Hair loss due to Androgel

[Tom77]

Hi all. Looking for some advice for my situation. 36 year old, male. I recently used Androgel 1% testosterone gel (4 pumps/day) for 2.5 weeks. I stopped using it immediately after noticing hair loss/thinning. I normally have a thick head of hair that grows fairly quickly, however, since stopping the Androgel, I have not noticed any real hair growth and my hair still seems to be getting thinner on the top. I shampoo and style it very gently to avoid pulling hairs out but still get some (5-10). It's almost been 3 weeks since my last hair cut (I usually need to go every three weeks) but I'm not going to need to at this slow/no growth rate.

My questions:
1. Can I expect my hair to start growing again at some point? It has been 11 days since I used the Androgel.
2. According to the medication information, serum testosterone levels return to pre-treatment levels five days after Androgel is discontinued. Would my DHT levels (which I know causes hair loss) also return to normal by then or shortly after and then things back to normal?

Really just hoping it's a matter of time while this stuff gets out of my system completely for things to go back to normal given that I did not use the Androgel for a very long period of time at all.

I have a prescription for Finasteride and have started to take it at a low dose (between 0.2-0.5mg) as I'm afraid of side effects (which I may already be noticing) and I'm using Nizoral 2% every three days. Is it possible that I'll just need to use the Finasteride for a short period of time to lover my DHT levels and "clean up" any excess that was produced early this month?

Would appreciate any advice, expertise, etc.
Many thanks.

[jerricfava]

Did your hairfall reduce after you stop using androgel or has it worsen?

[Tom77]

I would say it has remained the same; so with no noticeable regrowth yet, my hair is getting thinner (all on the top).
Would be interested to know if others have experienced a similar situation and if hair regrowth can be expected at some point.

[thornynina]

Not sure if Androgel really contributes to hairloss but you can try to avoid it and see how it works.

[Tom77]

I only used Androgel for a short period of time (applied daily for 2.5 weeks) and then stopped cold turkey upon immediately noticing hair loss. I'm confident that this was the cause as increased testosterone leads to increased DHT which is a major cause of hair loss. I seem to have had a pretty extreme reaction for only using it for such a short time.

It's been 1.5 months now since I stopped the Androgel and 1 month on 1mg daily of Finasteride. My hair has not improved at all and has really only become worse. My hairline is extremely thin now. Really not sure what to do - stay on the Finasteride and hope for the best?

[laura07]

Androgel Always use after consult with doctor, I suppose this hair fall occurs due to Allergy which is not big issue just consult with good doctor, or you can try biotin or biohair treatment capsules which is easily available on Amazon