Month: January 2023

Doctor, how are you. I have been on propecia for 2 years, with fairly good results. hair is about the same, but my question is why do I still shed alot of hairs. I just want your opinion on this from your experiences with propecia and hair restoration field. I mean I know your suppose to shed up to 150 hairs a day, but I feel like I shed more. The hair still looks the same, but why is the shedding so much?

The amount of hair I shed I should be slick bald now, but still have a full head of hair with a bit of thinning like it was 2 years ago when I started propecia. when I wake up theres like 20 hairs on pillow, when I shower I shed so much, when I comb I shed so much, and its been like this even before starting propecia, but still have hair.

are there people that shed more and its still normal? I shed thin weak hairs, to thick hairs, and hair still looks same. As I said with the amount I shed I should be slick bald

We still cycle hair and the thin, weak hairs will eventually be lost. Propecia delays the long term hair loss, but it does not stop it completely. If you have not had your hair bulk analyzed, you should have it done. A baseline of hair bulk will tell you over time what is really happening to you.

I am a male, 24, and experiencing thinning on the crown of my head to the point where other people are saying “are you going bald?” and poking the thin area. Real nice. I tried a 5% minoxidil safeway knockoff and began to get redness and irritation on my scalp. I discontinued use but now have no idea what to do about my hair loss. Was this reaction due to the cheaper safeway brand? Should i try finasteride/propecia? What type of doctor should i see about the persciption pills? Dermatologist? please help I’m single and balding!

What you are describing sounds like classic male patterned genetic hair loss. You need to see a good doctor who will map out your scalp for miniaturization and then, assuming I am correct, put you on Propecia (finasteride 1mg). If the balding spot is the only sign of balding, then you have an excellent chance of reversing it with Propecia. It sounds like you had a bad reaction to minoxidil, but minoxidil is not the best medication, assuming that I am correct in the diagnosis (difficult without an examination). Some people experience irritation of the skin when using minoxidil (might be brand independent). A good dermatologist will do the right thing, but so can your family doctor. Make sure that no one even tries to suggest a hair transplant, as there are some less-than-ethical doctors that might recommend one for you.

Hello Doctor,
I am 26 years old and have been taking Propecia 5mg for almost 2 years. Till last month I used to get prescription refilled from Duane Reade. Then I came to know about Target Pharmacy they give 30 tablets for 10$ only. To save some bucks, I had last prescription refilled from Target, but for last two days, I am experiencing more hair fall. Is it just a coincidence or something else?

Thanks

I would say it is coincidence, mostly because nothing changes in the matter of days. And generic finasteride 5mg should be same everywhere, unless it is a counterfeit medication that is widely sold through the internet. There was just a segment on the 60 Minutes TV show about the fight against counterfeit drugs. But… seeing as how you bought it at a large New York based pharmacy chain, I wouldn’t think fake meds would make it into their system.

Generic aspirin or Tylenol (acetaminophen) works just the same no matter where you buy it or how much money you spend, but I would assume there is a negative placebo effect where people believe a product is not as good when you pay less. Think about that when you buy expensive brand name shoes or clothes. I have heard from a few readers that say they’ve had similar problems to what you’re experiencing after switching to generic, but there is very little information on it.

Hi Dr. I have gone through your response for this thread:

now this is my situation. I am also taking finasteride 1mg for the past 15 months and am taking fin only not minox .also experiencing the body hair growth. Before taking fin i was having more hair in my body than any one in my family. and now fin is worsening the situation. Actually am happy for what fin is doing for my head. But the effect of it on my body, am fearing of being called a MONKEY MAN!!. By the way am indian aged 24. on norwood 2 with thinning on crown and forehead.

As stated in my previous post: “Propecia (finasteride) blocks DHT. DHT is known to be responsible for secondary male characteristics, such as body hair. At least in theory, if you block DHT you would have less body hair. I have heard and seen on several occasions patients stating they got less body hair after a year of taking Propecia.”

