Did my finasteride fail to work?

26 male, just over 8 months on finasteride 1mg. No crown thinning but recessed temples at Norwood 2.5. Nothing has changed progress-wise. If anything my hair has thinned more around the temples. I hate styling my hair. Is there no hope?

Many times, finasteride works by slowing or stopping the hair loss, not reversing it. If your on it for a while and then stop it, you might find out the hard way that it was working for you. If you are not having side effects as most men don’t, then continue with it because it does slow down the hair loss as shown here: https://baldingblog.com/5-year-growth-plotted-with-propecia-compared-to-control-group/ . This chart shows that finasteride does slow the loss down.


2020-12-21 11:42:34Did my finasteride fail to work?

Did Propecia Cause My Hepatic Adenoma?

I had taken Propecia for about half a year. Recently, I was found that I had a hepatic adenoma. I had consulted to my doctors and they said it is unrelated to taking Propecia. I want to know whether it is caused by the Propecia effect. Is there such effect by Propecia for this?

A hepatic adenoma (benign tumor of the liver) can occur in people who’ve never taken or even heard of Propecia, and I’ve not heard of any cases where the medication was even suspected as a cause for something like that. I agree with your doctor.

Did My Using Minoxidil Mess Up Propecia Benefits?

In October I noticed slight thinning on the vertex and purchased 5% minoxidil. I applied this twice daily to the vertex for 2.5 months at most. I did not see any change at this time, but was tired of applying minoxidil twice a day and switched to propecia. I have now been taking propecia for 4.5 months and there is noticeable thinning on the vertex. I am also shedding quite a bit more than I ever have which has been going on for almost 2 months. I know that Propecia can awaken follicles and increase shedding, but how long does this last? Also, even though Minoxidil did not regrow any hair for me, can it have a negative effect on Propecia possibly reversing hair loss on the vertex even though I used it for only a short period of time and it did not produce any hair regrowth and thickening? Basically, did I screw myself by using minoxidil before Propecia?

No.

You may subjectively notice thinning and changes in your hair. However, it is impossible to tell what is working or not working. Consider the fact that you may be just progressing to losing more hair and taking those drugs may be slowing the process down (even if it does not seem to be). In other words it can be worse, but not because of Propecia and minoxidil. You may also consider seeing a doctor who can examine your hair under a hair densitometer to see its miniaturization pattern and quantitavely track the effects of what Propecia is doing.


2006-06-20 09:21:10Did My Using Minoxidil Mess Up Propecia Benefits?

Did My Conditioner Cause My Hair to Thin?

hi, im 17 and i have always had thick hair, though recently i have noticed that it has thinned out. This has happened around my ears and towards the back. Though my fringe is still very thick. I conditioned my hair very roughly a few weeks ago and continued so up until i noticed it a few days ago. Do you think the conditioner or the way i administered the conditioner has something to do with the thinning? and will it grow back?

I highly doubt that the use of hair conditioner has thinned your hair. Otherwise it would be called a hair thinner, rather than a hair conditioner. If for any remote possibility that hair conditioner was the cause of your hair thinning, you would have experienced hair thinning all over — not only “around ears and toward the back” as you describe.


2007-07-23 09:32:41Did My Conditioner Cause My Hair to Thin?

Did my 1200 graft crown transplants fail? (photo)

There is clearly hair growing in the crown where there was not hair before which reflects growth. It is possible that you did not get enough grafts to do the job right? For the size of your crown, I would have expected at least 2000-2500 grafts depending upon the thickness of your hair, the finer hair requiring more grafts. Men with very fine hair with say 2000 grafts, could get this type of result because the hair just doesn’t have the bulk to it. I would either consider another hair transplant or possibly scalp micropigmentation (see here: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/gallery/thinning-hair/#!https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/scalp_micropigmentation-new_hair_institute-042-thinning_hair.jpg).


2020-08-23 16:06:22Did my 1200 graft crown transplants fail? (photo)

Did My Pain Pills Cause My Hair Loss?

i am 21 years old and i started loosing some of my hair when i was 19. It was all of the sudden after i had a kidney infection and was put on pain killers and cipro. it began to grow back until i got my wisdom teeth out which required me to be on pain pills for a month which caused significant hair loss. That was about a year ago and although i feel it doesnt fall out in the same large quantities i feel that the hair that has grown back is fine baby hairs. Is there anything that can reverse this or will i loose all my hair?

