Is finasteride making my hair worse?

[mogro0022]

So 3 months of finasteride (I just turned 20) and it seems as though I am losing hair on the back of my head, below the crown. I have never experienced this kind of loss before starting finasteride and it almost looks like I have a bald line going down the back right side of my head. I am really scared as to what this could be, my crown which is what I started taking finasteride for hasn't seemed to have improved either and when I shower, I am noticing a lot of very thin fragile hairs that I have never shed before in my life until just this past month. Is finasteride making my hair loss worse or is this a shed that could potentially make my hair grow back thicker soon?


Taken a week BEFORE I started on finasteride 1.25mg


Taken just after I woke up today.

My libido has plunged in the past month as well and I no longer get the urge to masturbate or morning wood like I did a month back and ever since I hit puberty.

 

[LosingHairIsNotFair]

If it is, it's probably just shedding and it will eventually get better.
If it's not, your hair loss is just progressing.
There's no way finasteride could of itself make your hair "worse" without it being a shed. That wouldn't make any sense.
Either way, just stay on finasteride for at least a year and see what happens...

 

[mogro0022]

If it is, it's probably just shedding and it will eventually get better.
If it's not, your hair loss is just progressing.
There's no way finasteride could of itself make your hair "worse" without it being a shed. That wouldn't make any sense.
Either way, just stay on finasteride for at least a year and see what happens...

That pattern of loss is not typical of male pattern baldness though so I don't know how that could just be my natural male pattern baldness progressing. Also, I find it hard to believe that it is just coincidental that my hair thinned in the back like that 2 months into my finasteride treatment. I wish I could get a closer view of my scalp to see if newer hairs are growing in. It scares me that I could be thinning in such an abnormal pattern like that. Hopefully it is just a shed.

 

[themiz1234]

Your crown looks the same, if not better due to the distance of the shot, but that line is quite odd if it wasn't there before. I'd just wait it out, I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[mogro0022]

Your crown looks the same, if not better due to the distance of the shot, but that line is quite odd if it wasn't there before. I'd just wait it out, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Here's a better shot from today. The line isn't visible at this angle but it's there for sure and my crown does look worse in this picture than 3 months back. My crown 3 months ago looked the same for over 2 years so I don't think this loss is due to my ongoing male pattern baldness. Will it grow back?

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Oh god, looking a month back, it looks as though the BACK of my head is balding in an almost patchy sort of way, not just the crown but the entire back of my head. This pic was taken about two months into finasteride treatment. Note that my hair is shorter compared to the other pictures as it was taken 2 months after I cut it. It looks almost like Telogen Effluvium. The hairs that fall out from the back are thinner at the root towards the white bulb than they are at the cut end. My hairline hasn't changed and the frontal region in general is still thick, however the sides of my head, especially towards the rear side look thinner than usual. I had some seriously stressful events in the past two years, most of which occurred throughout 2014 (had a big injury in February that led to severe neck scarring which put me through intense trauma for two days and severe depression up until August because of how bad the scars looked, my dad had a heart attack in October that stressed me out heavily for a week, and now this hair thinning that has gotten worse since I started finasteride). It all just sucks. I know I'm genetically predisposed to experience male pattern baldness (dad was completely bald by 30, maternal grandpa completely bald by 35, maternal uncles bald by 27), but the pattern in which I'm balding in seems like something completely different to male pattern baldness and I was hoping that the crown thinning I started finasteride for would be stopped or reversed but since then it has worsened as the pic shows. I am currently under a flare-up from an auto-immune disorder called Crohn's disease that I am treating with Sulfasalazine (also took Prednisone for 3 months from October to December). I suspect I might even have a thyroid problem but I will have to get it checked first. I'm all in all really scared and keep telling myself that maybe the shedding is normal and that my hair will grow back thicker soon but I want to know if this is true before I continue on finasteride and make my hair loss even worse. Please help.

