The problem with most studies is it doesn't show how side effects could be caused by other markers or environmental effects. I've been taking finasteride for 10 years, and about a year back I started feeling really depressed. My doc said he thinks I should stop the medication, and I asked before that, could I have a full panel of bloodwork done just to see if something else is causing it. Turns out I had extremely low levels of vitamin D. I started supplementing and getting outside more and now I feel great. Correlation does not always equal causation.

I wish this show was available 10 years ago. Thank you Gentleman!!!!!!

This is what happened to me. I was taking 1mg per day as that is what I was told to take. First 3 months I didn’t notice a single side effect. I thought this is great. I’ll get a hair transplant carry on taking this. Anyway, month 4 I had a complete breakdown. Now just to be clear on this, I have never been depressed in my life. Never suffered from anxiety either. Month 4 on 1mg per day. I started noticing I would get disturbed sleep every night. Thought nothing of it. Within the space of 2 weeks I completely broke down. Felt depressed as hell. Had to take myself out of work and just starting to feel a bit better now a week off the tablet. There is no question it is the tablet because I was on nothing else and I’m absolutely gutted that it is the tablet as I don’t want anymore hair falling out. After finding this video tho I will take your advice. I will leave it for a month then try lower dosage and hopefully without side effects. Thanks Edit: just an update to this and I feel very embarrassed saying this but I did in fact get a hair transplant and went back to 1mg per day and I have had absolutely no side effects at all. I don’t know why I initially had them but I’ve been on finesterade for probably 18 months now and I’ve had zero effects. Yeah so there you go, sorry if I put people off and I questioned whether I should put this but you have to be honest. Cheers

This is more valuable information rather than the goods around the internet

It sounds like most people don't need as much as often the label recommends. I blame the pharma companies. People may be unknowingly blasting themselves with way too much. Too much of anything can be hazardous.

Idk how i landed on this video, but is hair really worth it in middle age men.. i mean some side effects are suicidal thoughts, increased anxiety and depression? males have a high suicide count.. Not to mention the potential brain fog.. that is enough for me to just go bald and embrace it if that day ever comes.

Great content as always! Could you guys briefly cover your impressions/current state of research on other touted treatments (saw palmetto, etc.)?

Have you guys ever spoken about how delayed onset symptoms work for dutasteride? Dutasteride has a much longer half like compared to finasteride, 6-8 hours for the latter and about a month for the former, so a 120 times difference. If it takes 3 months to begin experiencing recovery for fin would you have to wait 120 times as long for dutasteride (30 years!)?

Hello Doc(s) great informative videos. What is your gents thoughts on new hair growth technology such as Exosomes injection? Have you gents tried this in your practice? Thank you.

Started on Finestride, then dutasteride. Had progressively worsening effects...however not very long later I had discovered I had low T from a few other, completely unrelated medical problems and am now on TRT for life. I think dutasteride seven days a week is complete overkill as my DHT is permanently crushed to almost zero, but even with no DHT my side effects are much less on TRT than before. To a large extent, if you have sufficient overall T levels you can survive with severely depressed DHT levels for a long time. People with ‘post finestride syndrome’ are most likely with an advancing low testosterone problem that don’t have enough T any longer to cover for the missing DHT... Also, DHT levels when you have low T seem to pegged more as a ratio of estrogen than testosterone...people who ate higher than average estrogen converters, with low T and a high ratio of DHT to T seem to people vulnerable to baldness anyway... If you are thinking about starting on a DHT blocker, get a full hormone panel done first!

The best thing i have ever seen on internet. Thank you doctors it's very helpful and sightful.

What do you think about zinc being used in conjunction with finasteride to reduce lowered libido?

You guys are great!!! I'm taking finasteride for a large prostate at low doses and have had major anxiety about it. I'm 6 weeks in and no side effects (yet) but plan to do 6 months on and 3 months off and back at a lower does. 👍

It's ironic how a pro-finasteride video became a collection of hundreds of testimonies of how finasteride ruined their life, and links to studies. Respect to The Hair Loss Show for not taking down this page and letting real people talk about their experience.

You both explain things clearly and succinctly. I think you're both the go to place for this subject. Thank you sirs 👍👊

Thank you so much! Love from India🇮🇳

Hello doctors, I have a finasteride question that has not been addressed: what happens when the 5mg is cut in advance? Does the medication deteriorate over time if cut into quarters? My pharmacist gave me the 5mg pills but actually pre-cut 100 pills into quarters. Is that okay? I heard that this may risk the medication losing its potency if pre-cut so far in advance. If someone could please respond, I would greatly appreciate this as I am losing my hair quite fast.

