Starting finasteride And Could Use Some Advice

[DeterminedGuy]

Hello Everyone,

I picked up my bottle of finasteride today from the pharmacy, and I gotta say my nerves are bit high so I am holding off until tomorrow to start. Funny, the pharmacist admitted he uses propecia and almost seemed excited to show his hair off.

Ok, so i could use your guys advice. I read so much, that its all a blur to me. I really could use your experience and guidance on this one..

1) Is there a best time to take this? Best experience, does it matter morning..night..mid-day... after meal?

2) I will continue rogaine 5% foam, which has really done nothing for the past year and a half. However, should I continue do you think it will help with possible initial sheds? I just went through a minoxidil shed recently.

3) Me and the gf were discussing kids recently, if we were shooting for spring time frame. Do I need to quit the drug?

4) I'm going to be 37, believe I am close to a norwood 3v / progressing to 4. See pics below. Been on daily regiment of saw palmetto 500mg, biotin 5000mg, pumpkin seed oil 2000mg, general multi vitamin + Vit D 1000mg. Lost a good deal of hair in last shed about 3-4 months ago. Started above regimen about 2 months ago now, and saw some thickening. I will drop saw palmetto once I start finasteride. What are my chances of growth vs holding ground vs no progress/ineffective? Left below like 3 months ago, and right was about a week ago.

I am scared of another big shed. Yes sides scare me more, but hey if it happens i'm off it. Right now, I want to figure out how to minimize all negative effects and shoot for the best. I am planning to start on 0.5mg daily, and if doing well after 2 weeks. I will decide if I should jump to 1mg.

I am open to all your ideas and feedback. Hoping for some support from my fellow thinning/balding gentlemen out there lol.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Does not matter what time of the day you take Propecia just make sure you pick a time you will remember to do it every day. I would stay on the foam and if you improve, you will know Propecia is helping you more than minoxidil. Propecia can give you shed as well. Your loss is mostly in the vertex so you should do well on these treatments. Spex, who is famous in the UK and represents many hair transplant doctors fathered twins when taking Propecia and the kids are fine. Good luck!!

 

[jetlife1]

1) Does not matter. Morning or night. Before meal or after. Just try to be consistent with the time of day. It helps with remembering to take it every day.
2) Don't think will help much with the the finasteride shed since finasteride stops hair loss using a different mechanism (lowering DHT). Not sure though cause I have no experience in taking minoxidil. If you get the initial shed, ride it out because it is a sign that it is working.
3) No
4) Regrowth varies from person to person, but you will most likely get thickening and reversal of the miniaturized hairs that I see in your crown area in your pictures.

Side note @DoctorHouse , I just found out Spex chose last week to change his finasteride regimen to dutasteride after 17 years of use. Go figure. His hair/crown is still way better than baseline.

 

[DeterminedGuy]

@DoctorHouse @jetlife1 Thank you for your responses, and although no guarantees I appreciate the somewhat encouraging words and advice. All I read is individuals who flood this site with negativity, some who say they are impotent for life and many who had little success. It makes the 2-5% with sides seem much more than that, given the amount of folks on this forum with problems. I do believe much is psychological, I just really hope I have success. If I can gain ground, even 25% and then maintain for 7+ years. I would be very happy. I took saw palmetto, as I read many who would have negative sides saw same on saw palmetto then finasteride. I had some minor ball ache for a couple of days, it was gone and I was good. So that I consider a very poor but minor relevant test.

Ok, so do you guys think 0.5mg is worth a go? I see so many trials showing 0.5mg having same long term gains as 1mg, and 0.5mg has shown less sides. Is my thinking sound, or am I wasting time?

Thank you for your responses so far. I would like to jump on finasteride tomorrow morning, excited and nervous to be taking a first real step. Tired of these snake oil and concoctions I've been whipping up, although had some luck thickening my hair but no real growth.

 

[MikeW]

Not worth it OP. I am completely impotent. With neurological sides that have not gone away. I used the drug for 4 weeks, had sides and immediately stopped, still have sides.

Russian Roulette with your life.

You may not have sides, but if you do, your life is finished.

That 2 percent claim is bullshit. It's more like 30 percent.

It's your call.

My 2 cents. I ain't fear mongering. Thousands of guys have been wrecked from this stuff. It's not safe, it helps for hair loss but it's not safe.

If you take it pray you don't get side effects because they can be irreversible. And the drug company admits it.

 

[MikeW]

Biggest mistake of my life was taking Finasteride.

