Category: Drugs

hi,
i have been using the foam for about 2 weeks on my receding hairline to see if it will work and there has been shedding. i heard that was normal for some. i don’t know if I’m crazy but i feel like there are hairs already growing in my receding hairline somehow even though its not intended for that area. can this be true or am i just seeing things?

I highly doubt that you are seeing any effect of Rogaine Foam after 2 weeks. These things take months to notice. You may be seeing fine vellus hairs (also known as “peach fuzz”) that were already there, but only now are you paying more close attention to them. If I am wrong and you are seeing effects from the minoxidil after only 2 weeks, then you should have outstanding results over the next few months.

I read somewhere that propecia doesnt prevent baldness it just slows down the process.I am using propecia since i was 19, so should i expect to get bald sooner or later one day even though i continue to use propecia? If yes,on an average at what age will get bald?

Everyone is different and reacts differently to medication. Some people have a strong and aggressive hair loss pattern and Propecia will slow it down, but not by much. Other people have a not-so-strong tendency to bald and it may slow it down for years and years. Others will reverse the balding process. I have a number of patients who took it for crown balding when the drug was first released and the hair loss completely reversed and has stayed normal since 1998 (no evident balding to the naked eye, although it can be seen with some miniaturized hair when looked at under high magnification).

What happens if someone who isn’t showing signs of MPB or hair thinning and doesn’t have the genes for baldness takes Propecia? IE, what if someone who is simply paranoid about going bald takes an anti-baldness medication(assuming they got a prescription for it)?

I can not condone what you are asking. Taking any medication without a reason, makes no sense. Maybe you need to deal with your paranoid state. Does it extend to other things in your life as well?

I am asking this question in regards to the rate of hair loss and the multiple minaturization studies conducted. I have had HT at [name removed] twice 1994 and 1996 (small procedures 125 total, they robbed and mamed me) but the next two were with [name removed] in MI. The latest in July 2001 and Oct 2007. Just started propecia again Sept 2007 (real good results on propecia) Dr. stated that my min study did not show thinning on the top sides and or upper part of the back of head (taken in 2004, 2005 2006 and 2007) / my stylist also stated the same thing by not noticing any changes for the several years of cutting my hair (*just a little in the front and crown but nowhere else). I still have a decent bridge in the middle (slight thinning) and my brother who started thinning in the same pattern at 28 has the same pattern which he is now 41 with no hair loss product (more hair in fornt of head though). My transplants were just in the front and hopefully my last.

I started thinning at age 24 and the top sides and upper back of head are thick with no signs of miniaturization even being off hair loss products for almost ten years. Is this a good sign that the patten will stay?

That’s an interesting history and some tough times you’ve had. If you have been off hair loss products for 10 years with no progressive balding, but you just started on Propecia (which is a hair loss product) and it is working nicely, then you should stay on the Propecia.

Honestly, I am surprised that you think that Propecia is already working for you, as it usually takes 8 months to see any benefit (the hair only grows 1/2 inch a month). If you stop the Propecia, then you will probably lose all of the hair gain benefits that the drug gave you. I gather from your letter that you are happy with where your hair is now, correct?

I have recently started taking finasteride. Although, in order to save money, I buy them in the 5mg size. I try to cut them into 4 pieces as equally as possible, but considering the shape of the pill(triangular), this is not always an easy task. My question is: Are there any problems I will run into by sometimes taking a little more than 1.25mg and sometimes a little less than 1.25mg, especially in regards to the rebound effect. More specifically, does my body/scalp get use to taking the amount that is over 1.25mg, therefore not recieving enough when I take a little less than 1.25mg and therefore, contributing to hair loss.

Small variations in the dose should not be a problem, provided that you average 1-1.25mgs per day. That is why the drug company makes Propecia, as it is exactly the correct recommended dose of 1mg. No cutting required with Propecia, but you are going to be paying a premium over the generic 5mg finasteride.

Hi doc. I am a 22 year old male and I have been on propecia now for about 13 months. It has been working very well for me, and I was even getting some regrowth at my temples and along my hair line. however, around the tenth month my hair started to get worse, and I started to loose more hair and my hair looks as though it is miniaturizing especially along the hairline and my temples. This has been occurring for the past 3 months and my hair does not seem to be improving at all. Is it possible that propecia is causing my hair follicles to become more sensitive to DHT or that my body has up regulated androgen receptors in the hair follicles to make up for the low amount of circulating DHT? I just wanted to know what I should do? Thanks.

It would be highly unlikely that Propecia would be causing your hair loss. The most likely explanation is that your genes are causing your balding process to continue, and Propecia can only do so much to arrest the process. It is possible that the hair loss process has itself, accelerated.

Since you are using Propecia, you must have a prescribing doctor. You should ask him/her to do a miniaturization study of your scalp to get some metrics knowing at least from this point forward, where your miniaturized hairs are and to what degree they are miniaturized.

Do nasal steroids like rhinocort prescribed for allergies make or cause hair loss worse?

It shouldn’t, unless you are using the medication for a long period of time at high doses and have the genes for hair loss.