It's hard to say with the sides, the mind can play games. I had an awful experience on finasteride. I was fine with my current topical regimen, the only noticeable difference was the sex drive which is very recent. I'll keep a close eye on how I'm feeling. It is spring, so it could be in my head.
With RU, it was just too expensive and time consuming with no noticeable results. I didn't read about the sides, and I was convinced that I didn't have any, until I read what common ones are after. I got headaches and some involuntary eye movement. Weird. Enough for me to stop.
I have been shedding (seeing hair everywhere), but like I said, I am back on the S5 now. I am happy to say that I have at least 95 ish % of my hair.