My story on finasteride, quitted after 4 years.

[Genericon]

Hello! I will try to keep this post as short as possible and if someone wants to know more details feel free to ask any questions.

So, i started noticing hairloss in summer 2016, i had some thinning in my crown and could see through my hairline. My hair started slowly getting worse but didnt take any action up until december 2017, when i hoped on finasteride 1.25mg daily and Regenepure DR shampoo. I countinued finasteride for the next 4 years until december 2021. I was able to maintain my hair very well and even had some regrowth.

In the beggining of 2021 i started using minoxidil to help me grow a beard and also applied few drops in my hairline. After a few months a noticed a lot of improvement in my hair which was definitely not expected considering i applied very few drops in my hairline. After knowing that i respond well to minoxidil it started getting in to my head to give my body a break from finasteride and see what happens. Even after reading a lot of horror stories online about PFS, i somehow found the courage and quit finasteride cold turkey in december 2021.



Now lets talk about the sides i got from finasteride that i never had an idea that it actually caused. In overall i didnt suffer a lot from sides apart from watery semen ball ache(in the first weeks) and a bit lower libido which i was willing to sacrifice in order to have a full head of hair.

In 2017 just a few months before starting finasteride, i had LASIK eye surgery that went well overall but left my eyes a bit dry which is normal for the procedure, however it should improve after a few months. But unfortunately it never did, my eyes would get dry and tired pretty much every day and i was very sensitive to light. After a few years i started noticing in pics that my face got kinda puffier and i attributed that to the fact that my eyes were dry and i thought that that was the cause as well as natural ageing. But little did i know…. After i quitted finasteride, a had a few days that i felt absolutely amazing!!! I was so energetic , my face looked better and also my libido went through the roof, i was shocked, i felt like i missed out a lot without living life to the fullest. However after a few days i started noticing the sides again and actually worse than ever, it was so difficult to get an erection, i felt tired and completely detached to reality. In the last few months i got my thyroid checked due to some other health problems and actually the doctor said i had some signs of Hashimotos but i catched it very early. At this point, i realised how much of a risk i am taking by using this drug. In the next days, sometimes i would feel better but most of the time i was having the sides(ball ache, loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, brain fog etc) however i had less watery semen even though volume was extremely low it was less watery. These side persisted in the 2nd and 3rd month after quitting.

Now in the last month things started getting better. I am feeling so much better it is unbelieveable… During all these years i couldn’t actually enjoy having better vision and thought that Lasik fcked up my eyes. I dont really know how finasteride could have caused these kind of sides but it maybe affected my thyroid hormones or whatever. But my overall health was progressively deterioriating, i even noticed a lot of ear wax production which i never attributed to finasteride, this also got better after i quitted it.

Now i am in the 5th month after quitting and i am at a point that i never was happier and never felt better about myself. As for my hair i am actually surprised that it held this well, i dont notice any thinning (yet lol), my hair actually looks way better than it did when i was only on finasteride alone without minoxidil. However i notice some itchiness and some pimples in my crown which is definitely a bad sign lol.

I am done with oral finasteride, will never touch it. But now that i know that i can recover from it, i might add topical in the coming months but on half of normal dose or even lower.
I am currently on Kirkland Liquid Minoxidil 5% twice daily, derma rolling once or twice a week and Regenepure DR. I will keep updating this thread as soon as i notice any differences.

 

[losingbattle88]

Hmm finasteride gave me dry eyes like hell after a month usage, that led to blurred vision and blocked tear glands. Tiny bubbles on my eyelids. I looked it up on Google and found 'androgen deficency and dry eye syndrome' my Friend from norway also had this problem and I read other guys on forums with the same problem. So Maybe fina fucked your eyes too. Not impossible.

 

[whatintheworld]

What's your Norwood level, mind sharing a top down picture of your hair?

 

[Genericon]

Hmm finasteride gave me dry eyes like hell after a month usage, that led to blurred vision and blocked tear glands. Tiny bubbles on my eyelids. I looked it up on Google and found 'androgen deficency and dry eye syndrome' my Friend from norway also had this problem and I read other guys on forums with the same problem. So Maybe fina fucked your eyes too. Not impossible.

