Category: Drugs

Is it possible for a general practitioner to prescribe finasteride 5mg if he knew what I was taking it for? The only dermatologist in town moved far away and will not refill my prescription unless I have yet another appointment. I have little time to visit a specialist outside my town.

Any physician can prescribe almost any medication… so the short answer is: Yes. Some doctors do not like to prescribe the 5mg finasteride pill under the assumption that you are going to split it into quarters. If your doctor won’t prescribe it at that dose (which is available in generic), try another doctor.

For those not familiar, 1mg finasteride is for treating hair loss and 5mg is for treating the prostate. The 5mg is available in a much cheaper generic form, the 1mg isn’t yet available in the US due to patent laws.

Hi Dr. Rassman, strange question I have for you.

If, hypothetically, one responds well to finasteride and regrows some hair, and also, is ABLE to respond well to rogaine (minoxidil) and regrows hair, can the two drugs work together on the same hair follicles that one regrew? In other words, can the hair that rogaine regrew be maintained with finasteride, and vice versa?

They have different mechanism of action, so I’d assume they could work together for maximum benefit on the same follicle… but if you stop using one medication, the other medication won’t maintain it 100%. In other words, Rogaine-grown hair isn’t maintained by finasteride alone (and vice versa).

Hello Doctor,

I am a 22 year old male with NW3… but I’m likely heading towards a NW6. I was recently prescribed Propecia to help combat my hairloss, I don’t seem to have any side effects, However, but my Penis “tingles” during most of the day. This is not listed as a side effect… but could this be because of Propecia?

I have to say that your website is a great service to balding men everywhere, but other sites that promote fear of Propecia have made me worry about it. How can you tell if a side effect is real, or just in your head? I have a habit of over-thinking things.

I’ve not heard of Propecia use and penis tingling. I would suggest you have it checked out with the physician who prescribed it to you. How long have you been taking the medication?

As for how to tell if a side effect is real or all in your head… well, that’s not easy. And as I’ve said before, the power of suggestion is well documented. Rather than focusing on the rare negatives, try focusing on the overwhelming positives.

Dear Doctor,
Love the site, find myself popping in and out all the time for the latest buzz in “hair loss warfare”

So anyways, I have been on Finasteride for about 7 weeks now, no noticeable change yet,nor did i expect any results this early in the game. No weird and wild side effects either – my libido is full tilt. One thing though I am absolutely certain of is the slowing down of facial hair growth, and possibly body hair too. This is not a problem of course but i just thought I would share my experiences thus far. I used to shave everyday or I would wake up to serious “scruffyness” the next morning but now its like every third day if that! This change I swear to be true and can provide no other explanation for. But like i had said before is no problem what so ever.

Now for my question, which is no relation to the information I shared above. For the people tested on propecia, was there any similarities in the 2% that experienced those “weird sexual side effects”. For example:

-Their weight
-hair type
-whether or not they had lots of body hair
-age
-race
-diabetes

Thanks so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you,

You need to be on Propecia for 6 to 12 months to see any noticeable change. Keep in mind that NOT noticing any change in it of itself may be a good thing as well, because that means you aren’t losing more hair. Loss of body hair has been mentioned, but is not listed as a side effect of the medication.

If you want to know more about published data, it is in the bulky folded paper that comes with your medication bottle. I don’t have specific statistics for those men that experienced side effects, though.

I seem to have many problems with Rogaine including occasional dizziness and erectile dysfunction which appeared when I started Rogaine. What should I do about this?

This type of question is really for your doctor… and that’s not me. Dizziness can be the result of Rogaine (minoxidil) and if it came on with your starting the drug use, then it is highly suggestive that the symptoms and the drug are connected. The easiest thing is to stop the drug and see if the symptoms go away, but you might have some heart problem underlying these symptoms and the Rogaine brought them to light.

Rogaine has many reported side effects, including dizziness, headaches, nausea, selling of the extremities (hands, feet), rash, chest pain, blurred vision, etc, etc. So as you can see, nothing about taking medications is simple. The right thing would be to see a doctor and stop treating yourself.

I noticed severe dark circles after using rogaine 5 perc i was only using it once a day and i noticed my veins under my eyes became more pronounced. I dont know if its related to minoxidil or the seasonal allergy that attacked me this season around. Could you please tell me if its possible for minoxidil to cause this symptoms.

Thank you so much !

Could you have stayed out too late or haven’t slept well lately? I realize those are the obvious questions to ask, but they’re probably the more common causes of dark circles under the eyes. Did you rub your eyes after applying the medication? How long were you using the medication before you saw these circles start?

I just don’t know how dark circles under your eyes can be related to the Rogaine (minoxidil) you use on your scalp. Perhaps it’s blood circulation related, but if this is a side effect it’s not well documented. It seems like a stretch to think that your veins under your eyes can be dilated to produce dark circles because of Rogaine. I haven’t heard about this from any of my patients, though I have seen a few posts about it on the web and have even had people mention it to me via email. Nothing conclusive, though. Maybe it is just coincidence. If there’s real information about this phenomenon, I haven’t seen it.