Switching Back and Forth Between Propecia and Avodart – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have been taking avodart for about 4 years, previously on propecia for 6 years. I believe avodart has worked great but for a long time have always felt that their have been sexual side effects from both meds. I am switching back to propecia to see if they resolve and actually only taking half a pill instead of a full one. My question is:

  1. in the long run, does propecia prove about roughly as beneficial for maintaining hair loss as avodart, (or should I expect a large/small shedding of hair from the switch)?
  2. will propecia be less likely to have sexual side effects compared to avodart?
  3. should I expect the side effects to resolve/ or permanent and how long (2 weeks, month, ect) till I would notice?

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1. I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine.

2. Yes, and a half a pill will be better than a full pill to lessen side effect risk… but no guarantee.

3. Avodart (dutasteride) has a 5 week half-life, so it might take months (in the order of 20-25 weeks) for the side effects to reverse. It may occur earlier. Propecia (finasteride) has a 6 hour half-life, so this drug’s side effects are less long lasting as a rule.

More Selective Patient Interviews = Propecia Causes Severe Depression? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Men who take the hair-loss medication Propecia and develop sexual side effects may be at risk for severe depression and suicidal thoughts, a new study suggests.

In the study, 64 percent of men who developed long-lasting sexual side effects from the drug also reported experiencing moderate or severe symptoms of depression, and nearly 40 percent reported suicidal thoughts.

Low libido and erectile dysfunction have been reported in men taking Propecia, and in some, the side effects persist after the medication is stopped. It is not known how many men experience long-lasting sexual side effects from Propecia, but it is thought to be a small percentage.

Doctors and Propecia users should be aware of the potential serious risks of the medication, “especially as it is being used cosmetically, to alter a normal age-related process,” said study researcher Dr. Michael Irwig, an assistant professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.

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Read the rest — Hair-loss drug linked to severe depression in men

I’ve already received a couple dozen emails from readers sending me links to various articles written about this (and some links to press releases from law firms seeking out people looking to sue). I really am having difficulty here in that the report cited: “Irwig interviewed 61 young men whose average age was 25, who had previously used finasteride (the generic name for Propecia). All the men had experienced sexual side effects for at least three months after they stopped taking the medication. They had not experienced sexual problems before taking the medication, and did not have a history of mental illness.

Reports that I have read from other countries don’t seem to report the severe sexual side effects or depression as reported in this article, so I am certainly confused. With 100% of those interviewed for this study reporting lasting sexual side effects, there appears to be a bias in the reporting and I have to wonder if these were among the same group of patients that were also interviewed from the Propecia complaint forums (like the last media blitz from Dr. Irwig’s interviews).

With that said, from my readings and from an occasional patient who reported mood alterations from Propecia, I have little doubt that in a subgroup of patients, the 5-alpha-reductase blocker does impact some brain function, perhaps enough to be a cause of depression. On those patients who had some alteration in mood, the symptoms went away in a few days after they stopped the drug.

Certainly, this latest wave of media coverage is alarmist. The article notes that “the findings are preliminary, and further research is needed to confirm them” but that isn’t going to stop the swarms of ambulance chasers looking to make a buck.

I’ve Always Had a Deep Hairline, But Am I Receding? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,

I am 21 years old and I have a deep hairline. Ive always had a deep hairline. There are little blond hair in front of it, everywhere.

My question is, does it look like my hair is receding? My father is 53 and has a full head of hair. Both my grandfathers only started loosing their hair when they got “really” old.

Thanks !

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I cannot say if you are receding or if you are balding, but based on the photo you sent it looks like you have a Norwood 3 pattern. For certainty, send me a picture with your eyebrows lifted so that I can measure the distance from the highest crease. The V shape hairline that you do show, reflects the mature male hairline.

Click to enlarge:

 

Actor David Tennant’s Mature Hairline – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve always been curious regarding the UK actor David Tennant. He’s 41, and has a very good head of hair, but I can’t work out if he has a mature hairline or not? I’ve looked online and found some pictures, so was wondering what you think?

Here he is when he’s younger, I reckon he’s about 20/21 or something. – Photo

Then these are, I’m guessing from over the past 10-15 years, the last one being last year, and the one before being around 2009. – Photo 1, Photo 2, and Photo 3

To me, it looks like he has a mature hairline even when he was young?

David TennantHere he is a profile shot – Photo

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I’m not familiar with his work, but IMDB tells me that Scottish actor David Tennant might be best known to US audiences from his starring role in the television series Doctor Who.

He has a strong mature male hairline with a widow’s peak. There is not sign of erosion, suggesting that this will last him a long while. This is not a hair transplant.

I Was Prescribed a Steroid for Facial Scaling and Redness, But Now I’m Losing My Eyebrows – Balding Blog

(Female)
Hi,I was having some redness and scaling over my both eyebrows for about a week. It was very itchy and tingling. I also experienced eyebrow loss, about 1 to 2 each side everyday. I was prescribed with a combination steroid and dakarin cream. My condition improved after 2 days, less itchy but still finding my eyebrows dropping. May I know what should I do?

