Signs finasteride is/isn't working?

[xp15]

I've been on finasteride 1mg about 1 month and a half now. I did notice a shed starting about two weeks in and my hair has gotten visibly worse with no regrowth yet. Not sure yet if the shed has stopped or is still ongoing.

What's interesting to me is that, after about 2 weeks on it, I noticed significant decrease in sex drive (maybe 30-40%). I could still get myself up if I wanted, I just didn't feel like I wanted to nearly as much. Regardless, this side effect actually REASSURED me that the drug was working, as I was getting some sort of noticeable effect.

Well, after starting my second bottle I've noticed that my sex drive has completely returned to what it was before. This is actually bothering me, and it's got me wondering whether the second bottle of generic finasteride that I got was a bad batch (I did get it from a CVS though with a prescription, not an online pharm). I'm also still getting the periodic "itch" in the areas where I've lost hair most (especially on the hairline near the temples). I had read that propecia should help with the itch quickly but it hasn't really.

It's not that I'm wishing for the bad side effects. But... did anyone just getting a sudden resurge in sex drive on finasteride?

 

[isishearmyplea]

for some people the sides get better with time, just keep taking the pills and evaluate after an year at least. I am 6 months in i still check my hair everyday like someone with OCD> not cool at all :/.

 

[zzzzz]

sides are unrelated to results,

as for me I am having excellent regrowth (look at thread in my sig) and my scalp still itches and I even still shed a little (although a fraction of what I was shedding before) 5 months in so I don't think that's related to results either.

 

[Eureka]

6 weeks is too early to tell, you have to remain patient. Concerning scalp itching Nizoral completely fixed that issue for me, may be worth trying.

 

[xRedStaRx]

If you don't get improvement within 16 months, chances are you won't get any.

Only the ones who saw results within the first year either stayed that way, or continued to improve with time.

 

[xp15]

sides are unrelated to results,

as for me I am having excellent regrowth (look at thread in my sig) and my scalp still itches and I even still shed a little (although a fraction of what I was shedding before) 5 months in so I don't think that's related to results either.

That's great! How much time before you started to notice any regrowth? Tbh all I can say almost for sure is that my hair has gotten worse since I started, and I see no sign of new hairs growing in even when I examine closely.

I'm crossing my fingers that his loss I've experienced is just a shed and is not the new normal.

Also, I have been using nizoral 2-3 times per week as well. Although no minoxidil yet.

 

[zzzzz]

That's great! How much time before you started to notice any regrowth? Tbh all I can say almost for sure is that my hair has gotten worse since I started, and I see no sign of new hairs growing in even when I examine closely.

I'm crossing my fingers that his loss I've experienced is just a shed and is not the new normal.

Also, I have been using nizoral 2-3 times per week as well. Although no minoxidil yet.

I had an initial shed which lasted until about week 7 where shedding dropped off significantly. Around week 10 is when I started to see sure signs of new regrowth. Everyone is different though. My results came very fast

 

[Mja017]

Keep taking it everyday and come back in 6-9 months and maybe we can talk. finasteride isn't some kind of overnight miracle pill man, stuff takes time. I believe the manufacturer says you won't see full results until 12-18 months.

 

[xp15]

Keep taking it everyday and come back in 6-9 months and maybe we can talk. finasteride isn't some kind of overnight miracle pill man, stuff takes time. I believe the manufacturer says you won't see full results until 12-18 months.

Yeah I understand that. I was wanting to see if there are any kinds of "signs" that it will or will not work. But I guess only time will tell.

I just sit here feeling like... while I'm wondering whether finasteride would work I could be using dutasteride which is likely even more effective. And that if finasteride doesn't work after 12-18 months from now I'll have lost so much hair that what I could have saved on dutasteride will be gone. But I suppose dutasteride is more risky when it comes to sides, I'm not sure.

 

[xRedStaRx]

Yeah I understand that. I was wanting to see if there are any kinds of "signs" that it will or will not work. But I guess only time will tell.

