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I’m Scared of What I Read About Propecia AND Minoxidil’s Libido Issues

Listen guys, I am sure you get this question a lot, but I’m 18 years old. Within the last year, my hairline has receded noticeable and on the crown of my head there is definitely thinning.

The side-effects of propecia (loss of libido, impotence, etc) turned me off to the product, so I first considered minoxodil (aka rogaine), well upon further research it seems that rogaine has a very rare and similar side-effects such as loss of libido and impotence which is long-lasting affecting the youthful and the more elderly.

Can anyone clear the air on this matter, please if you use/used rogaine explain if those horror stories hold any water. The company does not list it as a possible side-effect, but the amount of scenarios ive read on the internet (i know not very reliable) has implanted an idea that this may somehow be correlated with sexual side-effects.

I appreciate all of the help, I would really like to retain what I have, family does not have a good history with balding, yet speaking with them all, I am very young to have already begun experiencing this, most of them began in their late 20’s early 30’s, so I’m crossing my fingers because i like wearing my hair long.

All medications have side effect potential. Growing old also has a side effect of loss of libido, as well. Thinking about a side effect and growing scared to take a medication due to possible side effect after reading (as you state) “unreliable” information on the Internet, can cause that side effect to manifest itself.

I am sure you will find people who used Rogaine (minoxidil) claiming loss of libido, but it’s not a known side effect in the literature as far as I’m aware. Many of the people on forums that talk about various side effects they get from any medication diagnose themselves and look for the easiest answer to come up with as a source of their problems.

Get a clear diagnosis of your medication condition. Then find a doctor who can go over your treatment goals and come up with a Master Plan. After weighing out your risk and benefits, you can make the ultimate decision if you want to take the medication.

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I’m Scared About Propecia Complaints on the Web, But I’ll Take it Anyway

Great blog, very informative. I am 23 years old and just started taking propecia. After reading about the drug in various forums online, I’m pretty scared about the sexual side effects. Many propecia users claim to have an irreversible loss of libido and some even say that have had trouble conceiving. With so many people reporting devastating sexual side effects, why is this drug so freely prescribed by doctors? Am I right in feeling vain for taking this risk? After all, a healthy sex life and eventually the possibility of having children are much more important than a full head of hair. Aren’t they?

1-2% experience side effects of varying degrees from Propecia. As I’ve written many times before, the loudest folks are those with complaints. You’re not going to find a large number of men rushing to web forums to talk about how great their hair medication is working, but the ones that feel cheated will be the first ones to let you know… over and over, often times under multiple usernames. I see it quite a bit in the comments to posts on this very blog (the IP address is an obvious clue).

Also keep in mind that these are unsubstantiated claims you’re referring to, with some being written by people trying to steer you from a proven FDA treatment like Propecia to an unproven “natural” supplement that they just happen to be selling online (with a convenient link right in their Propecia complaint post). There’s a lot of scams out there, and message boards are full of people eager to believe anything from an anonymous person that offers them a glimmer of hope.

As for feeling vain, you want to look and feel your best, and I don’t see why anyone should feel bad about that. Here are some related posts you might want to check out:

  1. Official Word from Merck Regarding Propecia’s Effect on Sperm and Pregnancy
  2. Can You Dismiss Propecia Information on the Web?
  3. Propecia Causes Damage to the Penis — If It’s on the Internet, It Must Be True!
  4. Propecia Info on the Internet Has Me Worried!
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I’m Pregnant and Have Alopecia

Dr. Rassman,
I’m 11 weeks pregnant and I’m suffering from alopecia. I was just wondering if is there any safe form of treatment that I can go through or any specific food that I can eat to prevent any further hair loss. The hair loss started off as about a quarter size in circumference now it has grown to about five inches in size!! Please I need some help, because I feel that pretty soon I will be completely bald. Thank you for your time.

I am assuming that the hair loss is relatively complete in the areas showing. If so, it sounds like you are suffering from Alopecia Areata induced by the pregnancy. You need to see a dermatologist for a biopsy and treatment. You will need to coordinate any treatments with your OB doctors to keep things safe for your baby if the doctor elects to treat the problem and my presumptive diagnosis is correct.

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I’m Planning on Getting Pregnant Soon, So Should I Stop Minoxidil Now?

I am experiencing hair loss for the past 6 months. I approached a skin specialist and cosmetologist a month ago. she suggested to use minoxidil 5%. I am using it for one month, but now i lose more hair than earlier. My marriage is in the next month, but she is asking me to use for 3months. I have a plan of becoming pregnant, but once if i stop using minoxidil after the third month, wont i get in to the hairloss trouble again? i am totally worried. please help me out.

You might experience some initial shedding from the medication, but if you stick with it those hairs should regrow. However, if you stop the medication any benefits you see will disappear.

Pregnancy changes things, though. Since you’re planning on starting a family, you might want to stop it now, particularly since you have not been on it long enough to see benefits. There are warnings about using minoxidil when you are pregnant, so if you do become pregnant you should stop using it until after you’ve given birth (and if you plan on breastfeeding, you should wait until that is complete, too).


2009-10-08 10:46:22I’m Planning on Getting Pregnant Soon, So Should I Stop Minoxidil Now?

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I’m on oral minoxidil and want to run a marathon

I was wondering if I should stop taking my oral minoxidil dose of 1.25mgs/day/

[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]

If you are worried about it, or if you had periods of light-headedness, or if you had rapid heart beats from the oral minoxidil, skipping a daily dose will have no negative impact on your hair.

