Please have a look at this and tell me what i shoud do?!!

[Declan123]

Hi there,

Thanks for taking the time to look at my problem, hopefully you will be able to give me some insight as what to do next, because i am in pretty bad way emotionally about what has happened to my hair recently, and i would like you to give me your opinions on what type of hair loss this is, why it happened and what action to take.

Here's my story, im 27, i have been slowy loosing my hair over the past 4-5 years, when i say slowly i mean barely noticeable as i have always had very thick dark brown hair, no receeding hairline, only slight loss on crown and slight temple loss, over all great coverage.

In Feb this year i decided to go on finasteride to preserve what i have, only wanted to maintain as i was happy with how my hair was.

I commenced taking it at 1.25 proscar everyday, and initially i had some slight shedding about one month in, by the start of May i was even thicker than ever and was really happy with the results and just went on with my everyday life thinking "thank god i will be able to preserve my hair, this drug is great"

Anyhow fast forward two months to mid June and then all of a sudden my hair kinked and instead of being strong and thick, all of a sudden seemed lifeless and light, i went and got a hair cut and noticed that i had lost hair just behind my hairline and all over seemed to be a less amount.

I shaved my head to get a better idea of my loss and since then i have watched my hair shed at a shockingly fast rate!!! I have never ever noticed hair loss before, since mid june until now i have lost 40 - 50% of the hair on my head, diffuse all over it seems and it just continues, its really upsetting and has made me so upset and anxious i really dont know what to do, or why this has happened.

I have read that some people get Telogen Effluvium from finasteride, but usually they are the ones who shed continuously from the first month, i have lost this after 6 months, and inittially thought it was a normal shed, but this has lasted 9 weeks and gets worse everyday!

My scalp was burning and had red marks on it a month into this shed, they seem to have subsided but i still seem to shed, its more noticeable in my male pattern baldness areas such as mid scalp and crown, but it seems i have lost some on the sides too.

I have been to a hair transplant Dr here in Melbourne Australia, he has won a "Golden Folicle" award and asked him about Finasteride and loss, he says that he has priscribed it to over 3000 patients and had never seen or heard of Shedding because of it.

So i went to a Dermatoligist yesterday and he said that its Telogen Effluvium, or a form of AA, most likely due to stress, and that he would expect my hair to grow back, i showed him the documentation of people experiecing this type of thing 11-16 weeks in on Finasteride, and he says it doesnt make sense, and told me to stay on the Finasteride and the hair should grow back in 3-4 months, but i am convinced that Finasteride has caused this, and i feel like i am ruining my hair by continuing to take it, what should i do??!!!

Im so upset and confused as to why this has happened, what to do next, will i get my hair back?? Is this a shed or Telogen Effluvium, and if its Telogen Effluvium or a type of efluvium should i get off Finasteride as it may have been the trigger for it, or ride it out only to see my hair get worse and worse everyday untill there is none left?

I was thinking if i did get off it i would get some RU and then minoxidil and see if i could get this hair back.

Please help, need advice, im devistated!!

 

[irishpride86]

Hey buddy same thing occurred to me... I would like to know as well,

Maybe stay on it... Any others go through this and stay on finasteride and prevail ?

 

[Declan123]

Hey irish,

I have read alot about your experience in this forum and HLH, you seemed to have the same type of loss, but for you it was at the start and all throughout your time on finasteride wasnt it, mine happned at 4 1/2 months which is strange.

I noticed that you got off it and then on RU and nizoral and grew it all back didnt you?

Do you think i should do the same, my Derm seems to think that i should stay on it, how is your treatment going now, i dont really know which direction to take from here, its not male pattern baldness, but in the areas where i have male pattern baldness the loss is more evident, how can someone loose all their hair in one cycle, surely cant happen??

Whats your advice?

I notice Dr Lee's advice was to stop finasteride when you described what happened to you, what do you think about this?

 

[irishpride86]

Hey irish,

I have read alot about your experience in this forum and HLH, you seemed to have the same type of loss, but for you it was at the start and all throughout your time on finasteride wasnt it, mine happned at 4 1/2 months which is strange.

I noticed that you got off it and then on RU and nizoral and grew it all back didnt you?

Do you think i should do the same, my Derm seems to think that i should stay on it, how is your treatment going now, i dont really know which direction to take from here, its not male pattern baldness, but in the areas where i have male pattern baldness the loss is more evident, how can someone loose all their hair in one cycle, surely cant happen??