Wow i never saw anything online about dry eyes due to finasteride. For me is now certain that it did, my eyes feel totally normal now. But this “normal” to me is amazing lol.

 

[Genericon]

What's your Norwood level, mind sharing a top down picture of your hair?

Sorry bro but i am too lazy to make pics of myself and post them online lol. I am norwood 1, at some point i might have been norwood 1.5 while i was only on finasteride alone.

 

[losingbattle88]

Wow i never saw anything online about dry eyes due to finasteride. For me is now certain that it did, my eyes feel totally normal now. But this “normal” to me is amazing lol.

Im very glad to hear that. It feels so Good to have hydrated eyes and so so horrible having eyes as dry as the desert.

 

[whatintheworld]

Sorry bro but i am too lazy to make pics of myself and post them online lol. I am norwood 1, at some point i might have been norwood 1.5 while i was only on finasteride alone.

No problem, I asked because I'm suspecting that you are one of the many guys who perhaps were not good candidates for finasteride.

Minor recession (or a maturing of the hairline) is very natural for men as they age. This is can be considered very mild male pattern baldness perhaps, where the progression will be very slow and not alarm worthy.

I have seen countless cases of guys like you who start finasteride because they notice this, and then inevitably all get side effects.

My hypothesis is that guys who are heading to much higher Norwoods (5+, so pretty much all bald) can tolerate finasteride better because it is almost like their body is way too androgenized by DHT, and a reduction is not harmful to their bodies.

However, you probably had normal DHT levels/sensitivity, so the drastic reduction that is caused by finasteride caused your body to get screwed up.

This is very much bro-science and I don't have data to verify this, just anecdotal accounts of what I've seen trying to find patterns between guys who get side effects and guys who don't.

 

[Genericon]

No problem, I asked because I'm suspecting that you are one of the many guys who perhaps were not good candidates for finasteride.

Minor recession (or a maturing of the hairline) is very natural for men as they age. This is can be considered very mild male pattern baldness perhaps, where the progression will be very slow and not alarm worthy.

I have seen countless cases of guys like you who start finasteride because they notice this, and then inevitably all get side effects.

My hypothesis is that guys who are heading to much higher Norwoods (5+, so pretty much all bald) can tolerate finasteride better because it is almost like their body is way too androgenized by DHT, and a reduction is not harmful to their bodies.

However, you probably had normal DHT levels/sensitivity, so the drastic reduction that is caused by finasteride caused your body to get screwed up.

This is very much bro-science and I don't have data to verify this, just anecdotal accounts of what I've seen trying to find patterns between guys who get side effects and guys who don't.

Hmm yes your theory makes sense, however if someone has aggresive hairloss i doesnt necessarily means they have too much DHT, it rather means their bair follicles are more sensitive to it. Thats my opininion. I was always physically active always had low fat and a six pack even since high school. In fact i considered myself a very good candidate for finasteride. I might be wrong tho.

 

[Genericon]

Androgens affect many parts of the body, although it affecting eye sight is rare, it can happen.

Good you're better! Also watch out with lower libido, etc. It can get worse

Thank you man! Yes i forgot to mention that libido got progressively worse which definitely sucked.

 

[losingbattle88]

Thank you man! Yes i forgot to mention that libido got progressively worse which definitely sucked.

If u consider topical finasteride just be very careful because it does go systemic to an extent. And will then build up slowly in your system. Then you are back to square One with eye issues and everything. Use very low dose like 0.025% every other day to start with. If u feel sides use every three days and so on.

 

[whatintheworld]

Hmm yes your theory makes sense, however if someone has aggresive hairloss i doesnt necessarily means they have too much DHT, it rather means their bair follicles are more sensitive to it. Thats my opininion. I was always physically active always had low fat and a six pack even since high school. In fact i considered myself a very good candidate for finasteride. I might be wrong tho.

Well, the characteristics I look for, for a good candidate:

- Very high amount of body hair + beard hair. So a lot of chest hair, back hair, arm hair, etc.
- Typically high androgenetic traits such as very broad shoulders, larger bone structure.
- Losing hair in a clear high Norwood pattern, particularly at a younger age.