You should ask your doctor what condition he is treating. Was it for an allergy? A fungus? An infection? As I have not examined you, I can not give you an opinion on your problem.




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Another Young Man Who Had Almost 3000 Grafts Fail to Grow – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I keep seeing more and more patients that come in to meet with me after the hair transplants they got elsewhere failed to grow. This seems to be the case in large session grafting, usually above 2000 grafts.

Last week I met with another young man who had 3000 grafts transplanted at a clinic with a doctor that I was not familiar with. Shockingly, he had a failure of graft growth to about 95% of what was put in. He is left with a scar behind his head and a significant depression from the failure. He refuses to remove his hat in public and he took much of the blame for the transplant failure. He told me that he thought he did his research, but it sounds like he was sold a bill of goods by the doctor about his reputation.

So many of these men blame themselves for the failure, not the doctor who deceived them. It was not a good meeting for me, and try as much as I could to deal with his depression with an optimistic view of his future, there was nothing I could say to lift his spirits. I am not sure why he came to me, as he did not want to do more transplants. I guess maybe he just wanted to get some sort of explanation of why his grafts didn’t grow.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hairline? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

ArnoldHow did Arnold Schwarzenegger maintain his hair especially in his younger heavy steroid using days. It seems if DHT was the cause of hairloss he would have lost it all from all the testosterone they were using.

Over the years as Arnold aged his hairline did recede quite a bit but this was when he was much older and I believe he sorted it out with a hair transplant. Similarily Frank Zane in his younger days had a full set of hair presumably on a ton of juice – and he seemed to have lost it in his old age too.

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Arnold probably does not have the genes for balding. It’s simple.

I don’t know that his hairline really moved all that far back. I’ve seen some photos from his younger bodybuilding days with a similar hairline to what he has now. His hairstyle back then seems to be hiding the corners, making it difficult to see. The straight across hairline from the Terminator movies was likely Hollywood movie magic to create the character’s look (why give a robot from the future a mature hairline?). Or maybe he had work done. I don’t know.

In the News – Olympic Gold Medalist Joanna Rowsell’s Hair Loss – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

As she completed a lap of honour after winning Olympic gold, cyclist Joanna Rowsell pulled off her helmet to proudly reveal her bald head.

Having lived with the hair loss condition alopecia since childhood, the 23-year-old, from Cheam near Sutton, has not flinched from speaking about her condition.

Indeed she says her hair loss has helped drive her on to greatness.

And her win in the women’s cycling team pursuit at the velodrome on Saturday could not have come at a better time – it fell on International Alopecia Day which seeks to raise awareness of the condition.

Read the rest — Olympic cyclist Joanna Rowsell’s hair loss inspiration hope

Congratulations to Joanna Rowsell on her win and being an inspiration to people with this condition!




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Did Propecia Cause My Prostatitis? – Balding Blog

Hello there, IM very glad I came across your website its very interesting reading peoples questions. My question is ive been taking propecia now for 4 years started at 21, for the last 6 months I have been experiencing a lot of prostate pains especially after sexual intercourse and sitting down for long periods.

My urologist says its prostitus and as this is not one of the side effects listed believes its not playing a role, have you had any case of this with your patients. Im thinking of taking a lower dosage 0.5 seeing if it helps or even coming off propecia and trying regain. My hairloss is a gradual progress. Im also concerned im only 24 and have been taking a drug for 4 years maybe its time to come off.

I’ve answered a similar question before here.

You should ask your doctor regarding your treatment plan for your hair loss. I do agree with your urologist that prostatitis and Propecia are not related. There are many causes of prostatitis.




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I Have a Receded Hairline – Could It Be From Scratching Dandruff Years Ago? – Balding Blog

Hi Dr,

Around four years ago (when i was 24) prior to every worrying about hair loss I hasd a bout of dandruff/itchy scalp.

This mainly affected my temple area. Naively, i remember sitting there at my desk scratching away at the area for a couple of weeks (before it cleared up) and seeing how much dandruff would fall as well as how much hair would fall (lots at the time of scratching it).

Not long after I saw pictures of my hair and became worried about going bald. In those four years, my hair hasn’t got a whole lot worse but I do have a receded hairline in those areas that I was scratching away at (and later using minoxidil on).

Could this have caused permanent hair loss in these areas? I do have a family history of baldness anyway.

A visit with a good doctor will probably tell you the answer after a thorough examination of your hair and scalp is done. It would be unusual for a 2 week bout of heavy scratching to produce permanent hair loss, but a doctor will tell you what he sees and make the diagnosis you need. Considering your family history and age, I’d expect genetics are at play… not scratching dandruff 4 years ago.




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