Whats your advice?

I notice Dr Lee's advice was to stop finasteride when you described what happened to you, what do you think about this?

TO BE HONEST GET ON minoxidil .... this seemed to get my hairs out of Telogen Effluvium state, and stay on finasteride till the 1 year mark, but get on minoxidil to trigger your hairs out of Telogen Effluvium, thats what i think worked for me

im "thinking" of giving finasteride another go but going through a 2nd minoxidil shed after regrowth after it stops i may add finasteride, we'll see... but add minoxidil it will get the Telogen Effluvium to phase out

 

[Declan123]

Irish, didnt that Dr Lee tell you to get off the finasteride because it was the cause of the issue, do u think RU would help too?

So you think stay on for the year mark on finasteride which will be Feb next year, and try and awake the Telogen Effluvium through minoxidil, you got all your hair back hows it going now man?

Did you have an irritated scalp and when it stopped being irritated was that a sign the shedding stopped?

By the way i am happy you posted in here i was hoping you would see this tp be honest because your story was so similar to mine.

Sorry for all the questions, just want to know the way to go here, its made me pretty depressed lately.

 

[RainMan11]

I have been using finasteride 1mg/day for the past 5 months. When I first started, I had a little thinning in my crown, but that was all. Since starting the medication, my hair has been falling out like nuts. The hair falls out from everywhere--top, front, back, sides. My hair is way, way thinner than it was when i started.

I consulted two dermatologists about this and both advised me to continue the medication. They told me that "shedding" is not caused by finasteride, and that my hairloss was just normal progression of male pattern baldness. They also both told me that it was not a telogen effluvium.

Maybe the docs are right that its just male pattern baldness at work. Who the hell knows? What I do know, though, is that it is HIGHLY coincidental that hair loss would become so severe at the exact moment I begin taking a drug like finasteride. Obviously there is a lot of speculation online that hair sometimes thins after starting the drug, only to regrow later...But i guess when it comes down to it, you've got to trust the people in the medical circles on this one.

So, I'm going down with the ship. If propecia F's my hair over, so be it. But all scientific evidence suggests that it does in fact work, and permanent hair loss has never been reported as a side effect of the drug.

Keep taking it.

 

[Declan123]

I have been using finasteride 1mg/day for the past 5 months. When I first started, I had a little thinning in my crown, but that was all. Since starting the medication, my hair has been falling out like nuts. The hair falls out from everywhere--top, front, back, sides. My hair is way, way thinner than it was when i started.

I consulted two dermatologists about this and both advised me to continue the medication. They told me that "shedding" is not caused by finasteride, and that my hairloss was just normal progression of male pattern baldness. They also both told me that it was not a telogen effluvium.

Maybe the docs are right that its just male pattern baldness at work. Who the hell knows? What I do know, though, is that it is HIGHLY coincidental that hair loss would become so severe at the exact moment I begin taking a drug like finasteride. Obviously there is a lot of speculation online that hair sometimes thins after starting the drug, only to regrow later...But i guess when it comes down to it, you've got to trust the people in the medical circles on this one.

So, I'm going down with the ship. If propecia F's my hair over, so be it. But all scientific evidence suggests that it does in fact work, and permanent hair loss has never been reported as a side effect of the drug.

Keep taking it.

Loosing hair the way we have in such a short amount of time is certainly not male pattern baldness, surley not. To loose 40% of your hair in a 4 week period has to be brought about because of another factor, in my case finasteride or as the Dr and Derm said more likely stress, i think it was the finasteride personally, as i have been through more stressfull things over the years than an event happening in march this year.

I am hoping the hair grows back, i still cant believe the loss i have had when i had litterally hardly any signs of male pattern baldness even as litlle as 8 weeks ago, i really hope like crazy that this is temporary, but im not holding my breath, i have read alot of people claim it doesnt come back, if thats the case the question i want to know is if it is hypatheticall aggressive male pattern baldness then you would expect some sort of hair to come back in the next cycle this is what i will be waiting for, anyone else have an opinion on this, or experience similar, if so what happened, what can we expect here?

 

[hudsonhawke]

This is probably why I've decided not to go on finasteride. I'm 30 and I've got pattern recession hitting me at the temples, though overall thickness is good like yours was. no signs of diffuse. I'm going to opt for a transplant to fill in the temples and unless I start to badly diffuse from there then I will consider finasteride as an option.

