Month: January 2023

Could Finasteride Help Prevent Heart Disease? from tressless

I appreciate the level-headed, professional commentary that you provide. I have learned much from reading through pages of your comments. I had a question regarding side effects. I am not so worried about ED or sexual side effects, but more so about gynecomastia.

To set the stage: I am age 27, early N2 with diffuse loss and thinning from front to back, concentrated at the top and the crown. I have been experiencing hair loss since age 17. Body fat percentage is about 20%, and I live an active lifestyle and lift heavy. I also have extremely mild pubescent gynecomastia (bilateral), with the telling disc-shaped nodes present underneath each nipple. The right side is larger than the left. My nipples do get itchy occasionally, with the right side being more sensitive.

My current regimen: Minoxidil: about 2.5 years, OTC (USA) ketoconazole shampoo: 4 months, Finasteride: just started and ramping up to 1.25 mg dosage,

From your posts, and others, I have read that gynecomastia caused by Finasteride is very rare, with most professionals agreeing upon estimated rates between 1:250 to 1:1000 individuals.

However, I cannot find any information on whether or not having pre-existing gyne increases risk for exacerbation?

The Finasteride dose I started with is 1.25mg, and I am taking zinc 50mg as a supplement, and will soon start a DIM supplement. Is there any merit to either zinc or DIM having mild aromatase inhibitor effects?

People like you with existing breast nodules are at the same risk as people without breast nodules for gynecomastia secondary to Finasteride. I would not take any medications to prevent what is so rare, about 1:1000 risk.

In my experience, when I put a man on finasteride, it is not uncommon to reverse this process if they have crown thinning. I have seen this happen as men in their 50-80s, who were put on Proscar (finasteride 5mgs) for their prostate, and they were considering a hair transplant only to come in and show me the of the reversal of their crown thinning from the prostate drug that they were given.

Finasteride for 3 months with good early results showing nicely. I would expect more filling in over the months ahead

If finasteride works, it often takes 6-15 months to see a gain. You are over 40, so men over 40 get less frequency of hair loss reversal. Its immediate effect is to slow down the hair loss, something you may or may not notice.

Your hairline responded as I would expect in a young man under 25 with 1mg of finasteride daily.

From a practical point of view, yes it does lose effectiveness as the genetic balding process advances beyond what finasteride can help. This often takes time, but even though it may lose effectiveness, it still has value and if you should stop it, you will see that you may undergo significant loss, not only what you gained, but what you would have lost had you never taken the drug.

Fin at a young age, 18, 19, 20, etc. Should you do it? Messing with your hormones at such a young age doesn’t seem like a good idea. Does it mess with them as much as people say and would you advise someone of that age to take fin if they’re balding?

I routinely prescribe finasteride to young men as I find it is often very effective. The time the hair loss is caught has much to do with its effectiveness. The earlier the hair loss or even before hair loss while the hairs are miniaturizing, the more the hair responds well to finasteride. Few men have complained about hormone issues to me. I have prescribed thousands of men this drug (all ages), and I notice those who lost hair within the past 2-4 years get the best response, while men who lost hair ten years or more only sometimes responded with hair regrowth. Even men in their 40s, if they start finasteride just after their balding starts (late balding men), should get a good response to finasteride.

I recently started taking finasteride(3 weeks ago) and put a post up about my fears of gynecomastia. I can confidently say thats not happening to me as my paranoia thought ( after doing some blood tests and consulting my doc). I was extremely paranoid for that too. Luckily its pretty easy to prove wrong. However, i noticed my attention started to go towards my performance with mini me (penis). I never complained about my performance for 2 weeks. Only after i stopped paying attention to my chest did this kick in. I masturbated 6 times in the last 32 hours to prove myself that i dont have ED. Each time i was able to orgasm. I noticed that it wouldn’t get fully erect when i was thinking about finasteride and its side effects. After the second go, it got more difficult to get it up ( which i expect has to do with round 1&2) I never focused on my performance prior to this so i cant really compare. So right now im not sure if i have ED or just paranoid. Essentially is there anyway i can prove that i dont have ED or do? I stopped finasteride for now until i am sure. Im aware that the percent of placebo reporting ED and finasteride ED are really close percentages. Btw if you need a more info about my performance to make a decision, please ask me. Im not shy. Morning wood is a good sign but i haven’t seen that so much since i started smoking weed b4 bed (been doing that for about a year). So what are key signs that would mean you have ED?