Finasteride side effects?

[Unclethud]

At age 48 PSA numbers started to rise. Biopsy 12 samples taken, one returned A typical.what every that means. Was started on Finasteride. From what i read drug is testosterone blocker also used to slow hair loss on head. Ie male pattern baldness. It never helped the hair on my head. It did shrink prostate and caused incomplete erections.
But i my question is, I was a hairy guy wife loved running her fingers through. Shortly after starting Finasteride I was sheading worse the Golden Retiver. Anyone else experiance this?

[Vvs111]

It’s an enzyme blocker to DHT and other hormones. That will mess up the hormone equilibrium so everyone’s body seems to react differently.

You should probably do a complete thyroid panel. I guess your testosterone could be off but you didn’t provide any info on HRT.

[Unclethud]

Thank you for your respoce. I stop taking that drug 13 years ago. Stopped sheading with discontiuation of drug some regrowth sice then but it will never return to what it was. Funny how it effected arms legs chest belly and back and not my head. Have heath screenings every year. Libid panel is included, but i will have to look at my records. Testosterone has beem checked but not every year. Will have to work on it.
Thank you again.

[Vvs111]

Thank you for your respoce. I stop taking that drug 13 years ago. Stopped sheading with discontiuation of drug some regrowth sice then but it will never return to what it was. Funny how it effected arms legs chest belly and back and not my head. Have heath screenings every year. Libid panel is included, but i will have to look at my records. Testosterone has beem checked but not every year. Will have to work on it.
Thank you again.

Are you concerned with hair growth or other side effects? It’s a nasty drug. I’d check your thyroid and DHT, You can order these tests w/o a doctor in the US.

Finasteride blocks DHT and that is the other “manly” hormone that makes men hairy. You could try a DHT based steroid if you’re not worried about the prostate effects.

[Unclethud]

Thank you Vvs111
Thyroid screen TSH w/Reflex to FT4 as of 2/4/24. 1.53. As far as boosting the DHT I think I will let that sleeping dog lie, I still have a prostat although cooked. I can live with some return of body hair, theres one aspect I do not miss and thats trimming by backside.

[Flavio]

I took finasteride daily for 20+ years. It preserved my hair but there were minor sexual side effects: e.g. watery semen, maybe some loss of libido. Fin stopped working, now I'm on dutasteride.

[Unclethud]

Hi Flavio

Finastride was not well recieved here. It delivered on a number of the side effects that are listed. Rapid weight gain, gynecomastia.
Slowed the growth of my facial hair. Cannot tell if it help the hair loss on top, one would never know to day. The watery seamen bit I never connected hat to the drug.

[Flavio]

Yes, weight gain is a strong possibility. Finasteride stopped working for me four years ago, I'm now taking dutasteride.

[steelciocc]

I can definitely understand your experience. I have also been struggling with hair loss for quite some time, and like you, I started with finasteride, namely Propecia (Finasteride). I've been taking it for a long time, and I agree — it really helps to preserve hair. The key point for me was patience, as the results were not instantaneous, but over time I noticed that my hair stopped thinning so much. However, like you, I have experienced some side effects. For me, it was mostly a slight decrease in libido and, sometimes, changes in the consistency of sperm, but they were not too serious. That is why it is extremely important to use only high-quality Propecia (Finasteride) from reliable pharmacies.

When finasteride started to lose its effectiveness, I switched to Avodart (Dutasteride), which worked better for me in terms of preventing further hair loss. Dutasteride seems to be stronger, and so far it's doing a good job of slowing down the thinning of my hair. The side effects are quite similar to finasteride — some slight sexual changes, but nothing too drastic. However, in order to minimize side effects and best effect, you should take only high-quality Avodart (Dutasteride) from reliable pharmacies.

I think the most important thing is to keep patience and consistency in treatment, because it may take time to see significant results. Everyone reacts differently, but the combination of both drugs has helped me deal with hair loss quite well over the years.