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Developed Facial Swelling from Propecia?

hiya i was taking propecia last year for about 6 months and it was great. i started again very recently and i’ve deleloped swelling in the face of my skin, i have stopped now. i’m just wondering if there is anything i can take that can counteract that and be able to still take propecia because it worked so perfect a such a long time before?
thankyou

I have never heard of Propecia causing facial swelling, but drug allergies sometimes present that way. It can happen with any medication. Facial swelling can sometimes be related to tongue and throat swelling, which may be life threatening if the allergy presents in its worse form. While life threatening issues from the use of Propecia (to my knowledge) have never been reported, it is still a remote possibility. And with only the information you provided without a physical exam and complete medical history, it is impossible to give you any advice other than to see your doctor and share these concerns with him/her.


2007-07-24 13:33:21Developed Facial Swelling from Propecia?

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Press Release – Haptenex, a New Alopecia Areata Treatment?

Snippet from the press announcement:

A66, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, has introduced a compound named Haptenex. This compound is expected to revolutionize treatment for Alopecia Areata. The complex array of patented dermatological and systemically reactant compounds have the ability to cause the skin and other cells to react and distract the problem immune responses from damaging vulnerable follicular and other cells afflicted by immune system diseases.

Read the rest — A66, Inc. Introduces Alopecia Areata Immune Response Treatment

What I read in this news release does not impress me. The language is unclear and the press release doesn’t say anything in particular, so that is an alert for me. Be suspicious.


2013-07-05 10:59:37Press Release – Haptenex, a New Alopecia Areata Treatment?

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DHT in Women

What can you tell me about a product called Ayuervedic. I am a 57 year old African American Female, who has had extensie hair loss since age 20 after a perm. I have been wearing a wig. I have recently met someone I like very much, but I am so ashamed of him learning that I wear a wig because, I am bald.

When will the FDA make drugs available to be purchased by perscription for hair loss? It is my belief that most people who suffer from hair loss, just like acne suffers, are very stressed. In this society we are so judged by appearences that some of us are getting ill from the stress hair loss can cause.

Also can you eloberate on what chemicals in the body cause imbalance. What chemicals cause DHT.

Thank you

It is my understanding Ayuervedic is a holistic approach to health care. I am not very familiar with it other than it is likely a natural supplement type of product. It is not a medicine.

The only FDA approved hair loss medication is topical minoxidil and oral finasteride (Propecia). Propecia is only approved for male patients because it works by blocking DHT formation. DHT is a naturally occuring hormone that is a breakdown of testosterone. Although women also have DHT and testosterone in their body, most causes of hair loss in women are not related to DHT. Even in rare instances that DHT is a factor in a woman’s hair loss, the use of finasteride (Propecia) is probitited in women due to possible birth defects. At 57 years young, I suspect you may not be thinking of becoming pregnant, but Propecia is still restricted for use in woman. Furthermore, DHT is not likely the cause of your hair loss so Propecia would not work for you.

If you are concerned about hair loss, you should make an appointment with your primary care doctor first to rule of any medical causes. If you are still not satisfied, you may consult with a hair transplant doctor. The most important advice or opinion I have for your case is to be honest with your new friend. It is embarassing especially for women to disclose their hair loss, but if your relationship is to blossom it may be one of the first steps.


2006-04-11 08:37:08DHT in Women

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Problems With FUE and Immoral Doctor Promotions

A number of patients (many under 30 years old) are coming in to our office and telling us that they only want one session of FUE transplants and don’t want more in the future, and it is because they see these advertisements on the internet that say that this is possible. Many of the doctors who do such promotions, do large numbers of FUE grafts, going into areas that they should know that these hairs will be lost over time, even though the hair is strong at the current time. Both FUE and FUT docs are involved and it shows the greed of many doctors, to get as much money from these impressionable young men who can delay the purchase of a car for hair. We try to tell these young men that what they are reading is unrealistic; however, I guess they go to the one-session docs anyway because of significant sales tactics. I am personally disgusted at this type of physician behavior and wish that at least some of these young men get the message that they are becoming victims of doctor greed. I just had an internet link to a patient who had 5000 FUE grafts from such a doctor. When reviewing his before pictures, it was obvious he was sold something that was not in his best interest. His results were very disappointing and to make matters worse, the surgery accelerated his hair loss making him worse off and significantly poorer for doing the surgery.

