Odd blood tests after 8 months on finasteride

[Ganked By DHT]

Thanks, Ill look into this. I will say that I am not inclined to add things into my regimen simply because I want to know what is working and what is not (giving some time for minoxidil). If its not finasteride/min/AAs I doubt that it will be strong enough to hold my hairline. What do you think?
Anyways, thank you for the response!

I would not hold back on adjunct treatments. You will be able to tell if finasteride min is working anyway, those drugs are so well known as well. I can definitely say there is ample research to say that 2% ketoconazole and a caffeine+ other serum will benefit your hair without any downside, and they are not expensive either.

If finasteride is your only actual hair protective measure (minoxidil is not), and your dad is norwood 4 at 30, you need more treatments. Finasteride is not going to handle that burden long term.

 

[1919]

Update 16th feb 2021:
Finasteride ~8.5 months
Min ~ 1 month
Been have pretty brutal min sheds. finasteride still not holding for me.
Some areas can look pretty bad when moist (after applying minoxidil).

Here are pics today:

Theory:
Finasteride despite blood tests seems to be working. Beard growth has been stunted, thinner body hair, ball ache (dependant on sleep), are signs that finasteride is doing something. Therefore, I think an increase in T has been making my hair worse (at least at the hairline). As a result, will be starting RU58841 as of tomorrow morning (17th Feb 2021).
The current Regimen will be as follows:
finasteride 1.25 mg ED ~8.5 months
Min 5% 1ml twice a day ~1 month
RU premade angeninc 5% 1ml ED
In the future im considering adding dutasteride (or topical) 0.5 mg weekly in conjunction with finasteride daily (possibly transition to dutasteride fully) despite going against my theory. ORM/ ODM may be considered (AndrewBarnes is currently seeing success with this treatment).
Will be doing a picture comparison in 3 - 6 months.

 

[1919]

Update 18th Feb 2021:
First day of RU. Im feeling a little tightness and chest pains and a slight headache/ brain fog after applying. I get slight chest pains and headaches on minoxidil as well but nothing major. Could be nocebo, gonna try to stick with it a see how it goes. If I cant tolerate RU, may try CB if I can find a good source.

 

[1919]

Update 18th Feb 2021:
First day of RU. Im feeling a little tightness and chest pains and a slight headache after applying. I get slight chest pains and headaches on minoxidil as well but nothing major. Could be nocebo, gonna try to stick with it a see how it goes. If I cant tolerate RU, may try CB if I can find a good source.

Ive changed my mind. Im gunna drop it for a few days to see if my condition improves. Im convinced that RU is giving me chest pains (( after only 1 usage. It is possible I have found a way to ingest the chem although I was careful enough to use gloves and wash my hands afterwards.
Always thought chest pains and RU sides were a myth until now. Might order CB soon, will see if tomorrow morning I feel better.
For reference, it feels like a throbbing dull ache very different from minoxidil. I am quite certain now that RU can be harmful to your heart if you happen to systematically absorb it.

 

[1919]

Ive changed my mind. Im gunna drop it for a few days to see if my condition improves. Im convinced that RU is giving me chest pains (( after only 1 usage. It is possible I have found a way to ingest the chem although I was careful enough to use gloves and wash my hands afterwards.
Always thought chest pains and RU sides were a myth until now. Might order CB soon, will see if tomorrow morning I feel better.
For reference, it feels like a throbbing dull ache very different from minoxidil. I am quite certain now that RU can be harmful to your heart if you happen to systematically absorb it.

I notice that the half life of RU is 1 hr. Its been about 8 hours since the single application. Could sides of RU persist this long? I would imagine sides would appear near the time of application and taper off. However, in this case, the chest pain and brain fog persist. What Erection quality is down so it is definitely going systematic to some extent for me. Wondering about the probability that this is a combination of nocebo and anxiety.

 

[1919]

I woke up and the pain is much less. I want to see how I feel throughout the day. Might take another dose tomorrow and see if I actually ingested RU by accident because I ate after my first RU application. Yesterday, I felt bloated so it could be nocebo compounded with being bloated which made me feel like my heart was in pain.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

I had tightness in chest for first week. It stopped after a week. Up to you to see if you can push thru tho.

 

[JohnSmith21]

D

1. you have no hair loss to begin with.
2. you need to repeat the test, it could be just a random fluctuation.
3. what's the testosterone level. you may have an asymptomatic hypergonadism but i doubt it
4. what's the source of fina? pharmacy?
5. your Doctor is full of sh*t regardless serum dht level being an irrelevant marker. it's actually the most relevant one. honestly recommend to ditch the guy.
6. topical finasteride roa is not going to create a stronger response than oral one. there is actually no point in topical application on the scalp, since it inhibits 5-alpha-reductase, it doesn't work on follicle androgen receptors. you can aswell rub it on your buttocks and you will have the same result.

Dht tests are very inaccurate and don’t indicate that finasteride isn’t working

 

[JohnSmith21]

Also you have great hair. Literally no need to take anything other the finasteride

 

[1919]

I had tightness in chest for first week. It stopped after a week. Up to you to see if you can push thru tho.

Hmm doesnt sound healthy long term haha. I'm still on the fence about nocebo. But to really prove it I gotta take another dose anyways.

 

[1919]

Also you have great hair. Literally no need to take anything other the finasteride

The thing is I'm thinning on finasteride. Started with a very tiny loss on my left temple. But now my right is also clearly miniaturizing and I cant style my hair the same anymore (in JUST a year). Always thought hairloss would take a very long time. Used to wear a side-swept quiff, but now I use a midpart to hide the thinning temples. I know its not comparable to many of those who are NW2 + but I'm certainly headed there soon if I cant stabilize. Keeping hair is easier than getting hair, so I really want to stabilize my hairloss as soon as possible.

 

[1919]

Chest pain is still there. Its noteworthy to say that the discomfort is not episodic but constant. Im not gunna say its RU but I only started noticing it on the day I started RU. Already lowered my minoxidil dose which doesnt seem to do much. Gunna visit the doctor soon, hopefully its something else like GERD/ acid reflex.
I noticed that the heart discomfort/ pain is less apparent when I do cardio (rope skipping). I think this points towards GERD as lately Ive been sleeping late, eating at irregular times, and missing meals. Hence it would be an unfortunate set of circumstance that made me imagine RU causing this.
The only explanation for RU causing heart problems ive seen is due to DHT deficiency. Given my blood tests, I doubt RU has the strength to cause this. However, I will stay cautious until a doctor is able to diagnose me.

 

[1919]

Okay, a little update. Ive been able to somewhat stabilize my chest pain. Funny enough, chest pain has been keeping me off the forums and doing other stuff. I feel like a lot of people on this forum are hypochondriacs. If its not the hair it would be some other imperfection we obsess over.
At the moment im heavily leaning onto acid reflux because graviscon after meals seems to be helping. It gets worse at night (not when laying down necessarily) which also supports this theory. Might add back RU one time tomorrow and see if it does anything to the chest pain. So a minor set back to my routine but Ill get there.
Hoping to add microneedling in a month. If anyone has experience with microneedling while using RU please let me know. Im trying to limit as much systemic absorption of course.
Besides this, minoxidil once a day feels much better for my scalp so I will be sticking to this even if twice a day is better. The shedding has certainly gone down but I still lose ~30 hairs a shower while counting very roughly.

 

[Jeju]

The current Regimen will be as follows:
finasteride 1.25 mg ED ~8.5 months
Min 5% 1ml twice a day ~1 month
RU premade angeninc 5% 1ml ED
In the future im considering adding dutasteride (or topical) 0.5 mg weekly in conjunction with finasteride daily (possibly transition to dutasteride fully) despite going against my theory. ORM/ ODM may be considered

Your loss is minor and you’re already considering that.

I am quite certain now that RU can be harmful to your heart

No sh*t.

 

[1919]

Your loss is minor and you’re already considering that.


No sh*t.

Thanks for the response. I've tried to find explanations for why RU is harmful to the heart but the only reason I can find is DHT deficiency which is unlikely as my serum DHT is quite high. IMO chest pain I am experiencing is from acid reflux because of how I react to changing dietary habits. I cannot confirm this yet until I am able to mitigate all chest pain. I dont want to downplay the risks involve in using any research chemicals.
So in terms of my hairloss. Its rather minor but IMO aggressive. Ive lost quite a lot of mid scalp density as well as my temples becoming fully miniaturized in just a year even while on finasteride. I am only looking for stabilization because regrowth/ transplantation is a much more difficult process than keeping what I have (which I am happy with atm). Luckily, I have a strong donor area because, as you can see, my hair is thick and wavy. Im only 20 which is why the long term prognosis for my hairloss is not good which is why im quite drastic with my regimen.

 

[1919]

Update 24th Feb 2021:
Restarted RU. Feeling good so far 1 hr after application. Crossing my fingers RU will help me maintain!

 

[Jeju]

Update 24th Feb 2021:
Restarted RU. Feeling good so far 1 hr after application. Crossing my fingers RU will help me maintain!

Why? You don’t need it and it’s causing you sides. Be careful man

 

[1919]

Why? You don’t need it and it’s causing you sides. Be careful man

I wasnt sure RU was causing sides. I had acid reflux from horrible dietary habits because its midterm week. Had no idea acid reflux and GERD could cause chest pain mimicking heart problems. Started using graviscon and felt a lot better. Eating at regular times is important as well. I will certainly monitor my body very carefully. If I feel RU is causing any adverse sides I will report and stop usage.
I appreciate you worrying about me )

 

[1919]

Never added crown pics. So for documentation purposes:
Im not stoked about it. Feeling good on RU so far. Hopefully, it brings something to the table given finasteride has not been able to maintain.

 

[1919]

Very quick update for the log: 1st march 2021
Almost a week (~5 days) after starting RU. Dropping around 20 hairs +- 3 per shower 1 shower a day consistently. At peak shedding was around 50 hairs in the shower (40 +) so definitely an improvement. 2 possible contributors:
1. minoxidil shed is finally done
2. RU is working
I want to drop around 10-15 hairs a per day in the shower.
Sides:
- Lower erection quality (though other factors such as stress and bad sleep because of midterms).

Too early for cosmetic differences or hair quality in general.
Also beard growth is so sh*t. Half my mustache is gone so theres that.