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Took finasteride 1.5 years ago with no side effects, now want to take it again?

Thanks for your time. I took generic finasteride 1mg about 1.5 years ago for three months. I experienced no sides (only erectile dysfunction but I attribute this to porn habits over finasteride) during or after the treatment but decided to discontinue anyway as the stories I read online scared me out of taking the risk. However, now at 21, my hair has shed extensively and I am thinking of taking it back up again. My question is, if i didn’t experience any sides the first time round, is it likely that any sides/PFS are not going to occur/ much less likely to happen? I appreciate any response as I need to make a decision about finasteride once and for all.

If you really didn’t experience side effects from finasteride the first time you took it, you probably will not experience side effects now; however you said you had erectile dysfunction 1 1/2 years ago, so I would ask isn’t that a side effect? This means that you might experience it again.


2019-02-12 06:41:59Took finasteride 1.5 years ago with no side effects, now want to take it again?

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I Took Cialis and Grew My Hair Back.

I took Cialis, and part of my balding top has started to grow back some hair. Maybe the blood vessels that opened up also started to pump blood around the head (not the small head.. but the other head housing the brain) giving hair growth a boost?

This may be unique to you, but thanks for the comment. Cialis is now prescribed for both prostate enlargement and as an ED treatment. The drug is prescribed as a low dose (5mg/day), so if it helps your hair in addition to the other benefits, that’s great. I wrote about this in 2013 (https://baldingblog.com/2013/04/12/am-i-regrowing-hair-from-cialis/)


2018-06-21 13:13:18I Took Cialis and Grew My Hair Back.

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Took Accutane Years Ago, Now Hair Sheds and Grows Back

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I have been experiencing a problem with hair shedding ever since I took accutane 3 years ago. It seems to be cyclical in nature. It sheds every 3-4 months but then grows right back. I’ve looked this up on the internet and what I’ve concluded is that I have chronic telogen effluvium brought on by accutane. I don’t have much miniturization…that’s when the hair falls out and is replaced by a thinner hair and then by a thinner hair right? Each strand of hair on my head is still as thick as it always was it’s just that I keep shedding massive amounts of hair every 3-4 months. Everytime I think it’s stopped for good, it starts shedding again. Also i have very straight hair and ever since I took accutane it seems that I now have hairs that are kind of curly or bent looking if that makes any sense. I don’t know what to do…I’m tired of it falling out. Please help.`

I have heard of problems like yours from Accutane, but I do not have a suggestion in the short term. In the long term, I would expect that this cyclical process will become less and less of a problem, but you will have to wait it out. If I become aware of any solutions, I will let everyone know through this blog and write to you as well. If any of my readers have a solution, please share.


2006-05-17 15:21:12Took Accutane Years Ago, Now Hair Sheds and Grows Back

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Too Many Grafts (thousands) (photos)

Please note the arrow which shows that there were soo many grafts that they didn’t get into the recipient sites with enough depth to grow in the long term. The technicians that did this in Turkey, must have felt it was a badge of honor to put soo many grafts into the recipient site. I doubt that this man needed this number, but more important, most of these probably will not grow. In addition, his risk of necrosis of parts of the scalp from blood supply interruption is high. Add to this a depleted donor supply, so that when the grafts don’t grow, there will be not enough hair for a good surgeon to fix his problem. I cried to this man who just tried to deal with some level of balding and got sucked into some bargain salesmen who took advantage of him, took his money and probably damaged him for life. This goes on all of the time, view this wonderful seminar on this black market for hair transplants in Turkey here: https://baldingblog.com/seminar-hair-transplant-black-market/

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Too many grafts in fine hair person

This is a depleted donor area in a person who has fine hair so the missing donor hair stands out very well. We call this over-harvesting even though he had less than 2400 grafts removed. If you look below the area that was harvested, you can almost see through the normal untouched donor area. This man should not have had as many grafts taken out as he now has a new balding problem or he should have been told ahead of time that this would be a problem.

Also, the harvesting extended beyond the permanent zone so if this man should develop a more advanced balding pattern, he will lose many of the grafts down the road. SMP is a good treatment for both problems.


