hello i have one truly important question. does propecia have any long term effects and could it be usefull for more than 5 years. does propecia have any affect on nerotransmitters in the liver and etc as well.
If you are taking medications that impact neurotransmitters, then they might cause hair loss, as there are many such medications on the market which are used for various medical conditions. I do not see direct evidence of a 5 year impact on neurotransmitters from Propecia.
Hello,
I am a 26 year old female. I went to the doctor roughly 6 months ago when I noticed my hair thinning on my crown. I was told that there was nothing wrong and to just use Rogaine. I started using Rogaine however, since I have been using it my hair has thinned out even more, it has become more noticeable. And it seems like if all of my hair is thinning and not just on the crown Can Rogaine have increased my hair thinning? Should I increase the strength and use the Men’s?
Thank you!
There are two possible explanations to your further thinning of hair after using Rogaine. The first one is that it might be a continuing course of your hair loss with or without using Rogaine. On the other hand, Rogaine may induce further hair loss a few weeks or months after initial usage by increasing the hair cycling. This should pass in about 4-6 months. If it is effectively working to cause your body to discard the old thin hair shaft in preparation for growing thicker hair shaft in the future, this could explain it.
hello dear doctor
I have been on propecia and rogaine for 1 year but 20 days ago I started to have systemic sides ,problems caused by minoxidil and my doctor told me to stop using minoxidil
I asked him to recommend me something else inseat of minoxidil or at least to keep my hair healty cause propecia works very little on me for mpb but he said he does not know the answer so I wanna ask you same question cause you have experienced as I found out in internet and I wanna know if I can use aminexil and sod (copper peptides)for whole life time as in minoxidilthank you very much indeed for your precious helps
What is your age? What were the symptoms you are complaining about with Rogaine or Propecia? As you already are under a doctor’s care, then you should be asking that doctor to manage you or switch to another doctor. Your questions raise more questions than I feel comfortable answering through the internet without much more information.
Hello Dr Rassman,
I have been using Rogaine and Propecia since June 05 (except when I stopped taking propecia for a month in november). After not shaving my head for two months, I noticed that I had grown significant amount of hair in Novemnber. However, in January I realized that my hair overall was getting finer. Now it’s April and I am back to where I was last June if not worse sice the hair I have left is finer.I have been very compliant with the meds. Do you have any suggestions?
There is no guarantee that either of the medications will work or last. This is a statistical process and if you take both Rogaine and Propecia, chances are that you’re statistically better off. Without examining you, it would be impossible to put meaningful medical logic to your situation. There is only so much I can do over the internet.
Dr. Rassman,
Recently I noticed that my hair has a slimy feel to it when it gets wet, and then it will dry as if it has gel in it, very hard. I have always lost hair in the shower, but it seems that this is increasing with the slimy hair problem. Another symptom that I’ve had is extreme scalp itch, but no more than normal dandruff visible to be the cause of it. I have recently spent a great deal of time in the swimming pool, but no one I’ve been with is experiencing similiar problems. Also, I’m taking Adapex for weight loss and wonder if this might have some correlation with my symptoms. I’ve tried researching my slimy hair and came up with a process used on wigs called decutilization, where layers of the hairs cuticle is removed for some reason. However, I can’t find anything to do with my own hair having this problem or how to fix it. A friend suggested that my hair had lost it’s acidity, but home remedies and ion hair strippers have not helped. Please help me figure this out. I want to solve the problem so my normally soft healthy hair will return. Thanks so much.
The need to have luxurious hair is a quest that many people have and that is why the TV ads fill the airwaves with shampoos and conditioners, potions and lotions that are focused on people who do not like the texture of their hair or the dryness of it (or in your case the slimy nature of it). Hair does change texture with time and stress. It also changes if we expose it to the sun (drying it), chlorine from a swimming pool or other things. As we get older, hair clearly changes its character and its thickness and these two are absolutely related. I looked up Adipex and found references to a drug called Phentermine which is sold without a prescription. In the look-up, I also saw a link to this drug and hair loss with the Microsoft Diet on Google, and I got excited that Microsoft has found some magical cure to weight loss which I could tell my readership. Now is that getting us somewhere or isn’t it? I wonder if we can download a cure for hair loss from Microsoft if we buy into their diet (see Microsoft Diet working for many in Seattle. I hate to point out my sarcasm, but that was a joke.
There is no doubt that weight loss can cause hair loss if the weight loss is aggressive and if there is any vitamin or nutritional deficiencies associated with the weight loss process.
I have wrote to you before about Propecia losing it’s effectiveness for me after 6+/- years.
I have had just about every blood test done which were all in a normal range. Thyrioid is OK.
The only thing that appeared high was my Estrogen/Estradiol levels.Last stop was an Endrocinologist who thought the level was a bit high but not horribly high.
The problem is my hair is just coming out daily. I can pull on it and get a shed. Wash it and get a shed. Nothing is slowing down the loss.
My question is, should I try Avodart since nothing else seems to be working.
I am 40 and basically a healthy guy.
