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Has anyone tried it? Does it work as well as they say it does?
I haven't used it personally, though I'm considering the possibility of it eventually, so I'm curious what other people will say here who have used it. I did a lot of looking online for people's experiences, and it seems maybe only 50/50 or less for people who get any benefits. And for a lot of people it seemed to make things worse. One important thing.... How old are you? It seemed that most of the younger guys (as in less than 25 ) using it had problems where it actually seemed to speed up the hair loss. I guess younger guys still have a lot of horomones working, and messing with them by using Propecia seemed to cause problems. I'm only 21, and have lost about 1.5 inches on each temple plus some overall thinning out, and I'm losing handfuls of hair each day in the shower. For now, while it's still not horribly noticable, I plan on just waiting it out. But at the rate it's going, it'll probably be looking pretty bad in another couple years. It definitely sucks big time. I finally have my hair somewhat longer now for the first time, but by the time it gets as long as I'd like to keep it, it'll all be falling out.
I'm only 21 also..22 in May and Im losing alot lately also..my grandpa who is my moms dad was bald and i got thinning in the front..and my hair ling goes back prtty far for my age I tried to frow it long last year..but it was thin and it didnt look good i thought..although it seemed heavier and thicker when i did..i had to to the bottom of my ears..now its to the top of my ears parted in the middle i got thin / fine hair naturally and i use a volumizing shampoo..it was working good few weeks ago now suddenly im losing alot and it seemded to get alot thinner..it worries me..i take msm 100 pills twice a day..so i dunno what to do..im very worried..ive always loved my hair i try to care for it the best i can..but when nature is working agianst u there isnt much you can do..im glad a fellow 21 yr old is on here with the same worries i have..i thought i was the only one this age lol
Sorry to disagree with you, JP, but Propecia will never speed up hair loss. In a small percentage of men, it has no effect and balding continues as it WOULD HAVE ANYWAY. For the vast majority of men, it stops balding in it's tracks, but will not cause re-growth to occur. So, time is of the essence if you are losing hair. Get on Propecia and stop any future loss. For a sizeable number of men, Propecia actually causes substantial regrowth. This happens most when the bald areas have not been bald for too long. So younger men actually experience better results with Propecia than older ones. The moral of the story is that if you are losing your hair, then time is hair. Waiting to start Propecia will only cause further hair loss that you may not be able to regrow. As far as I am concerned, this is a miracle drug!
Thanks for the input, Reflective. I have a question for you though... Did you experience any excess shedding of hair for the first few months you started? I saw a couple sites about the drug's effects, and they all said that shedding was a sign that the drug was working, and that the hairs were falling out so that a new growth cycle could begin. However, in many of the real-life experiences that I read, I saw that younger guys complained the drug caused them to shed a whole lot of hair, greatly reducing their hairlines and thickness, but that none of the shed hair has grown back (in up to or over a year), therefore making it appear to have sped up their hairloss. This is what I'm worried of. I haven't seen any stories of a guy around my age (21) having good results. How old were you when you started on Propecia, and how long have you been on it? Also, what type of hair loss were you seeing? Was it just the front receding, or just overall thinning, or?
>I have been on it for 5 years having started on it before it was officially approved. I am 53 and now have as much hair as I did when I was 16. My father was fairly bald when he died at 55. The rest of the males in my family on both sides are(were) fairly bald as well... Propecia is a god send- for the first year or so I used Rogaine with Propecia to stabilize the hair shaft. After that, I just switched to Propecia alone. Beware in a few men, it can cause significant sexual dysfunction i.e. erectile dysfunction especially if you are diabetic. Otherwise there are few side effects that are that significant. It is a prescription- so you should get it under the doc's supervision.
I've been using Propecia for 2 years now, and it's a godsend. Before I began, I had a small but noticeable bald spot on the top of my head, and my front hairline was thinning out. Within 3 months of beginning, I was noticing results. After one year, my bald spot was completely covered over and my hairline is thick. The hair at my temples is still pretty far back, but it's been that way since I was 14, so I don't know that there's much to be done about that.
The side effects of Propecia have already been noted, but there's an additional side benefit. Finasteride (Propecia) was originally tested as a drug to reduce prostate swelling (Procor). When sold as Propecia, finasteride is prescribed in 1g doses. When prescribed as Procor, it comes in 5g doses. Even in 1g doses, however, I've noticed benefits of reduced prostate size (can you say, "firehose"?). Low levels of finasteride may function as preventive maintenance against problems, including cancer, that result from prostate swelling.
OK, here's the bottom line.
Propecia may work for some people. It probably most often works to slow hair loss. It may provide for moderate regrowth, especially in the vertex area (the top of the head, where you frequently see a 'bald spot').
It is not a miracle cure. It works best in young people. If you are over 40, it often does not work. You are supposed to give it a year.
I have tried the drug, and was not happy with it. I felt it accelerated the thinning of my hair. I gave up after six months. Without propecia, my hair, I feel, is much better. I had massive shedding (I mean handfuls of hair) after the first week or two. I pretty much lost it when that happened!
I have had much better luck with 5% Rogaine. It also works best on younger folks, and it probably is responsible for slowing down hair loss than regrowing hair. I feel my thinning has pretty much stopped. I've been using in for about 18 years now (started w/ 2%). It also has the advantage of not having sexual performance impairment issues, as does propecia, and it is also much cheaper.
I use the Upjohn version, which is more expensive, but I think it works better.
BTW, there is a new drug coming out on the market this year, dutasteride, which blocks more of the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which is the actual hormone that causes hair follicles to produce progressively thinner and thinner hair. Keep an eye out for it.
If you're younger than 40.
There are many websites for hairloss. They include regrowth.com, hairsite.com, keratin.com, hairsite.com, etc.