I am Finasteride’s strongest soldier. At this point it’s the only medication I’m taking as I work out where I am. I’ve been on it 12-18mths. I noticed no changes until nearly 6 months in.

There’s obviously the risk of depression and sexual side effects that must be considered. But also most studies are on Cis Men. Not Trans or non binary people (or Cis Women) who also take it. As you say transfemmes still experience it but I have to wonder if the rates are different. I have had zero effects on my sexual function and my mood is if anything improved by the changes I have seen.

I had fantastic hair already before I started taking it. Probably 90th percentile of men and in women in terms of thickness. Now it’s maybe 99th percentile. Insane.

Fortunately I could be honest with my doctor that I wanted to start it to thin my body hair, which was quite thick. Haven’t talked any gender stuff, more just that I’d lost 30kg and was working out and was having mid life crisis vanity about my bodyhair. Which speaking off I have been lasering which is a confounding factor but I’ve been using my back as a control as I just shave that with a long handled razor. It definitely has thinned and slowed my back hair growth.

I have noticed subtle gynaecomastia after about a year. It would be enough to distress me years ago, but now I’m more ambivalent.

I get prescribed 5mgs which I quartered initially, because it’s much cheaper than 1mg tablets. In Australia on a private script a generic box of 30x1mg tablets is 30AUD, a box of 30x5mg is 20AUD (no idea why it’s cheaper), so if you quarter it it’s like 5 dollars a month. Any GP can prescribe. Hair-loss clinics are a scam to charge you like 100AUD for the same medication.