Category: Drugs

I’m 22 years old with early frontal hair loss confirmed with a miniaturization test. Right now I’m a NW2 but going up if I don’t stop this. I’m 5 ½ months into treatment with Propecia and nothing got worse since being on it. For the past 2 months I see way less hairs in the shower and during styling. And now I noticed a little thickening in the left side of my mid anterior which is good. But at the same time I noticed very little loss in the right side of my mid anterior as well. What is going on? Is this normal or very bad? This got me totally freaked.

We do not bald evenly, and if you are experiencing regrowth from Propecia it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that it isn’t thickening the hair perfectly even, either. Don’t get freaked out, this is normal.

I’ve read that finasteride reduces something called prostate specific antigen (PSA). What role does PSA have in hair loss? I’ve also read that PSA is a misnomer as it’s not really only in the prostate. This article says that saw palmetto does not lower serum PSA levels: AAFP.org

But propecia does lower PSA levels. Do PSA levels have any relationship to hair loss? In other words, if saw palmetto does work on the prostate but only in the prostate, does it not have any effect on male pattern baldness?

PSA levels should be very low in people without prostate cancer and higher than normal in those with prostate cancer. PSA has nothing to do with hair loss, it is just a protein found in the blood in high concentrations in those with prostate cancer. I have also read articles on saw palmetto that indicate that the mechanism of action is different than finasteride and the fact that it does not impact the PSA levels shows that.

Some people feel that saw palmetto has value in balding prevention, but I really do not know the answer to that point. Not enough studies have been done that have met my satisfaction.

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Hi,
My Dr gave me a prescription for propecia for my hair loss. He was not willing to write for proscar for me to split. What options do I have? Can I send my script to be rewritten to someone out there who is willing to write for the proscar?

You can always seek another opinion from another doctor. There are those that focus on patient finances and those who do not and tend to be more rigid (a proper approach, of course). Proscar and Propecia are the same medication in different dosages, but it is up to the doctor to prescribe it to you.

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Hi Doctor,
This is a pretty urgent question I suppose, and I’m hoping you could answer it before I go. I’m going to be doing field work and backpacking through Costa Rica. My question is, is it worth it and even possible to bring rogaine and keep it in my backpack while I’m hiking in 70-90 whether. I want to continue to gain the benefits but I’ll be gone for about 2 weeks and don’t know what the best plan of action is. any help would be appreciated. thanks!

Take your Rogaine with you. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible to keep it in your backpack. The package says to store it between 59-86 degrees F, so you should be fine.

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I would like to thank you for this very useful resource, and your consideration of submmited questions. I have a question about Proscar- since Proscar tablets are not scored four ways- is the finasteride distributed equally throughout the pill, in other words could their be more potent peices of the pill. This was a concern I had about switching to proscar. Are you aware if the pills have an equall distribution of finasteride? It seems like they may not since they are designed to be halved not quartered.

I can not imagine why Merck would weight the active ingredients in a tablet of Proscar (finasteride 5mg). I can’t say with 100% certainty, but I’d believe the distribution is fairly even throughout, particularly since the pill is likely homogenized. If it’s not perfect, it would probably be within a very small fraction of a percent difference. The Proscar isn’t scored, so you will likely get a little more of less each day anyway unless you somehow manage to get a perfect cut on an odd-shaped pill (see image at right). It’s a good question and although I did a little bit of research on it, I couldn’t find the absolute answer for you.

There’s an interesting thread at Drugs-Forum.com about splitting pills and ingredient distribution that you might find useful.

Hello Doctor,

I’m thinking of taking Propecia to combat my hair loss dilemma, but I have gastrointestinal issues that prevent me from taking certain medications. Even just taking a garlic supplement results in some intestinal pains. Would taking propecia be an option for me? Does Propecia have any recommendations for patients with other health issues to refrain from taking the drug?

The best way to find out is to try it yourself for a few weeks. Most doctors have professional samples in their offices which will allow you to try it. I would doubt significant GI problems would appear, but try it and find out.

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I recently went hiking/camping on the Appalachian trail for 9 days, and only managed to bring 3 days of propecia medication. My poor packing skills brought up the question: What is the best way to ration/use propecia medication in this situation? – Once a day for the first 3 days? Once every 2 days? Cut the pills in half?

thanks for your time

I would have taken the Propecia every other day and cut the pills to spread it out. 6 days may not matter in the grand scheme of things, though. There is no right answer in a situation like that where you made a mistake. Do your best to spread the medication out so there’s not too much time in between dosings.

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