 

[MrSmoove241]

LOL that looks funny

 

[TD500]

Have you been to a dermatologist?

I've read people shedding backs/sides while on finasteride. Might be Telogen Effluvium + male pattern baldness or could be DUPA.

 

[mogro0022]

Have you been to a dermatologist?

I've read people shedding backs/sides while on finasteride. Might be Telogen Effluvium + male pattern baldness or could be DUPA.

I've been to a derm around the time I started finasteride but not since. I have eliminated most of my stress since December so if it is Telogen Effluvium I am hoping that it is going away now. But this thinning in the back seems to be worsening. I can now see my crown from the side view of my head which I've never seen before. My crown looks that thin and even worse is that shedding on the back of my head. I haven't gotten my thyroid checked as I have recently felt as though I might have a problem there. Do you think that hair loss has anything to do with a messed up thyroid or unusual levels of vitamins/hormones or iron? Also would riding out finasteride allow those areas to grow back thicker like it was before?

 

[MrSmoove241]

Why would finasteride make your hair worse?

 

[steveo1218]

Maybe you can notice your crown more due to your hair being longer and it's getting you paranoid ? finasteride wouldn't make your hair fall out . As someone said your probably going through a shred. I'd add minoxidil to your regime it's very effective on the crown (back) but be prepared for a big shred when starting it .

 

[Derpicus]

Generally within 1-3 months finasteride will cause a shed that will generally make your hair look worse then before. It's the same for minoxidil, these aren't magical things that will make your hair better within such a short time. You are most likely experiencing a shed from the finasteride I know its hard to look at something and see it being worse when you want it to be better, but just power through it. Generally around 6-8 months you'll start to see some favorable improvement (usually) then good results generally come at around the 12 month mark.

Finasteride won't make your hair worse, if anything its slowing/halting how fast your male pattern baldness is progressing. Sometimes people won't see regrowth as its considered a bonus to get some regrowth, it will however generally let you maintain the hair you have. If you want some better chance at regrowth do the Big 3 Finasteride, Minoxidil, and Nizoral shampoo. But Minoxidil will also cause a separate shed. There are some other people on this forums that know a lot more then I do, but you should read the sticky by Rawtashk it covers a lot on just general information thats nice to know, and he even provides some pictures to show how the Big 3 have helped him.

 

[mogro0022]

I don't mind getting a shed from finasteride but why would hair on the back of my head be thinning? A week before I started finasteride I got a short haircut and my back of the head was also looking very thin there. I'm not sure why though (maybe Telogen Effluvium or some other condition from stress or underlying autoimmune condition). Is this hairloss from the back going to be permanent or will it fill in eventually?


Taken after haircut


Taken two months into finasteride treatment (End of Dec 2014)

 

[MrSmoove241]

That does look concerning to me or maybe it's just a normal finasteride shed.

 

[mogro0022]

I have also noticed some stubbly arm hair that appears to be growing (I was already a really hairy guy). I'm not sure if there was already hair there that is possibly thinning or if that is completely new hair growth but I just noticed it a few days ago. Also there are these white bumps that are appearing around the hair roots on my hand. Never had that a week back. Does anyone know what that is?


Short stubbly hairs on my arm.

Bumps on my hand (the red ones are from me trying to pull the hair to see how easily they would come out).

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Does anyone think I have Reflex Hyperandrogenicity?

 

[MrSmoove241]

Hmm, maybe the more experienced users can shed some light (pardon the pun)?

 

[mogro0022]

Does anyone think I have Reflex Hyperandrogenicity? I really need to know ASAP so I can stop taking finasteride. My hair loss was never this severe before I started finasteride, in fact I only had slight crown thinning. Now the entire back and sides of my head show thinning while my frontal and mid regions are the same. Please help!

 

[steveo1218]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]I had a bad reaction to Propecia, including severe shedding (especially in the front) that commenced within a few days of starting Propecia, and stopped within a few days of stopping Propecia. I'm assuming this is Reflex Hyperandrogenicity (let's call it R.H.).

