Over A Year On Finasteride - Shedding Like Mad

[itsyaboi]

So basically in March 2018 I jumped into a finasteride regimen to at least maintain my current head of hair (which had begun to recede) at least until I could afford an FUE a few years down the line (I was 20 now 21).

There was an initial shed complete with an itchy head and self-perceived thinner hair where I got extremely anxious and prowled on the threads here but it eventually subsided and I think it began to stabilise and work, which put me at ease until this year.

All of a sudden in this past week or so, my head has been itching like crazy (it seems to itch more the more I stress about it) and I believe my hair is once again being wrecked; it feels thinner and the hairline is definitely pulling back with smaller miniaturised hairs appearing everywhere. It’s strange because I think to an extent very light hairs had sprouted last year where a juvenile hairline *should* be and I was happy because I assumed they might start to fill in and get darker but this hasn’t been the case.

Bottom line is, should I change my routine to dutasteride? Or alternate between them so finasteride one day then duta the next? I know people have freaked out about shedding before but this has usually been a few months in and it sounds unusual for it to happen this late into treatment.

Is it possible this itchiness is hormone related? I’ve just ordered Nizoral and I’m going to see if it helps.

 

[itsyaboi]

I should add that I’ve been using generic finasteride which I order in half year batches. It has been under 2 different brands with the first change happening at the first half year then the pharmacy reverted back to the Actavis Aindeem for the most recent batch.

 

[Michael1986]

If you are certain that the finasteride is losing its effectiveness, it may be time to make the switch to dutasteride. The scalp itching could be caused by something else. What Norwood level are you at the moment?

 

[itsyaboi]

Im sitting at round a Norwood 2.5 but in bright light with my hair pulled back I can see the thinner strips of hair where a Norwood 3 would eventually happen. I think temporal recession is also happening as I just noticed a lot of thinning at the temple points (unsure if it’s maybe new hair but I think it’s not).

I’m unsure about the scalp itching as it was also pretty bad last year a month or so into Finasteride but it eventually subsided and my hair *seemed* to thicken up. I assumed the same would happen now but I want to be cautious, hence adding Nizoral into the regimen to try and tackle that issue.

I’ve read around some boards here that dutasteride really screwed with the hairline (which I’m most concerned about because the rest is still quite thick) but I don’t know how much these sufferers are in the minority.

 

[Michael1986]

The scalp itching could be caused by something nothing to do with hair loss. It might just be scalp dryness, in which case a moisturising conditioner would help.

I'm not sure what those people meant by Dutasteride "screwing with the hairline". Maybe they just meant the initial temporary shed that can occur at the beginning of dutasteride use and which is actually a sign that the drug is working. It is a scientific fact that Dutasteride cannot actually be harmful to your hair. Dutasteride removes the hormone that is responsible for damaging your hair follicles, and so Dutasteride can logically only possibly have a protective effect.

 

[itsyaboi]

Yeah, it may just be coincidence but I noticed this sudden thinning of hair around the time I noticed the itching but weirdly the itching and flakiness seems to correlate to how much I worry over the issue; when I completely panic about it my head itches like crazy but again this may be purely coincidental.

I’ve used moisturising conditioners for years now so I think it may just be a case of dandruff but adding in the Keto shampoo once a week couldn’t hurt I suppose.

In any case I’ve ordered a batch of dutasteride and will stick it out for a while; hopefully that will yield good results because my last resort would be Bicalutamide.

 

[Michael1986]

Yeah, it may just be coincidence but I noticed this sudden thinning of hair around the time I noticed the itching but weirdly the itching and flakiness seems to correlate to how much I worry over the issue; when I completely panic about it my head itches like crazy but again this may be purely coincidental.

I’ve used moisturising conditioners for years now so I think it may just be a case of dandruff but adding in the Keto shampoo once a week couldn’t hurt I suppose.

In any case I’ve ordered a batch of dutasteride and will stick it out for a while; hopefully that will yield good results because my last resort would be Bicalutamide.

Stress and anxiety could well be the cause of the scalp itchiness. There's so many things in your body that can be caused by stress, as I know first hand. If the scalp itchiness doesn't go away after a few weeks, it might be worth seeing a dermatologist about it.

Well anyway, good luck with the dutasteride. Let us know how you get along with it. I'm also a dutasteride user. Been using it for five years with great success.

 

[itsyaboi]

Stress and anxiety could well be the cause of the scalp itchiness. There's so many things in your body that can be caused by stress, as I know first hand. If the scalp itchiness doesn't go away after a few weeks, it might be worth seeing a dermatologist about it.

Well anyway, good luck with the dutasteride. Let us know how you get along with it. I'm also a dutasteride user. Been using it for five years with great success.

Thanks man! With college deadlines etc I have been quite stressed over this month so I suppose that could have contributed to it somewhat.

That’s great to know it’s been working well for you though, hopefully luck is on my side. I’ll update after a while but I’m probably going to try and not overthink the situation too much for now. :’)