Seriously considering getting on fin. Last chance to change my mind. (Long post)

On Monday, I plan to call my dermatologist and have him write me a prescription for finasteride. My NW2 hairline is still intact, but about a year ago, I noticed some significant thinning up front. It's gotten worse since I first started tracking it last year. I can still camouflage my thinning hairline with a short hairstyle and some mousse, but I know that won't be a possibility if my hair loss continues at the rate it's going. The hair on my crown is thinner than the most of the hair further up front (other than my hairline), but I still have full coverage. If finasteride thickens my hair, that will be great, but all I really want is to hold on to what I currently have.

In theory, I love the idea of shaving my head and moving on with my life. I even started lifting a year ago, partly because I hope to eventually have a body that suits the shaved look. But if I'm honest with myself, I recognize that I have a big nose and asymmetrical ears. I've never been insecure about my nose, and my ears aren't asymmetrical enough that a decent head of hair can't draw attention away from them. But without a passably full head of hair, these minor flaws are likely to become my most noticeable features. So here are my choices (as far as I know):

1. Accept that I will go bald and lose my relative physical attractiveness, or take a gamble that a better treatment than finasteride (Brotzu, hair stimulating complex, Breezula) will come along before I have a five-head and a visible bald spot.

2. Get an otoplasty and/or a nose job, and then shave my head when the time is right.

3. Wait until I'm fully bald, then attempt to reverse the situation with a hair transplant.

4. Gamble roughly $100 a month on this sub's CB group buy, and hope the drug works as intended.

5. Keep waiting for H&W's topical finasteride to become available in the US. (This was supposed to happen over a year ago.)

6. Take an FDA-approved drug that's effective and generally well-tolerated, but ruins the lives of a small minority of users.

The last option seems like the one with the fewest drawbacks. My dermatologist is adamant that Propecia is safe, and he claims to have never heard of PFS. He says he's had only positive experiences prescribing the drug. Furthermore, I looked his name up on openpayments.cms.gov, and he's accepted less than $100 from the pharmaceutical industry over the course of career. So I know he's not some shrill for Merck.

I also had a brief exchange with Dr. Rassman via PM, who also assured me that his experience prescribing finasteride to tens of thousands of patients has generally been positive. Dr. Bernstein (another prominent hair transplant surgeon) claims his experience has been similar.

I know post-finasteride syndrome is a small but real risk, and that's part of the reason why I plan to cut my 1mg pills into quarters. If I get any noticeable side effects (other than the ball ache I hear normally occurs in the first week), I plan to stop the drug right away. I know the risk of getting PFS after a week on the drug is next to zero, so that's a gamble I'm willing to take.

On the other hand, I know that if I lose my hair, the risk of my confidence and general mood taking a hit is near 100%. (If I thought I could pull off the bald look, I wouldn't feel this way.)

I'm a late-bloomer in many respects, but now that I'm closing in on my 20s, my life is finally headed in the direction I've always wanted it to go. (I'll spare the boring details.) I'm also finally at a point in my life where it's not so difficult to get positive attention from women who are attractive, confident, and successful. Still, my life is still a little messy, so I don't want to get into a serious relationship for at least another year or so...and it follows that I want to hold on to my ability to attract women for a bit longer.

To conclude, I'm a bit freaked out by the thought of taking a hormone altering drug, but it's also hard for me to imagine that my quality of life won't take a major hit if I let my hair loss take its course. Taking Propecia seems like the least worst option I have. I'm open to any and all attempts to change my mind.