Taking a Break from finasteride, what are the alternatives?

[Ghostmain]

I've been having anxiety lately, and I never experienced it really before. I've been on finasteride for 5+ years now and everything has been good no sides but since Dec I've been experiencing bad Anxiety and not sure what it's from. Only solution for me now is to take a month break from finasteride and see if it goes away.

If it does turn out to be the finasteride that causes the Anxiety what are my options? I heard side-effects can go away after a break and then just going back to your normal routine.

Currently I'm taking 1mg daily, but if I did need to change because of sides would you guys recommend I just go back to the 1mg daily after the 1 month? Or like do monday, wednesday, friday only? Or maybe even do a lower dose at 0.5mg. I could try topical too, but I just want to see what a good option would be to trying after the month.

If it turns out I still have anxiety after a month I probably will think finasteride isn't the cause. But nothing else makes sense right now lol.

Also, is it true it kind of builds in your system and since I've been on it for a long time maybe I just need to flush it a bit and then just continue normally? I know 1 month won't really affect much of my hair growth.

Thanks!

 

[MrClean1]

If it goes away then I would definitely try a lower dose and try to find a sweet spot so you don't have anxiety. You could also try oral minoxidil. That seems to work for most people and not many reports of side effects.

 

[Ghostmain]

If it goes away then I would definitely try a lower dose and try to find a sweet spot so you don't have anxiety. You could also try oral minoxidil. That seems to work for most people and not many reports of side effects.

Does oral minoxidil work as well? Also would u recommend 0.5mg daily after as a trial, or 1mg mon,wed,fri?

 

[MrClean1]

Some people get great results on oral minoxidil but it works differently from finasteride. You would have to experiment with the dosage but I probably go with 0.5mg everyday. I have been using oral minoxidil for about a year but haven't seen any significant results. It might be because i have used topical minoxidil for 20 years and it just doesn't have any effect anymore. If you are new to minoxidil i would try the oral stuff because it seems to be well tolerated and you might get great results.

 

[Ghostmain]

Some people get great results on oral minoxidil but it works differently from finasteride. You would have to experiment with the dosage but I probably go with 0.5mg everyday. I have been using oral minoxidil for about a year but haven't seen any significant results. It might be because i have used topical minoxidil for 20 years and it just doesn't have any effect anymore. If you are new to minoxidil i would try the oral stuff because it seems to be well tolerated and you might get great results.

I'm taking a break right now, gonna do it for 1 month. I've been on it finasteride for 5 yrs. Do you think my hair would be fine within that time frame? i have a full head of hair atm, and I'm just doing 1 month to see if it's causing me sides.

Also, if I don't get sides and restart after a month most likely I won't get sides again when restarting?

 

[MrClean1]

I'm taking a break right now, gonna do it for 1 month. I've been on it finasteride for 5 yrs. Do you think my hair would be fine within that time frame? i have a full head of hair atm, and I'm just doing 1 month to see if it's causing me sides.

Also, if I don't get sides and restart after a month most likely I won't get sides again when restarting?

If finasteride was working for you, you could go through a shed after a month of not using it. I have never gone off of it in 20 years. I did go off of minoxidil for a month and that was a disaster with a massive shed.

 

[Ghostmain]

If finasteride was working for you, you could go through a shed after a month of not using it. I have never gone off of it in 20 years. I did go off of minoxidil for a month and that was a disaster with a massive shed.

it seems to be working as I have a full head of hair and started when I was 25, when I started i wasn't bald at all. But, i only plan 2 weeks to a month