Sadly after 4 months I am going to quit taking my propecia.
I say sadly because it is helping my miniaturizing hair around the crown. I was very excited about that.
But now I am starting to experience side effects. And I know side effects are downplayed on this forum, sometimes we have even told posters that thier side effects were
psychological.
I won't be recommending propecia anymore as I have in the past.
I didn't psych myself out by reading all of the scary post on some of the propecia forums, Until I staated noticing my own side effects.
After reading some of the hundreds of scary post's, that did it.
I was going to get anotherHT anyway for my crown.

Sorry to hear it didn't work for you folica and that you had the sides bad enough to make you stop taking it............especially since it was helping.

Good post..........just proves everyone is different when it comes to Fin. I've not had any noticable sides after 1 yr 4 mo of taking it and it has mildly helped me....probably will help maintain more than regrow.

For anyone considering taking Finasteride (Propecia/Proscar), do your homework and make sure you know all the pros and cons before starting.

I have decided to also quit Propecia and Monoxidil. I have been using both since Dec '06 and i thought i was ok until recently... I previously made a post on here about possible side effects and my Neurologist telling me i have enlarged chambers in my brain and i was to stop both of these hair loss drugs. I thought he was crazy but i have been off these drugs now for a few weeks and already feel like a new man.

I now have to accept the fact and go bald. My health is much more important than hair.

Wow, I decided to quit Friday. I had some truly great results but the side effects are out weighing my gains. I've emailed my HT doctor (Dr. Epstein) for some advise to an alternative. I'll share the results with everyone.

Crewguy28,

Can you explain that a little more? Enlarged chambers of the brain from Propecia?

Hairbank, you have experienced no side effects at all? Lucky! I thougt I was too.
Good advice telling people to do thier homework.

I see i am not alone!
I had noticed fairly early on when I started the propecia some mild effects. Less suds, watery. No problem I could deal with that.
But then I noticed my tool was not as stout when erected, And I know my tool having had it for almost 50 years! It's not the same...

Thats when I started reading the propecia forum. Hundreds of post on side effects that won't go away even after stopping the drug for a year & more in some cases.

When Monoxidil first came out I tried it. After 3 months I quit because I began having palpitaions or rapid heart beat.

So the most invasive way to have hair by strip grafting, turns out to be the safest for me.

Good luck all & you are not crazy if you get side effects. Listen to what your body is telling you!

Dear All,

I recently just stopped Propecia as well.

My side effects were the same as Folica's.

However what is Strip Grafting?

Best regards,
Me

ME, Strip grafting or strip harvesting is when they take a strip of your scalp containing DHT resistant follicles from the back & sides of your head. They disect the strip into natural occuring 1,2,3 & 4 follicular unit hair grafts.
Then they transplant the grafts to your bald or thin aeas.

Hi again,

Sorry for displaying my ignorance, but is that the same as a hair transplant?

Thanks again.

Best regards,
Me

ME, No problem, ask any qusetions you like, thats why we are here!
Yes, strip harvesting is the same as a Hair transplant.
I probably confused you by calling it strip grafting. But that is just the method they use for todays Hair transplants..

It's been almost two weeks since I stopped taking Propecia and things are returning to normal. Waking up with a woody again is a good thing.

Hi everyone - I've been taking propecia for about 4 years now. I too experienced aweful side effects when I first started.

Originally, I blamed it on the generic stuff I was taking, and sprung for Propecia. It seemed to help a bit, but I still wasn't there.

I stopped taking the drug for a while, but after doing some research, learned that some people were having success with lower doses.

I now take a half a pill (.5 mg) every other day and I seem to be doing fine - both with my hair and with my sex life.

Everyone is different, but it might be worth a shot before you up and quit your regime all together.

Hey I'm glad that you made the decision to stop taking finasteride. I, as sad as I am to say, have actually become one of the unfortunate few who have persisting side effects even after quitting the drug. I'm gonna make a post about this with more detail very shortly...

Hi everyone- It's been about four weeks since I've stopped Propecia and I'm happy to say all the side effects seem to be gone. I wake up with a woody and my desire to have sex has returned. Even my chest has shrunk since stopping. I do workout a lot and my pecs were turning into tits. (another side effect).

I was one of a small percentage of Propecia users that gained in the front of their head. My hair became a lot thicker and stronger on Propecia. Since stopping it has thinned a bit but it's ok. I still look better than I did this time last year. (Pre - HT) I'm gonna give it more time. If I do decide to go back I might try andy79 recommendation and lower the usage.

rjvw - sorry to hear that.

My doctor actually recommended I try it. He said the drug stays in your system for 2-3 days and that some of his patients were taking .25mg per day (I take .5mg every other day) with success.

It's worth a shot - I really don't feel the side effects anymore and I feel I've maintained all the benefits of the drug.

I've recommended it to a few buds who wanted to quit simply because of the financial burden, and they too seem to like the lower dosage method.

You have nothing to lose since you're going to stop anyway. And as my doctor says, "Nothing is an exact science."

As a matter of fact anything above about .05mg of finasteride is going to inhibit DHT the same amount so you're still probably gonna get side effects because of the flat dose response of the drug.

Taking the drug every other day and at a reduced dosage might be a more effective way of reducing side effects, but my opinion is that you don't take it again, especially cause you grew tits, why the hell would you wanna risk having that happen to you again?

Sorry guys

No side effects for me..

Sorry to hear

Cheers

JB