Is it too late to continue a second attempt?

[theycallmemrroger]

I once tried it out a few years ago when I noticed a slow shed and noticed that my hair stopped shedding after a few months due to ED side effects. I am really scared about that as the side effects have sort of lingered since then. It's still possible for me to perform but I do not get random erections like I used to nor am I able to stay erected without touch. Is there a way to cope with that?

Now my hair was normal 8 months ago and I am not sure what triggered my head hair to shed so much since then. The front of my head was never too noticeable because I had long bangs, and I usually wear a hat/toque every day. A friend told me one day to look at the back of my head and noticed that my crown has shed terribly. Is there a reason that would cause me to shed so much all of a sudden? Could constant partying/sleepless nights do anything to accelerate it, or perhaps a toque that I wear almost daily? Another issue would be that I like to blow dry my hair so it dries quicker. I was told my shedding is a bit odd for it to be MPD but I wouldn't know.

I really REALLY want to keep my hair but I don't know if continuing the big 3 would actually do enough to make it normal again. Where do I rank on the norwood scale? I'm willing to truck through the side effects for a few months to see if they subside as I heard it usually does. My main focus is to keep my hair because I do not like how I look without it. As of right now I have only been using nizoral twice a week, I have been using about .15mg of finasteride (pill cut into 1/8ths), and minoxidil once a day, sometimes twice.

Will be updating in six months after whatever I figured out here today.

As of March 3rd this is what my hair looks like:
https://imgur.com/a/HMZ7u

 

[Saurabhaj]

U r hairs are what i was in 2010..

crop u r hairs,then start finasteride 1 mg and minoxidil 5% or 10 % and all biotin..

I never cropped my hairs back then,my dad always said cut hairs length to short,i ignored it(it was my mistake)..
now all internet and all people say have short hairs...when balding..

 

[Shubham23]

Looking at your pics I think you are NW4+. I would recommend you to jump to Big 3 and increase your Finasteride dose to 1mg.
Alternatively you could try using topical finasteride which I am currently using and I literally experienced almost no side effects. I am 3 months in treatment with Topical finasteride + minoxidil solution.

So give it a try and report back here.

 

[g.i joey]

Shubham can u report any decreased shedding or regrowth ?

 

[theycallmemrroger]

So should I cut my hair or would it be possible to keep it long and continue with the big 3. Oh wow that progressed at NW4+ that is very scary. Also where would I find topical finasteride, and how would I get a hold of it. Also if I was to get topical do I apply it at the same time as minoxÉ

 

[NewUser]

Get on the big three and stay on for at least a year to see the difference. I read somewhere that minoxidil has a half-life of 22 hours in the skin, and they don't know why the manufacturer recommends twice daily applications. Probably so they can sell more product?

 

[theycallmemrroger]

Any other opinions? Would be greatly appreciated. Does anyone know if topical finasteride is available in Canada?

 

[science_d]

Now my hair was normal 8 months ago and I am not sure what triggered my head hair to shed so much since then. The front of my head was never too noticeable because I had long bangs, and I usually wear a hat/toque every day. A friend told me one day to look at the back of my head and noticed that my crown has shed terribly. Is there a reason that would cause me to shed so much all of a sudden? Could constant partying/sleepless nights do anything to accelerate it, or perhaps a toque that I wear almost daily? Another issue would be that I like to blow dry my hair so it dries quicker. I was told my shedding is a bit odd for it to be MPD but I wouldn't know.

I really REALLY want to keep my hair but I don't know if continuing the big 3 would actually do enough to make it normal again. Where do I rank on the norwood scale? I'm willing to truck through the side effects for a few months to see if they subside as I heard it usually does. My main focus is to keep my hair because I do not like how I look without it. As of right now I have only been using nizoral twice a week, I have been using about .15mg of finasteride (pill cut into 1/8ths), and minoxidil once a day, sometimes twice.

Will be updating in six months after whatever I figured out here today.

As of March 3rd this is what my hair looks like:
https://imgur.com/a/HMZ7u

What triggered your hair to shed was probably the fact that you are no longer on a dosage of finasteride that is considered effective (1 mg/day, but at least 0.2 mg/day, according to this study - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10495375). I highly doubt it has anything to do with "partying/sleepless nights," and it definitely has nothing to do with wearing a toque or blow-drying your hair.

On the other hand, don't panic and feel pressured to take finasteride, seeing as you have noticed that it produces side effects you don't like. Instead, carefully think over what the best treatment should be for yourself. I recommend coming up with a plan, such as the following:

Keep using 5% minoxidil twice daily
Keep using Nizoral (consider 2% concentration, which has more powerful effects - https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/helpful/).
Try topical finasteride, with a concentration of at least 0.25% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26636418).

Use all three consistently for six months, and see if you notice any positive effects. Even if that simply maintains the hair you currently have, that would show it is working.

Once again, however, I do not recommend that you panic and start using the oral finasteride again, simply because you are afraid to lose your hair. There are other options available that you can try. I have a blog article discussing options in general for maintaining hair (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/maintain/).

As far as obtaining topical finasteride, I know there is a company called MinoxidilMax that sells it, but I don't know much about the company and I don't know if it is offered in Canada. I know that it is not available in the U.S. Perhaps someone else on this forum has had success in buying it from a reliable manufacturer.

Regarding the erection problems you mentioned, if it continues for at least a month longer, I recommend at least seeing a doctor and asking about it. One harmless and natural thing you could do that might help is take omega-3 ("fish oil") supplements, which has been shown to increase blood flow during exercise (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-006-0190-0).