So glad I found your channel! I just started finasteride on Friday. Wish me luck!

Hello. I would like to know if you do any blood test before proscribing Finasteride. Like determining the hormone levels to see if you're more likely to experience side effects. Love the show. Thank you

That’s a great point no one ever complained about post proscar syndrome

do you want to clarify more interaction between DHT and beard growth or DHT blocker and beard growth? does finasteride affect your beard growth? Thankyou!

I got Minoxidil and Finasteride. Started using the Minoxidil only as I had read about the side effects of Finasteride. Started it and never had any side effects thankfully.

What about the antibiotic drug Ofloxacine which increase$ testisterone level?

Great video, really helpful thanks

Sir can this medicine affect central pathway of brain ??

Just found this channel as I'm considering FUE and have started doing some research. Looking through the video list, this one grabbed my attention. I've been on Fin for I'd say about 15years. Prior to this I tried saw palmetto, but had undesired side effects, then tried topical minoxidil but after a while i started getting rashes. So I was recommended finasteride. 1mg a day. Hasn't reversed hair loss, just held onto what I have. No one ever told me that it builds up in your system, or that a lower dose would be ok. No ED, but as a 50+ yr old, I put an increasing reduction in libido down to reduction in testosterone. I'm very interested to learn more about PFS after seeing the video. I'm probably one of the lucky ones if I didn't get any clear side effects within months of starting.

Do you guys know anything about a finasteride-induced sex drive increase causing a limitation on its effect for stopping hair loss? I’m getting complete opposite reaction to finasteride than everything I’ve been told to expect. But my hair hasn’t changed after two months. No shedding; no regrowth; no thickening of existing hair.

Just subscribed. Thanks and Godspeed.

Hi doctors I just want to start by thanking you for sharing your knowledge. I have learned alot from these videos and I believe this channel is gonna be really big. With that said I just wanted to know if you guys could to a video about dermarolling. I have heard positive things about it but would like to know your opinion on dermarolling/dermapenning for hair stimulation.

5AR is important for brain health (mood, sleep, motivation etc). Finasteride lowers 5AR by minimum 70% on 1mg per day. Over time it causes problems. PFS could only occur if there’s been a permanent negative change somewhere in this system either 5AR is no longer produced or other mechanisms have in effect permanently “deregulated” from lack of action.

Super helpful! Thank you!

I read a comment from someone that could help you : Best treatment plan is a combo of low dose HCG (250-500IU) every other day, Progesterone cream 10-50mg once nightly, an aromatase inhibitor (if needed), and HDAC Inhibitors (butyrates, NAC, lithium, etc.) daily. This would need to be done for a number of months. The HCG will stimulate neurosteroid synthesis in the brain (verified in multiple TBI studies), Progesterone will further make more Allopregnanolone, and HDAC inhibitors help reverse some of the methylation (verified in cancer research) that occurred on both the enzymes and the receptors. If you're someone who got really screwed up by 5ARIS, you may need to run additional "cycles" of DHT based compounds to downregulate and restore signaling to the Androgen Receptors after you reboot the neurosteroids using the above.

Hello doc 1 more question if i get side effects from the drug should I keep using it ? Even when I lowered dose

I have a feeling the numbers are wrong when it comes to side effects from Finasteride. They say only 2-3% of people get sides from Fin, that BS. How is it that myself, and a good friend of mine both suffered similar side effects when taking Fin? My sides came a bit later, and his sides earlier. That to me doesn't sound very rare.

What about retrograde Alopecia. Can people suffering from this have hair transplant. And can finasteride or minoxidil help in retrograde alopecia

1yr taking finasteride, I started experiencing inability to climax & ejaculation problems, stopped it & weeks later I was fine.

So basicaly there is no underlying variable that we yet know of, with witch we can predict that a person will develop PFS caused by finasteride usage (because of potential existence of that variable in a given person). And the statistics are showing that the incidence of PFS like symptoms in the "normal" lets say "age equated" group of people is higher than in the population of finasteride users. Witch goes on to say that there is absolutely no statisticaly sound evidence that anyone will ever develop PFS symptoms *because of finasteride usage... But since we use our intellect we can also use it and say that there *might be something that we dont yet know of that could be predictive of developing PFS so its good to acknowledge that and label PFS as having side effect symptoms 6 months after usage, so we could then see what happens there. But the numbers are now showing that its highly unlikely that PFS happens because of finasteride. And also your experience of never having any clients with the "PFS" is encouraging. Anyways, its just my interpretation of the information you are sharing. Thank you for doing this, it is very informative, makes me able to make good decisions about my incipient androgenetic alopecia.

these doctors make me feel at ease

In women at 55 y/o do you prefer topical or oral finasteride , which dose and how often . Thanks your are magnificence.

