This is what Proscar 1.25/day did to my hair....

[bonehead45]

So I posted a thread in 2014 before I went on finasteride, it was when I first noticed my hair was pretty thin on top. This is what my hair looked like

So I jumped on finasteride in Feburary of 2014, and it immediately started thinning out my hair, shed like crazy

 

[KO21]

So what nowadays ?

 

[bonehead45]

Now my hair is cancer patient thin.

What is going on with me? I used 1.25 finasteride everyday for awhile with Nizoral about 3 times a week. I went off finasteride for about, oh 5 months at one point just because I was depressed, then got back on it. I take it every 2 days now starting last month. I have lost 20 pounds in 2 months recently from going on the Paleo diet, don't know if that's a factor. 2015 was a stressful year - my Dad died, among other things.

Is this just a shed? Or did I start finasteride too late? Or is it just not working?

EDIT: I couldn't have gone off of finasteride more than 2 months, don't know where 5 came from.

 

[KO21]

I'm on the same thing right now. Started about a month ago. Minor shedding so far

I'm new to this but id say you started too late. Plus getting off it ruins everything.

 

[Bad]

Wtf? "This is what procar did to me"???? And then you move on to say you quit for 5 months straight??

 

[bonehead45]

Wtf? "This is what procar did to me"???? And then you move on to say you quit for 5 months straight??

Now that I think about it, it wasn't 5 months, more like 2 at most. But I say all this to say I haven't even gotten back to baseline. I stayed on it for a whole year and a half and it was just thinner and thinner. This is the thinnest it's ever been. The pill definitely shed me like crazy immediately upon taking it.

Shouldn't I at least return to a my previous state?

 

[tellersquill]

This is male pattern baldness. The proscar doesn't work on everyone - maybe you're one of the 15%

 

[bonehead45]

This is male pattern baldness. The proscar doesn't work on everyone - maybe you're one of the 15%

So if proscar doesn't work for someone, is it not supposed to have NO effect? Because my hair rapidly shed out during the first few weeks of taking it. I know it was the pill because I wasn't shedding at that rate beforehand, I mean it was night and day.

I mean, am I to understand that if it DOESN'T work...it will only have NEGATIVE effects if any?

- - - Updated - - -

By the way, I'm not shedding anymore at all, if that's of any pertinence.

And although I am a prisoner to concealers, I try to manage....

 

[abovedagame]

Hey bud, sorry to hear about your fathers passing. I know this isn't conventional but I am a firm believer that stress contributes to male pattern baldness as it can possibly cause a telegen effluvium.

i think there's a few things you should consider. From what I remember, finasteride has a roughly 85-90% success rate (stopping or regrowing hair). How long have you been on finasteride and have you been consistent? Typically you should know if you are responding by the 1 year mark. Also, how is your scalp health? I know when my head is inflamed and scaly, I lose much more hair. So if you have any scalp issues, address them.

 

[Joan]

Those concealers make a world of difference. They make your hair look much thicker than the first photos, especially the shorter style.

 

[bonehead45]

So update.....I had an appointment with the Hair and Scalp Institute in Nashville yesterday. Basically all they do is treat hair loss. They explained that they try to find out what is wrong with the body that is causing the hairloss BEFORE they try to sell me their laser treatments and the works.

They took a look at my scalp, my pictures before I took my first Proscar pill, and a lab test I took before starting the meds which showed my testosterone level to be 347 ng/dl, with the limits being 348 - 1197. The doctor was pretty astounded that I would choose to take these pills with a level like that. He strongly urged me to taper off of them (take 1 every 3 days for now) and that he will set me up with an endocrinologist for some bloodwork.

He seems thoroughly convinced that my rapid thinning is due to lowered t levels. This kind of makes all the sense in the world to me, since older men have thinner hair, and I had the testosterone level of like a 80 year old.

Anybody wanna give their 2 cents on this?

