9 Months on finasteride - What to do now?

[hairlosssss]

I started taking Finasteride about 9 Months ago, with Nizoral. After the first few weeks my libido had been raised and I thought I was out of the woods. Around Month 6 I noticed my Libido had started to lower a bit. It got lower very gradually throughout the past couple of months. Today I would say my libido is a 2/10. I decided to stop taking it today.

I can't seem to find a solid answer, what is the timeline of what to do next?
I was content with being on Finasteride and Nizoral, I wasn't thinking about my male pattern baldness at all. My hairline was beginning to feel thicker.
I would like to stay on Finasteride, but if I had to choose, my libido comes first.
I am a NW2.
I have been taking 15mg of Zinc in a Multivitamin Daily.
*When I use the term Libido I am referring to the strength of erections.

 

[zzzzz]

you have to weigh the pros and cons yourself there is not much to say. You could try RU but it is very expensive and complicated and may not work as well as finasteride alone but it might

 

[hairlosssss]

Thanks for your reply. From what I've been reading, the ones who continue taking it and ignore the side effects are the ones who could have permanent problems. I wasn't sure on the difference between libido and ed until now. I am describing my strength of erection when using the term libido. I noticed that a lot of people seem to suffer from weak erections and yet continue to take it. Is weak erections normal? If I continued to take it, is it going to stay this way or continue to get worst until it is non-existent?

Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to weigh in, it's not fun to have to decide between your hair and sex life, especially if they aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[Eightballd]

Have you considered maybe it's not finasteride, perhaps you have PED? p**rn Induced Erectile Disfunction it's quite common I used to have it untill I tapered off the p**rn.

 

[Bad]

Try RU if you are getting sides , dont go on minoxidil as a nw2. Good luck

 

[Da Crow]

Try tapering off or taking smaller doses less times per week/month. Get blood tests to analyze hormone levels and how much you can lower dht without sacrificing libido

Other than that, there are herbal forms of dht inhibitors such as stinging nettle and africanum pygeum that may be all you need.

 

[hairlosssss]

Thanks for the replies. I did not know there were herbal forms of dht inhibitors.
I am considering taking smaller doses, has anyone has success with this and what is the optimal dose without sacrificing hair loss?
Does everyone, to some extent, have weaker erections that seem to disappear fairly quickly and are less sensitive?

 

[Wolf Pack]

Thanks for the replies. I did not know there were herbal forms of dht inhibitors.
I am considering taking smaller doses, has anyone has success with this and what is the optimal dose without sacrificing hair loss?
Does everyone, to some extent, have weaker erections that seem to disappear fairly quickly and are less sensitive?

See my regimen. I am doing that - obviously not as great as taking 1 mg daily but seems a compromise. Just to add I didn't really have sides when I started (bit of brain fog and ball ache) but the main reason for starting low is I don't have an aggressive hair loss pattern. So far anyway.

So if I keep this up for 6 months - 1 year I will see my response. If no sides and hair looking better - won't change dose. If hair not getting better may increase dose as long as sides minimal.

Some people say that even a small amount of Finasteride inhibits identical DHT to 5 mg - therefore side profile will be similar. I don't think this is true as the sides are more complicated imo than just depending on the level of DHT. Trials show increasing dose = increased sides.