Hope it doesn't ruin your life. PFS is real.

I know hair is important. Look into topicals, ru58841, topical finasteride, less systemic.

 

[jimmyjonas]

@DoctorHouse @jetlife1 Thank you for your responses, and although no guarantees I appreciate the somewhat encouraging words and advice. All I read is individuals who flood this site with negativity, some who say they are impotent for life and many who had little success. It makes the 2-5% with sides seem much more than that, given the amount of folks on this forum with problems. I do believe much is psychological, I just really hope I have success. If I can gain ground, even 25% and then maintain for 7+ years. I would be very happy. I took saw palmetto, as I read many who would have negative sides saw same on saw palmetto then finasteride. I had some minor ball ache for a couple of days, it was gone and I was good. So that I consider a very poor but minor relevant test.

Ok, so do you guys think 0.5mg is worth a go? I see so many trials showing 0.5mg having same long term gains as 1mg, and 0.5mg has shown less sides. Is my thinking sound, or am I wasting time?

Thank you for your responses so far. I would like to jump on finasteride tomorrow morning, excited and nervous to be taking a first real step. Tired of these snake oil and concoctions I've been whipping up, although had some luck thickening my hair but no real growth.

Hi there, all I would say is be careful and give it serious consideration, I was in a very similiar situation to yourself a few months back as in planning for a family soon, thought the sides were caused by mental health issues rather than the drug itself, Doctor who prescribed me said the same that sides are hysteria from internet folk and studies don't back it up, well I decided to believe the Doctor over guys on internet, and now three months later my life has been turned upside down, I took it for four days got genital numbness which has not gone away went back to Doctor and he's like yeah can happen sorry about that. My whole world has been turned upside down it basically feels like a part me, the most important part of me is dead and that's a constant feeling, horrific, It's very hard to explain how this feels but when you are feeling well it's impossible to understand this but if I could go back I would give my right arm to feel how I did before it. the price of taking the pill is just too high, now I face a total lifestyle change to hope I get back to normal a nightmare. And finally I was a totally stable happy guy before I touched it, this is a true story and wished I got this advice before I took it. I accept the drug seems to safe for the majority but there is no way of telling who will get sides, in hindsight the worst decision I made in my life. I'm not trying to scare you but be careful, now I don't give a sh*t about my hair.

 

[MikeW]

Hi there, all I would say is be careful and give it serious consideration, I was in a very similiar situation to yourself a few months back as in planning for a family soon, thought the sides were caused by mental health issues rather than the drug itself, Doctor who prescribed me said the same that sides are hysteria from internet folk and studies don't back it up, well I decided to believe the Doctor over guys on internet, and now three months later my life has been turned upside down, I took it for four days got genital numbness which has not gone away went back to Doctor and he's like yeah can happen sorry about that. My whole world has been turned upside down it basically feels like a part me, the most important part of me is dead and that's a constant feeling, horrific, It's very hard to explain how this feels but when you are feeling well it's impossible to understand this but if I could go back I would give my right arm to feel how I did before it. the price of taking the pill is just too high, now I face a total lifestyle change to hope I get back to normal a nightmare. And finally I was a totally stable happy guy before I touched it, this is a true story and wished I got this advice before I took it. I accept the drug seems to safe for the majority but there is no way of telling who will get sides, in hindsight the worst decision I made in my life. I'm not trying to scare you but be careful, now I don't give a sh*t about my hair.

And i'm being called a liar too..

This drug ruined my life.

 

[DeterminedGuy]

@MikeW I don't doubt your dealing with some form of side effects. I know regardless if physical or psychological, all in the same. To share a different story, but in ways similiar. Many years ago I cut my pinkie finger to the bone, pretty bad that I lost feeling and had some extensive nerve damage. Couldn't close it, couldn't feel much, now I do have 9 other fingers but still pretty upset that I had a bum finger. Ok so to my point, I was told it would not be the same. I settled for that being the answered, but after a couple of months I go really annoyed at the thought that I couldnt just fix it. I went to physical therapy, worked on it daily and within a few months my finger was back to feeling, no more tingling, and I could bend it and move it like any other finger. So my point is, I think that whether real or not. Mind is powerful, and is your body. To heal the body, your mind must first be convinced it is possible.