Could it be that I have a particularly low tolerance to the effects of Propecia, and that if I take less (say perhaps 1/4 of a pill per day, or every couple of days) that I'll avoid the R.H.

I suppose to word it another way, is the R.H. caused by the inhibition of just too much 5ar, making it so if I inhibit less, I may avoid it while still getting the benefits of Propecia ?

Dr Proctor Answers:
Shedding that occurs before about 2-4 months after starting a treatment was of hair that was already in the loss phase when you started. That is, such hair shedding is just coincidental or due to early fallout of loss-phase hair as follicles come out of dormancy under the influence of a hair-growth-stimulator. This hair was about to fall out anyway.

Not that hair loss due to reflex hyperandrogenicity doesn't occasionally happen with Finasteride. However, Finasteride (Propecia) differentially "protects" hair follicles. Thus, enough reflex hyproandrogenicity to exacerbate balding is very likely to be associated with other hyperandrogenic symptoms such as increased libido, skin oiliness, etc. In the absence of these, I consider it unlikely. So you can rest reasonably easily. I hope....[/FONT]

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Robbed off another forum ... Hope this helps

 

[mogro0022]

I had a bad reaction to Propecia, including severe shedding (especially in the front) that commenced within a few days of starting Propecia, and stopped within a few days of stopping Propecia. I'm assuming this is Reflex Hyperandrogenicity (let's call it R.H.).

Could it be that I have a particularly low tolerance to the effects of Propecia, and that if I take less (say perhaps 1/4 of a pill per day, or every couple of days) that I'll avoid the R.H.

I suppose to word it another way, is the R.H. caused by the inhibition of just too much 5ar, making it so if I inhibit less, I may avoid it while still getting the benefits of Propecia ?

Dr Proctor Answers:
Shedding that occurs before about 2-4 months after starting a treatment was of hair that was already in the loss phase when you started. That is, such hair shedding is just coincidental or due to early fallout of loss-phase hair as follicles come out of dormancy under the influence of a hair-growth-stimulator. This hair was about to fall out anyway.

Not that hair loss due to reflex hyperandrogenicity doesn't occasionally happen with Finasteride. However, Finasteride (Propecia) differentially "protects" hair follicles. Thus, enough reflex hyproandrogenicity to exacerbate balding is very likely to be associated with other hyperandrogenic symptoms such as increased libido, skin oiliness, etc. In the absence of these, I consider it unlikely. So you can rest reasonably easily. I hope....

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Robbed off another forum ... Hope this helps

Thanks for that answer. I have noticed that my libido has actually gone down and my facial skin is about the same oiliness as before (maybe even less). But the fact that the back of my head is experiencing thinning like that is abnormal. I was on Prednisone (a powerful steroid) for 2 months ending around mid-December so I am wondering if that has anything to do with the diffuse thinning around the back and sides of my head.

 

[dp045]

This happened to me as well. Started noticing it after about 2 weeks on finasteride. It was clear the back/sides were thinning pretty bad. I did have some high stress events maybe 3+ months ago so I am not sure if that plays into it. Only at 1 month on finasteride so far + nizoral 3x a week. Haven't started min yet.

 

[mogro0022]

This happened to me as well. Started noticing it after about 2 weeks on finasteride. It was clear the back/sides were thinning pretty bad. I did have some high stress events maybe 3+ months ago so I am not sure if that plays into it. Only at 1 month on finasteride so far + nizoral 3x a week. Haven't started min yet.

Can you post pics of how it looks for you on the sides and back of your head? I have made an appointment to see my GP and I hope he can do blood tests to rule out other causes of hair loss. I am worried it might be related to my thyroid. Also, I took Rogaine 2% for about a week during early January but quit because I wanted to first see how finasteride would work on me. Would taking Rogaine for a week at 2% cause this kind of shedding? Would it be temporary?