I think your anxiety from constantly looking at the shed and worrying could be accelerating the shed. You need to relax your mind. Ever pop a nasty zit and stare at it constantly waiting for it to heal? always seems to heal slower, though when you take your mind off it it heals faster. Think of your hair that way. Try buzzing the hair really short to the point you wont notice the shed as much and try not to look in the mirror, accept that it's gone (always have low expectations) and find a distraction.

As most people would suggest the best thing to do is to ride it out. Though I have read a few people claim to be shedding still after a year! But I'm thinking the only way to grow it out again is to keep it constant.

Have you experience any side effects? erectile problems, tender breast etc? I think that would be a good enough reason to stop if those persist, never mind the hair!

Though from what I read here the shedding can last for months and then the hair slowely starts to grow back. To me it all seems like a win/lose gamble. Though to be honest from your pics, doesnt look to bad dude! Hair looks alot thicker when it's long. If you've never had a buzzcut you'd it might be more of a shock to see your scalp, but thats normal as the hair is shorter and there is less coverage.

 

[Declan123]

I am the original poster:

So its been another month and i went and visited an endocrinologist, and he was very helpfull and sympathetic to what has happened here.

I explained my situation to him and showed him photos of baseline and photos that i have been tracking constantly on my iphone of my hair since starting finasteride in late feb.

He concluded that i have had a bad reaction to the finasteride and that i have reflex hyperandrogenicity which has caused a Telogen Effluvium effect on my hair.

The loss is diffuse but i seem to have massively accelerated my loss in my male pattern baldness areas in which i had minimal loss initially, prior starting finasteride.

The hair on the sides and back is still thin and wispy, the crown is thinned and the hairline looks like absolute sh%t.

He has told me to get off finasteride, i am wondering how i go about getting off it without possibly furthering my hairloss problem, however the amount of hair i have lost over the last 3 months since having a full head of thick hair i cant see how it could be any worse, however i am wondering what people think i should do regarding getting off it, do i taper off, or just go cold turkey?

I have also ordered some RU58841 from Faith Eagle in China, and i am hoping this gets through customs. The only person i have seen or heard of recovering from this kind of similar situation is one of the above posters "IrishPride", i hope to do the same.

I have noticed an increase in facial hair, and as i am not a generally hairy perosn body hair wise, i have also noticed some chest hairs that i have never had before. I also get the odd couple of pimples i never usually got and at 28 i find that strange, but my face and scalp are dry not oily so go figure? T

he thing i dont understand is that my sex drive hasnt been elevated and that is a massive syptom of reflex hyperandrogenicity, if anything its lower than normal.

The endocrinologist was optimistic that my hormone levels will re adjust over time, and that my hair should regrow, this is good in theory but i doubt it. Its frustrating not knowing if this will be the case, and everyday is a depressing nightmare to be honest, all i do is obsess about this loss and read through different forums looking for some form of hope and answers, i have probably read every thread on diffuse loss, Telogen Effluvium, reflex hyperandrogenicity there is on the web and i can do is hope that this can be reversed, i am not overly optimistic though, i actually think i need to go and see someone about the depression this has caused me.

I feel so angry and frustrated that i was one of the unlucky repsonders to finasteride, and that after it working for 3 months loosing this amount of hair and watch it deterierate every week has been nothing short of devistating.

So do i taper of finasteride or get straight off it, anyone out there have their hormones and testosterone levels go back to nomal after finasteride?

Anyone have any ideas from here, and what kind of time frame if at all i will see improvement, if at all?

Desperate question, i know knowone will be able to answer, but if anything else i feel like asking.

Thanks for reading, and i realise that for most of you finasteride works but i think i am perminantly f$%ed from this.

 

[irishpride86]

Add minoxidil it will help your Telogen Effluvium hairs get out of that state..

 

[Declan123]

Irish, do you think it would make a difference in my case, as yours was more of a Telogen Effluvium directly from the finasteride, mine seems like its a testostrone problem, built up over a 5 month period and now i am growing more body and facial hair, and loosing hair on top / sides constantly.

I know your loss was similar but while you were on finasteride did you experience acne and more body hair? The hair i do have is still covering to an extent but its getting thinner and thinner, and i have these whispy kinked hairs everywhere, recceding hairline, none of this was evident 10 weeks ago.