With that said, I have suffered depression at a young age, I took all kinds of anti depressents, I took everything under the sun for anxiety. You know what, I woke up one day and realized I am in control and nothing else. Took a few years, but never again will anything rule me but me. So, I am willing to give it ago and I understand the consequences. If I get sides, then I bow out and repair myself like I always have. Since many all say they went to dr's and found their bodies and blood work to be solid, then I firmly believe it is within us.

So I started with 0.5mg this morning, but I ordered a pill cutter and probably just drop it to 0.25mg. Honestly, I dont need a full head of hair and I dont need to regrow every hair. I just want it to stop, and I'll take a little regrowth if it happens. I'm not pushing it, I am just looking to get a little assist on the backend of this thing. That is all. There are guys on 5mg treating prostate issues with no problem, as it was originally intended. Taking 5-10% of that dose I think it will be ok. If you were on 1mg or higher well I could see that.

All that said, I respect what your trying to do and appreciate the warning. We are human, we love to test that limit and fail by trial because its our nature to test the waters.

 

[ahmed wolf]

Hi there, all I would say is be careful and give it serious consideration, I was in a very similiar situation to yourself a few months back as in planning for a family soon, thought the sides were caused by mental health issues rather than the drug itself, Doctor who prescribed me said the same that sides are hysteria from internet folk and studies don't back it up, well I decided to believe the Doctor over guys on internet, and now three months later my life has been turned upside down, I took it for four days got genital numbness which has not gone away went back to Doctor and he's like yeah can happen sorry about that. My whole world has been turned upside down it basically feels like a part me, the most important part of me is dead and that's a constant feeling, horrific, It's very hard to explain how this feels but when you are feeling well it's impossible to understand this but if I could go back I would give my right arm to feel how I did before it. the price of taking the pill is just too high, now I face a total lifestyle change to hope I get back to normal a nightmare. And finally I was a totally stable happy guy before I touched it, this is a true story and wished I got this advice before I took it. I accept the drug seems to safe for the majority but there is no way of telling who will get sides, in hindsight the worst decision I made in my life. I'm not trying to scare you but be careful, now I don't give a sh*t about my hair.

go get blood test and c ur levels and for f*** sake stop this i too took finasteride for 3 days and got sides but all my blood test are perfect i test them every week
do the same to know ur place and whats ur life style ? plz dont tell me ur 6 4 with lean body and u dont even work out

 

[ahmed wolf]

@MikeW I don't doubt your dealing with some form of side effects. I know regardless if physical or psychological, all in the same. To share a different story, but in ways similiar. Many years ago I cut my pinkie finger to the bone, pretty bad that I lost feeling and had some extensive nerve damage. Couldn't close it, couldn't feel much, now I do have 9 other fingers but still pretty upset that I had a bum finger. Ok so to my point, I was told it would not be the same. I settled for that being the answered, but after a couple of months I go really annoyed at the thought that I couldnt just fix it. I went to physical therapy, worked on it daily and within a few months my finger was back to feeling, no more tingling, and I could bend it and move it like any other finger. So my point is, I think that whether real or not. Mind is powerful, and is your body. To heal the body, your mind must first be convinced it is possible.

With that said, I have suffered depression at a young age, I took all kinds of anti depressents, I took everything under the sun for anxiety. You know what, I woke up one day and realized I am in control and nothing else. Took a few years, but never again will anything rule me but me. So, I am willing to give it ago and I understand the consequences. If I get sides, then I bow out and repair myself like I always have. Since many all say they went to dr's and found their bodies and blood work to be solid, then I firmly believe it is within us.

So I started with 0.5mg this morning, but I ordered a pill cutter and probably just drop it to 0.25mg. Honestly, I dont need a full head of hair and I dont need to regrow every hair. I just want it to stop, and I'll take a little regrowth if it happens. I'm not pushing it, I am just looking to get a little assist on the backend of this thing. That is all. There are guys on 5mg treating prostate issues with no problem, as it was originally intended. Taking 5-10% of that dose I think it will be ok. If you were on 1mg or higher well I could see that.