I just sit here feeling like... while I'm wondering whether finasteride would work I could be using dutasteride which is likely even more effective. And that if finasteride doesn't work after 12-18 months from now I'll have lost so much hair that what I could have saved on dutasteride will be gone. But I suppose dutasteride is more risky when it comes to sides, I'm not sure.

They both work with the exact same mechanism. One is just ~10% more potent than the other.

 

[xp15]

They both work with the exact same mechanism. One is just ~10% more potent than the other.

I thought it was more like: finasteride blocks ~60% DHT, and dutasteride blocks ~90%?

 

[xRedStaRx]

I thought it was more like: finasteride blocks ~60% DHT, and dutasteride blocks ~90%?

We do not care about DHT from 5-AR I enzymes. Dutasteride inhibits 5-AR II enzymes by up to 99% compared to finasteride at around 90%.

 

[Jghost]

Started working for me with in 2 months I saw my miniaturized hair get thick full and longer witch made a difference people were asking me how I got my hair back but I'm sure I have way more to go like 12 months

 

[Alphalete]

Started working for me with in 2 months I saw my miniaturized hair get thick full and longer witch made a difference people were asking me how I got my hair back but I'm sure I have way more to go like 12 months

Nice. Mind sharing pics?

 

[genetically_cursed]

I had an initial shed which lasted until about week 7 where shedding dropped off significantly. Around week 10 is when I started to see sure signs of new regrowth. Everyone is different though. My results came very fast

any sides u experienced?

 

[Haze]

Started working for me with in 2 months I saw my miniaturized hair get thick full and longer witch made a difference people were asking me how I got my hair back but I'm sure I have way more to go like 12 months

So bare with me here , this is a bit complicated
,I am 24 , I started noticing my hairline goin back
So I did my research and decided to start taking finestride 0.5 so what I did was I bought 2 packs and I split the 1mg pill into half’s and I split the whole thing and put it all in a plastic medicine bottle and started taking them , for four months I felt good at least I was doing something about it , I did not see any difference tho , but that’s okay at least I wasn’t getting worse ,then (I live in Jordan btw) when those pills were finished after four months I needed to get more but I couldn’t find the 1mg pill anywhere so i read that it’s okay to buy proscar and split them into fours and and that’s what I did , I got my proscar and it was very expensive in my hometown but it’s okay since the pack will last me around four months ,now pay attention to this , again I opened the whole pack and split all the pills into 1.25 ml so that it would be easier for me to take them and I put all of it in that same plastic bottle so I started taking them two month in and the third month , I don’t know why but I started noticing that my hairline got visibly worse tho before it was not bad at all or noticeable at all (when I was taking the 0.5 but now while I’m on the 1.25 mg of proscar I started actually noticing the horseshoe shape which scared the hell out of me ,it was obviously getting worse and it wasn’t just my paranoia , now I read somewhere that you are not supposed to split the pill and keep it out of its foil for more than 2 or 3 days if thus true then I obviously messed up and I’ve been taking them while they had lost their effectiveness
So what I did was I went and I bought another pack of proscar and threw away the rest of the old opened pack and now What I’ve done for about a month now is every night I take out one 5mg pill and I split it into half’s and I take one half and take the other the next day and so on I hope that way this 2nd day half doesn’t lose it’s effectiveness or anything , so like I said I’ve done that for around a month now and I can honestly say that my hair is yet again is getting worse for a while there while I was taking the 0.5 mg I started noticing tiny little baby hairs growing around the temple areas which I believe we’re not there before and now they are gone again , now I see miniaturizing and it’s very obvious and I am very concerned and freaking out , I know some people will say that it is no big deal , but please don’t and please take this seriously cuz literally the only thing I love about myself is my hair , I hate everything about me ,the only thing that is nice in my appearance is my hair and I would rather actually die than to lose it , not being melodramatic just being transparent and maybe that’s shallow but that’s me , so I would really appreciate some advices or opinions on this whole complex situation , and do you think I should move to dutastride since I have not had any side effects from any dose of finestide ever , but I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it here in Jordan but if it’s what I have to do then I’ll do it . Just to be clear I am wondering wether splitting the whole pack was the problem maybe that’s why I wasn’t seeing results or maybe finestride just isn’t working in my body since I didn’t get sides maybe its not powerful enough for me or maybe I didn’t wait long enough to see results or maybe I spoiled the pack by opening the whole thing I have no clue what I’m doing or what I should do next , should I stay on the 2.5 mg and see how that plays out in the next 4 months but I’m too scared cuz like I said since I started I’ve noticed even more miniaturizing I’m scared if I was for more months it will be too late to salvage what had been lost already
If you are still reading this you are the real MVP thanks

