new thread
...yeah, I saw the dermatologist today and what I suspected was true. The problems he says the problems I've been experiencing over the past few months is:
1: Folliculitis
and
2: Hair Loss (the very top-front-above part of my forehead, just beginning to thin)
Man, that's a bummer ~_~ !!! But don't worry, he said, there are options :o ! We caught it at a very early stage so we could either do minoxidil for the hair loss or could do something that works even better - a pill that works on 95% of the men who take it and on some the hair even grows back. Really???
Propecia (I think I've heard those annoying commercials before >:( , I'm sure it was one of them about butterflies or something~) but the bad part is is that insurance doesn't cover it and the side effects are quite a bit concerning. For a 30 day supply, it costs something like $120 to $132. Yikes >< ! Sure, in Europe they have in generic, but here in the states... whatever :p .
...but that's for the 1mg daily tablet. They do have a 5mg for a once every five days generic pill, so I'm going to see if I can get that because there is no way I can afford $100+! Who are the drug companies trying to overdo here???
Ahh well, hopefully it'll work, don't want'a loose my hair ~_~ . I guess there's give and take for everything... at least I'm not my dad's generation where you couldn't do anything about it :p . Here's hoping for the best >.< ~
Sincerely,
Eric
It appears that you do not understand the virtues of capitlism.
Propecia is the 1 mg formulation of finasteride 5mg. I too worked though this mysteria of phatrmacologia. At first I broke the finasteride tab into 4 or 5 chips. Then as I looked further into the issue, I discovered that the medication is good for prostate health, so I started taking the 5 mg q. d.
I cannot say that it has made my hair longer and thicker, for in fact my hair is weaker and seems to have a terminal growth point at about 8' on top and 18" on sides. On the otherhand to my knowledge I have had no negative experience from this medication, and my hair would be even thinner and shorter.
I do not know what would be the consequence for my hair if I stopped taking it, but why should I.
If I were faithful to the capitlist religion I suppose I should be taking 5 of the 1 mg tabs, and bask in my tithe to the church of the 1%.
Cal.
"...tithe to the church of the 1%."
Brilliant! I promise to use this phrase in conversation :)
Cheers,
Val
Hi Eric,
Of course I am sorry to hear this, and hopefully, you will find a plan that does work for you.
I do take propecia myself, since I appear to have a small amount of thinning in the crown area. I have been on the medication for about 6 years now, and my hair has not gotten any thinner in that time.(btw, I turned 59 in August, started taking it at age 53) I am not sure what would happen if I stopped taking it, but just to be safe, I don't plan to stop. Fortunately, here in Canada, the generic version is available, and a three months supply from Costco costs not much over $100(approx $35/month), less than half of what it cost me before the generic became available. (I also switched pharmacies several years ago, and realized considerable savings there.)
You do have excellent hair, and I hope that things work out the very best for you.
Take care,
David
I have been taking it for years, too. Of course, each individual is an experiment with a sample size of one and no control possible, so it is hard to say for sure if it helped me. I have not had much hair loss since starting it and I plan to stay on it. And, in statistical studies if does indeed work for most who use it.
I was worried about the top of my head which is not so much helped by Propecia but is by minoxidil. I tried that (too), for a while but had really bad itching so I stopped it.
Hi Eric,
I am very sorry to hear this news! I can't be much help here because I seem to have too thick of hair for my liking. Most people probably like a lot of thickness, but not me. Hopefully I won't start thinning now that I have said that!
I do wish you much success in combatting the thinning in your beautiful hair! Please don't give up and keep us updated with your progress on this.
Take care, Ted
Sorry to hear that you're thinning. When it comes to Finasteride you should consider doing what I (and many others restoring hair) do, get a scr ipt for generic Proscar instead of Propecia and split each pill into 4 or 5 pieces. That will be 1-1.25 mg of Fina each.
When I first added it to my Regimen, I didn't have insurance, and it STILL only cost 28 bucks for 30 pills here in the US. That's at least 4 months worth depending on how much you take.
With my insurance it's only 10 bucks copay for the same. Yeah buddy!
Good luck sir.
Hey Eric,
So sorry to hear this news as being a fan of longhair that's the last thing
you want to find out. Fortunately I have not had that problem but I see many
others chimed in with good support and advice.Unfortunately by taking the med
you'll never know for certain if it's helping but the alternative is not a happy thought either.I'd just do what needs to be done to preserve you glorious hair as only time will tell.Do keep us posted my friend.Cheers
Mârk
good.6
Hey all,
Thanks for all of the great replies ^^ ! Just a quick question, though, from the collective. Since I've now started taking the propecia pill, will the hair I have (that seems to not have been affected, unless it all has?) continue to grow and grow longer / the small amount of hair that I've lost / thinned be stunted or will all of my hair be stunted eventually??? I'm having a hard time figuring this out :p .....
Thank you so much guys ^_^ !!!!!
Sincerely,
Eric
All propecia/finasteride does is block DHT binding to the hair follicles. DHT is what stunts the growth on susceptible follicles, so blocking it stops hair from thinning/being stunted. So to answer your question, it won't stunt hair growth and should in fact have the exact opposite effect.
The only thing to consider is that you will likely go through a big shed for the first several months after starting it. When it stops the DHT from binding to follicles the follicles that were being damaged will enter a brand new growth cycle which starts with the shed. So it important to stick with it for a few months before seeing improvement, and not freaking out once you start shedding. :)
Good luck!
I used it 4 years and it didn't work. My hair kept falling.
Just have to live being bald and admiring long hair in others who are gifted !!
Cheers
Tes