six months on propecia

[justasking]

My hair in the front is almost gone...Can't really style it at this point. I've lost a tremendous amount since starting propecia in late November. Seems like others who had big propecia sheds were cycling back in by this point. Is there anyone who shed longer than the first few months and got the hair back? The back is holding its own -- I have my regular bald spot -- but the whole top/front is rapidly on its way out. At 23, this is very difficult.

My libido is still very high, after going up and down the first couple of months along with the zits and oil, etc. Still struggling with mood swings. Does this mean that the testosterone is still high and thus the hair will still fall out until it subsides-- or maybe forever ? Success stories from bad shedders would be great about now.

 

[youngguy_uk]

i share your problem, kindof.

maybe i can reassure you in this sense - i shedded from month 1 for about a month, and it grew back in thicker.

however, now at about 5 1/2 months, i am shedding and its been going for about a month, and im really hoping it will grow back.

if its any consolation, finasteride should take months to build up in the system...so maybe this is your first shed where new thicker hairs are pushing older ones out. i dont think its uncommon to shed and then see thickening up around 6-8 months.

but yes, any shedding and regrowth stories on finasteride would be much appreciated here too.

 

[Whoome?]

Justaking I am experiencing the same thing, except i started finasteride back in feb, but i've already shedded for 2 months straight.... all my hair on the top are rapidly going to.. i've lost atleast 25% of my hair since starting.
And I share the problem of "OIL" thats a major problem i have to wash my face 5 times a day to keep from breaking out really badly and my hair is extremely irritated from all the oil.

Are we somehow hypersenstive to finasteride? tahts why our bodies are reacting this way? has anyone else experienced this? please help us!

 

[daxa]

Dont worry hang in there, i know what you are going trough.
Shedding is great, much better than gradual thinning.
Dont let your mind play tricks on you hairloss can f*** with your mind ;-)
trust me. When i was at the 6 month mark i was not a happy camper.

 

[Bismarck]

justasking,

There are perhaps 2 possibilities:

1.) You are really well responding which means massive shedding.

2.) I've read that people sometimes develop a "hyperandrogenetic reflex" (or so). When the DHT-level in the blood is decreased by finasteride the body defends by increasing its DHT-receptors so that DHT is even more harmful to hair follicles. The oily skin could be a sign of this. You should start some research about that. Asking a doctor could be helpful too, but don't expect to much, since they often only know what Merck tells them...

I hope the best for you

BISMARCK

 

[Brasileirao]

hyperandrogenetic reflex

Hey Bro,

I agree with Bismack and from what your explaning it does sound like you may have hyperandrogenic reflex. The increase libido, oily face, huge sheds are all symptoms. If I were you I would go see a doctor and perhaps discontinue Propecia and start using something else. I know this is not what you want to hear and I may be wrong. However, you must go see a doctor to really get your question answered. I hope this helps bro and good luck main!

OUT!
Tony

 

[Jack_the_Lad]

sheds are normal, theres a section on this website that explains this.from what I understand it's the hairs follicles ejecting the old hairs so that the new ones can grow in thicker. I've personally hit the seven month mark on finasteride, my hair loss has stopped but I haven't seen much regrowth yet, hopefully the next five months will bring some regroth, the medication is supposed to be given at least one year

 

[Bismarck]

I've found that on the net:

>Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 17:54:40 -0500
>I am in my 30's, hair loss since 25 almost exclusively in the temple area.
>Hit a shed phase on Propecia at 3 months. The shed last for a month and a
>half. The result was that on the top of my head where it had been ok I lost
>way too much hair. My scalp is clearly visible through my hair on top now.
>All this in 4 months or so. I had the classic acne and oily face. Worst of
>all at 4 months I joined the "2%" who suffered "certain sexual side
>effects". It was bad getting worse.
>My decision was easy - I got off the drug. Since Merck never said shedding
>was possible I was suspicious. Since I had no decent diagnosis for the
>increase in loss I was scared. I decided not to gamble any further. I have
>not seen any regrowth since then (about a month off the drug). I can say
>that the sexual side effects are gone (whew!). No shedding (whew!!).

Most people do not experience a noticable shed of loss-phase
hair as follicles come out of dormancy under medical treatment. So it has
taken a while for it to become accepted. BTW, I claim bragging rights for
this discovery, since I saw it in a few patients in the mid-1980's ( one
advantage of treating a lot of people ). It has only been noted in the
Rogaine package insert in the last couple of years.

Most likely, unlike UpJohn ( who has a decade or two more
experience), Merck has not figured it out yet. This is possibly because
each of their investigators has only a hundred or so patients. A few
incidences of induced shedding would probably be dismissed as coicidental (
which is what I thought for a while ). This is particularly since it
occurs before 2-4 months, and thus only involves hair that was already in th
eloss-phase when treatment started. And everybody "knows" that nothing
affects loss phase hair<G>..

It gets even more complicated because there _may_ be a very few
additional cases in which reflex hyperandrogenicity has induced additional
hair loss with finasteride. This may happen indirectly in a way which
would probably not have shown up in the clinical trial.

E.g., tho I cannot currently point to a defined case, I can forsee a
stituation in which someone starts finasteride and experiences an induced
shed of loss phase hair. Remember, this is a good sign, because it
reflects follicles coming out of dormancy. They then stop finasteride
abruptly, exposing thier foillicles to the full fury<G> of reflex
hyperandrogenicity. This is why I advise tapering off this drug gradually,
to let things settle down a bit.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD, MD

Here's the chronology of what happened to me:

Week 1 - Began Finasteride
No hair loss (wanting to maintain current
hair line, receded only above temples... perfectly normal -i.e. no hair loss - except to the eyes of a total paranoiac like myself). By end of week notice skin getting oilier. Scalp getting very oily.

