Experiencing Major Shed After Switching to Dutasteride and Moving Stress—Advice Needed

Treatments
1

Hello!
I was on finasteride (1mg) and topical minodoxil from 2020-2024 and it stabilized my hair loss with a slight improvement in thickness. I switched to dutasteride (1mg) and oral minoxidil (2.5 mg) in February 2025, with a tapering of dutasteride into my fin routine that started in November 2024. Once I was fully on dut I had a pretty big shed which regrow nicely in a few months.
Anyway, fast forward to now and I’ve moved into a new city for graduate school. The stress of moving has triggered a major shed, biggest I’ve ever seen with multiple hairs coming out every time I ruffle my hair. I’m concerned that even once I settle in, the regrowth won’t fully heal what the stress caused. Has this happened to anyone?

I’m also hearing just recently that dutasteride can take several months to load fully into your system. What is the timeline for this? I’m considering buying finasteride again to layer on top of dut to protect my hair a bit better during my recent life change.

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shedding after switching to dut is normal, especially with stress like moving. dut can take several months to show full effect, so patience is key. layering fin again might help for extra DHT blockage, but give it some time too. check The Beginner’s Guide for more info.

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Thank you! This eases my concern on it. Perhaps my balding is irreversible in the long term, but for now I’d like to have my hair a little longer.

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