Does finasteride cause sleep disorders? I have taken it only for 9 days, with a slight weakening of erections and a significant decrease in libido. However, the strangest symptom is waking up too early. It is not a matter of anxiety: when I am nervous, I usually have a hard time falling asleep. During these days, instead, I have fallen asleep very quickly, but I have always woken up early and become unable to fall asleep afterwards. This has never occured to me in my life, regardless of the level of stress. I discontinued the drug 3 days ago, with an improvement of the sexual symptoms (which had never been severe anyway), but the sleep disorders persist.

Only been taking finasteride for like 2 months and I’ve been scaling off of it. My doctor said it was reversible, so I’m gonna get off it ASAP. Side effects horrible, I’m a completely different person

Happy new year Dr. Vikram and Dr. Russell! Quick question/ request, can you discuss more about diffuse thinning case in male without receding hairline? Most of the literature are related to the classical Norwood sign, but I want to know your experience with thinning allover the scalp, many thanks!

eat raw garlic interact with finestride?

Hello, I'm 31 and I 1st noticed thinning in my crown area about 5 yrs ago. As of right now there is still hair but it is certainly lighter and the thinning is slowly spreading towards my hairline. My question is if I start taking finastride and I eventually reach the results I would like from the drug (full hair growth in thinning area) would I be able to stop taking it? What would happen if I do stop? Thank you for your time and informative content, keep up the the great work!

I hope you keep this video up when this is fully proven. It's only a matter of time at this point.

So glad I found you doctors. I have started taken them this week and had a slight headache and then it went away and that was it. I can now go to your videos and debunk all the junk on KZfaq talking about finasteride and minoxidil and get the real truth.

Hi, do you think taking finasteride as someone who already has mild gynocomastia is risky in terms of making the gyno worse?

I was about to dump 15mg of Proscar (3x tablets) in Minoxidil until someone told me about the filler coating. The question that I would have: when adding 15mg of Finasteride, wouldn't I create some form of metastable super-saturated solution, which - under certain circumstances - might destabilize? May crushing pills and then adding all of it with fillers into Minoxidil solution cause some problems? One of my biggest concerns are the fillers. Might they interact with the Minoxidil molecules? Might they destabilize the solution? Might they form chemical complexes with Minoxidil?

I used finasteride (Proscar) for 20 years with excellent results (today I'm 43 y.o., still NW2) but a month ago it stopped working and I was shedding like crazy. I'm now taking Avodart daily, shedding stopped and hair is looking much thicker and healthier.

Can any of you gentleman who are both doctors explain why would some people have these side effects and others not? Besides sensitivity what is being suppressed in those peoples chemistry that is causing this situation? Thank you.

HELP! I started taking finasteride about 11 days ago. I followed Dr Russell's advice and consumed one 1mg tablet every second day. Now after 11 days I got side affect Erectile dysfunction, only taken 6 pills so far and I've stopped taking them. Im panicking, please advise me what to do?

Took Finasteride for a couple of weeks. 0.5mg to try to reduce side effects. It stopped the hair loss, but it made me extremely depressed and impotent. Wasn't worth it for me. Gonna have to figure out another treatment. I find your skepticism of the side effects at the beginning of the video a bit odd, considering your reasoning for the skepticism is because people were treated with 5mg years ago and were fine. It wasn't discovered until 1992, so it makes sense that they wouldn't discover longterm side effects until recent years.

I started with 1mg/day for 3 days within these days, I felt normal, but had no libido, so I didnt try test if had sides, on the 3rd day I tried, and I noticed sides, after frantically researching I assumed it was all in my head, blamed it on my anxiety etc, went off it for 3 days, sides went away. and tried it again today, sides are back again... I think I'm just going to let nature take its place

Can you please do a video on microneedling?

i have pfs for 19 years choose wisely

Is it possible that there weren't complaints previously with men treating their prostates simply because men in that age range "expect" to not feel like balls of fire sexually, physically, or even in terms of mental acuity? Maybe if they were affected, it was just chalked up to just "life." Whereas when a younger man's life is diminished in those areas, the difference is much more stark and noticeable.

hi. I have been taking fin for almost 2yrs now with no side effects. I take 1.25mg daily. Can i take now maybe 3x a week? Would it still be effective?

