Ok here’s the deal. I’m 24, been noticing a slight hair loss for the past few years at the temples, and now I can see the front top has been thinning a little (my barber noticed it too). No one else has noticed anything, and it’s no big deal for now. I’m just a little worried about what I’ll look like five years from now. I know it’s only hair, and that there are more important things in life, and most of you will probably tell me to man up and shave it…
And I probably will someday, but right now, I’m happy with my hair the way it is. I’ve been reading a lot about finasteride for the past few weeks (on this site and others), and I finally got a prescription for Proscar today. The thing is, my doctor didn’t seem to know much about it, so I was just wondering if anyone with experience with finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) could tell me what to expect (good and bad, short and long term). Stop/slowing of hairloss? Regaining hair? Sexual side effects? Shedding?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I’m gonna buy the Proscar tomorrow and probably start the treatment right away, but I’d like to know what I’m in for (especially since, from what I’ve read, if you start taking finasteride, you pretty much have too keep using it for the rest of your life if you wanna keep what you’ve gained). Thanks a lot!
Virtually everything I’ve read about the drug is that it is BAD for men. DHT is an estrogen antagonist. Finesteride will drop your DHT tremendously, leaving estrogen unchecked. The results are twofold: First, increased estrogen activity will result in gynocomastia. Second, the loss of DHT will result in low libido, impotence, and worse gains in the gym. Often these “side effects” go away when you stop taking the drug, but many times they do not.
I’m gonna get flamed for this big time, but if I were you I would ditch the fin and start laser therapy ASAP. You can do this either at a salon dedicated for this purpose (expensive) or by building your own device (not too hard) or having someone build it for you. I know a guy who will build them (and no I am not affiliated with him in any way).
I would also highly recommend Nizoral or, better yet, Revita shampoo. Both will slow down the hair loss and promote some regrowth if you start early. I just started on a topical product by the makers of Revita–Spectral DNC-L–but it is too early to comment on its effectiveness.
I also take a special vitamin E supplement that has some promising hair protection properties.
Finally, I would scale back your carbs and try to rein in insulin. This will go a long way towards keeping your hair.
The thing is, I’ve already been to the doctor, and I got the prescription. I’ve also read alot about finasteride, and a lot of stuff seems to contradict itself. But like I said, my doctor didn’t know a whole lot about the medic, that’s why I was asking if anybody who used or were using Proscar or Propecia could tell me what to expect.
I do appreciate the advice though. eic - I I’ve started using Nizoral about a month ago, I’ll check out Revital, thanks. Not sure about laser therapy, though, but hey, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look into it.
I like it better than dutasteride because it doesn’t completely knock out DHT production. I would just bite off a corner of the pill so I could get four or five doses out of a pill.