Month: December 2009

hello Dr.

I wanted to ask a question about regrowing hair on the crown and propecia, and I appreciate your time very much.

I am a male, 34, and have been thinning for about 12-14 years, pretty diffuse. I have slowed the loss substiantially with nutrition and minoxodil, but my hair grows slower than it used to for some reason… I have recently begun adding copper peptides once in the evening along with minox 5% 2X per day.

I only have noticable loss on the top/ crown, but think I lost most of that 5-10 years ago. My hesitation to take propecia is due to cost, side effects, long term health effects, and the fear or worsening the hairline, which I have read on blogs sometimes occurs, but am considering taking it or maybe .5 mg per day to see about helping the crown regrow.

my question for you is, what help can propecia be under the best circumstances for hair lost many years ago?? I have heard that it cannot help beyond 2 years back, but have also read that it sometimes helps bring people back to a state from many years back. Thoughts?

thank you kindly.

Propecia will not benefit you if you have a slick bald area, but hair elsewhere in the thinning process may be helped. If you have not completed your balding pattern, Propecia may have value. I would have to examine you to know what benefits you may have, as the information you supplied is not adequate for me to base recommendations upon. You could take 1/2 a dose, but the recommended dosage is 1mg. Some people do cut the 5mg generic finasteride pill for a substantial cost savings, as long as you have a doctor that will prescribe the 5mg to you (it is a prostate drug).

What is your personal opinion of rogaine/minoxidil regarding its effectiveness? Even though it’s FDA approved, most of the objective literature I find says its results are minimal, disappointing, that its window of working at all is brief etc. I noticed your NHI website doesn’t give it a good review.

I’d estimate that minoxidil works very well in about 15% of patients and there’s some effect in 30% more, but the remaining patients see no benefits with respect to growing new hair. The studies are generally poor for defining the results.

I started to notice my hair “changing texture” when I was 23. By 26, I was noticing a “cowlick” on the left side of the crown of my head for the first time. Then the right side. At 28 I started propecia. My hair looked okay dry, but the thinning was apparent when it was wet.

I am 29 now and I feel I have less hair but each remaining hair is thicker. Is it possible the thin hairs I lost will come back in as slowly has they thinned? I don’t know if I am paying for slow hair regrowth or false hope when I buy fin.

Regrowth at the hairline, which is where I assume you’re talking about, is rare. I can’t comment on whether you have less hair now than you did a year ago or even whether it is thicker, because I don’t know you or have any mapping to go from.

You need to see a good doctor who specializes in hair. If you’re buying a prescription medication, you should have a prescribing doctor — so I would discuss this with him/her.