 

[Digidako]

Older men have thinner hair because more of their testosterone is being converted to DHT.. Levels of the 5AR enzyme typically become higher in older men. Theoretically, if you test levels are that low, its most likely because a lot of it is being converted to DHT. Judging by the condition of your hair I would assume this to be the case. If your DHT levels were low, your testosterone levels would be high, hence why many finasteride users experience a raise in their free testosterone levels.

You've been very inconsistent with your Finasteride use, I.e., taking 5 months off...
Come on man. Proscar didn't do this to your hair. You did this to your hair.

If you want to keep it, take it everyday for AT LEAST 1 YEAR.

Your test levels are really low, which is most likely the reason why you're depressed.

 

[bonehead45]

Older men have thinner hair because more of their testosterone is being converted to DHT.. Levels of the 5AR enzyme typically become higher in older men. Theoretically, if you test levels are that low, its most likely because a lot of it is being converted to DHT. Judging by the condition of your hair I would assume this to be the case. If your DHT levels were low, your testosterone levels would be high, hence why many finasteride users experience a raise in their free testosterone levels.

You've been very inconsistent with your Finasteride use, I.e., taking 5 months off...
Come on man. Proscar didn't do this to your hair. You did this to your hair.

If you want to keep it, take it everyday for AT LEAST 1 YEAR.

Your test levels are really low, which is most likely the reason why you're depressed.

If you would have read through this thread correctly, you would've seen that I corrected 5 months to 2 months. I did take it everyday for a year before taking a short break. Gained no ground.

 

[Dench57]

So update.....I had an appointment with the Hair and Scalp Institute in Nashville yesterday. Basically all they do is treat hair loss. They explained that they try to find out what is wrong with the body that is causing the hairloss BEFORE they try to sell me their laser treatments and the works.

They took a look at my scalp, my pictures before I took my first Proscar pill, and a lab test I took before starting the meds which showed my testosterone level to be 347 ng/dl, with the limits being 348 - 1197. The doctor was pretty astounded that I would choose to take these pills with a level like that. He strongly urged me to taper off of them (take 1 every 3 days for now) and that he will set me up with an endocrinologist for some bloodwork.

He seems thoroughly convinced that my rapid thinning is due to lowered t levels. This kind of makes all the sense in the world to me, since older men have thinner hair, and I had the testosterone level of like a 80 year old.

Anybody wanna give their 2 cents on this?

What? What was his rationale for being "astounded" for taking Propecia with T levels like that when it causes a rise in T? As far as I'm aware there's no link between T levels and propensity to Propecia sides. Your DHT levels may be more relevant.

And you do know Testosterone damages follicles too right? It's an androgen. Androgenic alopecia.

 

[bonehead45]

What? What was his rationale for being "astounded" for taking Propecia with T levels like that when it causes a rise in T? As far as I'm aware there's no link between T levels and propensity to Propecia sides. Your DHT levels may be more relevant.

And you do know Testosterone damages follicles too right? It's an androgen. Androgenic alopecia.

You do know an unbalanced testosterone/estrogen ratio can alone cause hair loss, much similar to mine, right?

I know I'm the one asking for advice here, but it really pisses me off to understand just how many people on here have adopted this mentality that finasteride is the fix for every case of hair loss and can do no wrong. If someone takes it and it works, they have an attitude of "Great job, told ya so" and if it doesn't they're all "You're not doing it right, it's not the meds it's you." Does anybody here ever consider that not everyone's body is predisposed to show unhealthiness in the same way? Ex: Ever since I became overweight and had low t at 21, there seemed to be a correlation with my hair thinning from then on out. Before I was overweight I had plenty of hair...

I mean I appreciate the feedback. I'm all open to opinions. But it just seems very close-minded to say "You (I) did this to your hair" when I stuck with the stuff for a whole year and had no regrowth, just massive thinning and miniaturization.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

bonehead, have you considered weight loss?

 

[bonehead45]

bonehead, have you considered weight loss?

That's what I've been doing the past 3 months. Eating clean and lean and smaller portions. Lost 30 pounds so far and hope for 60 by this summer.

I just don't want to lose my hair along with the weight