Now you would be the 2nd person that has mentioned seeing more body hair as a direct result of Propecia. It’s interesting, but this can also be coincidence as well. As I indicated in the prior post, the increased body hair may also be due to the fact you are maturing into your secondary sex characteristics, since like the original poster you are also in your early 20s.

I’ve still yet to get any reports of this from one of my own patients, but I will make a note of your experience.

Hello doctor,

I’ve been on propecia for about 8 months and its going well my hair is stronger and the crown is looking better every day..

I’ve noticed some long thin white ‘baby’ hairs on the front of my head where my hair recedes that were never there before. Could I be one of the lucky ones and get hair growth on my front too?!

Perhaps you are one of those rare lucky patients that sees some regrowth at the hairline from Propecia (finasteride). It would be nice to see your before and after pictures.

What you are calling ‘baby’ hair is not the strong hair that you need to consider it regrowing, but give it a full two years to see what emerges.

Listen guys, I am sure you get this question a lot, but I’m 18 years old. Within the last year, my hairline has receded noticeable and on the crown of my head there is definitely thinning.

The side-effects of propecia (loss of libido, impotence, etc) turned me off to the product, so I first considered minoxodil (aka rogaine), well upon further research it seems that rogaine has a very rare and similar side-effects such as loss of libido and impotence which is long-lasting affecting the youthful and the more elderly.

Can anyone clear the air on this matter, please if you use/used rogaine explain if those horror stories hold any water. The company does not list it as a possible side-effect, but the amount of scenarios ive read on the internet (i know not very reliable) has implanted an idea that this may somehow be correlated with sexual side-effects.

I appreciate all of the help, I would really like to retain what I have, family does not have a good history with balding, yet speaking with them all, I am very young to have already begun experiencing this, most of them began in their late 20’s early 30’s, so I’m crossing my fingers because i like wearing my hair long.

All medications have side effect potential. Growing old also has a side effect of loss of libido, as well. Thinking about a side effect and growing scared to take a medication due to possible side effect after reading (as you state) “unreliable” information on the Internet, can cause that side effect to manifest itself.

I am sure you will find people who used Rogaine (minoxidil) claiming loss of libido, but it’s not a known side effect in the literature as far as I’m aware. Many of the people on forums that talk about various side effects they get from any medication diagnose themselves and look for the easiest answer to come up with as a source of their problems.

Get a clear diagnosis of your medication condition. Then find a doctor who can go over your treatment goals and come up with a Master Plan. After weighing out your risk and benefits, you can make the ultimate decision if you want to take the medication.

Great blog, very informative. I am 23 years old and just started taking propecia. After reading about the drug in various forums online, I’m pretty scared about the sexual side effects. Many propecia users claim to have an irreversible loss of libido and some even say that have had trouble conceiving. With so many people reporting devastating sexual side effects, why is this drug so freely prescribed by doctors? Am I right in feeling vain for taking this risk? After all, a healthy sex life and eventually the possibility of having children are much more important than a full head of hair. Aren’t they?

1-2% experience side effects of varying degrees from Propecia. As I’ve written many times before, the loudest folks are those with complaints. You’re not going to find a large number of men rushing to web forums to talk about how great their hair medication is working, but the ones that feel cheated will be the first ones to let you know… over and over, often times under multiple usernames. I see it quite a bit in the comments to posts on this very blog (the IP address is an obvious clue).

Also keep in mind that these are unsubstantiated claims you’re referring to, with some being written by people trying to steer you from a proven FDA treatment like Propecia to an unproven “natural” supplement that they just happen to be selling online (with a convenient link right in their Propecia complaint post). There’s a lot of scams out there, and message boards are full of people eager to believe anything from an anonymous person that offers them a glimmer of hope.

As for feeling vain, you want to look and feel your best, and I don’t see why anyone should feel bad about that. Here are some related posts you might want to check out:

1. Official Word from Merck Regarding Propecia’s Effect on Sperm and Pregnancy
2. Can You Dismiss Propecia Information on the Web?
3. Propecia Causes Damage to the Penis — If It’s on the Internet, It Must Be True!
4. Propecia Info on the Internet Has Me Worried!