Videos like this are what pushes me over the edge into taking finasteride. I now have post finasteride syndrome at the age of 21 consisting of severe genital anesthesia and much reduced orgasm quality. I'm going to lose years of my life before this is cured and I can finally out this behind me. Please don't take the risk like I did and buy into what these doctors are saying. The truth is that Merck knew about persistent side effects but strives to hide it. Look into the unsealed documents and never touch this poison. How sad that the medical community has failed it's patients in this manner.

A good Wig is the way and last for a long time If you take good care of it! With a specialist you can make a wig specific for your scalp with more or less hair based on how dry/grass your skin his, so everything can breathe during the day

Is it possible that post-finasteride syndrome is confused with the long time the drug remains on the skin? It is said that a simple dose of 1mg can remain on the skin for at least 30 days, so daily intake would lead to an over-accumulation in the body. In addition, it takes 3-6 months for the body to rid itself of the drug.

I was taking finasteride for a year. I noticed side effects after a couple months of consuming it, ED. Then I stopped using finasteride, but not getting any better. I realized that I vape back then, which is it could cause the same side effects, ED. Then I stop vaping as well. Now everything is normal again (4 months). You guys are right, thank you for giving me hope back then.

What i dont understand is how some people don't recover from sexual side effects caused by propecia. In some countries, chemical castration is used on rapers, and even that isnt permanent (6 to 12 months recovery time)

Please talk about the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus that is associated with long-term use of finasteride! People need to know about this.

How does this apply to Topical Finasteride 0.1%/Minoxidil 6%? Can this lead to dementia, brain fog etc after cessation?

I have developed symptoms after 3 weeks. Is quitting cold turkey advised or should I taper off the medication?

Doctors is It ok to stop taking finasteride cold turkey?

Can my personal doctor prescribe Finasteride? Or do I need a specialist to get it? Thanks!

I used fin for nearly 1 and half month... What I noticed is.. Decrease in a perm quality.. After nearly 4 years.. I am taking dutasteride. 0.5mg it's nearly 3 months.. In early 10 days inexperienced kind of burning sensation in the urinary track.. Doc told it might be other reasons.. So I am continuing it.. What change is the same low sperm quality.. I think it's not good for long time. Any similar experiences?

I'm 22 I started fin a couple of weeks ago and I feel very weird on it. And I know how to listen to my body when something's up I got super brain fog and very weak and tired.. I'm frustrated beacuse I need to do somthing about my hair and dont know what to do. I'm currently doing the rogan for last almost 6 months with very good results till about halfway threw i got really bad chest pain and palpitations. I realized I was applying to a wet head and should apply to a dry head. I now apply a lot less on a dry head . The chest pain went away but still have palpitations. I need some help were I should go from here:/

Guys, I just took 6 pills in oct 2020 and had panic attack so I quit taking pills. But still after 4 months having anxiety/panic attacks every day. If anyone experiencing same? Does it go away? Please help me. Please note I do not have any sexual side effects.

Using the drug for 2 years now, and I don't have any single side effect. Is it normal? One thing that I only noticed is my enlarged breast, which I think came with my recent weight gain possibly. Other than that, my libido is the same as a 17 y/o teen. Also have not loose any hair for years. I am really thinking to take finasteride for the long term but seeing so many complaints and so less research done makes me think.

if i take proscar cut in 4 quarters will it provide same results as propecia ? Thanks

Can you do an episode on whether or not MBP is related to blood flow to the scalp and/or head structure?

Can you make a Episode about topical Finasteride? There are soooo many channels on KZfaq discussing Differenz ingredients and pointing on different Studies for the right solution and dosage

can finasteride Pills cause cancer or any other diseases?

Thanks for your content. Will you be covering SMP as a potential hair loss solution?

Maybe I didn’t hear right but it sounds like they didn’t give any credence to permanent androgenic neutering? Even if they have no experience with such a case they could have at least given some hypotheticals as to how / why that may occur even after several months without finasteride

I have been taking Finasteride for 2 Years . I didn't notice any side effects until now. It's been 2 months since I'm having premature ejaculation something I never never had . Do you think if I stop taking Finasteride this issue will go away ? How long does the effect of the Finasteride blocks the hormone ?