 

[Ibiza4300]

You really didn't specify which treatment you are referring to, at least not in your initial question. If it is finisteride, then I was suggest going back on it but only taking half the amount (.5mg). How long were you actually on it before? I started it and as soon as I noticed ED I got scared and threw the bottle away. My libido recovered within a few weeks. A few years later I decided to give it another try and I'm glad I did. The initial ED effects only lasted maybe 6 weeks. I started actually taking .25mg for 3 months, then went up to .5mg. I suggest you do this as well.

Also, I say .5mg because it is just about as effective as 1mg:

 

[science_d]

I agree it might be worth a shot to try a smaller dose of finasteride, such as 0.5 mg/day (as long as it's not below 0.2 mg/day, per the study I cited above).

Ibiza4300, where is that graph from? That's pretty handy.

 

[g.i joey]

link canadian topical finasteride in here plz to whoever finds it

 

[theycallmemrroger]

What triggered your hair to shed was probably the fact that you are no longer on a dosage of finasteride that is considered effective (1 mg/day, but at least 0.2 mg/day, according to this study - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10495375). I highly doubt it has anything to do with "partying/sleepless nights," and it definitely has nothing to do with wearing a toque or blow-drying your hair.

On the other hand, don't panic and feel pressured to take finasteride, seeing as you have noticed that it produces side effects you don't like. Instead, carefully think over what the best treatment should be for yourself. I recommend coming up with a plan, such as the following:

Keep using 5% minoxidil twice daily
Keep using Nizoral (consider 2% concentration, which has more powerful effects - https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/helpful/).
Try topical finasteride, with a concentration of at least 0.25% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26636418).

Use all three consistently for six months, and see if you notice any positive effects. Even if that simply maintains the hair you currently have, that would show it is working.

Once again, however, I do not recommend that you panic and start using the oral finasteride again, simply because you are afraid to lose your hair. There are other options available that you can try. I have a blog article discussing options in general for maintaining hair (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/maintain/).

As far as obtaining topical finasteride, I know there is a company called MinoxidilMax that sells it, but I don't know much about the company and I don't know if it is offered in Canada. I know that it is not available in the U.S. Perhaps someone else on this forum has had success in buying it from a reliable manufacturer.

Regarding the erection problems you mentioned, if it continues for at least a month longer, I recommend at least seeing a doctor and asking about it. One harmless and natural thing you could do that might help is take omega-3 ("fish oil") supplements, which has been shown to increase blood flow during exercise (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-006-0190-0).

Okay awesome thank you, is there a big difference between using minoxidil once as compared to twice a day? Thanks for all of this information it has helped greatly. Is there any other natural routes to combat it if the ED does return?

You really didn't specify which treatment you are referring to, at least not in your initial question. If it is finisteride, then I was suggest going back on it but only taking half the amount (.5mg). How long were you actually on it before? I started it and as soon as I noticed ED I got scared and threw the bottle away. My libido recovered within a few weeks. A few years later I decided to give it another try and I'm glad I did. The initial ED effects only lasted maybe 6 weeks. I started actually taking .25mg for 3 months, then went up to .5mg. I suggest you do this as well.

Also, I say .5mg because it is just about as effective as 1mg:

Yea it was finasteride, I was taking the big 3 initially and I was on it for about 4-5 months but didn't notice ED side effects because I wasn't active during the time I was on the medication until after that time. Also do you think that doing under .2 mg/day is even worth it because I got another prescription and that's what I have started with so far.

I agree it might be worth a shot to try a smaller dose of finasteride, such as 0.5 mg/day (as long as it's not below 0.2 mg/day, per the study I cited above).

Ibiza4300, where is that graph from? That's pretty handy.

I got a new prescription last week, but I was doing less than .2 mg/day and now it looks as if it's not too useful.

Cutting your hair short won't really make a difference. It's possible to keep it long.

There is topical finasteride in Canada. There's another thread (it's not mine), and it's on this board. I wish
I could remember it.

Awesome that's good news. Much appreciated.

Found it. https://hassonandwong.com/topical-finasteride-solution-prescription/

Thanks. I really appreciate it but damn I just had a doctors appointment 3 days ago and you it takes like 4 months to get in to see her. That's a long wait.

 

[science_d]

Okay awesome thank you, is there a big difference between using minoxidil once as compared to twice a day? Thanks for all of this information it has helped greatly. Is there any other natural routes to combat it if the ED does return?

No problem. I definitely do think there is a difference between using minoxidil once vs. twice a day, especially if you want to give it your best shot as far as regrowing hair. I am sure taking minoxidil once a day has some effect, but to experience the full effect, twice a day (morning and night) is the recommended application. Just think about it: twice a day consistently exposes your hair to the treatment, so it doesn't "wear off" and you don't lose momentum. Remember, DHT is constantly attacking your hair, so you want to continually fortify your hair.

If you are concerned about styling your hair in the morning or something, I think the foam is a good option, since you can rub it into your scalp and it will dry, and then you can style it. Another option (one that I did for awhile) is to apply the liquid solution to your hair while it is still wet from the shower, then it will dry along WITH the water on your hair.

As far as other tools to treat hair loss that don't involve drugs like finasteride, the only other one I am aware of that has been demonstrated to have some effect is low-level laser therapy, or LLLT (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/maintain/). I would recommend using a laser cap with at least 200 laser diodes, not the laser devices with less output. If you add this to your regimen, it might help further support hair growth.

Also, don't forget the 2% ketoconazole shampoo, which has been shown to produce nearly the same effect as minoxidil on hair growth (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9669136). And the good news is you would only have to use it 2-3 times per week.

As mentioned previously, you can also try smaller doses of finasteride, as long as it is greater than 0.2 mg/day.