Physical stress and sickness are known causes of temporary hair loss, as are adverse drug reactions. That being said, pain pills are not a known cause of hair loss and are unlikely to be the reason your hair thinning orfalling out, so it may be a coincidence since when you were sick both times you had to take pain pills as part of your recovery. Therefore, the most likely cause of your hair loss is that the physical stress from your sicknesses caused the hair to have weak growth and/or shed.

Hair can take some time to recover, especially if your body is still recovering to full health – getting healthy is the best way to reverse this sort of loss. You may want to get evaluated by a dermatologist or a knowledgeable hair doctor to see if there is some component of genetic/pattern loss and get your hair mapped for miniaturization, but you should be reassured that it is unlikely you will permanently lose all your hair due to the events and medications you describe, unless you are amongst the unfortunate few who has hair shaft thickness changes early in life.

Did Propecia Make Me Shrink in Height?

Hello Mr Rassmann,

I wonder if propecia causes to lose bone density.Maybe it seems unreasonable to you but after I have started using propecia at 17 years old, I believe that my height decreased.I am 20 right now. My height was 6ft 1 and now it is 6 ft.Is that possible? My last question is does propecia affect muscle size and muscle growth.I also think my muscles become weaker since I have been using that medication.

Thank you for your help

Propecia (finasteride 1mg) should not impact bone growth or muscle mass. It sounds like you need to see your doctor to get to the bottom of your problem. The solution is not with me over the internet.

Did Propecia Eliminate My Body Hair?

I have been on Propecia for over a year. I think it stopped my hair loss and overall my hair appears thicker. I used to have to shave my knuckles and feet before I started the propecia as well as I always had hair coming out of my ears. I recently looked at my feet then my hands and all over my body and noticed that all the hair has vanished. I was just wondering if that was normal. I am relieved that I am not as hairy as I used to be but should I be concerned?

The finding you report is uncommon, though I have had quite a few emails about this phenomenon over the past month and others have periodically reported this side effect over time as well. It did not impact my ear, nose, or body hair, so that is a personal disappointment for me. I don’t see it as any cause for concern.

Did Steroids Make My Hair Fall Out?

I took steroids for 2 months and it made my hair on the top of my head thin dramatically. I do not have a receding hairline but I have lost a lot of density up top. My question is did the steroids kill my hair follicle within 2 months and it is gone never to come back or did the steroids I take make the follicles go into telogen? I was under the assumption that MPB takes more than a couple of months and a prolonged period for the follicle to die. It makes a big difference to know whether this hair loss is temporary versus permanent!!! THANKS IN ADVANCE

Steroids do not “kill” your hair follicles, but they can accelerate androgenic alopecia (this is assuming that you have androgenic alopecia). Each person reacts differently to the steroid, so I really can not answer your question. Your doctor may elect to take miniaturization measurements of your hair, do a work up for telogen effluvium, and start you on finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil (Rogaine) if he feels that these things will help return your hair to normal. The worst part of steroid use is it occasionally starts a latent state of genetic alopecia and moves it along faster. You need to be under the care of a good doctor.

Did Propecia Cause My Testicular Cancer?

Hi:
I was on Propecia for roughly six years between 2000 through 2006. I had decent results, kept the hair on the top of the head, however the temples were receeding a bit. The hairline in the front was thin as well. In 2007 I was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer. It was localized to my left testicle and I was lucky to catch it early as it did not spread anywhere else. I had surgery to remove the affected testicle and undergo preventive tests on a quarterly basis.

My questions are: Could the cancer be caused by the Propecia? I would like to start taking the Propecia again to re-gain what I lost as I am starting to get the dredded “hair ring” around the head. I am 38 and was wondering about fertility since I only have one “factory” left?

Thanks!!

I would ask this question to your oncologist. I highly doubt testicular cancer is caused by Propecia. There are many men who get testicular cancer who are not on Propecia. Most of the time you cannot establish a causal relationship.

With respect to your fertility, I am not the doctor to ask this question to (as I am not a fertility doctor).


2009-10-05 19:57:30Did Propecia Cause My Testicular Cancer?