All that said, I respect what your trying to do and appreciate the warning. We are human, we love to test that limit and fail by trial because its our nature to test the waters.

i took it for 3 days and got sides i wont freak u out like those here
i know the sides before taking the drug but my hair loos was intense this year I could not even style my hair like i was in may so i got to do something so I tried did blood work before all my levels are the same now after 5 weeks all kinds of ererctions are back
if u experience sides stop the drug go get blood work and vist an endo doctor do not do like most of the idiots in ph.com trying to cure them selfs with out a doctor supervisor cuz trust me that would f*** u even more

 

[jimmyjonas]

@MikeW I don't doubt your dealing with some form of side effects. I know regardless if physical or psychological, all in the same. To share a different story, but in ways similiar. Many years ago I cut my pinkie finger to the bone, pretty bad that I lost feeling and had some extensive nerve damage. Couldn't close it, couldn't feel much, now I do have 9 other fingers but still pretty upset that I had a bum finger. Ok so to my point, I was told it would not be the same. I settled for that being the answered, but after a couple of months I go really annoyed at the thought that I couldnt just fix it. I went to physical therapy, worked on it daily and within a few months my finger was back to feeling, no more tingling, and I could bend it and move it like any other finger. So my point is, I think that whether real or not. Mind is powerful, and is your body. To heal the body, your mind must first be convinced it is possible.

With that said, I have suffered depression at a young age, I took all kinds of anti depressents, I took everything under the sun for anxiety. You know what, I woke up one day and realized I am in control and nothing else. Took a few years, but never again will anything rule me but me. So, I am willing to give it ago and I understand the consequences. If I get sides, then I bow out and repair myself like I always have. Since many all say they went to dr's and found their bodies and blood work to be solid, then I firmly believe it is within us.

So I started with 0.5mg this morning, but I ordered a pill cutter and probably just drop it to 0.25mg. Honestly, I dont need a full head of hair and I dont need to regrow every hair. I just want it to stop, and I'll take a little regrowth if it happens. I'm not pushing it, I am just looking to get a little assist on the backend of this thing. That is all. There are guys on 5mg treating prostate issues with no problem, as it was originally intended. Taking 5-10% of that dose I think it will be ok. If you were on 1mg or higher well I could see that.

All that said, I respect what your trying to do and appreciate the warning. We are human, we love to test that limit and fail by trial because its our nature to test the waters.

Best of luck man, I hope it all works out for you,l

go get blood test and c ur levels and for f*** sake stop this i too took finasteride for 3 days and got sides but all my blood test are perfect i test them every week
do the same to know ur place and whats ur life style ? plz dont tell me ur 6 4 with lean body and u dont even work out

Ha, first of all I got bloods done, all in range nothing out of ordinary, second of all I am 5,6 not 6,4, my lifestyle/diet is average, I am not a fitness freak, I am only speaking of this because I do not want anyone else to go through it and op is in similiar situation before I started, I do believe sides go in time and can be reversed contrary to the horror stories online just takes time and a better lifestyle, good luck.

 

[ahmed wolf]

Best of luck man, I hope it all works out for you,l

Ha, first of all I got bloods done, all in range nothing out of ordinary, second of all I am 5,6 not 6,4, my lifestyle/diet is average, I am not a fitness freak, I am only speaking of this because I do not want anyone else to go through it and op is in similiar situation before I started, I do believe sides go in time and can be reversed contrary to the horror stories online just takes time and a better lifestyle, good luck.

what kind of test did u take ?
i am a fitness freak never smoked or drinked my whole life always eat healthy took anabolic steroids when i was competing that changed my dht levels and i got sides after 2 pills so ya lifestyle is not a cure if u suffer from hormones imbalance u need to take medication with a doctor supervisor first then lifestyle will play a role but u took it for 4 days its in ur head for f*** sake u will be good in matter of 2-3 months but if u keep thinking like that u wont recover

 

[jimmyjonas]

I took blood tests, specifically looking at testosterone as that's what Doctor wanted to check, mine came back as 19 on a range from 7 - 31 so nothing indicated that problem was with testosterone, Im not here to argue or push that everyone gets sides from it just a word of warning, I listened to a Doctor who got me in this sh*t in the first place saying he believed sides are placebo but in truth his business depends on men taking the drug as in having hair loss surgery in the future, the problem is if you get sides you are on your own as doctors are clueless how to cure you, I take inspiration from guys who are recovered so yes I agree that time can restore you and am confident I will too but I won't stay silent and say it's all fine and dandy taking this drug, it's roulette taking it. Good luck to you.

 

[DeterminedGuy]

Not sure if you were speaking directly to me? Anyway yes, my dr requested I get blood work done to test liver enzymes, testosterone, vitamin and all that. Full blood work as he always does before prescribing something. He said everything looks good except for slightly higher cholesterol and low vitamin D (which is common nower days). He recommended better diet and gym, and give finastride a try. His instruction was, if you want to try it do so and if you see any reaction to the drug immediately stop and call me. You will reverse damage by quitting the drug. Oh and I am 5'7" and not fat, but I can afford to lose 15lbs or so. I plan to start the gym again next week, altering my diet in the next couple of weeks.

