Started Taking Finasteride When I Had No Hair Loss — Now I’m Scared to Quit!

First of all I would like to thank you doctors for allowing time out of your days to answer questions. I began shedding more hair than normal 3 years ago at age 22. I received the opinion of two dermatologists that I was not experiencing male pattern baldness. Even with these opinions I became paranoid based on the increased shed and my maternal grandfather and uncles baldness so I began using finasteride.

I showed no visible signs of hair loss then and do not now at the age of twenty-five. I am scared to stop using finasteride because if I am genetically predisposed I know I will lose what I have prevented the past three years. My question is, based on my age and beginning the treatment early do I have a good chance of keeping my hair well into older age and is it worth suspending the treatment just to see if I need to be taking the drug or not?

Paranoia is clearly not a good reason to take a prescription drug meant for treating something you might not even have.

At 25 years old, you still might see hair loss if you have the genes for it, but I have no way to know if finasteride is protecting your hair or if it is an unnecessary daily medication. I would see a doctor first and foremost, so that you can have an exam and any hair loss that is observed can be noted. Your doctor may decide to discontinue your medication and just have you keep your fingers crossed that there’s no loss that finasteride was delaying.