Category: Drugs

great site, love it… have seen a few posts that propecia quits working after a few years. well i’ve been on it for almost 10 yrs treating mpb and it’s still working great. both my brothers are long bald, but i’m hanging in there with it. But reading that makes me kind of nervous, that it will stop working. i know you always have to reiterate that sooner or later mpb will break through, but is there a ghost of a chance it wont?

Also, having said that my crown has been about the same since i started taking propecia but it still looks thin to me and if it’s wet, forget about it. I would like to get an FUE to “fix it up”. I know your feelings on this matter but i’ll only be 30 once and it’s not me just overreacting. I don’t want to wait till i’m bald and have everyone in town know. I’d like to fix it as I go. I have a ton of really really thick donor and judging by my grandpa I don’t think I’ll be sean luke picard style.

It’s frustrating to see all this talk about hairloss and how “found” the gene that causes it. I remember thinking 10 years ago, I’d just go on propecia for a bit until something better came along… And well… here I am…. Even if they do find a drug to treat it, it will probably be 5 years before it hits the market here anyway.

Thanks, I love this site and I hope my letter isn’t too long, I just think it might be how alot of other readers are feeling too.

Many people find that Propecia (finasteride 1mg) has been holding off their hair loss for the entire time it has been on the market (now about 10 years). It really does not stop working, but sometimes the genetic balding is stronger than the drug… like a tug of war where both sides keep pulling. If you want to know if Propecia will continue winning the tug of war for the next 20-30 years, I am afraid I am not a fortune teller, but alas hope springs eternal.

Hi Doctors,

I am a 22 year old male, and I have been dealing with hair loss for over a year now. My question is regarding non-approved FDA hair loss products. I have tried using Minoxidil and
Finasteride, but with Finasteride I had terrible side effects, and I’m one of the unlucky few who doesn’t respond to Minoxidil. I was wondering what your thoughts on Revivogen are? It
seems like the most likely to work from the non fda approved bunch.

I can not tell you if Revivogen will solve your problem. The evidence is more on testimonials than on good scientific data. I’ve written about this before in various posts over the years — search Revivogen.

As for finasteride, I am not sure why you are having side effects, which side effects, or what you have done to deal with them. This is something you need to discuss with your prescribing doctor, or you can simply send me the information and I will see if you are doing enough to counter the side effects.

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Hi ,
I have read in some of your post that 10 % of your patients have reported an increased sex drive with the use of propecia. My two questions are: Why wasn’t this side effect reported by merck? , and Do your patients report this to be a lasting side effect or only temporary at the beginning of treatment, similar to people who report a decrease in sex drive?

I don’t know why this side effect was not reported by Merck. I suspect that they did not get it revealed in their questionnaires. Some men reported that the side effect stayed with them and others reported that they went back to their normal sex drive. Maybe there is a psychological component here. I don’t have the answer to that.

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im 21 and have had MPB for quite a few years i tried propecia 1st for a long long time and it did not work, basically with procecia its a low dosage for anti DHT and what was happening was I was still losing hair at the rate i was losing before. i took it for about a year. then tried avodart for 8 months and that damaged my hair even more i think because the Anti DHT dosage is higher.. anyways bottom line is, you have any idea why these anti DHT products arent working? or why my body wont take them? it seems the higher the dose,the worst the situation gets… not sure where to go from here, any suggestions doctor? thank you

You need a good doctor to work with you! Propecia (finasteride 1mg) and Avodart (dutasteride 0.5mg) are prescription items so you must already have a doctor, right? These DHT blockers do not always work at noticeable levels if your genetics are moving very fast.

The way I manage it is to get a baseline by mapping out your scalp for miniaturization and then look what happened over time by analyzing again in a year. This way, I know what is happening and can put a number on it. You need to have a Master Plan with a doctor who cares about you and is competent to manage you.

Hello Dr Rassman,

I have been a long time reader of your site, and find your advice highly useful.

My question is: I am a 24 year old male. I am not suffering from any noticable hair loss (I think), but my younger brother is. I also have alot of body hair, esp on the shoulders and the back. Would propecia be useful as a proventitive measure, and slow down the growth of unwanted body hair as it is linked to DHT.