Thats really strange though, 2 pills and you got sides? No not doubting, but what sides did you get? Just ED or something more? Do we really know the correlation between men with sides and ones that go for years with no issues? I dont get it, 1 person can take a weeks worth and get sides and some on the drug for 5+ years and nothing. Is it specific testosterone and DHT levels? Is there a link to pharmacy, or if its finastride vs propecia? Clearly dosage can play a part, it just is all very curious. You have guys on 5mg and have not a problem. So what exactly is the theories? I will say with little exposure to all this, you have to admit much has to be psychological. You have balding that is already a weight on the mind, then you have forums like this where they exploit and hype up sides, you have folks on other meds with pre-existing conditions, then you have individuals who might have male pattern baldness or some other hair killing condition, then theres individual characteristics such as age, weight, diet, etc. So how is it this stuff is on the market for over a decade and there is no more than "this stuff will ruin you".

 

[MikeW]

@MikeW I don't doubt your dealing with some form of side effects. I know regardless if physical or psychological, all in the same. To share a different story, but in ways similiar. Many years ago I cut my pinkie finger to the bone, pretty bad that I lost feeling and had some extensive nerve damage. Couldn't close it, couldn't feel much, now I do have 9 other fingers but still pretty upset that I had a bum finger. Ok so to my point, I was told it would not be the same. I settled for that being the answered, but after a couple of months I go really annoyed at the thought that I couldnt just fix it. I went to physical therapy, worked on it daily and within a few months my finger was back to feeling, no more tingling, and I could bend it and move it like any other finger. So my point is, I think that whether real or not. Mind is powerful, and is your body. To heal the body, your mind must first be convinced it is possible.

With that said, I have suffered depression at a young age, I took all kinds of anti depressents, I took everything under the sun for anxiety. You know what, I woke up one day and realized I am in control and nothing else. Took a few years, but never again will anything rule me but me. So, I am willing to give it ago and I understand the consequences. If I get sides, then I bow out and repair myself like I always have. Since many all say they went to dr's and found their bodies and blood work to be solid, then I firmly believe it is within us.

So I started with 0.5mg this morning, but I ordered a pill cutter and probably just drop it to 0.25mg. Honestly, I dont need a full head of hair and I dont need to regrow every hair. I just want it to stop, and I'll take a little regrowth if it happens. I'm not pushing it, I am just looking to get a little assist on the backend of this thing. That is all. There are guys on 5mg treating prostate issues with no problem, as it was originally intended. Taking 5-10% of that dose I think it will be ok. If you were on 1mg or higher well I could see that.

All that said, I respect what your trying to do and appreciate the warning. We are human, we love to test that limit and fail by trial because its our nature to test the waters.

I would gladly be fully bald than dealing with what I am dealing with now.

Just be extremely careful, monitor your body and immediately stop if you notice something is off.

I'very lost cognitive function brc

I took blood tests, specifically looking at testosterone as that's what Doctor wanted to check, mine came back as 19 on a range from 7 - 31 so nothing indicated that problem was with testosterone, Im not here to argue or push that everyone gets sides from it just a word of warning, I listened to a Doctor who got me in this sh*t in the first place saying he believed sides are placebo but in truth his business depends on men taking the drug as in having hair loss surgery in the future, the problem is if you get sides you are on your own as doctors are clueless how to cure you, I take inspiration from guys who are recovered so yes I agree that time can restore you and am confident I will too but I won't stay silent and say it's all fine and dandy taking this drug, it's roulette taking it. Good luck to you.

Problem is you don't know what your baseline testosterone level was before you took the drug. Even if it's within range you could of been a lot higher than 19. That's the issue. Taking this drug without baseline hormone testing. f*****g doctors just hand this hormone altering drug out like candy.

You need more then testosterone checked. You need a full hormonal panel, total testosterone, free testosterone, Estradiol, progesterone, Prolactin, LH, FSH to get an idea what this drug did to your hormones.

 

[jimmyjonas]

Not sure if you were speaking directly to me? Anyway yes, my dr requested I get blood work done to test liver enzymes, testosterone, vitamin and all that. Full blood work as he always does before prescribing something. He said everything looks good except for slightly higher cholesterol and low vitamin D (which is common nower days). He recommended better diet and gym, and give finastride a try. His instruction was, if you want to try it do so and if you see any reaction to the drug immediately stop and call me. You will reverse damage by quitting the drug. Oh and I am 5'7" and not fat, but I can afford to lose 15lbs or so. I plan to start the gym again next week, altering my diet in the next couple of weeks.

