Losing Hair Faster After Starting Treatment

[BaldingGuy]

Hi, i'm 25y and i noticed that i was balding last December after a rough period at work and the breakup of my relationship. At first i thought it was stress related, bc i was feeling really low and depressed and also was drinking more often. I lost a lot of hair, like a looot! If it didn't happened to me I wouldn't believe it was possible. Back in Oct/Nov I had super thick black wavy hair, and in late Feb i started to see a lot more space between follicles in the hairline which also receded a bit and my hair just thinned in general.
So, last month i went to a dermatologist who prescribed me finesteride 1mg and minoxidil 5% and i decided to take a chance bc i have a nice melon head and the shaved cut would probably make me look like a freaking grey alien. So... yeah...
The first 3-4 days taking finasteride and minoxidil I noticed an improvement in terms of my hair not falling as much, mood was better, had more energy but also some mild erectile problems. Since it wasn't too alarming I continued and my libido went to normal (some days higher) after 2 weeks.
The thing that worries me is that after those first 5 days i started losing more hair than before the treatment, literally twice as much. I read that this could be a good sign but also read that it could mean hyperandrogenism reflex or some kind of bad reaction and honestly, not knowing is the worst part. Its only been a month so I know its too soon to tell anything, i just feel like if this shedding continues for a couple more months goodbye hair. It's depressing. Any guys in the same boat ?

 

[hairblues]

Hi, i'm 25y and i noticed that i was balding last December after a rough period at work and the breakup of my relationship. At first i thought it was stress related, bc i was feeling really low and depressed and also was drinking more often. I lost a lot of hair, like a looot! If it didn't happened to me I wouldn't believe it was possible. Back in Oct/Nov I had super thick black wavy hair, and in late Feb i started to see a lot more space between follicles in the hairline which also receded a bit and my hair just thinned in general.
So, last month i went to a dermatologist who prescribed me finesteride 1mg and minoxidil 5% and i decided to take a chance bc i have a nice melon head and the shaved cut would probably make me look like a freaking grey alien. So... yeah...
The first 3-4 days taking finasteride and minoxidil I noticed an improvement in terms of my hair not falling as much, mood was better, had more energy but also some mild erectile problems. Since it wasn't too alarming I continued and my libido went to normal (some days higher) after 2 weeks.
The thing that worries me is that after those first 5 days i started losing more hair than before the treatment, literally twice as much. I read that this could be a good sign but also read that it could mean hyperandrogenism reflex or some kind of bad reaction and honestly, not knowing is the worst part. Its only been a month so I know its too soon to tell anything, i just feel like if this shedding continues for a couple more months goodbye hair. It's depressing. Any guys in the same boat ?

minoxidil made me shed a lot in beginning then regrowth started about 5 or 6 weeks in.

I cant take finasteride so i cant speak for that.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Here's an update.
I'm currently in day 66 of treatment (minoxidil and finasteride) and it couldn't be worse.. losing 40-50 hairs just washing my hair and styling it.. The first month my hairline was destroyed and still didn't go back to baseline and now I'm noticing a big recession in my left temple, but only the left one.
Man, two months ago i just had a bit of thinning going on and a slight recession in the temples. I should've tried to maintain it that way but i wanted more, i wanted the hair i had a year ago ... That my friends, is what greed get's you... damn...
If i knew what i know now i would've just taken the finasteride and try to stop or slow down the hair loss and then go from there... Now i don't really know what to do... I think i will finish this bottle of minoxidil and if by day 90 my hair is even worse or no sign of it getting better i will call it quits on minoxidil and pray i get some of the hair i lost because of it back..

Ps: The only good thing is that the itchiness is getting better ...

 

[Bejand]

Here's an update.
I'm currently in day 66 of treatment (minoxidil and finasteride) and it couldn't be worse.. losing 40-50 hairs just washing my hair and styling it.. The first month my hairline was destroyed and still didn't go back to baseline and now I'm noticing a big recession in my left temple, but only the left one.
Man, two months ago i just had a bit of thinning going on and a slight recession in the temples. I should've tried to maintain it that way but i wanted more, i wanted the hair i had a year ago ... That my friends, is what greed get's you... damn...
If i knew what i know now i would've just taken the finasteride and try to stop or slow down the hair loss and then go from there... Now i don't really know what to do... I think i will finish this bottle of minoxidil and if by day 90 my hair is even worse or no sign of it getting better i will call it quits on minoxidil and pray i get some of the hair i lost because of it back..

Ps: The only good thing is that the itchiness is getting better ...

You should definitely get on Nizoral, thats when I started to see real progress. You've gone 66 days without it and tbh I really dont know why. Personally, minoxidil/Finas does the hard work and Nizor presents the work of minoxidil/Finas in broad terms.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Thanks for the reply, i'll buy it this weekend and try it out.. How many times do you need to use it per week??

 

[dralex]

Thanks for the reply, i'll buy it this weekend and try it out.. How many times do you need to use it per week??

Use 2-3x per week. And don't get your hopes up with nizoral. Is garbage in comparison to finasteride.

Also minoxidil usually causes a shed within the first few months if you are a strong responder, so you could just be going through that. There is no guarantee things will get better, but your best bet is to stick with the treatments atleast 6 months.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Use 2-3x per week. And don't get your hopes up with nizoral. Is garbage in comparison to finasteride.

Also minoxidil usually causes a shed within the first few months if you are a strong responder, so you could just be going through that. There is no guarantee things will get better, but your best bet is to stick with the treatments atleast 6 months.

Thanks man. I will add nizoral to my regimen as soon as possible. My hope is real low these days but will try to keep the treatment for 6 months.