You think this loss is Telogen Effluvium because Telogen Effluvium is in most cases temporary, where as this loss seems as though its definately a hormonal imbalance / Testosterone increase in receptors causing the shed, and i feel unless they somehow magically reset i will continue to loose hair, or i have fast forwarded my male pattern baldness by 10 years in a matter of weeks.

I have minoxidil liquid form in the bathroom, i havn't used it yet, will it matter if its not the foam seeing as i have diffuse loss?

You cant get the foam in Australia.

Does anyone actually know if hormone levels reset properly after stopping finasteride, do i taper off the finasteride / cold turkey? At the moment i am taking 0.5 a day, and since dropping the dose i have a tight scalp and face, and my skin is very dry.

I know i am venting here, and rambling on but if anyone of you saw me in June compared to what i look and feel like now you would be truly astounded. I am going to wait for the RU to arrive and start minoxidil, i dont want to make the wrong choice on Miinox though if i can only use the liquid, i have heard good and bad things about the difference between foam and liquid.

I

 

[Rabid]

How were your testosterone levels? I assume the endocrinologist did blood work to conclude it was reflex HA, but I don't think you mentioned that.

 

[hudsonhawke]

I did a simular thing 5 years ago. I had a nice thick head of hair and wanted to maintain it. Went on revivogen not knowing exactly what it was and applied it along my hairline and the sides etc. After a few weeks of using it I noticed my hair was actually alot thinner!! I lost a sh*t-load and decided to stop. I had no idea about shedding or anything like that at the time.

Hair was f*cked for a while but eventually thickened up over the years. I would say you have nothing to worry about and am certain your hair will heal over time, just need to take your mind off it. I imagine seeing a psycologist would really help if you are depressed.

Though keep us updated on your progress. What is Telogen Effluvium btw? Can a test really determine if you will be a bad responder?

 

[hudsonhawke]

hows it all going Declan? Have you noticed any changes in your hair as in getting better? might have to start on the finasteride myself :S

 

[done]

Same story here. It's been more than a month and I'm still on finasteride.. have lost more than 60% of my hair and no sign of the sheds stopping. It's insane, don't really know what to do.. it's shedding from all over, and I really can't imagine it all suddenly growing back like some kind of miracle. Before this I had no sign of male pattern baldness, and now i'm literally losing everything. :shakehead:

Right now i'm kind of afraid of going off finasteride and losing everything that I have shed in the last month for good. So I'm curious if you gain any of your hair back.

 

[Declan123]

Hey guys,

I thought i would update whats happened since i last posted. I went and saw my encronoligist after he had a look at my test results for various things, nothing was out of the ordinary, i decided that after shedding for so long that i would quit finasteride.

I have been off finasteride for about 4 and a half weeks, this is what happened.

My hair/scalp got extreemly oily for about a week, and then cleared up which was good i then have experienced the following.

1.Hair has stopped shedding.

2. I have not had a single pimple since and in general my skin has cleared up on my face, and my overall apperance of my face and pores look like they were pre finasteride.

3. Got back my sex drive, i forgot what it was like to get morning erections when waking up, and spontanious ones throughout the day, i dont think you realise how badly your sex drive can be affected until you get off finasteride.

4.Body hair that was growing has stopped, which is great.

5. I was depressed on finasteride, it made me feel flat, and little things that used to excite me didnt, i didnt really care about alot just seemed to just go through the motions and wasnt overly happy nor un happy, just felt a sort of nothing and flat feeling most of the time, i dont know if anyone can relate to this but i have noticed since being off finasteride i have felt ALIVE again, I am much happier, i have a spring in my step again, i was always sceptical of people who spoke about brain fog, or depression related to finasteride, but having been off it, i feel much better about everything.

Its now 4 and a half weeks off and i replaced finasteride with RU, I ordered it from Faith Eagle in China and have been using 100mgs all over the top of head at night time before bed.

In the last 4 weeks and especially the last two weeks, my hair looks substantially better, its an amazing turn around since being off finasteride, its thickened up, i am no longer loosing any hair, or minimal compared to what it was.

I still have diffuse loss from the finasteride all over but i have grown my hair out and it has thickened up over in the front and generally all over.

I am seeing very small blonde hairs at my hair line and just behind it, i dont know if they are miniturised hairs, or hairs that will become longer and terminal.

The loss i got in my crown has not recovered from the shedding i hope this does get better with time.