The million dolar question.. is this reversible? Or at least some treatment? I read that some patiens recieve arimidex + tamoxifen or clomid, my doctor only agreed to give me tamoxifen but it didnt do too much, ibwant to try with anastrozol too

If finasteride builds up in the system, why do you need to take it so frequently?

You make a good point about 5mg and 50 year old men not complaining about PFS (Post Finasteride Syndrome) but don't 50+ year old men with prostate issues (so bad to the point they need to take 5mg of Finasteride) have ED anyway? And they probably need to take that medication for the rest of their lives, or at least until prostate surgery which causes ED as well, so how would you ever know if a 50 year old taking 5mg would suffer from PFS? Curious even aside from PFS, do 50 year old men taking 5mg for prostate mention ED much?

Blood on your hands

People who haven't experienced PFS themselves will be mostly in denial (telling it's only in people's heads, nocebo etc.) until it's too late unfortunately. This cycle will continue for years to come.

Help! I took finasteride for 5 years 1.25mg per day. Now i stopped and I have no erections. How can I fix this problem? I hadn't any side effects while taking it. I only had diluted sperm nothing else. (Sorry for my bad English)

I've been on 1mg finasteride for about 10 years. I'm 34 years old. My hairline had receded a little bit and I wanted to ensure that I had a full head of hair going forward for cosmetic reasons. The men in my family don't get particularly bald, I'd say they have about the average hair-loss that you see in males. I'm just super into longevity in general. I had a testosterone blood test done last year and it came out as being out-of-range on the high side. 35.8 nmol/L (current reference range is 10.0-32.0). Converted to ng/dL that's 1031.7. So in terms of total testosterone I'm sitting pretty, especially for a 34 year old. Anyways, my erections have been weaker the last few years and thus I have been using viagra to make sex better (which works very well). I can still perform without it to a degree, but it's definitely not perfect and I have to make sure I get constant stimulation. As far as my libido goes, it's okay but every so often I go through spells of it being low. I should note that I'm pretty sexually active and have had many partners over the years which I believe has made me psychologically desiring sex less than someone who never gets any, lol. I came across some of these videos and I decided to stop taking finasteride to see if I'll feel any different. It's been literally 3 days and this morning I woke up with an erection. I haven't had morning wood in quite some time! It could just be a coincidence. I'll report back here over the weeks and months and see how I go.

I took finasteride 12-06-21 through 1-28-22, 3 times per week. I developed side effects, anxiety, loss of libido, some ED. I feel like the side effects are actually worse at the moment (2-11-22) then they were while i was using it. So if i understand you correctly, it takes at least 3 months for finasteride to wash out of your system? So i should expect that these symptoms linger for another 2.5 months? Also, i did not have these symptoms prior to treatment. Its been extremely stressful on me and my wife, and I'm hoping this goes away very soon.

Hey guy wanted to ask if finsteride can cause urinary retention

Does taking zinc while on Finasteride lower the risk of side effects related to estrogen like Gyno and if I took it with Fin , will it lower the efficiancy of Fin and wont give the Fin the best results?!

It is irrelevant to compare the rate of erectile dysfunction between people having taken finasteride and the general population. Because PFS is not only erectile dysfunction, it is a full set of troubles going from sexual to cognitive and physical, consequences of the hormonal unbalance induced by finasteride. I understand there is here an advice consisting in practicing stop and go (1 month / 5 month). It's a dangerous advice. Once the unbalance is there, most of the time it's too late. The body can't recover and there is currently no treatment.

I'm starting it soon. Just wondering if taking one 1mg every other day instead of everyday woukd still be effective and keeping the side effects lower. I plan to do that and see what happens

How expensive is this drug for 1 month?

This is really informative. Keep up the good work!

It is real. Blocking 70 percent of dht will affect you in negative ways.

This is causing liver disease. Increased Prolactine, and Estrogen due to suppression of DHT. 2% andractim and Mesterolone half tablet per day for 2 months with monitoring HDL could resolve the issue...

I can imagine if you begin taking Finasteride before the age that you have absolutely an unequivocally completed the transition through puberty and then stop taking it that there would be some undesirable challenges?

Does it apply for a topical lotion?!

How many patients do you guys get on average who don’t suffer any negative side effects. Do most people suffer some sort of side effect at some point?

what percentage of your patients report sides in the first case?

I have been taking finasteride for around 5 months, and then i decided to stop it. But after stoping it for around 2.5 months , i am still not getting my morning erection and some times feel less hardness in penis, so should i wait for another 2-3 months so that these side effects wash out ?? Pls guide me

Any medicine to wash out?