Category: Drugs

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.

Dr.Rassman

If I want to apply rogaine to both front of the head and the back, can I put 1 mL on the scalp and 1 mL on the front? or do I take the 1 mL and distribute it evenly on the front and back?

Thank you

You’re supposed to use 1 mL per dose of Rogaine (minoxidil), meaning you should apply 0.5 mL to the front and 0.5 mL to the top, if that is where you want it. The recommended treatment is two applications per day, so 2 mL total. Using too much minoxidil could result in a drop in blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, etc.

Snippet from the article:

New warnings will be added to the packaging of Finasteride after five men in Britain taking the drug developed breast cancer.

An analysis by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency found a total of 53 men worldwide on the drug had developed breast cancer.

The report from the MHRA said: “Cases of male breast cancer have been reported for finasteride, and the review suggested that an increased risk of male breast cancer associated with finasteride use cannot be excluded.

“Patients using finasteride products should be advised to promptly report to their doctor any changes in their breast tissue such as lumps, pain or nipple discharge because these may be signs of a serious condition, such as breast cancer.

Read the full article at Telegraph UK

Keep in mind that this is for men taking the 5mg dose of finasteride for use in treating the prostate. The number of male breast cancer patients is so low that making statistical sense out of the data is relatively impossible. Warning labels after 53 men out of over a million men that take the medication developed breast cancer? It seems to me that this will create unnecessary fear by putting a warning right on the packaging, as I don’t believe there are any other warnings listed on the packaging itself (at least not on the US version that I’ve seen). Obviously, 53 out of a MILLION is not something I’d worry about. I have a greater risk of being hit by a car.

I was pretty nervous to make the switch , still am, but decided the cost was too much at this stage, still in college..struggling lol. So i have been on propecia for 2 years, ive been on the generic proscar(from a pharmacy so it should be legit), for a week and a half now and no changes noticeable…my head isnt itching or anything of that sort…nothings changed….now my question is if this generic isn’t working properly, how would i know and when??? Im scared that in a month if the generic isn’t working ill shed everything in a matter of days…is this possible?

If you are taking 1/4 of the 5mg finasteride pill, it will work identical to Propecia. I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about it, so long as you got the 5mg generic from a trustworthy pharmacy. If you are taking a counterfeit pill, then you will lose the benefits quickly and start seeing hair loss in 1-3 months.

I have taken propecia and minoxidil for approximately 2 weeks (and have since stopped). I noticed blurred vision and believe it to be attributed to either the propecia or minoxidil, or both.

My questions is if my blurred vision is associated with either product. will the blurring go away now that I have stopped.

Please respond.

I haven’t read about it occurring with finasteride, but blurred vision is a side effect from minoxidil. You might want to see a doctor if it has not gone away for 2 weeks, as that would worry me.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Hey doc, I found this interesting study on the web: Finasteride induced depression: a prospective study

and I was wondering if you can comment on whether or not Finasteride can induce depression?

I have heard previous studies that show this risk and report depression in some patients taking finasteride, but no one really knows if it is a direct relationship. This is a difficult assessment, as some of our patients may be depressed at the time they start treating their balding so then it’s a chicken-or-egg scenario, where one is left wondering which came first. Those that are losing their hair might have feelings of depression because of it.The good news is that this problem is rare and this drug is totally elective. Not taking it will just mean risks of progressive balding will become more likely without the drug, but it isn’t a lifesaving medication.

I try to get to know our patients and by getting into their head, I may understand who they are more than many doctors who just write a prescription.