Finally, I Am Officially On Finasteride

[big_head]

UPDATE: OK I perhaps freaked out a bit earlier than I should have. As I have mentioned, I have some other personal problems that have possible caused a flatline in my libido and erections. My libido and erections were fine this weekend after I mentally got myself to a place where I was less burnt out and stressed. So my libido and erections still work, and my ejaculation was normal again.

I think I just need to take a long break from sexual stimulation of any kind- mentally and physically. I was having problems with this before the meds and I guess it got worse and my first thought was of the variable of the medication. I am not taking finasteride lightly though, I am not willing to sacrifice my hormonal health for hair. But at the same time, I do not want to stop finasteride because I got scared. It's going to be rough going for the next few weeks, but I am going to ignore my libido completely so as to repair myself mentally and hopefully physically. In a month or so, I will check how my libido and erections and are and proceed from there.

 

[dunno]

For those who think you are better off with hair and no dick, you're nuts.

So you're a nw1 who had a hair transplant done and telling people to shave their head and get it over with? Good advice!

 

[Ashkan63]

A bald man is not attractive for sure

 

[abcdefg]

This is very open to debate. Some women care and some dont. You cant really simplify it or break it down more than that. You dont think men care about wrinkles? So your saying you would gladly date a 70 year old grandma if she had a great personality over the super model because natural wrinkles make no difference? You sound like an exception rather then then rule but to each his own
I will say I think women tend to care less generally speaking about physical looks then men do. They are more focused on personality and other attributes I think a lot of times.

"My point is, men worry about being bald more than women care about men being bald. Its like how women are paranoid about the faintest wrinkle. Men probably could care less about naturally aging wrinkles on a women. It's true when they say confidence is key when attracting women."

 

[JaySizzle]

So you're a nw1 who had a hair transplant done and telling people to shave their head and get it over with? Good advice!

I was a nw2, got a hair transplant, and am a nw1 not, yes. It has been a year and my hair transplant was very successful, however I still worry about hairloss and the hair transplant solved really nothing regarding my paranoia about further hairloss. If I could go back I would probably save the money and be happy with eventually having to shave my head and forget about worrying if my hairloss progressed.

Again hairloss really only makes you look really stupid if u try to cover it up and grow it out while you have wisps on top. If u shave it down to even a number 2 and look clean, dress well, have confidence, and workout, you shouldn't have nay problems with meeting women.

Women aren't like men. They aren't 100% visual and aren't as shallow as men. At least not the ones you take home to mom. Yes you will get more one nighters with a full head of hair, and yes losing hair at 20 is really traumatic I get it. But of you are in your 30s and think you will never meet an attractive girl because of your hairloss, let me tell you something, it's not just your hairloss that is preventing you from getting on with your life, it's your attitude. Of all the bald people I know, only one of them isn't in a relationship. I know more men who have a full head of hair that can't find a date let alone a girlfriend than bald guys.

 

[big_head]

I will say I think women tend to care less generally speaking about physical looks then men do. They are more focused on personality and other attributes I think a lot of times.

I think this is a myth that can be chalked up to the "Women Are Wonderful" effect in society. The WAW effect is a studied phenomenon where both men and women tend to associate women with good attributes no matter what.

In truth, there have been studies like the OKCupid survey they did where most women rated 80% of the men on the website as "below average" while the men surveyed rate women on a fairly even bell curve (most women were rated as average while a small fraction were considered above and below). This is far from scientific but I think nowadays more than ever, women care about looks in a man. Just look at Tinder.

I have had fat women see pics of my body and practically drool over it, then immediately lose interest when they see my face. And this is AFTER they were self conscious about their body and I assured them it was fine and I didn't judge.

Now, I'm not handsome, but I am far from hideous. But I repeated this experiment a few times and I realized WHY it was happening. I have a decent body, nothing amazing, but compared to the average population most women find it hot. So they see a hot body and they of course imagine a handsome, model like face. They have expectations and my average mug brings it crashing down to reality. Again, this is not the best way to conduct a social experiment, but the point I am trying to make is that women want the TOTAL PACKAGE. Handsome, fit, tall, full headed, successful, interesting, good at sex, rich, etc. But in my experience, first AND second hand, they respond most viscerally to 3 things:

1. Handsome face

2. Fit body

3. Attitude

 

[tentitan]

I wholeheartedly agree with the "WAW" effect. Women are very appearance oriented, just look at how much care they take in their own appearance. Their egos won't let them placate the desire to be with the best looking men.