Week 2 - No hair loss. Itching at front of scalp. Some acne.

Week 3- No hair loss. Itching at mid part of scalp and front. Still acne.

Week 4 - No hair loss. Itching at back of head (very very sore). Acne subsided.

Week 5 - Minor hair loss from front of scalp and temples. Skin oiliness less but still much higher than before Finasteride (used to have dry skin problems). Scalp still sore at back.

Week 6 - Thinning from mid part of scalp and small amount of thinning from from crown. Back of head still sore/itching.

Week 7 - Major thinning from whole top of head, more extensive at back of head and front. No scalp itching/soreness except at back of head. Skin still greasy. Notice body hair is longer (but not turned terminal)

Week 8 (This week) - I have a head of thin receded hair with a large even thinner patch at the back of my head. My skin is oily but I no longer have the acne. The back of my head is still sore. My hair is comming out in my hands. Arm hair gone to about an inch long (I mean all the hair on my arms i.e. about one hair every 3mm square), notice long hairs on back and back of hands. Notice fine hair on abdomen and chest now turned dark (but still fine hair). Notice long hairs on back and shoulders (very irritating where scratching against clothing). Lots of hair at small of back, very noticible (almost like pubic hair).

Here's my explanation of what happened to me (I'm still in the process of being refered by my doctor, I'm supposed to see a specialist on thursday. Don't hold out much hope though).

I expect the finasteride did a good job of reducing the type II DHT. But this was overcompensated for by the increase in DHT bearing skin oil. My hair was thick so allot was produced and kept close to my scalp. I expect this has caused permanent damage (all across my scalp I can see these little dark dots, which I guess are the dead hair follicles). You'll notice I didn't experience any hair loss until about a month after I began taking Finasteride.

So I figure if you have thinned hair, Finasteride will probably do more good than harm. Otherwise, beware.

The earliest thinning I noticed was very minor. This confirmed my misconception that I was going balding (not going bald, I just wanted to avoid getting a noticibly balding head of hair). But over the last two weeks the hair loss has been really drastic. I guess/would hope this is that 'shedding phase' everyone talks about. In reality, that's just wishful thinking.

Hope, this helps. I recommend to do further research and showing that to your Doctor.

BISMARCK

 

[justasking]

good posts...

I appreciate all of the input. I would go to the Doctor for advice now if I hadn't gotten the propecia on my own online...don't think my Doctor would appreciate that. And he's not a hairloss Doctor.

Are you guys saying that I should get off this stuff, or that I should wait it out? I guess the concensis is that I might be a hyperandrogenicity type and never get anywhere with this battle. I'm pretty down, I have to tell you. The loss has been so fast in the past month -- hair all over the floor every morning. Fast sheds = good? But when does it end? Ever for us hyper guys?

I'm resigned to shaving my head, but I think it might look bad and I am soon going to be meeting a girl I really love and have been having a long distance relationship with who hasn't seen me in a year. I could meet her with my shitty toppik'd hair or with a shaved head. Neither one looks hopeful. What to do...Out of ideas...

 

[br3]

Wow,we are definitely in the same boat and i'm only 22. I've been on propecia for a little over four months now and the shedding of the entire front area has never stopped, in-fact the amount i've lost in the past four months is devastating to me. This has also been accompanied by oily skin and acne on my fore head which prior to taking propecia i never had so much as a blemish in that area, and now at the 4 month point its worse then ever . So yes i'm at a point where i absolutely do not know what to do, its extremely difficult to get a grip when trying to help one thing causes another to go crazy. So yes, i'm starting to loose my mind!!!

 

[justasking]

feeling your pain

Yep. That's a good word for it. Devastating. Propecia was my "ace in the hole" that I was waiting to pull out as my big guns when I needed them. I've been on treatments for years and Propecia was going to take up the slack when other stuff started to fade as a regrowth solution. Now I'm balding so fast it's incredible. I don't want to shave my head, but I'm sick of pretending I have hair in places I don't -- like much of the top of my head -- by putting on that damn toppik every morning. I'm still single and I'm moving in with a bunch of other people in a few months to share a house. I refuse to sneak around sprinkling on toppik in the morning before everyone gets up so I won't be embarrassed. I'd rather shave it the f*ck off and, if they see the shadow of where my hair is missing, so be it. I've got a lot of great hats I can wear once I don't have to worry about my hair moving and revealing a naked scalp. Life is too short.

Seems we're not hearing from anyone here who's had that hyperandrogenicity problem and pulled through in the end. Lots of people with success on propecia, but maybe not with the zits, etc. and the months and months of heavy shedding without a let up. Or am I forgetting? Anyone?

 

[br3]

yea, i really wish we could get some info on this.
I'm not so keen on shaving my head either, but man i cant take this sh*t.

 

[Kevin fretwell]

I've had little hair to begin with so my shedding of what I had in front is not as dramatic to me so I'm just going to continue regime .Shedding is dramatic to those who have hair and want to use finasteride .Its ike a catch22 of finasteride isn't it ?As for the girl you haven't seen in a year I would recommend you tell her your concerns .One of two things can happen .She can really admire your openess and thus advance your relationship or she can turn you down lightly by saying lets be friends .