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Did Propecia Cause My Hepatic Adenoma?

I had taken Propecia for about half a year. Recently, I was found that I had a hepatic adenoma. I had consulted to my doctors and they said it is unrelated to taking Propecia. I want to know whether it is caused by the Propecia effect. Is there such effect by Propecia for this?

A hepatic adenoma (benign tumor of the liver) can occur in people who’ve never taken or even heard of Propecia, and I’ve not heard of any cases where the medication was even suspected as a cause for something like that. I agree with your doctor.

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Propecia and Clenbuterol

I’m about to start taking Propecia, but I’m currently taking fat burners called Clenbuterol

Will it be ok to take both at the same time?

Many thanks

I have not found anything that suggests a problem mixing these two drugs, but I know very little about clenbuterol other than its use in breathing disorders (chronic asthma) and as an enhancement drug for athletic competitors. You need to do your research and possibly speak with the doctor who is prescribing your Propecia.


2012-08-01 09:01:48Propecia and Clenbuterol

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Did You Know That Alcoholics Die 7 Years Earlier

“Alcohol-dependent patients in general hospitals live significantly shorter than patients without alcohol dependency. According to a German-British study published in “European Psychiatry”, they die 7.6 years earlier on average. In addition, they suffer from several concomitant diseases.

alcohol

We often get question on if alcohol can cause hair loss. While alcoholism do not cause balding, it seems it causes an earlier death.
This was the result of analyzing 23,371 patients over 1.5 years with know alcohol dependency along with 233,710 patients without alcohol dependency. This, they said, can be reversed with appropriate treatment and cessation of the problem.

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Propecia and Mood Swings / Depression?

My husband has been taking Propecia for about 3 years or so. He is a relatively moody person in general, but nothing out of the ordinary. In the past few years it has been pretty bad to the point where he has tried antidepressants, tried seeing psychologists, etc. Then, this past summer, we went on a vacation and he forgot his Propecia. That was the best week I can remember him having. He felt good and it showed to those around him. I didn’t think much about it except that when he began using Propecia again, he went back to how he felt before and I noticed changes in him right away (within a day or so). When I made the connection that the main difference was that he was off of the Propecia when he felt and acted better, he acknowledged it, but was pretty adament that he would rather be in a bad mood all of the time then lose the rest of his hair. Just this week, I had noticed a difference in his mood and demeanor. I didn’t say anything though…hoping it would last. He then mentioned that he hadn’t taken his Propecia for 4 days. He said he felt really good and it shows. I guess what I am asking, as have others on your site, could there be a connection with Propecia and Mood Swings/Depression? At least with certain people’s chemistry? I would love to know more about this.

Although rare, there have been concerns that finasteride (Propecia) or dutasteride (Avodart) may have some impact on personality or emotions. That would not surprise me as we have seen changes in brain function with testosterone and women have seen hormone cyclical changes that affect mood. The good news is that very few patients out of my large practice have seen significant changes and reported them to me. The literature does have mention of occasional depression which may have been caused or influenced by these medications. I would suggest that if any person has mood alterations with these drugs, they should consult with the doctor who has prescribed it.


2007-10-12 14:36:54Propecia and Mood Swings / Depression?

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Diffuse Patterned Alopecia vs Male Pattern Baldness

Dear Dr,

I was wondering what the percentages are for DPA vs regular progression of male patterned baldness? I am 30 years old and have a norwood 2 or 3 pattern but most of the men in my family are bald to a large degree. Only my father has a complete head of hair.

Regards

I don’t have statistics directly comparing diffuse patterned alopecia (DPA) to male pattern baldness (MPB). We don’t get asked all that much about DPA here, so check out this link for more info.

Essentially… if you are balding from genetic causes, the hair can fall out without thinning in a specific pattern (DPA) or it can thin according to a specific pattern (MPB). In either case, the final pattern will be determined by your genes.

There is also a condition defined by us in the medical literature called diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) which reflects that the hair all over the head shows miniaturization, including the sacred donor area that is usually genetically protected in men. Most genetic female hair loss appears similar to DUPA, in that it is diffuse and over the entirety of the scalp.