 

[genetically_cursed]

So bare with me here , this is a bit complicated
,I am 24 , I started noticing my hairline goin back
So I did my research and decided to start taking finestride 0.5 so what I did was I bought 2 packs and I split the 1mg pill into half’s and I split the whole thing and put it all in a plastic medicine bottle and started taking them , for four months I felt good at least I was doing something about it , I did not see any difference tho , but that’s okay at least I wasn’t getting worse ,then (I live in Jordan btw) when those pills were finished after four months I needed to get more but I couldn’t find the 1mg pill anywhere so i read that it’s okay to buy proscar and split them into fours and and that’s what I did , I got my proscar and it was very expensive in my hometown but it’s okay since the pack will last me around four months ,now pay attention to this , again I opened the whole pack and split all the pills into 1.25 ml so that it would be easier for me to take them and I put all of it in that same plastic bottle so I started taking them two month in and the third month , I don’t know why but I started noticing that my hairline got visibly worse tho before it was not bad at all or noticeable at all (when I was taking the 0.5 but now while I’m on the 1.25 mg of proscar I started actually noticing the horseshoe shape which scared the hell out of me ,it was obviously getting worse and it wasn’t just my paranoia , now I read somewhere that you are not supposed to split the pill and keep it out of its foil for more than 2 or 3 days if thus true then I obviously messed up and I’ve been taking them while they had lost their effectiveness
So what I did was I went and I bought another pack of proscar and threw away the rest of the old opened pack and now What I’ve done for about a month now is every night I take out one 5mg pill and I split it into half’s and I take one half and take the other the next day and so on I hope that way this 2nd day half doesn’t lose it’s effectiveness or anything , so like I said I’ve done that for around a month now and I can honestly say that my hair is yet again is getting worse for a while there while I was taking the 0.5 mg I started noticing tiny little baby hairs growing around the temple areas which I believe we’re not there before and now they are gone again , now I see miniaturizing and it’s very obvious and I am very concerned and freaking out , I know some people will say that it is no big deal , but please don’t and please take this seriously cuz literally the only thing I love about myself is my hair , I hate everything about me ,the only thing that is nice in my appearance is my hair and I would rather actually die than to lose it , not being melodramatic just being transparent and maybe that’s shallow but that’s me , so I would really appreciate some advices or opinions on this whole complex situation , and do you think I should move to dutastride since I have not had any side effects from any dose of finestide ever , but I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it here in Jordan but if it’s what I have to do then I’ll do it . Just to be clear I am wondering wether splitting the whole pack was the problem maybe that’s why I wasn’t seeing results or maybe finestride just isn’t working in my body since I didn’t get sides maybe its not powerful enough for me or maybe I didn’t wait long enough to see results or maybe I spoiled the pack by opening the whole thing I have no clue what I’m doing or what I should do next , should I stay on the 2.5 mg and see how that plays out in the next 4 months but I’m too scared cuz like I said since I started I’ve noticed even more miniaturizing I’m scared if I was for more months it will be too late to salvage what had been lost already
If you are still reading this you are the real MVP thanks

time to ldar brother, if finasteride doesnt work, not much left to try out

duta, ru and minoxidil with 3 times a day nizoral lol, but chances are it wotn change anything, genetics is a b**ch