Category: Drugs

Hi
I’m a 27 asian who currently stopped using minoxidil 7%/retonic acid 0.01% prescribed through hairloss clinic in australia for about 2months along with the proscar, due to it’s side effects which i was experiencing (side effects are gone now). I started about 3 years ago when i had a haircut and noticed it looked rather patchy and seethrough, then out of paranoia went on a hair loss program. I took it for six months and noticed hair looking fuller, but could have just been their shampoo and conditioner i was using, because it looked thicker after 1st use. Stopped it and pick it up again after about 6 months. Been on just the minoxidil and proscar 1/4 tablet a day for about a 1 1/2 yrs. Still experiencing shedding hair throughout this period, did not feel like it was effective. I only used minoxidil once a day and would usually miss a day or 2 when i’m not home. Decided to rid myself of paranoia and shaved my hair down and stopped entirely.

My question is, while my hairline is still intact just has a diffused thinning look on top, but with strange normal looking patches at the front of my hairline. Would my hair have become dependent on the minoxidil and retarding its growth?? Because the hair thats there doesn’t look like they’ve thinned much but seem to lack strength and do not grow evenly next to each other and some look curved as they grew. I am asian and have naturally straight slightly wavy hair. My hair actually feels different to the hair on the back of my head, has a more lifeless feel to it. But apart from that. Havent notice any loss or hair after stopping so far though.

Also, my father and uncles all aged about 50 and over has norwood class 3 with a thinner look, except one who has a full head of hair. Would i be likely to follow in their pattern of hairloss??

thanks

I do not have a clear answer to your question. What you needed was a miniaturization study or a photograph to document what you looked like before. While I believe what you are experiencing is real, your perception may be different than what is reality.

Minoxidil after a long term use (over a year) can help grow or maintain your hair. After you stop minoxidil, you may lose the hairs that the minoxidil has been supporting. The same is true for Propecia/Proscar (finasteride).

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I felt compelled to add a bit to the writers concern over propecia. I personally tried propecia for 2 months, the sexual side effects were terrible and forced me to go see a specialist in the field. He told me he was amazed at how many of the people he sees are suffereing from propecia. A year removed from the drug, the sexual side effects have yet to correct themselves. At the very least this says something about Propecia’s claim that all side effects should reverse themselves with the discontinuation of the drug.

I know the drug can be beneficial, and I see why it is s popular. I just believe that the company doesn’t accurately advertise the potential adverse effects.

Thank you for sharing. Did you see a specialist for your erectile dysfunction to see if there are other causes?

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I saw Dr. Bernstein in July and he confirmed MPB and I been on Propecia ever since (a little over 4 months) with no results yet but Bernstein told me I gotta wait at least 6 months then the hair should start popping up. Currently I’m a NW2 and have early frontal hair loss and turned 22 years old in September. My question is, is it very likely that Propecia could work for many years for me because I have a weak MPB family history? The only men in my family out of the whole bunch are my father who is a NW5 at age 64 he didn’t start to lose till his 30s and my mom’s brother has a NW3 at age 41 he got that way in his early 30s and stayed that way. I know as far as great-grandfathers had great hair, nobody in my family (both sides) went past NW2.

Dr Bernstein is a good friend of mine and a very good doctor as well. You have been on Propecia for 4 months. The results can take as long as 6 to 12 months to show. Also keep in mind the benefits from the medication does not necessarily mean you will grow new hair, and it could just help to retain what you have (thus stabilizing your hair loss).

In the end it doesn’t matter if you have a strong or weak family history. If you have it, you have it! If you are looking for some sort of reassurance of if Propecia will work for your specific case, I can’t give it to you. Only time will tell. I don’t want to play guessing games and risk giving you false hope. You’ll just have to wait and see.

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This is in response to: But, You Said Testosterone Can Cause Hair Loss…

Above was a reply you gave to a question. My question is, in reference to your reply, is it worth taking propecia if all its doing is raising my testosterone, inturn causing higher DHT, in turn making more trouble for propecia causing more hairloss. My testosterone increased when i started taking propecia and hasnt decreased and ive been taking a full year now, longer. So what do you suggest

Higher amounts of testosterone will not stop finasteride from working. The higher testosterone levels have been reported usually get back to normal in 2-3 months. If you have a high, abnormal testosterone level, you need to see a doctor.

