I'm done with finasteride I guess.

[Kareltje]

Quick introduction:

Started with propecia 7 months ago, switched over to proscar (from a Europe online pharmacy) because of the cost.

Had ok results the first 2 months: practically no hair loss, no itching, it was great.
3-5 months practically remained the same
last 2 months: Hairloss is really bad, I mean I could never see my scalp, but if the lightning is bad I can actually see it, especially my right side is terrible.

Now I'm not sure if it's because of the finasteride, but I'm positive that it is far worse then when I started. I'm sure a lot of people would still say I'm barely thinning,, but for me this is a big step back.

Neither has it reduced my body hair (I hate body hair, saw some comments about people who saw their bodyhair thin after they took finasteride), so I'm not sure if I should continue taking it.

I'm 23 now, and if it goes on like this I'll probably just shave it all of in a year or 2. I'll take different meds if something better will cross my path though. I should see good results by now right? I have 2 months left of proscar, and will probably be taking them, it's just that I have the feeling the meds are making my hairloss worse.

What I was wondering: last time I shaved it off, you could clearly see my hair was thinner on top then on the sides (9mm), I've had 2 people tell me I'm going bald in that period, and that is something that never happened to me before. Actually that was the reason I started taking finasteride and let my hair grow again.

Now I'm 100% sure my thinning is worse then the last time I shaved it off, and it will look horrible if use a 9mm guard, but will it be noticeable if I don't use a guard? I'm not going to try and feel like an idiot for shaving it off again

Edit:

Could it be related with the dandruff I have? I ran out of my anti dandruff shampoo (on a prescription, so I have to go back to get a new one, simply didn't have the time to make an appointment). I have the kind of dandruff that doesn't really fall on your shoulders, and isn't really visible but stays attached to the scalp, a bit like dried up toothpaste.
Could this ever be the cause of hairloss?

 

[aussie]

Any reason you havent added Rogaine and Nizoral to your regime?

 

[Kareltje]

Any reason you havent added Rogaine and Nizoral to your regime?

I'm vain enough as it is , taking a pill a day doesn't seem like that much, but putting some special cream on my head every day seems like too much trouble for me.
And I believe nizoral is the special shampoo right? Well I've always been on that one since I was 17 or something, because of my dandruff, but I ran out of my supply and haven't bothered to get some new one yet, but could me not using nizoral for a month really be the cause of my hairloss?

 

[aussie]

yeah i understand where you're coming from with the rogaine. But it literally takes more time to brush your teeth then it does applying Rogaine foam. Yeah Nizoral is the shampoo, no idea whether its got anything to do with your current hairloss. You might just be going through a shed :dunno:

 

[Eureka]

I think if the finasteride was the thing causing your hairloss it would have started causing it when you began taking it, not all of the sudden at 7 months..there is basically no way lessening your amount of DHT could increase hairloss at least not male pattern baldness.
If your serious about slowing or stopping your hairloss then get on rogaine, I literally cannot stand it when I hear people say...well it's just to much of a bother...Well jezuz dude do you want your hair or not? It takes like 30 seconds to apply the stuff and if your a responder it can have great results.

Lastly your only on your seventh month, Propecia stops hairloss at 10-12 months meaning whatever hair you have when you reach your 10th to 12th month if you are a responder you will continue to grow back as long as you are on propecia, some people maintain from their first day for others it takes being on it a year, either way you will not know unless you take it for at least a year.

 

[paximperia]

You need to be using an anti-inflammatory shampoo also. They used T-Gel in the trials, but Nizoral should also work and may have some additional benefits. Dutasteride might help more, or maybe not at all.

Oh and P.S. both T-Gel and Nizoral are anti-dandruff shampoos as well. I alternate between the two. The T-Gel needs to soak for 2-3 minutes into your scalp. I used to have dandruff problems but the T-Gel worked far better than any other shampoos I've tried. Smells awful but it works.

 

[Gobobo]

Yeah I've found leaving the Nizoral on for longer definitely gets better results. I get it on prescription too (have done for several years) and find regular use is best, although sometimes I need to use it 4/5 times a week, my scalp is so bad. Other times I can go a few weeks just using normal shampoos. Most of the time though I'm in between those two extremes.

The last month, for me, has been bad hair, shedding, dandruff and really, really crappy hair. I've even had the ridiculous dandruff in the eyebrows thing again, which I think I always get at this time of year, and it's that bad I've had sores from where I've been scratching there. I think it's the extra heating and the cold outside or something. I dunno but autumn seems to be a bad time for hairloss for a lot of people.

Kareltje I've just ordered 3 months of Kirkland Minoxidil 5% for the first time after reading others' opinions on this excellent forum. A minute or two a day is nothing really, you probably spend more time on the crapper. Maybe you could combine the two? Just be careful, you don't want a hairy arse!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and another thing I found helps is getting two bottles of Nizoral at a time from the Doctor, then going back for two more when I open the second. I never run out and the Doctor is happy because that's one less appointment for his schedule.