Thats really strange though, 2 pills and you got sides? No not doubting, but what sides did you get? Just ED or something more? Do we really know the correlation between men with sides and ones that go for years with no issues? I dont get it, 1 person can take a weeks worth and get sides and some on the drug for 5+ years and nothing. Is it specific testosterone and DHT levels? Is there a link to pharmacy, or if its finastride vs propecia? Clearly dosage can play a part, it just is all very curious. You have guys on 5mg and have not a problem. So what exactly is the theories? I will say with little exposure to all this, you have to admit much has to be psychological. You have balding that is already a weight on the mind, then you have forums like this where they exploit and hype up sides, you have folks on other meds with pre-existing conditions, then you have individuals who might have male pattern baldness or some other hair killing condition, then theres individual characteristics such as age, weight, diet, etc. So how is it this stuff is on the market for over a decade and there is no more than "this stuff will ruin you".

Some good questions that I have asked myself, it is a mystery, only thing Doctor gave me was that he attended a hair loss convention for surgeons in vegas recently and at this pfs was discussed and the consensus was that men who get persistent sides have a history of anxiety disorders and depression thus leading to the fact that finasteride alters something in the brain and triggers sides in men with said predispositions, I cannot find any documented evidence of this although Harvard study points in that direction. For the record I do not have a history with either so I am at a loss but if you are going to go for it watch yourself and get off if you notice anything unusual, best of luck man.

 

[Grasshüpfer]

You need more then testosterone checked. You need a full hormonal panel, total testosterone, free testosterone, Estradiol, progesterone, Prolactin, LH, FSH to get an idea what this drug did to your hormones

+1!

 

[Ashkan63]

If you are going to take finastride i think you should consider some facts:
1 saving the most important part of your beauty is not side effect free but finastride is the only solution available.
2 no side effects can be forever,it takes time but they disappear,maybe up to a year
3 stay away from this forum if you are at the start of the road and experience the drug yourself.there are some people here which saw finastride from the pharmacy windows and got side effects forever.
4 good luck with the only serious hair loss tratment

 

[DeterminedGuy]

Its only been a little over 2 weeks, but I wanted to keep log of things. I know many have either been scared to try the drug, or maybe just for myself. I am going to try and keep a log here when possible.

So the first milestone is establishing if sides would show up early. I decided to go with 0.5mg/daily, I have seen many experienced success with less sides by reducing the dose. So far, the only thing to note is I did notice random ball ache from time to time. It was more persistent week 1, not pain just random ache. Still randomly it shows up, but what I did notice is that when I switched to taking the pill just before bed it went away. Probably the timing of the pill. I have not noticed anything with mental fog, nipple tenderness, watery semen or a unicorn horn growing out of my forehead lol. Maybe too soon to tell, but so far I can't complain. Also, not sure if related to the rogain sheds. I normally notice 10-20 hairs in hand when washing hair daily, I have noticed this increase slightly to 20-40 total per day. Last few days its back to normal, so it could have been coincidental.

Oh and another thing, I noticed a strange struggle in getting to sleep at night. Seems to be harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, this was the same with taking it at 9-11am as it was 10pm-midnight. I started taking valarian root before bed, it used to help and seems to be helping once again. Not sure if this is due to the medication.

I don't know if I should stay the course on 0.5mg/ daily, or expect to increase it? I could spend 3 months on 0.5mg and see if there are any improvements, or I could just jump to 1mg knowing 0.5mg is working out for me. What are your guys thoughts?

I will post a monthly pic if I notice any improvements, if even for my own sanity.


For those who are interested, my routine now (and for most part is exactly the same):
- 0.5mg finasteride (started 2 weeks ago)
- Rogain foam 2x's daily, staying the course even though have had no improvement for last 1.5 years
- Hair, skin and nails vitamin (with Biotin 5000mg) + Insositol and Choline
- 1000mg Pumpkin Seed Oil 2x's daily
- Wash hair daily with Regenepure Dr Scalp treatment + added 3 drops spearmint oil + add'l coconut oil
- Stemox by Garnier added right after Rogain, I doubt this is doing anything. To be honest, I just really like the smell.
- Dermaroll with 0.5 roller 2X's a week.

Writing all that out, it really seems like allot.