The Shedding Doesn't Stop.... Time To Give Up

[alibaba92]

Nah, I don't have any symptoms of hyperandrogenicity. The back acne I had on my back is gone, my skin is better, my body hair is more sparse and thinner. The bad side is I lost some weight, have to pie a lot and it's harder to have lasting erections. If i had reflex i would have other symptoms besides shedding..

Your scalp is itching and burning right, it is the most common symptom ? I guess your body is trying to reverse the changes caused by finasteride and your follicle are super-sensitive now. I feel damn sad for what you are suffering now . Looking at you, I dare not jump into finasteride , not because of low libido or whatever, but the totally OPPOSITE reaction . Damn. We either get everything or lose everything. Unlucky being balding men.

 

[Fatherbalding17]

Dude, i can without a doubt guarantee you it’s the finasteride. Started it in January of 2017, then huge shed with itching, pain, sore spots, and pulsating throughout my entire scalp ensued in April. Sides and back were not kept safe either, and my scalp was also oily (along with the T-region of my face). Finasteride works for a majority, but i believe hormonal profiles such as ours have trouble adapting to the hormonal change caused by finasteride. I stopped in January or this year, and began rogaine around the same time, and my hear is In much better shape. During the time i used finasteride I constantly ried to convince myself that my scalp was always that oily, and that it always itxhed, but once I got off I realized how absurd it was for me to have stayed on it for that long in the first place after what i was experiencing. I’d imagine spironolactone and dutasteride would yield similar effects, which blows. Rogaine has improved my situation, but starting to shed again right around now so hoping it’s a synchronized or seasonal shed because my hair is defenitelty better than it was before I started it, especially after finasteride.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Your scalp is itching and burning right, it is the most common symptom ? I guess your body is trying to reverse the changes caused by finasteride and your follicle are super-sensitive now. I feel damn sad for what you are suffering now . Looking at you, I dare not jump into finasteride , not because of low libido or whatever, but the totally OPPOSITE reaction . Damn. We either get everything or lose everything. Unlucky being balding men.

But I had an hurting/itchy scalp before i started any treatments. Thats why i went to the derm in the first place... So if it is hyperandrogenecity it wasn't caused by any medication.
Anyway, I'm not on finasteride for almost 7 months and with duta/spironolactone/cortico most days i dont have any itching.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Dude, i can without a doubt guarantee you it’s the finasteride. Started it in January of 2017, then huge shed with itching, pain, sore spots, and pulsating throughout my entire scalp ensued in April. Sides and back were not kept safe either, and my scalp was also oily (along with the T-region of my face). Finasteride works for a majority, but i believe hormonal profiles such as ours have trouble adapting to the hormonal change caused by finasteride. I stopped in January or this year, and began rogaine around the same time, and my hear is In much better shape. During the time i used finasteride I constantly ried to convince myself that my scalp was always that oily, and that it always itxhed, but once I got off I realized how absurd it was for me to have stayed on it for that long in the first place after what i was experiencing. I’d imagine spironolactone and dutasteride would yield similar effects, which blows. Rogaine has improved my situation, but starting to shed again right around now so hoping it’s a synchronized or seasonal shed because my hair is defenitelty better than it was before I started it, especially after finasteride.

I stopped finasteride in Jan as well, so it can't be it.. I will also quit minoxidil once i finish this last bottle to see if it was the culprit of my inflammation and dermatitis..

 

[Sanchez1234]

I stopped finasteride in Jan as well, so it can't be it.. I will also quit minoxidil once i finish this last bottle to see if it was the culprit of my inflammation and dermatitis..

Could you pleeease update how your shedding is now?
I have the same problem.. first two weeks <10 shedding on dutasteride... but now i am shedding for months and lost a lot of density.
How is your hair now compared a year ago? How is shedding?

 

[LifeIsSucks]

Not a single picture as a proof, lol

 

[djhype]

Do you people understand anything about hair loss and think that a shed = permanent baldness.

Maddening how uneducated people are.

If you go off the meds, The hair will eventually grow back (thinner most likely), probably not to your liking, and you will be back on again and experience another shed.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Not a single picture as a proof, lol

I dont give a f is you believe me or not honestly. I told my experience at the time and since then have tried new things and moved on, so should you. Have a nice day, lol

 

[djhype]

I think the meds induced chronic Telogen Effluvium

Stay the f*** away from them and you might get it back, but it will be a long, long process.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Do you people understand anything about hair loss and think that a shed = permanent baldness.

Maddening how uneducated people are.

If you go off the meds, The hair will eventually grow back (thinner most likely), probably not to your liking, and you will be back on again and experience another shed.

nope. I took some time off meds and didn't experience another shed when i started my routine again. Quite the opposite.

I did, however, have a lot of hairs that were visibly tapering towards the root when i shed. If you read a bit about hair loss you see that it should be a gradual process, the hair grows thinner after each cycle. Not thick at the end and thin at the root. Thats why i felt that i was losing density fast.

 

[BaldingGuy]

I think the meds induced chronic Telogen Effluvium

Stay the f*** away from them and you might get it back, but it will be a long, long process.

No. Im not shedding anymore so it can't be chronic Telogen Effluvium. I'm not on fina anymore. I'm on 200mg spironolactone and 1.5mg dutasteride.