2021-10-21 06:36:24Too many grafts in fine hair person

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Tonsillectomy and Hair Loss

I am a class 3A Norwood. (I saw Dr Pak, he’s great by the way.) About 3 months after a fairly invasive surgery, my hair started to fall out and did not stop until recently. I have just been told I need to have my tonsils surgically removed, but it is not an emergency. I am currently taking Propecia and have done so for a year. Should I expect more of the same 3 months after the tonsil surgery? Would there be any benefit to waiting on the surgery or having it sooner? Thank you.

Usually shock hair loss only occurs once, but while it is unlikely, a repeat bout of hair loss is possible. Take care of your medical problem and do not focus on your hair. If you need to have this other surgery, then do it.


2008-10-15 14:18:05Tonsillectomy and Hair Loss

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Tongkat Ali and Finasteride

Hi Doc,
Thank you for this site, it is a source of valuable info for a lot of people including me. Keep up the good work.

My question is, can tongkat ali affect the effectiveness of finasteride (Proscar) in stopping hair loss? I read that tongkat ali is a natural testosterone enhancer and can benefit the person using it with stronger libido, sexual performance enhancer, and can promote good physical well being. Will it make the finasteride less effective? According to some research it has not found any baldness side effect for people using tongkat ali. Thank you and more power to your work.

I’ve got no experience with this herbal, also known as eurycoma longifolia, so I turned to the internet for some info. According to this page, tongkat ali requires DHT to boost the libido, and finasteride blocks DHT. Therefore, you should not take both at the same time if you want the tongkat ali to work and if what I read on that site is actually true.

I don’t know if it’ll make finasteride less effective, but it seems that the finasteride would make the tongkat ali ineffective.


2009-09-04 11:49:23Tongkat Ali and Finasteride

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Tone Down the Humor — There Is Nothing Funny About Hair Loss!!

This blog is very informative, but I really think you should tone the humor down. I notice you make a lot of jokes about balding. There is nothing funny about it!! Especially not today, when there is quite a strong stigma about receding hairlines & thinning hair…i.e. (the creepy old man stigma). People kill themselves every day because of hair loss and I truly believe that there is a strong correlation between suicidal behavior and hair loss.

I think people who are affected by the disfigurement of hair loss, may also suffer from other health problems due to how the extreme stress of the condition affects their entire body and their activity levels. I for one, have experienced major health problems since I started losing hair. I guarantee you most people who commit suicide have some type of hair loss.

If the person losing hair feels disfigured because of the condition, it is one of the most serious medical issues one can suffer from because of how it wreaks absolute havoc on everything and tends to cause a “domino effect” where other organ systems get affected and fail over time (perhaps prematurely) due to the extreme stress hair loss causes. 2% of the male population doesn’t bald….that’s 40,000 people out of a city with 2,000,000. If you think about it, in today’s society..that’s not really that rare; plus, those are the people that are more likely to get the good jobs, be treated favorably, etc.

It’s survival of the fittest at it’s worst! I’ve noticed it is EXTREMELY hard (almost impossible) to get hired for a new job or get a supervisory position if you have any thinning/balding. These are all reasons why there is nothing funny about hair loss and why I hope every day that there is a treatment that can truly halt progressive hair loss.

I never make fun of people who are balding. With close to 10,000 posts on this blog, there are times we feel the need to inject some light-hearted humor. If I have offended anyone here with a particular post, please let me know! In the end, I have great respect for them and empathy for their experience. Only about half of the male population will experience some type of balding, but every part of us is connected. Our overall health reflects many organ systems and our mental health influences our body functions.

Hair loss is one of those things that men have no control over. For some men who take charge of their destiny, they exercise for better body health, eat well to prevent various diseases from impacting their body, don’t smoke, and educate themselves to shape their professional lives; however, other than taking a pill that may or may not control their hair loss, balding is a process that undermines a man’s self esteem. For some men, it even gives them the sense of hopelessness. I believe that is what you are talking about. This is why I love my hair restoration medical practice — I can help men manage their hair loss process, in turn giving them back their self esteem.