I am going to keep taking the RU, and i might add minoxidil soon, i just want to see what happens over the next month or so, ideally i would just grow back the shed hair all over on its own, mabye minoxidil will help recover it.

All in all, my hair has definately improved, i can style it again, i am not shedding and i will post some pics in the next couple of days and you can tell me what you think.

I would like to thank Irish for his advice, cheers for you help!

To others out there right now who have constantly shed on finasteride, think about getting off it, i feel alot better, my hair is better, i may not grow everything i lost back but my hair litterally looks 10 times better off it.

Touch wood there is no future sheds comming my way, and that it continues to improve, i will be taking the RU every single day, and might up it to 150mgs a day soon.

Thanks for reading and i will post new pics ASAP.

 

[done]

Thanks for the update Declan123. May I ask how you quit the finasteride? did you slowly quit or just stopped all at once?

 

[irishpride86]

yah man, now that your on ru, it will work better at blocking the AR, same sh*t occurred to me while on finasteride. I know how you feel.

For real though think about adding minoxidil foam in. It will get those Telogen Effluvium stuck hairs to regrow again. You may shed at first bit it comes back better, look at my success story tread for proof on that.

by the way how are you making your ru ?

 

[Declan123]

Ok so i have spoken WAY to soon it seems...

Since i last posted 6 days ago, all i have experienced as a big shed, and its not letting up, my hairline has taken a massive hit and overall on the top of my head once again loosing more in a diffuse pattern.

I cant believe it, intially i thought that the RU was great i know its only been 3 weeks but the last 6 days has been a big step back.

When i got off finasteride my hair seemed to thicken up and stop shedding, the hair that i lost on finasteride didnt grow back but it definately was better overall.

The lost hair from finasteride was constant over the last 4 months, but i had 3 sheds over that time where i would loose hair for about 2 weeks and then it would stop, overall lost about 40%, but as my hair was thick at baseline, once i grew it out again i could manage it, and although i was and still am hoping for it to re grow, i would have been happy just keeping what i had left by using RU.

I didnt expect to get a big shed from RU, and i dont even know if its a shed, or loss to be honest, because everytime i have lost hair over the last 4 months its hasnt grown back.

The last time i noticed loss was about 2 months ago the last 2 months has been stable and then improved 6 weeks ago when i got off finasteride.

It improved so much that i could once agian style it with wax and made it look alot thicker.

However since the last post the last 6-7 days has been a shed and the hairline and overall has really taken a big hit and this is now scaring the sh%t outa me, because i was really begining to be optimistic again about maintaining and hopefully improvement.

The reason i shed on finasteride was because of a Hyper Reflex reaction, hormonal imbalance, and i guess my receptors are very sensitive.

Is this the reason why i am now shedding on RU? I have been applying 100mgs once at night time, with 3ml of 95/% proof alchohol and 1ml PG, i apply it all over the top of the head and then go to bed.

I have noticed hairloss in on my pillow and also on my hands when i shower, but the last few days i have really noticed it when i style my hair as my hairline has all of a sudden become see through and way less thick than a week ago, along with overall appearance.

I really dont know why this has happened, i have never read of people shedding on RU before, i got off finasteride in two weeks, just cut down to .05 mgs and then quit, its been 6 weeks, i wasnt loosing much hair when i started finasteride as stated in my original post, its all been since taking finasteride and now after taking RU.

None of the hair loss has grown back, but it got better a month after quitting finasteride.

Any advice, i am really shattered about this new loss, i spoke too soon and get excited when my overall appearance got better recently.

I am worried that if i keep taking RU i will keep loosing more and more, and that none of it will grow back.

Thoughts?

I will also post some pics and show you what my hair has been like over the last 2 months, i just need to get a new cord for my camera.

 

[hudsonhawke]

Hey Declan,

Thanks for the updates. Dam shame about the sudden shed. I've heard about RU. Is it basically the same ingredients as finasteride but just topical? If so than I imagine it would have exactly the same process as finasteride (shed, regrow, shed etc) just without the internal sides (lost labido brain fog) though I'm no expert.

Out of curiosity do you do any weight lifting and drink whey protien etc? My hairline/front hair has become increasingly see-through in the last 3 months since I started all that stuff and I'm not even on any meds.

Yeah post those pics mate, very curiouse to see as to how bad the shedding has gotten from baseline over time.