 

[djhype]

nope. I took some time off meds and didn't experience another shed when i started my routine again. Quite the opposite.

I did, however, have a lot of hairs that were visibly tapering towards the root when i shed. If you read a bit about hair loss you see that it should be a gradual process, the hair grows thinner after each cycle. Not thick at the end and thin at the root. Thats why i felt that i was losing density fast.

Did your hair shedding improve while you were off the meds?

Chronic Telogen Effluvium does not mean forever btw, just 6 months or more until the aggravating factor is removed.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Did your hair shedding improve while you were off the meds?

Chronic Telogen Effluvium does not mean forever btw, just 6 months or more until the aggravating factor is removed.

Nope, the shedding and itch got worse. then started my routine again and after about a month it stopped.
If it was Telogen Effluvium from something it's gone now. I take 1.5mg duta before lunch, 200mg spironolactone after my last meal and apply minoxidil before bed.

Doing this gets my itch and shedding under control.

 

[djhype]

Weird. Hair is weird. My biggest take here.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Yeah man!! Freaking genetics ....
My biggest take is that when it comes to hair, it's really easy to get desperate (especially if you are young) and desperation will really cloud your judgment. I got gyno bc I was stupid and desperate..
Hope there is a better treatment in the next upcoming years.. It's been what, like 25 years since fina was released for male pattern baldness?

 

[DHTcel]

So I've been on finasteride and minoxidil for almost 8 months now and I'm ready to quit! I think i've done more harm than good with this s%&t! And since it's only getting worse i don't think waiting a full year is going to do much... By then i'm sure i've already buzzed my hair quite a few times which defeats the purpose of being on the treatment.

So I'm going to summarize my experience for those can relate to it. Oh and don't be a fool like me, always start with ONE treatment at the time. That way you will know what's working!

So I went to the derm (Mar '17) because my head started to itch (Nov '15) after a bad period in my life. She looked at me and since I had a minor temple recession and some miniaturizing hairs (still thick) in the hairline she concluded that I was in the very early stages of male pattern baldness. She prescribed me finasteride and minoxidil and sent me on my way.

First weeks nothing really happened, just some minor sides (couldn't get a full erection) and a little bit of shedding but nothing major. The sides went away after awhile!

By the end of the first month I had lost some of the miniaturized hairs on my hairline, specially on my left side. I was shedding more than before the treatment.

Went through the second month thinking it was the shed everyone talked about but by the end of the second month ... baang!! A huge shed came... It lasted into my third month...

Third month the big shed slowed and I started to lose just a bit more than before the treatment. I got my hopes up thinking it would stop and then started to see regrowth. NO! I also started to use a keto shampoo for the itch and the flakes i had (i thought it was minoxidil residue).

In July (fourth month) my hair was only getting worse but there wasn't any alarming shedding, maybe double of what it was before the treatment. So i stopped putting minoxidil on my entire scalp and just put it on the front and crown. By the end of that month i went to a hair specialist who said the minoxidil i was using was irritating my scalp and prescribed me antibiotics, some steroid foam and a different brand of minoxidil and proscar and said to cut it...

Month 5 and 6 were the worst! Lost a bunch of hair in the front.. It was insane! I also noticed this white layer on my scalp that I could peel.. Nasty! I went back to the generic 1mg finasteride bc i couldn't cut the pill symmetrically and the shedding slowed down a bit. Also, when i went to my barber he told me my scalp was full of sebum and it wasn't like that before.

A week before the 7nd month i went the the doctor again and told him the sebum part and he confirmed that i had seb. dermatitis... He told me to reduce the minoxidil to once a day and said to rotate between 2 medicated shampoos..

Now: After almost a month of medicated shampoos hair is so thin i can see my scalp through sun light and under my mirror light.. It getting to the point i can't even style it like i used to without showing the scalp.. Even with dry hair.. Oh and the dermatitis is still there and the shedding too!

minoxidil did regrow a lot of hairs in my temples where i haven't had any for years... Which tells me it's working in some way. So why am I still shedding like this? Is it a coincidence that i started to lose hair like hell and got persistent dermatitis on the treatment...? It must be a huge coincidence!

I've read other people saying the same.. Has anyone stopped finasteride and the symptoms got better? I always blamed minoxidil. Now I'm thinking it was helping but my body is struggling with the hormonal changes from taking finasteride and triggered the dermatitis and excessive shedding.. I think it's just as plausible as it being a coincidence...

just switch to bicalutamide

 

[Moosey]

If i was you, i would drop the minoxidil forever and just stick to finasteride. I have a similar experience. Minoxidil wrecked my hair. I dropped it, got on dutasteride and recovered my hair and it looks better than ever.

 

[Baldy12345]

A lot of shedding complain threads, with 0 pics. Why don’t u post before and after treatment pics?

 

[BaldingGuy]

just switch to bicalutamide

So, how could i get bicalutamide? Is it a topical?

 

[BaldingGuy]

If i was you, i would drop the minoxidil forever and just stick to finasteride. I have a similar experience. Minoxidil wrecked my hair. I dropped it, got on dutasteride and recovered my hair and it looks better than ever.

How long were you on minoxidil? Did you shed after quitting?