Of course, this is a hairloss forum. My hair (about NW2 and slowly diffusing/receding) responded great to finasteride. Regrowth, thickening, hair looked luscious and I could basically style it any way I pleased. I dubbed it the miracle drug for about 6 months. Somewhere around month 7, my libido began to steadily drop. Morning erections, which heretofore came naturally and regularly, abandoned me. Brain fog consumed my daily life (this could be the nocebo, but I'm pretty sure it was the drug). It seemed like every other three sentences I would be searching for the right word, or even the next word. I had been taking 0.5mg every day, and cut down to 0.5 every other day. The sides eased a bit, but eventually my libido had dropped to a very uncomfortable point and I stopped taking finasteride.

Like many others, my sides persisted after stopping the drug. It's been almost 2 years, and I'm almost back to where I was before the sides came on. The reason I'm back on these forums is because, yes, I'm contemplating taking something again. Having a nice full head of thick hair is enticing. I keep scouring the forums for ways to mitigate the sides, or alternatives (CB?).

 

[Zulu89]

I am starting on Proscar 1mg soon. I am waiting on my DHT test results to use as a baseline throughout the treatment and also to understand whether my hair loss is due to high levels of DHT or receptors sensitivity. Sexual side effects may occur due to lowering DHT below the normal range? I am not sure.

There is a comprehensive study undergoing regarding 5ARs inhibitors and sexual side effects, chronically and permanently that started September, 2014 and due on July 31st, 2016. I am not sure if the results are going to be posted on that date or soon after:

AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC EVALUATION OF ADVERSE EVENTS OF 5-ALPHA-REDUCTASE INHIBITORS

I am impatiently waiting to read the full study. Also, there is another informative article that I would like to share and hopefully we can discuss, the conclusion is not that optimistic:

The Impact of the 5α-Reductase Inhibitors (5α-RIs) on Male Sexual Function and Psychological Well-Being

 

[transam]

I DONT WANT TO BE BALD! PERIOD.

I honestly don't see the point of having the worlds LARGEST boner, if your face is god damn ugly.
If my face looks like sh*t, who the hell is gonna want to see my dick??...maybe street walkers.

"If your balding, man up & accept being a NW6!...At least you'll have a penis that works."
Yeah, I'll feel REALLY good about myself if I can have a spontaneous boner. Who cares if my head & face looks f*****g terrible

 

[Sonicblu650]

We can have both...My libido is the same or higher on proscar and my hair is doing great. Yes some people MIGHT have problems most dont. Finasteride is the only real deal treatment we have period. With minoxidil a distant second option. I truly believe this sexual dysfunction side effect is the extreme minority. My dr takes finasteride and so does his son. That tells me he believes in its safety whole heartedly. Dr haber is a member of the international society of hair restoration surgery. And was their president in 02 and 03. I think he knows his sh*t! I too was terrified of finasteride before and especially when i first started. All the constant worry is more detrimental to our health than finasteride. Not to metion the effects of long term low self esteem on your quality of life if/when we go bald ...And i agree transam, I DON'T WANT TO BE BALD! PERIOD! As well!! LOL

I DONT WANT TO BE BALD! PERIOD.

I honestly don't see the point of having the worlds LARGEST boner, if your face is god damn ugly.
If my face looks like sh*t, who the hell is gonna want to see my dick??...maybe street walkers.

"If your balding, man up & accept being a NW6!...At least you'll have a penis that works."
Yeah, I'll feel REALLY good about myself if I can have a spontaneous boner. Who cares if my head & face looks f*****g terrible

 

[tylerduren]

A bald man is not attractive for sure

To who... you ?

Im not bald but i jave loads of mates with skinheads. Alot of them do better than the perfect hairlines.

If you got a big hard c*** or confidence you can get tasty birds thats for sure.

 

[tylerduren]

I DONT WANT TO BE BALD! PERIOD.