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I’m Not Seeing a Drastic Difference a Year After Hair Transplant

Dear Dr.,

I had a hair transplant (840 3-4 follicular grafts) in February of 2009. The areas treated were the large crown and also throughout the temporal areas. I still do not see a drastic difference. I am not sure why. I am continuously also using Rogaine foam and Propecia. When under any bright lights, I see such thinning as to where the transplant was supposed to have worked. I am not sure if something went wrong, or everyone’s bodies are different; thereby it may look better within another year. Have you heard of my situation? Does a hair transplant take up to another year in order to see better hair density results?
Thank you!!!

Without knowing more about your case, it would be difficult to provide much precise information. Sometimes a thin look can appear under harsh lighting because of your hair color, hair character, thickness, etc. The Rogaine and Propecia are good to continue using, but after a year you should’ve seen results by now from the surgery. Everybody is different, every surgery is different, and every medical group is different, but it generally takes 6 to 8 months to see the beginning results of a hair transplant surgery. Either your surgery has failed or you continued to lose more of your native hair and what you are seeing is the lost native hair. I have seen transplant failures, and generally these occur because of surgical errors, inexperienced or sloppy teams or techniques, or rarely the presence of some associated disease like diffuse alopecia areata (though this is unlikely in men).

I’d discuss this with your surgeon to find out his/her take on why your grafts haven’t grown. Be sure to compare your current look to pre-operative photographs, because sometimes patients don’t realize just how bald they were before the surgery (the hair grows in gradually so its hard to notice if you’re not focused on it all the time).

See this recent post for more — If There’s No Growth a Year After My Hair Transplant, Should I Just Get Another One?

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I’m Not Losing Grey Hairs, But My Natural Colored Hairs Are Falling Out

some of my hair have turned grey or white. i have noticed that all the hairs I lose are black, and not a single grey hair falls out. Would you say that if hair turns grey they wont fall out?

That’s an interesting observation, but I really don’t know. Melanin (eumelanin is the type of melanin) is what produces the black hair color, and when it is lost in aging, the hair turns gray. It only impacts hair color, not the hair follicle itself.


2014-02-04 13:02:04I’m Not Losing Grey Hairs, But My Natural Colored Hairs Are Falling Out

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I’m Not Convinced Hair Transplants Are Forever, Since Mine Keep Falling Out

I’ve had 2 procedures with a prominent surgeon for a total of around 3700 grafts. My first was at age 51, second 54. I felt I was a good candidate since the hair on the back and sides of my head was thick. My first procedure grew-in nicely but I had a lot of dry, itchy, flaking scalp issues. I began to notice thinning hair in the transplant area about 1.5 years ago. The 2nd procedure is still thickening up but I suspect it will thin as well in a year or so. I think this is partially due to my age since all my hair is getting thinner.

I’m not convinced HT’s last as long as the hype would like you to believe. I’m really concerned for guys in their 20’s going through this procedure expecting it to last a lifetime.

There are many patients who undergo hair transplant surgery in their 20’s and 30’s that still have a full head of transplanted hair in their 50’s. There is a small minority of patients who were never properly diagnosed and perhaps do not have genetic androgenic alopecia, but rather have another type of balding (such as diffuse unpatterned alopecia), that underwent hair transplant procedures that were not permanent. Or it’s possible the grafts were taken from a non-permanent zone.

When patients have transplants into thinning hair, the results are generally good for the first few years until their original non-transplanted hair starts to fall out (as they would have without the surgery) and those initial results become less impressive. This makes them think that the transplanted hair is falling out, as patients do not see (or were not properly informed) that hair loss is an ongoing dynamic process. Even with the native hairs falling out, the transplanted hair should be enough to provide a better overall look to the individual, as long as there was a proper Master Plan made.

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I’m Not Balding, But I Have Low Iron

Hey I saw my doctor the other day and told them i was getting light headed and said it was because of not enough oxygen to the blood which is a result from iron. And I just saw coincidentally that iron has a huge effect on hair. Ive had a iron deficiency for a few years it seems. I am not balding but you think after all of those years it has put a unreverseable effect on my hair? Can I salvage some of my hair that hasn’t been nourished right? thank you

The degree of iron deficiency is not related to hair loss on a one-to-one basis. Everyone is different. If your iron is low, see your doctor and get it back to normal. It does not appear to be a hair issue.


2007-10-18 09:35:47I’m Not Balding, But I Have Low Iron

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I’m New to Hair Loss

Sir,
I am 27 year old from Bangalore, India. I have lost most of my hair due to male pattern baldness. You can say i am almost bald. I would like to get my hair back. Is there any way I can? I am not sure who to concact for this. Please advise.

I do not know where to start. First, please review newhair.com, as I believe it is as a fairly complete directory for hair loss and hair restoration information (possibly the largest and most complete site anywhere on the internet). Then review this blog site, which now has over 1300 questions and answers to various problems people have experienced with their hair. Then with that education, seek professional help. You can use the physician search at ISHRS.org to find a doctor in your area. You must exercise your brain and do good research to avoid the scams that are widely promoted around the world. Many of them are identified on this blog site, by people like you who do good research and share that research with me. This is a buyer ‘beware business’, but there are many good things that can be done for the average person with hair loss (which impacts almost 50% of all men and women in their lifetime). Good luck with the research and target me with questions once you are more informed.


2006-04-06 13:57:27I’m New to Hair Loss