 

[Hang90]

you know that this shed could be that you are just good responder, i experienced shed in my 1st month of using minoxidil and finasteride, and on 3rd month i've seen alot of regrowth...just be patient ! and add finasteride

 

[BaldingGuy]

you know that this shed could be that you are just good responder, i experienced shed in my 1st month of using minoxidil and finasteride, and on 3rd month i've seen alot of regrowth...just be patient ! and add finasteride

Well, I've been on 1mg of finasteride since day 1... And i didn't really mind that i was shedding because i was expecting it, the thing is that the first month i was losing 20-30 hairs in the shower, then right before the second month i was losing 10-20 (i was really happy). One day i even counted only like 15 hairs the entire day, but literally the next day i lost 60-70 just showering and styling my hair. That was a punch in the stomach.. After that i started losing around 40-50 everyday. Always took the finasteride around the same time, try my best to apply the minoxidil every 12 hours, even at work. Never skipped a day. It's frustrating ..
And if that's not enough i'm losing more hair from the frontal left side of my head than the right side. To the point that i can't even style it the same way and when my hair is wet the difference is really noticeable. Hope it comes back, but honestly it's hard to stay positive.

 

[Hang90]

i know that is start to stay positive, that is what losing hair does to ppl ! but its still to early to tell, you are only 1 month in, and like i said it could be that you are good responder ! after 1 month my gf told me that i lost alot of hair, and now on the 3rd month she keep looking at my hair and saying that she sees alot of regrowth and new baby hairs coming out ! so just be patient and gl

here is my thread if you wanna chek it out ! im gonna update soon some new pictures of my temple areia that have the best regrowth so far https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/my-story-and-regime-on-big3-lets-see.103856/

 

[BaldingGuy]

Thanks, will do that!
Just saw your thread and you're responding really well to the treatment. That's awesome man!
Did you experience any sides from fina?

 

[Hang90]

0 sides from fina so far

 

[Maxima]

I'm in the same boat. I'm losing my right temple so much faster that now it's noticeable. I dropped finasteride for a month now and the shed as not slowed. I wish I hadn't started back and let my hair fall naturally over years instead of a few months and paying for it.

 

[BaldingGuy]

I'm in the same boat. I'm losing my right temple so much faster that now it's noticeable. I dropped finasteride for a month now and the shed as not slowed. I wish I hadn't started back and let my hair fall naturally over years instead of a few months and paying for it.

Hi, were you just on finasteride or fina and minoxidil ? And how long were you on the treatment ? I've read that stopping the treatment cold turkey while shedding is not the best thing to do because once the shed starts it wont stop overnight, all the hair affected by the treatment will still fall out and then eventually regrow back to where it would have been if you never started the treatment.. But that's just what i've read. Hope it gets better soon man!

I'm in day 77. My left temple is a lot worse than the right one and my density was hit pretty hard but i think the shed is slowing down a bit. If it starts full speed again i dunno if i can take it. Oh well, if i knew what i know now i would've just taken fina for a while and then see if i'd hop on minoxidil. The fact of the matter is that my density was ok, it wasn't like last year nevertheless it was good (only i could see that i was thinning a bit) so i could've gone one step at the time, but nooo! Me being a vain bastard i wanted more. I wanted no evidence of thinning like last year so i went all in. Now, my hair is in the worst shape of my life and i just pray for it to go back to baseline. You live and you learn i guess.

 

[Maxima]

Hi, were you just on finasteride or fina and minoxidil ? And how long were you on the treatment ? I've read that stopping the treatment cold turkey while shedding is not the best thing to do because once the shed starts it wont stop overnight, all the hair affected by the treatment will still fall out and then eventually regrow back to where it would have been if you never started the treatment.. But that's just what i've read. Hope it gets better soon man!

I'm in day 77. My left temple is a lot worse than the right one and my density was hit pretty hard but i think the shed is slowing down a bit. If it starts full speed again i dunno if i can take it. Oh well, if i knew what i know now i would've just taken fina for a while and then see if i'd hop on minoxidil. The fact of the matter is that my density was ok, it wasn't like last year nevertheless it was good (only i could see that i was thinning a bit) so i could've gone one step at the time, but nooo! Me being a vain bastard i wanted more. I wanted no evidence of thinning like last year so i went all in. Now, my hair is in the worst shape of my life and i just pray for it to go back to baseline. You live and you learn i guess.

I was on only fina. Used it for five years, stopped and gone back on it a couple months ago.
I doubt that it's the treatment that's making me shed. I suspect it's telogen affluvium caused by fina.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Any sides from fina in those 5 years ? It could be, hopefully it's that and will regrow in a couple of months !

 

[Maxima]

Any sides from fina in those 5 years ? It could be, hopefully it's that and will regrow in a couple of months !

Those five years were flawless. Hair stopped falling fast, no loss of libido, no shedding.

 

[Xxx001]

I'm in the same boat. I'm losing my right temple so much faster that now it's noticeable. I dropped finasteride for a month now and the shed as not slowed. I wish I hadn't started back and let my hair fall naturally over years instead of a few months and paying for it.

I also suspect that the fina causes telogen effluvium.

But if you have stopped the fina for 1 month and the shedding has not reduced, the fina is not responsible for your shedding / Telogen Effluvium.

Especially that you took it for 5 years without shedding / Telogen Effluvium.

If telogen effluvium was due to fina, you would logically be in a state of chronic effluvium during these 5 years.

 

[Armando Jose]

Messing with the natural hair cycle is the mechanism of finas and/or minoxidil, then is possible that scalp hairs can loose it asynchronicity.

 

[BaldingGuy]

But is there any way of knowing if its Telogen Effluvium ??