Potentially The Worst Responder To Finasteride... Ever?

[baldingboi]

Hello,
Around mid-July I decided to take the plunge and start finasteride. My hair was never noticeably balding and still very thick - there was only slight recession on the temples, however in an attempt to save any further recession from happening I decided to start finasteride.

From literally what it felt like day 1 i started to shed my hair in incredible quantities (something which i had never experienced before). Around 3 weeks in after incessant shedding I started to develop other side effects such as decreased libido, limp erections and painful inflamed scalp.

Anyway I continued because people on these forums always told people to ride out the shed and hope for the regrowth of this shed - but for the 3 months my hair NEVER stopped shedding so I quit around one month and a half ago (also due to the other side effects I was experienced I realised it was unsustainable). I literally lost 60% of my hair due to this 'shed' and it left the rest of my hair so thin. It has also notably obliterated the hair above my temples.

After I stopped finasteride, the shedding slowed down massively and now i only lose 2 hairs in the shower which are thin and lifeless. It feels like my other hair is just a matter of time before it falls out too. I am still hoping for regrowth but I am considerably less optimistic now than I was when I stopped because I have not noticed anything.

I have looked through these forums profusely to see if anyone else has had this ungodly shed AND experienced side effects and it just seems to be one or the other.

I am convinced that finasteride has literally kickstarted my male pattern baldness and I am utterly depressed knowing that it was through my own choice that this has happened. Does anyone have any advice on where to go from here? I am considering starting oral minoxidil but I feel like I can't face the shed that will induce. I just can't get over that a drug to STOP balding has caused this to happen and I know now that it has happened to other people on this forum it's so f*****g unfair.

 

[pegasus2]

100% finasteride is not the cause of your hair loss.

 

[JonnyGo]

So you took finasteride cause you were balding and now you’re blaming finasteride cause you’re balding? You were already balding before that’s why you took it.

 

[CrownBalding]

I thought the same thing. I started finasteride 18 months ago and within 2-3 months I think my overall hair density was cut in half. Now, 18 months later, my hair more or less remained about the same. Who knows what it would’ve been like if I didn’t get on...

 

[Hairs45]

pics of your hair?

i think you're exaggerating a bit

 

[brownhair]

Same thing happened to me, within 2 weeks my hair became lifeless and thin. I could actually feel it changing on a daily basis and my barber commented on it too. I can't style it anymore and my scalp is visible which wasn't the case before. Shed has never stopped. I have physical sides too including burning and itching scalp which wasn't the case pre-finasteride. No good posting it here as you get the usual response as which has already been posted in this thread. Just waiting for the usual 'its all in your head'.

 

[baldingboi]

I wish I was exaggerating I really do. Ever since I've stopped the itch barely happens anymore so obviously it was the finasteride eating up my hair!!
I don't understand why people are so quick to defend finasteride, it wasnt even created FOR hairloss

 

[Incinerate]

I do believe you and i m sorry for what happened. But people here are very cautious, they won't believe you if you don't post photos.

 

[Me Vs DiffuseThinning]

Post pictures. 95% chance you are a NW1 with perfect density. I f*****g hate BDD users.

 

[baldingboi]

i mean i dont know why i would go to the effort of making it up lol
the first one is me in June - sorry i dont really have any good pictures to show my slight recession but it was there, my hair was so thick, this was the baseline before finasteride
the second one is me in October - still pretty good, at the time i thought it was awful
the last three are today, my widows peak and hairline have gone back easily a couple inches

 

[Me Vs DiffuseThinning]

i mean i dont know why i would go to the effort of making it up lol
the first one is me in June - sorry i dont really have any good pictures to show my slight recession but it was there, my hair was so thick, this was the baseline before finasteride
the second one is me in October - still pretty good, at the time i thought it was awful
the last three are today, my widows peak and hairline have gone back easily a couple inches

BDD, just as I suspected. f*** off

 

[baldingboi]

shut up man, just because i probably have more hair than you doesnt mean i have BDD. i f*****g wish i did, im only 22 tell me, tell me thats how an average 22 year olds hair line looks like

 

[Me Vs DiffuseThinning]

shut up man, just because i probably have more hair than you doesnt mean i have BDD. i f*****g wish i did, im only 22 tell me, tell me thats how an average 22 year olds hair line looks like

f*** off

 

[baldingboi]

BDD for sure

 

[Me Vs DiffuseThinning]

You're so dramatic going on about you being the worst responder to finasteride when there are NW6 diffuse users on here struggling to maintain on treatment. That's why I f*****g hate your post. I always like to give advice to people who are early in hair loss. I don't hate people who are in earlier stages of balding. I just hate people like you with BDD who think the world is about to end when your hair is still in good shape and treatment is maintaining.

 

[baldingboi]

That's the thing I didn't maintain, I've only lost hair from taking finasteride and a lot of it. Anyway, I know my situation and if you were in my shoes then you would understand too. Going down a Norwood or maybe more in the space of 3 months is pretty traumatising and it's literally fucked the rest of my hair. I have complete sympathy for guys who are NW6/7, but I'm only 22 and it's the way I'm going. You don't need to be a dick I haven't done anything to you, you're clearly angry at the world but hostility never gets you anywhere.

 

[baldingboi]

My temples were FULL before starting finasteride, albeit receding they were still thick
This is 4 months later

 

[baldingboi]

people like the two who disregarded my situation should be f*****g banned from this site. people are going through horrifically stressful periods of their life and look on these forums to seek some advice/help and all they can do is talk sh*t. perhaps here is a better picture which emphasises my situation - finasteride caused me to diffuse in a completely unnatural way and all in the space of 3 months. I had NEVER shed hair before noticeably and now look at the state of my hair it makes me feel sick every morning waking up and realising what ive done to myself.

 

[pegasus2]

We're not talking sh*t. We're just trying to get you to understand that correlation is not the same as causation. No matter what you believe, finasteride did not cause your hair loss.

 

[baldingboi]

it's such a dumb argument pegasus. explain to me why coincidentally after 1 week of taking finasteride my hair starts to fall out in clumps when i have never experienced this is in my life before and this continued for 3 months until i stopped. albeit im still losing hair but at a significantly slower rate than i had done before. i also don't have an itch or inflammation anymore which was f*****g awful when i was on finasteride. you are wrong and why disregard so many others experiences too? it's not as if im alone here