Do you fit these criteria?

 

[Genericon]

Well, the characteristics I look for, for a good candidate:

- Very high amount of body hair + beard hair. So a lot of chest hair, back hair, arm hair, etc.
- Typically high androgenetic traits such as very broad shoulders, larger bone structure.
- Losing hair in a clear high Norwood pattern, particularly at a younger age.

Do you fit these criteria?

Well not entirely, first one definitely not, second might say is a yes and i started losing hair when i was 23 so that should be considered young.

 

[whatintheworld]

Well not entirely, first one definitely not, second might say is a yes and i started losing hair when i was 23 so that should be considered young.

Well again without pictures it is impossible to say, that was just my bro-science opinion as to why you maybe got side effects.

 

[Genericon]

If u consider topical finasteride just be very careful because it does go systemic to an extent. And will then build up slowly in your system. Then you are back to square One with eye issues and everything. Use very low dose like 0.025% every other day to start with. If u feel sides use every three days and so on.

Thanks for the helpful reply. That’s exactly what i plan too. What do you think about Minoxidilmax solution btw?

 

[Genericon]

Well again without pictures it is impossible to say, that was just my bro-science opinion as to why you maybe got side effects.

Yes i thought about this too, it makes sense that people who are more “manly” suffer less from side effects. But eveybody reacts different to it i guess.

 

[losingbattle88]

Thanks for the helpful reply. That’s exactly what i plan too. What do you think about Minoxidilmax solution btw?

You can give it a shot or get it compounded by a pharmacy but that will cost more and waiting time will be longer. I buy generic pills and Will crush them myself in a formula to dissolve. Much cheaper.

 

[PRIMEN]

Well, the characteristics I look for, for a good candidate:

- Very high amount of body hair + beard hair. So a lot of chest hair, back hair, arm hair, etc.
- Typically high androgenetic traits such as very broad shoulders, larger bone structure.
- Losing hair in a clear high Norwood pattern, particularly at a younger age.

Do you fit these criteria?

I fit all these criteria, but I experienced different side effects when I tried to use finasteride. Such as lower sex drive, less pleasure with orgasm, less semen production, decreased ejaculation force, slower thinking/reaction, braing fog sometimes, damn I think I even started developing gyno, maybe something else, just don't know about it. And the most noticeable and rare side effect that I experienced was acne with pus, and a lot. The first time I tried to use finasteride I lasted 3 months trying to tolerate all the crap it gave me, and my clean face was full of acne, who knows why, maybe because of increased estrogen or free testosterone, idk.
I fully recovered in 3 months and didn't experience PFS, but it harmed my flawless skin a bit, now there are few very little tiny scars on my face caused by big painful pimples.

 

[losingbattle88]

Well again without pictures it is impossible to say, that was just my bro-science opinion as to why you maybe got side effects.

I cant grow a moustache at all.

I fit all these criteria, but I experienced different side effects when I tried to use finasteride. Such as lower sex drive, less pleasure with orgasm, less semen production, decreased ejaculation force, slower thinking/reaction, braing fog sometimes, damn I think I even started developing gyno, maybe something else, just don't know about it. And the most noticeable and rare side effect that I experienced was acne with pus, and a lot. The first time I tried to use finasteride I lasted 3 months trying to tolerate all the crap it gave me, and my clean face was full of acne, who knows why, maybe because of increased estrogen or free testosterone, idk.
I fully recovered in 3 months and didn't experience PFS, but it harmed my flawless skin a bit, now there are few very little tiny scars on my face caused by big painful pimples.

I have the decreased ejaculation Force and less semen production On oral dutasteride. Have had it for 1.5 years while ON the drug. I recently quit it. Doubt I Will recover tho. Maybe abit hopefully.

 

[infamousrodi]

Androgens affect many parts of the body, although it affecting eye sight is rare, it can happen.

Good you're better! Also watch out with lower libido, etc. It can get worse

Do you think fina can make you fat ? I have been getting fat since I started lol

 

[losingbattle88]

Do you think fina can make you fat ? I have been getting fat since I started lol

It raises estrogen. So yes.