Propecia Positive effects, will they last? How to keep them?

K

kehcorpz

Guest
Hello everyone,

I'm new to this board and wanted to give a quick summary of my history. I started noticing hair loss in college. I started Rogaine Liquid once a day and it seemed to be fine up until last year. Last year I ran out of Rogaine liquid and couldn't get a hold of any as it was no longer being sold on the site I used to get it on. In fact, all the places that had rogaine foam weren't shipping to Canada because of new air regulations that did not allow it to be shipped.

As a result my hair started shedding quickly and i panicked. I finally found a place that would ship Rogaine Foam and I got a hold of it and started using it. After using Rogaine foam for a month the most horrible thing happened I lost so much hair I was practically bald. It was a tough experience but 3 months in I noticed it grew in thicker but not like it was prior to starting. I recently had another shed and it once again has been growing in thicker. My frontal receding hairline is also showing signs of peach fuzz turning terminal. Thus far the hair is coming in nicely and if it continues it will restore to what I had in college.

Anyways, I was also taking Mega doses of Beta-Sitosterol for about 1 year as well. I'm talking 3600mg a day coupled with nettle root at 750mg a day. It may have contributed to the peach fuzz turning terminal but I really don't know if that's the case. The Beta-Sitosterol caused my sex drive to go up but then eventually it fell and I had fluctuated between having a sex drive to not. It was never really stable.

I've also been struggling with Depression since college. I was into bodybuilding and took Pro-hormones back when they were legal. This might have contributed to a fall in testosterone or an increased conversion to DHT/Estrogen(I'm making this assumption based on what I will mention below about propecia). I never did see a doctor about it but tried to find natural ways to help it. I took St. Johns wort, 5-htp and Rhodiola and this helped stabilize my anxiety/depression but I never really felt the zest for life.

About a week ago I decided to drop my Rogaine Foam dosage from 2 times a day to once a day due to the massive destruction of my skin. I've always looked way younger for my age. 5 months ago people were telling me I looked 25 even though I'm 30 and now everyone says I look 35. I am not kidding you. Rogaine foam is evil, this never happened to me on the liquid version. I assume the delivery system is too powerful and it enters the peripheral system. I've never had wrinkles and now my forehead has 3 pretty deep lines. I couldn't explain it but heard of others complaining about rogaine doing the same thing. I decided to go on Propecia and I got a 6 month supply from a walk in clinic. This is where things get interesting.

After 4 days of Propecia I have NEVER felt better in my life. I am actually happy and have so much energy. My strength in the gym has sky rocketed. The lifts I was struggling with the week before are easy with extra weight added. I'm also showing signs of my sex drive restoring but it's too early to tell. Propecia is the only thing that has changed.

Anyways, I have read that Propecia can increase Free Testosterone. It's quite possible that I have suffered from low FREE testosterone and it was the cause of my depression and low energy levels. Is it possible that all this time all my testosterone has been converted to DHT/Estrogen and Propecia is finally allowing me to have a normal level of Free test? I'm trying to understand why this would be as I have read the opposite from peoples' experiences and was expecting the opposite to occur.

In any event, I want to keep this level of energy and happiness and It's possible that these effects will be short lived. Has anyone been able to maintain the high levels of testosterone or does the body eventually increase aromatase to counter it? Are there any natural herbs that I should be taking?

I ordered some Horny Goat Weed and have also been taking it the last 2 days. I heard Resveratrol can have anti-aromatase properties so I'm going to take that along with Tribulus to try to maintain and avoid the crash. I have completely stopped Beta-sitosterol but will continue Nettle Root as it has anti-aromatase properties.

Has anyone else had good experiences on Propecia and how did they maintain it? Are these natural herbs the way to go or should I possibly get a prescription anti-aromatase to avoid the side effects that Propecia users mention?

Thanks for any info you can provide!
 
K

kehcorpz

Guest
I guess no one has had this experience. I'm already halfway through my 2nd week and the energy levels have dissipated a bit. I do however notice my skin improving significantly since moving Rogaine foam to only once a week. I'm starting to notice hair in my comb which I haven't been noticing recently. I always see this whenever I'm having a Rogaine shed. I hope it's because of Finasteride and not because of lowering my Rogaine dosage.

I ordered Tribulus and a very potent Resveratrol online and have been taking that. It's possible the Resveratrol may be helping with the improvement of skin as it's got some science backing it in that respect.
 

Mens Rea

Senior Member
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This could end badly.

Keep a close eye on how things go over the next few weeks and months.
 
K

kehcorpz

Guest
I see your point about turning out bad as more testosterone is potentially more DHT. I'm hoping the 5-AR2 inhibition takes care of that.

I'll let you guys know what things are like after a full month. But thus far I noticed my hair has become less brittle. Definitely not any thicker but at least it looks better aesthetically.
 

TheGrayMan2001

Senior Member
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kehcorpz said:
I see your point about turning out bad as more testosterone is potentially more DHT. I'm hoping the 5-AR2 inhibition takes care of that.

I'll let you guys know what things are like after a full month. But thus far I noticed my hair has become less brittle. Definitely not any thicker but at least it looks better aesthetically.

It sounds to me like finasteride is doing it's job. Don't believe the naysayers around here. Sure, finasteride is bad for some people, and you are right to be careful, but when Mens Rea says it sounds potentially harmful to him I respectfully disagree. finasteride usually gives a slight boost in testosterone to most people on it.

Keep an eye on it, but don't be worried. You have more T because the 5-AR2 inhibition of finasteride is preventing that T from turning into DHT. Your hair should do better.
 

Mens Rea

Senior Member
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^ I simply said that because i've seen in many cases guys who are "sensitive" to the hormonal shift (either positively or negatively) in early stages seem much more vunerable to the well known bad sides over time.

The initial boost in testosterone will soon tail off via negative feedback to the HPA and a net result will be less DHT, higher estrogen and relatively less testosterone. That is when problems can occur for some guys.

All im saying is, pay attention to your symptoms.
 
K

kehcorpz

Guest
I hear you Mensa. So far i'm loving this drug. I thought at one point that it tapered off as I did have a bout of depression but I attribute it to me going to Texas and drinking for a week straight and then when I came back and went to my normal lifestyle I had the withdrawal symptoms. I always get depression if I don't minimize my alcohol intake to maybe once a month. I'm back to feeling good again after toughing it out this week.

The most impressive things I have noted while on propecia is:

*My hair looks amazing! It was always brittle and looked like hay and now it looks soft and i'm regaining my youthful blonde color. The vellus hairs that I have from using minoxidil do look to be getting thicker too. If they turn terminal I will definitely be much thicker but I will need to give it maybe another month or 2. I'm actually happy my hair is no longer brittle.

*I've always had feminine fat storage sites on my body. My hips, my ***, my stomach and now all that fat is burning away and my abs are showing. I have changed nothing in my diet and my gym routine.

*My gym strength is improving at a quicker rate. Typically I'll go up a few reps from week to week but now i'm going up weight and reps.

Keep in mind I'm also taking Tribex, horny goat weed, resveratrol and nettle root Although I did take these in the past and didn't have this much improvement so I can only attribute it to propecia. It's going to be a month in a few days and i'm happy that so far I have not experienced the bad side effects people mention. From my understanding the first 2-4 weeks is when most people notice these bad effects.

I think maybe as long as I keep working out and USE the free testosterone it won't be around to let aromatase convert it to estrogen. I would assume that most bad side effects are as a result of increased estrogen.
 
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