Potential side effects of 5AR inhibitors like finasteride and dutasteride. Users debate risks, benefits, and personal experiences with these hair loss treatments.
The user has been using finasteride, dutasteride, and RU58841 for hair loss without success and feels extremely uncomfortable with their appearance, including being bald and short. They express deep unhappiness and social isolation. Suggestions from others include adopting stoicism, focusing on personal development, considering a hair system, improving fashion, working out, and seeking therapy for mental health.
Hair loss treatments, specifically the use of oral minoxidil in combination with micro-needling. Oral minoxidil has been found to improve hair density in 90% of patients with a low side effect profile, but using 5mg per day can result in higher side effects including hypertrichosis and edema. Other treatments mentioned include finasteride and RU58841.
The user shared their personal experience with hair loss, hormone imbalances, and treatments including testosterone boosters, natural estrogen blockers, and DHEA. They suggest that low-dose finasteride and natural hormone therapy could reduce hair loss with fewer side effects.
The side effects of taking finasteride as a treatment for hair loss, with particular focus on its sexual and psychiatric side effects; research has indicated that there are high and low outliers in terms of prevalence of sexual side effects, but it is usually between 3-5%, while evidence of lasting sexual side effects comes from lower quality sources.