Hey I’m James I’m 23 and I’ve been on 1 mg finasteride (Proscar in fifths) everyday for just under 6 months now. I was taking it in conjunction with Nizoral and Minoxidil (“the big three”). After 3 months I pretty much grew back a full head of hair. I was very happy. I was terrified of losing my hair, reaching out for whatever could cure me, then quickly drunk on the success of having it all back, but recently I’ve really sobered up and begun thinking more clearly about what I’m doing. I have had absolutely no side effects whatsoever as far as I know. I get erections easily and fairly often and have noticed no shrinkage of any sort. I haven’t noticed any difference in my sperm volume or quality. No brain fog. I think I can honestly say I’ve had no side effects. Yet.
What I didn’t realize is that for a lot of guys the effects of finasteride happen once your off. I was really upset my doctor didn’t tell me this because after I was fine for the first 3 weeks I figured I wasn’t someone who could have a problem and I never thought about it again. I also didn’t know there was a minority of men who never recover. If I knew this I would never have taken this drug. I feel like such an idiot. Anyway, now that I have my hair back I started to research more thoroughly because I wanted to know how long I could stay on finasteride without side effects and I came across this site. Instead of finding information on how long it is safe to stay on finasteride to maintain my hair growth I discovered quite the opposite to say the least. I’ve done further research and I’ve decided what I’m doing is not smart and not worth the risk at all. (In fact I let the balding process happen for 10 months without doing anything because I didn’t really care. My hairdresser talked me into doing something). I know I’m probably already screwed if I am inclined to PFS since I’ve been on it 6 months but I figure the sooner I quit the better. So starting today I am quitting.
I began 03/04/10 and I have begun quitting today, 08/25/10. I’ve decided to slowly wane and I’m going to do it more gradually than I think most. I’m going to take .75 for the next two months. I’ll take .50 for the next two months after that. .25 for 2 months after that. etc. etc. I may do something even more gradual than that. That seems like a safe way to quit. If my body does have a problem coming off finasteride I figure the best way to let my body adjust is to do it slowly. If I had only began two weeks ago I would just drop it cold turkey but I figure since I’ve been on it so long it’s too late for that. So instead of just dropping it I’m going to take a very, very gradual reduction. I don’t know if this is better or if it has been tried but that’s what I’m going for and I thought I’d start a journal on this site to document it all. If I am prone to PFS I’m sure the gradual approach will be largely irrelevant, but if I am indeed one of those who does get side effects but is naturally able to recover I’m thinking this is the best way to cooperate with my body. Also, I’m planning on calling my doctor and asking to get my blood tested this week.
So day one. I took .75 mg this morning instead of 1 mg. Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted.