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I Stopped Propecia for a Week and After Restarting I Have Side Effects

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.


2011-09-11 10:03:33I Stopped Propecia for a Week and After Restarting I Have Side Effects

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I Take Propecia and My Girlfriend Is Now Pregnant

I have been taking Propecia for 2 years. Recently my girlfriend got pregnant.. Should I be worried? Will everything be O.K.? Thanks!

Congratulations! I don’t think you have anything to worry about with respect to Propecia use and conceiving. There is no evidence that I’m aware of to suggest that it would affect your fertility or have an impact in conceiving a child.

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I Thought Miniaturization Analysis Was the Best Test for Balding!

After my visit to your office today, I was more confused because your miniaturization analysis showed no miniaturization and your bulk analysis seemed to contradict the finding by identifying early balding. I thought that miniaturization was the most important test a doctor could do to determine balding. Please help me understand what appears to be a discrepancy.

I am sorry that I confused you. Before the Haircheck bulk measuring device was invented by a Florida hair transplant surgeon, the only way one could tell if hair loss was occurring was:

  1. Seeing excess hair falling out (very early and not conclusive)
  2. Seeing a balding pattern developing (maybe too late)
  3. Looking for miniaturization (does not always appear, especially when hair loss is slow)
  4. Taking photographs and comparing them (often too late)

By doing bulk measurements, it is a very sensitive way of understanding hair loss with a metric that is replicable once the measurements are repeated and compared over time. In your case, the metrics showed early hair loss, but there was no miniaturization present in the area of concern. Based upon this, the drug finasteride was recommended. By repeating this test in a year, you will know if the hair loss is stable or reversing, and if you are progressing in both anatomic areas as well as local measurements to see the state compared to what was done today.

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I Want a Hair Transplant, But I’m Prone to Forming Keloids

i’m an 19 year old girl suffering from androgenetic alopecia. i’ve been losing much hair and tried everything(rogain 2%, hormone therapy) but didn’t see any major results. i’m considering of having FUE on my frontal hairline, the problem is, my skin is prone to forming keloids. I know that keloid will probably form on the donor area but is there any possibility at all that keloids will grow on my hairline??

Yes, you are at risk of forming keloids on your recipient area (frontal hairline), but the risk is low. In all of my years, I have never seen a keloid in the recipient area. At a medical meeting some years ago, we polled the audience of about 300 hair transplant doctors to ask them to raise their hands and tell us if anyone ever saw a keloid in the recipient area. No one raised their hands.

You must also consider that androgenic alopecia in a 19 year old female is very rare and make sure that you have the correct diagnosis along with realistic expectation of what you are trying to accomplish and the fullness that you are going to have from a transplant. In other words, you must weigh the risks versus the benefits and you absolutely need a diagnosis by a competent doctor.


2007-09-14 14:03:41I Want a Hair Transplant, But I’m Prone to Forming Keloids

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I Want to Get Rid of My Hair Plugs!

I had an old fashion hair transplant using the large plug method. Now, I would like to cut my hair short (or shave my head). The plugs on the top of my head are virtually undetectable. I can probably have a laser treatment to completely hide them. No hair really grew anyway. But here is the real question, how do I get rid of the .75 inch high by 4 inch long rows of plugs where the donor area exists? I have spoken to several surgeons and have been told things from FUE to simply cutting around the entire area and sewing it back together. I am no surgeon, but cutting the area out and sewing it back together just seems like a waste of good tissue and hair follicles. Why can’t a surgeon simply re-cut the existing holes and sew them back together leaving the surrounding skin and hair intact. This is similar to the way he/she would do it if removing plugs on the top area of someone’s head? Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

There is an art to managing this problem and we published the various methods of repair in distinguished medical journals in the 1990s. One way, when the hairline is too low, is to remove the frontal hairline surgically — and then re-transplant it with modern techniques. This approach leaves minimal scarring and what scar may be developed is completely covered by the hair transplant. Another approach is to remove the big plugs one at a time. Using FUE, we can often just thin the plugs.

As you indicated you’re in the Los Angeles area, you should come in for a free consultation and then allow us to make a recommendation. Also, see past posts about Repair, many of which are about fixing old plugs.

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I Want to Take Propecia Temporarily Before Surgery

Dear Dr. Rassman

you mentioned before “Some of my patients do not take Propecia (finasteride 1mg) by their personal choice. It is your choice as well. The risk is that you may have increased shock hair loss without taking Propecia before surgery. Shock hair loss is common in men under 30 years old or those who are losing their hair actively when they have a hair transplant. Propecia will prevent this complication in most men” …

Well i used propecia before for 9 months and had great results. but by the 8th and 9th months it killed my libido and impotence although i was 26 years old only.. but as you said shock hair loss is really scary. so if i wanted to use finasteride just to avoid the hair shock loss post surgery, how many months you advice me to take it temporary, definitely im not willing to go on with it…

thanks doc…

Stopping the finasteride after a hair transplant has been done with a few of my patients with success. The risk of shock loss is mostly in the first 4-6 months, and those that stopped it after the transplanted hair grew out did not have a problem with shock loss. Of course, they had the benefit of hair transplants to cover any new loss of the original hair, so they may have lost some hair without knowing. This may be a better route than not taking the drug at all, but you will still face the natural evolution of your hair loss over time without the drug on board.

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I Was Diagnosed with PCOS Six Years Ago and I’m Losing My Hair!

I am 23 years old. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 17 and was placed on birth control pills. I started to take them regularly, but they started making me sick, so I quit taking them and didnt take them for several years. Just recently I went back the the practitioner who diagnosed me with this and she placed me on a slow-release iron tablet daily along with a new birth control that has iron in it.

I have started losing hair around the middle-back of my head mainly around the crown area. It looks like my part is getting a lot wider, and the part is spreading down to the back of my head. I used to have really thick curly hair but now it is getting thin around the top, and in some patchy areas.

At first, since I am a Registered Nurse, I thought stress was causing it. The last time I went to the doc, she said I was anemic with low iron levels, hence putting me in daily iron, so I thought my anemia was causing it. I’ve been on and off birth control, so I thought that could be another cause.

Am I too young to use a topical treatment such as Rogaine? or Sephren? Sephren is an oral and topical treatment for hair loss in women. What do you recommend? I feel like I am losing more and more hair by the day and it really stabs a knife into my self image and self confidence. I’m desperate for some answers. I wish someone would lead me in the right direction so I can start growing hair in those thinning spots. I don’t want to be bald by the time I’m 30. PLEASE HELP!!

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) causes hair loss in women who can also inherit the genes for balding/thinning. It is a very difficult condition to treat, as the treatment is often unsuccessful. Since you’re already under the care of a doctor, I’m not sure what I can offer. You need a good doctor/patient relationship.

Hormone therapy might help with the PCOS-related hair loss, though since you mentioned stress and anemia, those are other potential reasons for your thinning hair. I just have no way to know what is causing your loss, or whether it is a combination of things. You aren’t too young for minoxidil (also known as Rogaine, which is FDA approved to treat female hair loss), but the oral Sephren is just a vitamin supplement with no peer-reviewed published clinical evidence that it works.

There is a new cosmetic treatment that we’ve mentioned here called Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) which we offer to address the thinning problem in many women. One such patient can be found here.

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I Would Like to Know What Type of Balding Do I Have

Hello I am a 22-year-old male . I would like to know what type of Balding do I have . I notice little spot At first then started to get thin.

Then My hair in the the Front started to shed But my hairline is not receiving and my hair is not thinning In the back .can someone tell me what’s wrong so I can get help our treatment for it

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A doctor usually needs to examine a patient, diagnose a problem (of why you are losing your hair or much more more hair loss you may have in the future), then needs to understand your goals and expectations before giving you options or a treatment plan.

You show early sign of hair loss that suggest you have genetic male pattern balding. If you are concerned you should see a doctor for treatment options.


2015-09-13 13:53:31I Would Like to Know What Type of Balding Do I Have

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If I Don’t Use Conditioner After Shampooing, My Scalp Gets Red and Itchy

ConditionerMy hair is thinning and falling out. I’ve had a problem with acasional redness and serious flaking and itching. Only happens on my scalp. If I don’t condition after shampooing, it shows up that day. Otherwise, its alright.Could there be a fungus that is causing my hairloss? My family doesn’t have hairloss problem.

If hair conditioner works to prevent the problem, why don’t you just use conditioner? I would doubt it is a fungus if simply using a good conditioner corrects the problem, but you could go see your primary care physician if this is a concern. A dermatologist would be a good person to meet with, as well.

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If I See Finasteride Side Effects, Do I Need to Consult a Doctor?

I took Proscar (1/4 of pill per day) for 2.5 years for my hair loss problem .I haven’t seen a clearly any side effects in the past 2 years but lately I read that Proscar causes erection dysfunction so I stopped using it three days ago and I tried to masturbate but I ejaculate quickly and before that my penis get rigid enough(I ejaculate before get hard) but just last week my sexual life was normal but now I have difficulty to achieve a correct erection . I still have nocturne erection while sleeping and in the morning so do you think this problem is caused by Proscar or just due to stressful situation after knowing that Proscar could causing irreversible sexual disabilities .

are the sides effects of Proscar irreversible? do I have to consult a Doctor? how much time I need to take a ride of the side effects(testicles pain,libido,ED.. ? can I take other medicines to heal theses sides effect are they effective ?

This seems more like a psychological problem rather than an effect of the finasteride. You took the medication for quite a while without issues, then after reading about possible side effects you suddenly developed them. Ever hear of the power of suggestion? That’s what is sounds like to me.

At any rate, this is a prescription drug… so definitely see your prescribing doctor if you feel you’re having issues with libido or any pain and let him know of your recent issues.


2010-07-06 14:06:52If I See Finasteride Side Effects, Do I Need to Consult a Doctor?