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HI, i started losing my hair when i was about 20 years old. I started using 5 mg finasteride cut into fours and rogaine to stop the hair loss. Since i started the treatment about three months ago ive notice a increase in hairloss more so than before. I read you answer to the shedding saying it was part of the treatment and actually meant the medication was working but in my case the shedding hasnt stopped. Is it possible that the medication is doing more bad than good? should i stop the meds to slow the hair loss and just stick with the rogaine?

I doubt the medication is causing more harm than good, but you need to follow up with the doctor who prescribed you the medication. There may be other factor such as undiagnosed illness (although rare) that is causing hair loss. Of course the great danger is that someone will actually have a significant medical problem driving the hair loss, something that few of my patients ever consider. This is not a proper platform for you to receive personal medical advice, as there may be more than meets the eye. It’s also outside of my legal limits.

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Doctor when I hear so many people writing in that they have slight pain when ejaculating or there semen is jelly like, or they are experiencing problems cognitively-at what point does one such as yourself stop and say hey maybe this drug Propecia is not as safe as I thought. You keep saying the side effects only apply to 1-2% of the people, however it seems to me that you are getting repeated complaints and concerns.

This is why I hve hesitated with a systemic drug like Propecia. I only hope Minoxodil (Rogaine) will not be a hazardous choice for the long term.

The last time I checked, nobody is forcing anyone to take medications to treat hair loss. If you do enough searching on the Internet, I agree that you will find many people complain about side effects associated with Propecia. For that matter, you will find many people complain about many other drugs as well, as ALL drugs have side effects to varying degrees. Keep in mind that the Internet, while a very useful tool, is not a source for accurate and factual information all the time.

I wonder… if you took the medication and didn’t have side effects, would you go to every forum you could to tell people? The most vocal and persistent on forums are the ones that have a gripe, valid or otherwise. In my practice, a large percent of my male patients take Propecia and I do not get “repeated complaints or concerns” — and I do not believe the patients I see are any more special than those on the Internet. Of those patients that I see that take Propecia, only a few have side effects and it does correlate with the 1 to 2% figure I often quote. For those patients who have side effects, they can choose to stay on the medication or stop the medication. There’s no gun pointed to their head, and it isn’t life or death. If you are hesitant, then don’t take the medication. It’s really very simple. By the way, minoxidil has many side effects including heart arrhythmias, blurring of vision, fainting spells and on and on.

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Dr. I’ve been on propecia for almost 3 years I am 24 years old…so far its been working. I’ve just learned about Biotin. Will it be ok to take Biotin and Propecia at the same time? If you do recommend taking both at the same time what dose of Biotin should I take and for how long? My girlfriend takes 10000mcg for 4 months and her hair looks great.

Thanks

There is no problem taking biotin with Propecia (finasteride 1mg). The U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for biotin is 300 micrograms daily. For more about Vitamin H (biotin), see this article at Medline Plus.

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Doctor,

Taking propecia for a few months, but have also been taking Rogaine for 15 years. However the last 10 years I’ve only been applying it once a day. Would like to use propecia alone. How minoxidil dependent if at all do you think my hair is with just once a day application for so many years. Should I expect shedding if I discontinue?

Thanks

I have no way to tell what you should expect, as everybody is different. The other day a young man (32 years old) came to see me who started Rogaine 10 years earlier and just stopped it 9 months ago, losing most of the benefit with overt balding showing. He went back on it 3 months later and got no benefit from it. There’s just one example.

If you want to stop Rogaine do it slowly over the course of several months. You already apply it once a day (rather than the recommended twice a day regimen). Over the course of several months, maybe try every other day? Also it is worth noting that Propecia won’t retain the benefits you had from Rogaine, and vice versa.

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Hi

Thanks for the truly great website.

I’ve just started on Propecia and developed sore nipples and from reading your posts guess I should stop using it. Minoxidil gave me palpitations so I cannot use that either.

My question is this. Until today by using Propecia I thought there was a glimmer of hope of not losing my hair. Now that hope has gone, are there any other medications / treatments that I can take that will really make a difference? It seems that everything else out there is useless… In other words what would you recommend somebody who cannot use Finesteride and Minoxidil do to keep their hair?

Apologies if this question has been asked before.

Unfortunately Propecia and Rogaine are the only two medical drug treatments currently available for male pattern hair loss. Your other option is hair transplant surgery. If I were you, I would continue to take the Propecia for a period of 3 months, then try a half pill and then a quarter pill 1 month apart. If it continues to cause you breast and nipple pain, I might consider packing it in. In the end, there are no easy answers and sometimes we are limited to what we can do in medicine. Discuss this with your doctor, particularly if you are considering stopping any medication.

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