Category: Drugs

i was just wondering if i was on propecia for the last three years and my thinning hair has ceased, how do i know if the drug is still at work or my hair has done all the thinning its going to do on its own in my life and i dont need the drug no more. im 54 yrs old.

thanks

Propecia is considered a life-long medication. If you stop taking Propecia you may lose the hairs that it was maintaining.

I just saw a 40 year old man who stopped taking Propecia 8 weeks ago. He reported that his hair started to fall out in handfuls. This is what I call “catch up” hair loss. We have written about this phenomenon numerous times on this site. He asked me if he could reverse it again by starting the drug today and wanted to know if it would work on him now. My answer was to watch the change in his bulk measurement and if he came back in 3 months, this test should show if the hair loss process is reversing or if it just stopped the hair loss. Since everybody is different, talk with your doctor regarding your specific situation and your options.

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Hi Dr. Rassman,

If Finasteride has a half-life of only 5 hours, how can it be so effective at stopping hair loss? If we take 1 mg or 1.25 mg of it, it would be pretty much out of our system before the end of the day. Does only a small amount of it prevent DHT from being created? Is it’s efficacy only dependent on a miniscule amount being present? Why is taking 2 doses per day not more effective than 1? And also, what are your current thoughts on what time of day to take it?

Just because a drug’s half life is 5 or 6 hours does not mean you need to take the medication according to its half life. Although half of the drug is out of the blood stream in 5-6 hours, some of the drug remains in the tissues for as long (possibly) as a week or so. Doubling the dose was not shown to be effective for better response in the original tests for Propecia.

In addition, the drug has been tested at different intervals and different doses, with trials determining that taking it once daily was just as beneficial as twice a day for treating hair loss. The best time to take Propecia is when you can remember to take it on a consistent basis.

Snippet from the article:

Allergan Inc. has moved its eyelash treatment into the second clinical stage of testing as a therapy for baldness and expects to see data by the middle of next year, Chief Executive Officer David Pyott said.

The product, Latisse, was approved in 2008 to aid in eyelash growth, and generated $82 million last year for the Irvine, California-based company. Allergan is currently testing Latisse for men and women against placebo. U.S. regulators generally require three stages of trials before approval.

Read the full story — Botox-Maker Allergan Tests Eyelash Lengthener for Baldness

I know the cost for Latisse as it is right now would be pretty steep for use on the scalp, since it is packaged in small quantities for use in eyelash growth. If this proves successful in treating scalp hair loss, I’m sure that will change. We’re still a way off from that, though.

Hi i have a somthing weird going on here. i started propecia in year 2001 because i had a receding hairline and my crown was very thin. After a year on the drug i stopped using it because it was too expensive and i only saw a little change. on month 3 without propecia my hair was very bad but i gave up and didnt care.

in 2009 my wife asked me “have you got a hair transplant or something?” i looked in the mirror and i could actually see there was something going on, but i just thought i had a good hair day. my hair just keep on growing and my hair seem better and better. what is going on? my hairline has moved a whole inch down from before propecia, and my hair is getting thicker and i dont have hair loss in temples anymore. you cant really see i have hairloss anymore. everybody thinks i got a transplant or wearing a toupee, but im not. How can this happen?

I have never heard a story like that before, so I can not comment on it. What you’re describing is highly unusual. Do you have pictures to compare where you were and where you are now?

Hi I have been on Propecia for over 5 years with little side effects except a little decreased semen. I missed dosing for over a week because I lost some of the meds. I started shedding alot but restarted my regime. Now I have premature ejaculation and a depressed mood. Is this temporary could stopping for 10 days and restarting have negative effects? Is it normal to shedding that fast from stopping the meds for 10 days? I was getting hand fulls

Your experience of these new side effects and hair loss is very strange only after 10 days of missing the Propecia dose. This drug, although out of the blood stream in 24 hours, remains ‘fixed’ to the tissues inside the cells for as long as a week. I have no answer to your question based upon how I know this drug works.

I would recommend that you follow up with your doctor.

Hey Doctor.
I use Vichy Dercos Aminexil energy spray for like 2 month and im pretty sure I got some nice shedding from it. is it possible to have shedding from aminexil? Cause I saw that you wrote it acts in similar ways as minoxidil and this one has a known shedding effect. one more question is if there is any difference between the aminexil energy spray treatment and the aminexil sp94.
thank you.

I really do not know much about Aminexil, nor do I have any patients on it that I can recall. I do know some people use Aminexil topically to treat hair loss, but I do not know if it works or if it causes shedding.

In theory, if Aminexil is similar to minoxidil then it may cause the similar shedding you sometimes see with topical minoxidil use.

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Dr. Rassman, First of all, I really appreicate your great site. I learned a great deal from your answers. One of the most comforting answers was that some of your patients on propecia have retained their hair more than a decade. However, in other posts you mentioned that propecia does not work well in the front, especially for hairline. I am just curious that if patients seeing great result originally had loss limited to their crown or if Propecia actually maintained their front as well. If it has, did it completely prevent their hairline from receding also?

Another question is that do you see any particular trait in the ones with excellent result from propecia such as their lifestyle, diet or even their general personality(pessimistic, optismistic so on..)? Lastly, by rough estimate, talking about great result over a long-term, is it like only few of the total patients or is it actually some significant percent(like 30-50%)?

I apologize for these repetitive questions but just wanted to clear up if there’s any chance. Thank you very much in advance for your time and care for people from all over the world!

I don’t know that there have been specific studies, but (if I had to guess) less than 10% of patients who are on Propecia show benefit to their front hairline area, but even more rarely will they see regrowth there.

I’m not sure if I follow your question. If someone is just losing crown hair and takes Propecia, I wouldn’t consider the medication to necessarily be the cause of their hairline staying put. It could just be that their genetics limited their hair loss to the crown. There is no trait or lifestyle that predisposes someone for responding to the drug, though. It is just how their body reacts to it.

Propecia slows down the hair loss process and can reverse (in the first few years) hair loss in the crown, and it can also make enough of a significant visible difference by filling in behind the frontal hairline and in the top areas. But just keep in mind that Propecia does not COMPLETELY maintain or prevent hair loss. This is impossible.

I have a quick question: since my balding area is small i have started using Regaine’s Extra Strength Solution rub-on applicator. so i wanna ask after applying or rubbing 1ml of it do i have to massage my scalp the part where i apply or i can leave it as it is?

There should be application instructions in the packaging, but you are supposed to rub the minoxidil gently on the scalp twice a day, and leave it on. The foam systems may work better for you with easier application and no significant rubbing.

More questions and answers about Rogaine (sold as Regaine in some markets) can be found here.

Hi, I am 43 year old and been taking propecia 1 mg per day and 5 % minoxidil. I have taken these for the last 13 years. The results have been amazing, probably a little less hair on top and sides now. As far as I am aware you didn’t/don’t think I have had any side effects. Well I have a slight none itchy rash above my upper lip. I have got very worried about using the propecia so I want to give this drug up. How would I scale down the drug and over what time period please. I have already halved the tablet each day. I do hope you can help, there is just so much worrying data on net saying about terrible side effects after finishing off propecia. Thanks in advance

The dosage of any medication has little to do with the allergic response. If you are allergic to it, cutting the finasteride pills in half will not solve your allergy issue. It’s possible that either Propecia or minoxidil could cause allergic reactions like you described, but you could and probably should see a good doctor for the discussion.

Stopping the pills or the minoxidil for a couple of weeks will have minimal impact on the hair, but will address the allergy issue if that is the cause.