60 year old considering stopping long term use of Propecia, hoping to boost libido

[Hicky]

I take both Minoxidil and Finasteride (via Proscar) and have been for 20+ years. I'm considering stopping taking Finasteride as my libido has dipped in recent years. As I'm now 60, I realise that this is sadly probably age related, but I think it's worth stopping finasteride to see if I get any positive results, something I've never done before.

But my questions are:

1) Is it better to stop completely or phase it out gradually?

2) I'm worried about quickly losing all my gains of retained hair for 20+ years. The book 'Hairloss for Dummies' says "If you stop using the medicine, you can expect to lose all the hair that you may have gained from this therapy as well as any hair you would have lost while you were on the therapy, but luckily not more. After about six months your hair will look as if you’d never used the medication, and you’ll resume losing hair at your natural rate." - I interpret this to mean that I would lose all my gains of 20 years in a matter of months, almost like a damn bursting, and I don't suppose I could restore my hair to its present state if this happens. On the other hand, perhaps the minoxidil would hold things in check and prevent further loss. Moreover, perhaps being 60 means that hairloss proceeds at a slower pace (? I'm hoping). I seem to recall reading something about side effects of stopping finasteride, which is a concern. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Bigmac]

Hi Hicky.
Is the loss of libido causing you to have a decreased sex drive, not much interest or causing sexual dysfunction/erection issues or both?
Both Proscar and Minoxidil have been linked and documented as a cause for loss of libido. There could be underlying issues which a quick internet search will reveal What they could be.
20 years is a long time to be using the meds. I’ve been on Proscar, then Finasteride since 2005. Do you feel it`s still maintaining your hair?
The options I see for you would be to decrease the usage to every other day or from 1mg to 0.5mg per day. You have the option of using topical solutions too. A few outlets now supply a combination mixture of minoxidil and finasteride. It is supposed to reduce the risk of sides.
If you stop the medications altogether, any gains will be lost over time. An exact time I don’t have, everyone will be different.
Take a look at this thread where Parasol had a hair transplant, looked great, stopped the finasteride and lost a lot of ground.
Hair loss when quitting finasteride

 

[Kevboy]

The only downside from coming off the Finasteride is losing the hair that has been dependent on it. My father has lost interest or has a low libido in recent years and not on anything. I think it just happens as men age. Would you be able to show pictures of your hair from the 20yrs of Finasteride?

 

[CFG]

I'm no doctor, but if you've been on the same meds for 20-years w/ no side effects until now, I would assume that it is something else causing your condition.

If you're still interested in maintaining your hair, I'd stay the course and seek other remedies to your other sexual issues.