Hi, Thought I would share my experience. I started to see thinning in 1992....I jumped on finasteride in 1995 as part of the trials.....I got on it as soon as I saw some thinning and I think this is why I have had success. 1.25mg than 1 mg in 98 when it got approved. I have STRONG!!! hair loss genes and wanted to do everything I could. I never noticed any sheds really...maybe a little but I tried not to pay attention in the shower. I can honestly say propecia thickened my hair to the point where I didn't think it look thin at all...anywhere. Now that being said I didn't have any bald spots and was probably a NW1.5 at the temples. Propecia completely STOPPED my hair loss from getting worse and my hair got thicker....even my doctor who is a top derm was amazed. From 1995-2003 it was amazing and I never worried about hair loss. As for sides I had NONE really....maybe a slight delay and reduction in the amount of you know....didn't see this as a problem at all. years of amazing results......in 03 I had what I think was a severe stress induced Telogen Effluvium....all over head.....Upped my dosage to 2.5mg in 2004 than 5mg in 2006 and I think it helped but never really gained back post Telogen Effluvium. In 2009 I started Avodart .05 x three times a week and proscar the other days. My DHT levels are about 1......they where 5 while on proscar so dutasteride helped lower them as well. Now I keep reading the panic in some of these post about these drugs effecting all kinds of hormone levels and such, and I'm not recommending that you do as I have....I'm not a doctor. But I want to share my experience with all of you since I'm an old timer. Here are some facts: Propecia nor dutasteride NEVER raised my T levels.....I just had them checked again and they are about T-300 which is about the same as always and on the lower side...I'm in my 40's....they used to be 4-500. My sexdrive has never been a problem. My DHT has come down. My prolactin also didn't raise and is normal, my DHES is also perfect, Estrogen is also normal and unchanged...my thyroid is normal and unchanged, my liver test are perfect. As for sides with dutasteride....I really don't see any different than what I already posted. I'm in my mid 40's and have kept most of my hair.....When I added the dutasteride which I'm now at 10months I saw a stop in the hair shed. I think my hair has thicked up everywhere especially the crown area....except the hair line which I have new growth at but not really what I was hoping for. I don't have any pictures because I never took before. I also maybe saw a little shed but not major. The only reason I posted this and I rarely post is to offer my opinion....at the VERY first sign of hairloss go to your doctor and see if Propecia is a good idea for you.....It has done WONDERS in stopping my hair from getting a lot worse for over 15 years....and my genetics for hair loss are STRONG! As for all the erectile dysfunction post I'm sure it is possible, but I bet you if you look at statistics about anxiety over it you will find an absolute connection and a higher rate than that listed on the drug info sheets. Good Luck and as I said I'm not a Doctor and not recommending any treatment plan other than to go to your doctor and see if he/her suggests it to you.....but do it EARLY.....I think that is the key. I also use Nizarol 3x's a week.
15 years of success finasteride/dutasteride
- Thread starter BLynch
- Start date
Hmmm. Your T levels seem sub-optimal for a man in his 40s. Quite a few long-term finasteride users end up with low T levels (higher T levels due to finasteride are only a short-term phenomenon when starting the drug). Further, low T is strongly associated with lower lifespan if I remember correctly. Do you know what your T level was prior to finasteride?
