Month: January 2023

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taking oral minoxidil and finasteride

This might be too early for an update since I’ve only been taking them for a week. But I just wanted to add my experience if it can be helpful, since side effects for these make themselves known within a week of starting treatments.

I started taking 0.5mg of oral Finasteride tablets and 2.5mg oral Minoxidil tablets every morning since last week.

Currently have no side effects to speak of except for a mild sore right arm around lunch time that went away after a couple hours. I think that was from the “swelling” that Minoxidil might sometimes cause. My wife says it might not be even connected.

This may be a very effective treatment for men with balding. I rarely prescribe both oral drugs on the same patient but I have recently been doing so.


2021-07-14 08:17:08taking oral minoxidil and finasteride

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Taking Minoxidil and Propecia Together

Hello Doctor,
How effective would a combination of propecia and Minoxidil be to fighting hair loss in the initial stages ? My hair started thinning in the past 11 months and now the scalp is noticeable. I recently started propecia and the Dermatologist advised taking Minoxidil 5% with it. I cant do it twice a day so he advised to apply it at least once a day at night. My question is I cant commit to the cumbersome process of applying it for more than 3 months. Will it benefit me if i take the combo for 3 months and then stop minoxidil 5% but continue on propecia indefinitely ? Will I gain/thicken my hair with minoxidil 5% once a day and will it sustain after 3 months once I stop taking it ? Please Reply
Thanks so much

I get this question quite a bit. Using minoxidil once a day has limited value. Using it for 3 months and then stopping has no long term value — once you stop it, you will lose any hair you may have gained. For men, Propecia is the right thing to do for hair loss caused by genetics. I generally tell people to start Propecia first, then to consider minoxidil after a year, only if the result from Propecia does not get them what they want. There is no guarantee that one or both will work for you.

Using the higher 5% dose of minoxidil may be more effective than the 2% solution, but unless you are really willing to commit to the process required for either of the drugs, do not embark on that path.

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Taking Male Enhancement Supplements to Combat Any Possible Finasteride Side Effects?

If one takes male enhancement supplements while in finasteride would that combat any possible male member negative effects from finasteride? Thanks

We all know about the prescription medications like Cialis and Viagra, but I do not know if there are any valid male enhancement supplements out there that really work. I realize they are advertised as such, but scientific research and actual effectiveness attached to these supplements are vague.

That being said, if you are having side effects from Propecia / finasteride, please speak with your doctor and make sure there are no other medical issues.

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Taking finasteride while trying to get pregnant?

I have often been asked about the safety for a female if the husband takes finasteride and they want to get pregnant. The question is clear enough, “IS IT SAFE FOR THE MAN TO TAKE FINASTERIDE WHILE THE WIFE WANTS TO CONCEIVE? The answers are clear as mud. The official Merck literature for Propecia (https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.2194.pdf) does not place any risk for the pregnancy or the baby. Generic finasteride information in the UK suggests otherwise: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.547.pdf
I will therefore, not answer the question for medical legal reasons and refer the person asking to the existing literature because all I know is what I read. What worries most doctors I have spoken to, is that there is a normal incidence of baby malformations out of every 100,000 births and if the man is on finasteride and they get a malformation while on finasteride, the man may become litigious against the doctor who prescribed finasteride setting up an association that may or may not be real. That applies to almost any drug taken by a man or a women who gets pregnant and has the misfortune to have a baby with some congenital malformation.
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Taking Finasteride for a Year With Good Results — Is It Time for a Hair Transplant?

Hello Dr. Bill,

First, thank you again for your continued dedication to providing the most up to date information on the issues regarding MPB.

My question is this: I’m a 25 y.o male experiencing early stages of a balding pattern in the form of NW 3-4. I have been on finasteride for almost a year and am satisfied with the results thus far (no further loss, and from an initial glance, some reversal). However, I want to achieve a more aesthetic look. I’m wondering if its advisable to undergo a HT to fill in the thin areas even though theres no bald spot. Would i probably have some shock loss? Is it too early to begin the rearrangement process that is to come with HT?

Thank you for your advice!

If you have a good response to Propecia and are still wanting more hair, considering a hair transplant is appropriate, but you want to make sure that your selection of a doctor is an informed one. You may consider reviewing the links on this page — Hair Transplant Doctor Credentials — to get a better idea of what to look for in a hair transplant surgeon.

I couldn’t say if you’ll probably have shock loss. If you’re sticking with the Propecia, I’d say your chances are quite slim that you’d experience shock loss of any great significance. I also couldn’t tell you if you’re even a candidate for transplantation without seeing you, but based on what you’ve described (mid 20s, Norwood 3-4, finasteride for a year), you’re not automatically disqualified. In other words, if you were 19 years old with a Norwood 2 and have never taken finasteride, it’d be pretty easy for me to tell you to not consider a transplant for at least a few years.

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Taking Finasteride After a Hysterectomy?

Is it safe for a 50 year old woman that has no uterus to take Finasteride for hair loss

Yes. Finasteride is often tried in post-menopausal women, but the results are a mixed bag and the drug will not reliably return more hair to the thinning areas. There is an androgen sensitivity test for women by HairDX that could help determine if you’ll see possible benefits from the medication. Read more about that here.

Finasteride is a prescription drug, so you should discuss this further with your doctor.

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Taking Expired Propecia, Transplanting Spikey Hair

Thanks for your very informative blog.

Two questions: I’m 35 – MPB runs in my family. I’ve avoided using anything and think I’m ready to try propecia. I actually got a prescription for it about two years ago – just didn’t take it. Is there any harm in taking expired propecia?

I few years back I saw a transplant doctor in San Antonio, TX. He said I would not be a great candidate for a transplant because the hair in the back of my head is kinda spikey and the scar would be noticable. How do you deal with folks with spikey hair to minimize that?

Thanks so much!

If the Propecia was in a sealed bottle, it would probably be ok. I won’t recommend taking it, but I do recommend reading this article from Newsweek published a couple weeks back — Do You Take Expired Medications?. Contact your prescribing doctor for the final word on what you should do.

With regard to your question about spiked hair, I’ll assume that the doctor you saw was saying that your hair was very straight and strong in character. That should not be a problem for transplantation. Asians have strong, straight hair and I do such surgeries on this type of hair quite often with no problems.


2006-11-08 12:45:25Taking Expired Propecia, Transplanting Spikey Hair

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Taking Estrogen Blocker with Propecia

I had a transplant done 2 months ago at a hair transplant office. Right now I’m in the waiting period to see any growth. I’m also on propecia for one month. I love working out, but I have some preexisting gynomastica (not sure how to spell it). I have ordered and estrogen blocker to help prevent anymore possible gyno. I was wondering if taking this product will at all interfere with any propecia results or results from my transplant? Any info would be greatly appreciated. This estrogen blocker also acts as a testosterone booster as well. That is what makes me wonder the most. Thank you for your time.

The permanent hair from the donor area is usually not affected by hormones, so I would expect that it would not impact your hair transplant, but it might impact the other hair in the vicinity (the original hair is at risk here). Any testosterone booster will work against your goal and contribute to more hair loss. Get in touch with your doctor and get his guidance.


2006-05-25 08:38:14Taking Estrogen Blocker with Propecia