Finasteride and monoxil for thinning h... - British Liver Trust

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Finasteride and monoxil for thinning hair...seems not to negatively affect liver but any advice welcome!

richoanajess profile image
15 Replies

Hey,

Yeh so basically just wondered if anyone knew of bad affects from using finasteride and monoxil with liver disease. The internet seems to say no but I may have missed something!

All the best

Rich

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15 Replies
Witcat profile image
Witcat

Morning richoanajess,The first illness my husband ever had was an enlarged prostate and he was prescribed finasteride. Fast forward a 3 or 4 or so years and issues with his liver. Now I absolutely can't say if this played a part because my husband also had vitiligo which is an autoimmune disease and his GP said if you have one you normally have another.

I do think his liver issues were multifaceted. He did drink but only social, so never had an issue with alcohol but again probably didn't help matters at all. He stopped drinking any alcohol but the liver issues progressed and got far worse over a year.

Anyway when he had a bleed, I began looking at the meds he was in and found a study carried out by Harvard Uni.

This noted that in men over 55 is seemed to cause liver issues. It did mention that it was also used for thinning hair which I never knew.

I asked the doctors about this and I was told it was a matter of balance. He needed it for his prostate.

Sorry for the long story but I felt I should let you know what I found out. Please speak to you GP or Consultant before taking this.

If I can find the article, I will send it to you. Take care 😊

richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to Witcat

No that's actually really helpful thank you so much :) I'm 35 in a few days and my hair is just starting to thin/recede a bit at the front and had considered starting this Men of Manual treatment that allegedly works wonders for hair, including finasteride and monoxidil.Although I was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2017, I have maintained a level of good health and a seemingly well conpensated liver for 5 years due to not drinking and exercising, living healthy etc and I guess I need to weigh up issues of vanity and self esteem against the possibility of further damage or accumulation of fat around my liver...

Thanks for your response 😁

Witcat profile image
Witcat in reply to richoanajess

Glad it was of help. If you have been well and compensated then I would be very cautious when it is something you don't really need. 😊

richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to Witcat

Yeh i think you're absolutely right, potentially damaging my liver further for a few more years of full head o' hair seems pretty moronic :) thanks for the advice

Witcat profile image
Witcat

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

This is not the article that I initially read however it also makes note about the liver and NAFLD

wurzle profile image
wurzle

this is what comes up if you google Finasteride:

'In some men, this can cause severe sexual side effects, including erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, decreased semen volume, gynecomastia (growth of male breast tissue), and more. Many men are reporting that they have also suffered genital shrinkage after taking finasteride'.

Like Spironolactone it is often given in combination with estrogen to transgender woman during transitioning. This is another thing they don't like to tell you about until you start growing breasts and hips and by then its usually too late.

Of course it obviously depends on dosage. I am not a doctor but am experiencing the full side effects of Spironolactone (gynecomastia, body feminisation etc)

Pip

richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to wurzle

Thank you Pip, I do appreciate that info. I've been working out a lot lately focusing on toning my pecs, wouldn't want to throw that all away by growing boobs overnight! :)

wurzle profile image
wurzle in reply to richoanajess

didn't want to alarm you. I'm sure in low doses its harmless 🙂

richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to wurzle

No not at all, I am 100% open to helpful tips and advice 🙏😊

Paul_Mac profile image
Paul_Mac

Peppermint oil has been shown to be just as effective (if not better) than the things you mention. Try avoiding using regular shampoo that contain harsh chemicals and buy a natural one that contains peppermint oil or try using 2 to 3 drops of ‘Peppermint Oil’ (Mentha piperita) in 50ml of a carrier oil like ‘Meadowfoam Seed Oil’. Massage into hair scalp 2 to 3 days per week (Some people can be sensitive to peppermint essential oils, so try 1 drop in 50ml before testing on your skin, then increase to max 3 drops per 50ml of carrier oil). There’s plenty of info online).

Here in the UK we have a shampoo called ‘Shea Moisture Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Shampoo’ 473ml, which contains amongst other hair friendly ingredients ‘Peppermint Oil’. That’s the shampoo (it’s a brown liquid) I’d recommend using a couple of times per week. If you need to wash your hair in-between, I’d suggest an ‘Organic Liquid Castile Soap. 👍🏻

richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to Paul_Mac

Wow thank Paul :) that's actually very helpful, I'll have a look for that in asda or tesco this afternoon, nice one!

richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to richoanajess

I've been tentatively using Alpecin but hard to tell if it's working and didn't do too much research into that either 😳 mostly caffeine i think...

Paul_Mac profile image
Paul_Mac in reply to richoanajess

If this shampoo helps, you should notice within a couple of months…

Paul_Mac profile image
Paul_Mac in reply to richoanajess

No problem…. I don’t think either of those sell it, Superdrug do, both in-store and online. Here’s a pic of what it looks like. (With regards Liquid Castile Soap an health store or Amazon would be the best place to buy it)

Shampoo
richoanajess profile image
richoanajess in reply to Paul_Mac

Excellent 👍I'll hit Superdrug then, seriously really appreciate your advice man 😁

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