Regards

Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is not documented as a way to slow down body hair growth. This is your genetics working in its full glory. With that said, a couple of patients have reported to me a decrease in body hair with the drug.

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First off, thanks doctor for all the help you have given. Your site is very helpful.

I actually have a one question and also a comment about propecia.

Firstly, I have been experiencing balding at my hairline for about a year and a half. It hasn’t gotten too bad yet and is moving quite slowly. I started on propecia about 6 months ago and have recently seen a slowing in the shedding of my hairline. Also I have seen a slight thickening in the hair in right at the hairline. The hairs that are growing are small and kind of thin though, so I was wondering if hair regrowth with propecia can come in cycles. Will it start as smaller miniaturized hairs, then the next cycle will they be thicker? Just wondering if this was common for the drug in your experiences.

My second comment was on the side effects of the drug. About a month after I started I noticed drastic sexual side effects. My sex drive was still there, but I could not sustain an erection. I cut back to half a pill a day and that helped at first, but once again I fell into that same situation. Recently though I’ve notice just as drastic of an improvement though. It almost seems over night the sexual side effects went away. I have even gone back to a whole pill and have no noticeable side effects. Is it normal for the side effects to go away so suddenly? Also, could such strong side effects mean that the pill is working well on me? Not that I’m complaining, just interested to know. I am glad I stuck it out though, seems it just took time for my body to adjust.

Thanks for everything in advance!

Many people who get a decreased libido can work it out the way you did. Hair loss comes in cycles, but Propecia (finasteride 1mg) does not work in that fashion. At times, you may find the hair loss will occur even when you are on the drug, and that hair loss occurs in bursts. The focus here was on libido and hopefully your libido problem has been solved. With regard to other side effects, they tend to occur and stay around while you are on the drug, like decreased volume of your ejaculate after orgasm or breast tenderness. Of course, breast pain could be brought on by other causes as well (even breast lumps, although very rarely from Propecia), so if you get them you should see your doctor.

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dear rassman sir thanks for the blog. i am 21 years old male. having hair loss for 2 years. from last 2 months i use minoxidil 2% and now my doctor suggests i use minoxidil 5%. using 5% for 10 days and i’m facing hair loss at shampooing my hair or when i apply minoxidil 5%. my doctor suggested me to use dermotave scalp application. my question is that is dermotave effecting minoxidil’s work because i use dermotave after 4 hours of applying minoxidil 5%. when i wet my hair it looks so thin.

1. will minoxidil work for the frontal and back side of head?
2. should i take propecia?
3. does propecia and monoxidil 5% regrow hair or they just help to maintain the hair i have at my head now?
4. what is the best medicine to regrow hair at the frontal and back side of head?
5. masturbation has any effect at hair loss?

i’m so depressed with my life. i lost my girlfriend and friends. they insult me. i cry n cry. i tried for commit suicide. dont know how to get my lost hair. for god’s sake please doctor help me. help me. i leave in bangladesh that is why cant get a good hair transplantation in my country..please answer my question and help me. please

Dermotave’s active ingredient is clobetasol propionate, a very powerful corticosteroid, and not to be taken for balding. I have no idea why you were prescribed this, but if it was to treat male pattern hair loss, your doctor was horribly mistaken. To answer your questions:

1. Minoxidil may work at the front and crown, but there is no guarantees to what extent you might see regrowth.
2. I can’t determine if you should take Propecia without seeing you. At 21 years old with early hair loss, Propecia would be a good medication if you do have male pattern baldness.
3. They can regrow hair, but each person reacts differently.
4. Propecia and minoxidil.
5. No, masturbation has no effect on hair loss. See the many, many posts about this here.

It seems like you need help if you are suicidal. This type of depressive feeling, although maybe enhanced by your possible balding problem, should bring you to a good doctor to address this problem. Speak with your parents and let them know how you feel. With good medicines like Propecia, young men with early balding can be very successfully treated and transplantation is the last thing you need to have.

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