But I am desperate as well.Is it normal for all of the top to just go in such a short amount of time (6+/- months)?
Hair loss is an ongoing process with or without using Propecia. However, hair loss may slow down or temporarily stop once on Propecia. Avodart appears to be a longer acting drug in the same class as Propecia. I am not certain if it will be better than Propecia. I need to see more data before recommending you to try it, but without the FDA’s approval, I am not willing to recommend it yet. Despite the theory behind Avodart, there is no concrete study out there to prove that this drug is better than Propecia.
Dr. Rassman,
I have been taking 2% topical minoxidil since late December 2005. I have ALWAYS taken more than the recommended doses. I would estimate at first 2-3 times the amount, later on 4-5 times the amount. By mid March I noticed my sex drive was really low and and I had a harder time getting and maintaining an erection. I read online from the Mayo Clinic that too much absorption of topical minoxidil can lower sex drive and performance. I have stopped taking it for a week and sexually I’m better, but not quite normal. I also still have some heart palpitations. Could you please tell me when my body will “clear-out” the excess minoxidil?
Some drugs are metabolized fairly quickly, while others can take a long time before they are eliminated. We quantify this with the use of the term “half-life.” The half-life of a given medication is how long it takes for the body to get rid of half of the dose. When the patient is taking a medication on a regular basis, there is an ongoing process of drug absorption in the form of each dose of the drug and, concurrently, an ongoing process of drug removal with the drug’s metabolism and clearance. Eventually, there comes a point when the amount of drug going in is the same as the amount of drug getting taken out. We call this “steady state.” It takes somewhere between 5 and 6 half-lives for a medication to reach steady state. Thus, medications with short half-lives reach steady state relatively quickly, while those with long half-lives take a long time to reach steady state. Minoxidil has a blood half-life of about 4 hours, but I can not determine how long it hangs around the kidney, heart, or other organs when it is out of the blood. Most of the good studies are on oral administration of the drug for treatment of high blood pressure and here is what I read on RxList.com: “The extent and time-course of blood pressure reduction by minoxidil do not correspond closely to its concentration in plasma. After an effective single oral dose, blood pressure usually starts to decline within one-half hour, reaches a minimum between 2 and 3 hours and recovers at an arithmetically linear rate of about 30%/day. The total duration of effect is approximately 75 hours. When minoxidil is administered chronically, once or twice a day, the time required to achieve maximum effect on blood pressure with a given daily dose is inversely related to the size of the dose. Thus, maximum effect is achieved on 10 mg/day within 7 days, on 20 mg/day within 5 days, and on 40 mg/day within 3 days.” This may be more than you asked for.
If you have heart palpitations, you should be seeing a doctor about that. This is a worrysome problem, something that is far too important than to take it to a doctor like me who advises on general questions over the internet. Minoxidil may be out of your system by now and the fact that you are getting better is good, but having a heart problem needs prompt and proper medical treatment, so get it to see a doctor ASAP.
i’m an avid reader of your blog. a lot of people claim that minoxidil loses it’s effectiveness after used for awhile.
does that mean that minoxidil stops growing new hair after awhile or does it mean that minoxidil can’t help you maintain your regrown hair after it’s effectiveness has runout?
i hope that makes sense. thanks.
Your hair loss is an ongoing process with or without using Minoxidil. Minoxidil may stop further hair loss or slow down the inevitable process of hair loss. Can Minoxidil stop working after a certain amount of years? Almost certainly. We do not have studies that go out for decades yet.
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I’m 26 years old now and I’ve had gynecomastia for as long as I can remember. It’s not something I’ve liked but I’ve gotten used to it, tho I do plan on having it corrected surgically in the future. I’ve recently noticed hair thinning/shedding and am curious if taking 1mg propecia could make my pre-existing gynecomastia worse.
You should treat your gynecomastia problem with surgery if that is what has been recommended by your doctors. Taking Propecia may not make the situation worse, so you can take it and see if it makes it worse. If it does make it worse, then stop it. The doctor who prescribes the Propecia should be able to monitor this with you.
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I have been talking propecia for about two weeks and I have been experiencing wierd side effects like anxiety attacks, feeling out of it, slight mood swings, etc. However, when I asked my doctor about it, he said that he had never heard of anything like it. There are a number of people online who have complained about similar side effects and I feel that these symptoms are a direct result of propecia. I was wondering if you had ever encountered any similar cases and if so will these side effects go away. Thanks
Finasteride blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT. As a result, there will be a temporary increase in testosterone and changes in androgens as well which might (theoretically) produce side effects like those experienced by women with PMS. One of my patients had a real complaint like this and he was a very credible physician. When he stopped the Propecia the symptoms went away. Can hormonal imbalance affect mood swings? Possibly! Some patients have repored changes in the way they feel on Propecia and I have generally discounted these report but now I will make a note of this and watch for more patient comments and blog emails that bring this up. I aleady spoke to a Merck rep about it and hopefully the verbal report will work its way back to headquarters. If I hear more of these type of complaints, I will be more vocal on sharing this with you through this blog.