I honestly don't see the point of having the worlds LARGEST boner, if your face is god damn ugly.
If my face looks like sh*t, who the hell is gonna want to see my dick??...maybe street walkers.

"If your balding, man up & accept being a NW6!...At least you'll have a penis that works."
Yeah, I'll feel REALLY good about myself if I can have a spontaneous boner. Who cares if my head & face looks f*****g terrible

Hair cant change your face dude

 

[transam]

Hair cant change your face dude

It can only help shape your face. Give contrast.
If your bone structure is ugly, well hair can't help that obviously. But 98.5% of people look better with hair

 

[Sonicblu650]

Hair cant change your face dude

hair absolutely changes the way your face looks. It frames it. Other than plastic surgery, extreme weight gain or loss, hair makes the biggest impact on How your face looks imo

 

[tylerduren]

hair absolutely changes the way your face looks. It frames it. Other than plastic surgery, extreme weight gain or loss, hair makes the biggest impact on How your face looks imo

If you say so man

 

[big_head]

5 month update:

Hair is not any better. No new hairs growing in. No improvement in density. My thinning and recession actually seems worse, at least on one side.

So much the miracle drug! Sometimes I feel like I am just taking sugar pills. I got these online but they are in the Cipla blister packs. 1.25 mg of generic proscar a day.

This is the third of the "BIG THREE" which seems to have no effect on me. How lucky that all 3 proven hair treatments don't do sh*t for me. The only one that may have had a slight effect was minoxidil, but even then I kind of doubt it.

 

[AlwaysRock]

What the f*** mate...... This is going on since 5 months and still you are not able to give us some baseline and monthly update pictures? If you look at the sucess stories or clinical studies they are always able to give you some sort of evidence (pictures,hair counts, hair weight).. Strangely the guys who claims that nothing works for them never have pictures to proof it.

 

[big_head]

What the f*** mate...... This is going on since 5 months and still you are not able to give us some baseline and monthly update pictures? If you look at the sucess stories or clinical studies they are always able to give you some sort of evidence (pictures,hair counts, hair weight).. Strangely the guys who claims that nothing works for them never have pictures to proof it.

I'm not sure what two pictures where my hairline hasn't improved will prove to you. You want me to prove a negative.

Do you think it works for me but I am secretly feeding you disinfo or something? What would be the gain?

 

[AlwaysRock]

First off... your posts sounds like your hairloss has worsen ( so under baseline)... If that is the case pics would be helpful.... cause finasteride is not here to regrow your hair to a Norwood 1.... it is here to maintain what you have when you started this drug. I see this all the time.... people claiming finasteride does not work because they expect regrowth from it. finasteride is a miracle drug in the sense, that when you start it as a Norwood 1 or Norwood 2 you will stay Norwood 1 or Norwood 2 for a very long time (maybe until your death

 

[big_head]

I haven't updated this in a few months, but there isn't much to say. My hair seems the same or worse. Some days I feel like it's getting better and I THINK I can see tiny, thin hairs growing in near my temples. Other times I get a haircut and it seems much much worse.

In any case, it's been over 9 months and it's not any better, that's for sure. I've been taking pictures randomly, but some are stuck on this old memory care and I'm having trouble getting the pics off there. From what I can see though, there is no visible change in the pictures (for the better anyway).

I'm a bit worried because I ordered my finasteride online at alldaychemist. I've heard people have tested the finasteride from there and say it's the real deal. My blister packs look official- says fincar, has Cipla logo and everything. I cut up the blue 5mg pills into fourths and take a quarter each night. Sometimes they're very uneven but I don't think that would matter. I still wonder if I should go through a doctor next time, but it's way more expensive for me since I don't have health insurance. Online it was like 66 bucks w/ shipping for year's supply. In person, at a doctor, it will be somewhere between 100-200 dollars depending on how much of a hard time the doctor gives me.

So anyway, as I said a few months ago, all 3 of the "big 3" have failed to have any dramatic effect on my hair. I guess I'm doomed : (

I'm going to wait until the 12 month mark and add minoxidil back into my routine, even though I don't want to. Maybe I will wait for this Italian cream.

Is Avodart worth trying?