking at my pictures from a year ago my hair has thinned significantly. my hairline looks terrible right now and i can barely cover up my diffuse thinning.

i have had neither regrowth or maintenance. i thought i was smart by getting on propecia early, but it just seems to have accelerated my hairloss.

if propecia doesnt start to work, im pretty much screwed. i had alot of trouble with minoxidil so i dont know if i could start using it again.

i really dont know what i should do...

Ill be hitting month 9 in a couple days. also diffuse and ive lost around 25% density from all over. never missed a dose. went from never hearing anything about my hairloss from others to 3x in the past month. So, in other words, according to the Propecia studies and diehards on the forum, we are the 2% who actually lose hair on finasteride! oh wait... i have to keep going to the magical 12 month mark where i regrow everything.... can't wait!

yeah i only have one more month till the year is up. i know some people do start to see results near the end of the year but the longer i wait the worse my hair gets.

on the one hand i would be mad if it was going to work and i didnt wait long enough. but on the other, if i keep waiting and im one of the 2% i could be making things even worse.

what to do.....

 

[rockandroll]

The 2% doesn't mean that your hairloss will be worse from Propecia. It just means that Propecia isn't doing anything for you. If your hairloss is accelerating it's probably because of your natural genetic programming, or maybe it hasn't accelerated but the cummulative effects are starting to make it more obvious. Either way, if Propecia doesn't work for you, at least you tried...imagine 10 years down the line without having ever tried it and kicking yourself every day for not giving a shot! You did the right thing.

 

[kosmo]

so should i just stop taking it or should i gradually lower my dosage? should i expect another shed after stopping?

also, i cant use minoxidil due to side effects so are there any other proven treatments i can try?

 

[Britannia]

i thought i was on a shed for the last 6 months,
Now my hairs quite bad so im quitting all treatments.

If you maintain your regeime, all the hair you have lost during the last 6 months will regrow.

 

[kosmo]

i thought i was on a shed for the last 6 months,
Now my hairs quite bad so im quitting all treatments.

If you maintain your regeime, all the hair you have lost during the last 6 months will regrow.

you have no way of knowing that. he was on his treatment since jan. 05 and has seen no results.