Long time finasteride users, does your hair go through shedding cycles?

[20YearsOnFin]

1mg, once a week..... Mondays

Interesting I havent heard of people being able to maintain when tapering off as low as this,

I might try lowering my own dose in a few years time as i get closer to 50.

 

[BuzzedLightyear]

Most people will probably experience multiple sheds, even within their first year on finasteride. I had one about 5-6 months in, then another around 8-9 months, then didn't have another bad one until about 16-18 months. It seems they probably occur less and less frequently over time, unless your hair loss is becoming more aggressive.

 

[md2002]

I would not worry about tapering off at all. I honestly think once it's in you, the dosage can be cut down. Of course I'm not a doctor. That being said I haven't been able to find any studies done about long term finasteride use, if one was done, we may find that you can taper off without issue.

 

[BuzzedLightyear]

Bryan brings up some good points here:

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/how-do-i-quit-finasteride-cold-turkey-lower-the-dose-help.47660/

 

[debyne]

I also feel like I've had varying results with the brand of finasteride. Since being on a US pharmacy version, I feel like it's more effective than what I took from India for many years.

 

[NickyA]

Thank you for writing your experiences here and even taking the time to upload pictures. It's always good to read experiences from long time users.

When people have been mid or long term on meds that affect the endocrine system, most doctors tell them to taper off them slowly and not quit cold turkey, because that could have long lasting consequences since your body might not be able to raise production of the hormones affected by those meds if you quit cold turkey, for example. That's why it's safer to taper off finasteride slowly if you have been taking it for a while.

 

[User707]

I also feel like I've had varying results with the brand of finasteride. Since being on a US pharmacy version, I feel like it's more effective than what I took from India for many years.

Can I ask what generic brand worked for you. I've recently changed brands in the last year and have started to see a slight bit of loss. I've been on finasteride for 20 years

 

[mald]

over

 

[debyne]

Can I ask what generic brand worked for you. I've recently changed brands in the last year and have started to see a slight bit of loss. I've been on finasteride for 20 years

I was on finpecia and finax for years. Then I switched to a US prescription of Propecia and I felt like it was stronger.

Having said that, I'm off oral altogether and on topical only.

 

[Dr sanches]

Can I ask what generic brand worked for you. I've recently changed brands in the last year and have started to see a slight bit of loss. I've been on finasteride for 20 years

Aren’t you Norwood 9

 

[Finjunkie]

Been on finasteride for 3 years. I don’t think much about my hair (relative to my previous obsession) but once in a while, I’ll take a look at the back in the mirror and feel that the thinning has progressed. Other times, it looks like it hasn’t. Not sure if my minds playing tricks on me, and although that’s definitely part of it, I’m curious if any long time users have ever experienced periods of thinner hair followed by thickening? If this is the case then it’s safe to say you remained at baseline, and gives me hope when I feel that my hair looks a bit thinner lol. Even if you’re not a long time user, has anyone ever read up on this?

Crown this happened to me for god damn years.

Most guys lose their hair pretty quickly once they start. If its been years and you're not sure, I would worry too much

Been on finasteride for 11 years and didn't stop worrying about my hairline till year 4

Check my past posts, I went through the same thing, thinking about "sheds" and maybe this batch isn't as good. Turns out that was all bullshit and looking back 11 years later I lost like 3mm on my hairline lol https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...on-finasteride-1mg.137307/page-2#post-2076832

 

[MikeJay]

I was on finpecia and finax for years. Then I switched to a US prescription of Propecia and I felt like it was stronger.

Having said that, I'm off oral altogether and on topical only.

i took finpecia back in 2005... it had strong side effects... In what way is brand name propecia stronger?