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Propecia and the 15% Risk of Side Effects Myth

NOTE: The following comes to us from a longtime reader that wishes to remain anonymous. He’s gifted us with some insightful posts in the past about the FDA, LLLT, and clinical trial regulations. His email is as follows:

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The Journal of Sexual Medicine recently published an article that has been the source of several Balding Blog posts, including one that answered a reader who wondered if, “the study suggests up to 15% of men taking the drug might experience some form of sexual dysfunction” in context of “the warning label on Propecia (that) … only 2 percent of men might experience erectile dysfunction while using the drug…”.

As a fan of the Balding Blog and a clinical trialist (someone who interprets clinical trial data), and one who has no relationship to Merck or financial interest in finasteride use, I have reviewed the article:

  • Dr. Rassman has correctly pointed out that this article is not a study per se, but a review of data in the literature from completed and published finasteride studies that included placebo groups.
  • The review included 3 studies of men using finasteride (1 mg daily) for alopecia, 15 studies of men using finasteride (mainly 5 mg daily) for benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 2 for “none” listed as the condition.
  • The 3 studies of men using finasteride for alopecia included a combined total of 1196 men receiving finasteride, and 1035 men receiving placebo.
  • As Dr Rassman has nicely emphasized before, the “true” incidence of an adverse event (attributable to a drug) is the percentage of men who experience a side effect receiving an active drug minus the percentage of men who experience a side effect via placebo. It is important to emphasize that this equation implies no causality (i.e., if a man receiving a drug gets a side effect, it is attributable to his active drug or placebo regardless of other factors – such as diabetes – that may be causally involved).
  • The largest incidence of sexual side effects among the 3 studies involving men with androgenic alopecia is from the smallest study involving only 286 men who received finasteride and were a considerably higher age (41-60 years) than men in the 2 other studies (ages 18-40 years). In older men, factors that contribute to sexual side effects (diabetes, coronary artery disease, and aging) are considerably more frequent. In this small study of 286 men, changes in sex drive were observed (over a period of 1 year of treatment and 1-year of follow-up) in 4.9% receiving finasteride and 4.4% receiving placebo (treatment effect of 0.5%). In the same study, erectile dysfunction was observed in 3.8% of men receiving finasteride and 0.7% of men receiving placebo (treatment effect of 3.1%). In the two larger studies – involving younger men – the incidence of erectile dysfunction was 0.5% (1.4 minus 0.9) in one study, and 0.75% (0.75% minus 0) in the other study.
  • Taken together, these results are consistent with the incidence of sexual side effects noted in the finasteride (Propecia) US product label: decreased sex drive (1.8% finasteride vs. 1.3% placebo) and erectile dysfunction (1.3% vs. 0.7%).
  • The “15%” figure contained in the Balding Blog post by a reader was based in part on the cited (and misleading) newspaper commentary from a business reporter that stated ”…up to 15% of men taking (Propecia) might experience some sort of sexual dysfunction.” Indeed, The Journal of Sexual Medicine article cites a study of 613 men aged 45-80 taking 5 mg finasteride daily for benign prostatic hypertrophy for 2 years. In this study, 15.8% of men receiving finasteride (compared with 6.3% of men receiving placebo) reported erectile dysfunction. This is 5 times the recommended dose for treating hair loss, though. The largest study, involving 2315 men aged 45 years or older (with prostate hypertrophy), showed the next largest effect on erectile dysfunction: 8.1% (finasteride) vs. 3.8% placebo. This latter figure is almost identical to the incidence of erectile dysfunction noted in the finasteride (Proscar) US label.

In summary, one can’t properly mix “apples and oranges” involving clinical trial data involving different doses of drugs with different patient populations and for different indications. The journal article offered no major insights to me but is a nice review of currently published work. To me, a significant issue of side effects is reversibility. Even a minor headache is devastating if due to an active drug and is not reversible.

Despite anecdotes from blogs, I have seen no case histories published in the medical literature of men using finasteride for androgenic alopecia who have developed irreversible erectile dysfunction that has been attributed to use of finasteride. I am not saying that such a phenomenon does not exist; I just have not read any well-documented case history. A newspaper commentary from a business writer that references a blog where a 32-year old man developed erectile dysfunction (“had pretty lousy quality erections otherwise”) of unknown duration 12 years after starting finasteride and who cites “(recent) experiences with a new sexual partner” is not compelling (to me).