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If someone were to tell you that
you had an 83% chance of keeping all the hair you currently have by taking
a pill every day, would you do it? With Propecia, it's not only a possibility,
it's becoming a reality for hundreds of thousands of men. For the group
of younger men looking to keep their hair loss from getting any worse,
this treatment has become a Godsend. Men who have already lost a significant
amount of hair can use Propecia in conjunction with other treatments and
potentially see some serious results.
Over 20 years ago a drug by the name of Proscar was approved for
prevention of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH). Its active ingredient
was 5mg of Finasteride, and it was taken once daily by men over 60. Finasteride
was shown to inhibit the formation of DHT, one of the biggest culprits
in the formation of Prostate Cancer, and conveniently enough, hair loss
as well.
Merck Pharmaceuticals sought to find the smallest effective quantity of
finasteride and test its long term effects on 1,553 men between ages 18
and 41 with mild to moderate thinning of hair. Based on their research,
1mg daily was selected, and after 2 years of daily treatment, over 83%
of the 1,553 men had actually maintained or increased their hair count
from baseline. Visual assessments concluded that over 80% had improved
appearances.
Finasteride (Proscar) 5mg was split into fifths and bottled as a 1mg daily
treatment for hair loss called Propecia. A prescription is required to
obtain this treatment.
Propecia, like Proscar, is the newest clinically proven treatment on the
market for men experiencing hair loss. It also has the longest, most successful
run of any treatment to have undergone FDA trials. At the writing of this
review, the original 2 year trials are approaching their 6th year, and
the vast majority of participants are still maintaining hair counts.
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Who is this Treatment
for?
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Propecia is only approved for use in Men over the age of 18.
Propecia's main purpose is to stop hair loss from progressing,
and to maintain what hair one has left.
In clinical trials, it did increase hair count in over 60% of men, but
only about 42% had any noticeable improvement. Propecia is commonly used
by younger men wishing to stop the progression of their hair loss, and
it is phenomenally good at accomplishing this goal. It is also commonly
used as a part of a combination treatment regimen with Minoxidil 2% and
5% by men who already have extensive hair loss.
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Propecia's Method
of Action
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Testosterone floating in the bloodstream of the typical adult male routinely
combines with an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. The result of this interaction
forms the more potent sexual hormone known as DHT (Dihydrotestosterone).
DHT plays a primary role in proper sexual organ development during the
fetal stage of life, as well as the proper development of secondary male
characteristics during puberty.
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The
Stats
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When a man begins to lose his hair, certain genetically programmed
follicles begin to develop DHT receptor sites. The DHT attaches itself
to these receptor sites and begins to treat the follicle as a foreign
object in the body. This chemical change not only affects hair, can cause
itching, inflammation, and oiliness. During this time, the follicle, under
the attack of DHT, begins to miniaturize with every growth cycle, until
after several years, it simply is too small and short to be seen.
When Propecia is taken, it works to inhibit the formation of DHT in the
system. Within a few months, the overall DHT levels will have remained
low enough on a constant basis that the adverse effects DHT is having
on the follicles will stop, resulting in a cessation of hair loss.
Propecia contains 1mg of Finasteride, a systemic DHT inhibitor which has
been used for over 20 years at five times the dosage (in the form of Proscar)
to help treat men with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH).
The great thing about this treatment is that
you can take it for a month to see how well you tolerate it. If you notice
any problems and wish to discontinue, you may do so without having done
yourself any harm. Those who do experience side effects will also be happy
to know that these side effects are very common at the beginning of treatment
while your system is adjusting itself, and typically disappear after a
couple months.
It is important that those with liver function problems consult a physician
prior to taking Propecia, as it is extensively metabolized in the liver.
Propecia should be administered at 1mg daily in pill form, with no exceptions.
Many people talk about custom dosing, skipping days, doubling up, etc.
This will not only do nothing to help your hair loss, but will also do
your system more harm than good. Hormones are very delicate chemicals
that operate in conjunction with each other Therefore a constant daily
dose will ensure a stable hormonal environment, and keep your biology
in harmony.
It is a little known fact that the FDA trial participants all used a shampoo
like Nizoral for the duration of the trial. This was required, as the
increased sebum production, inflammation, and irritation caused by the
balding process can limit the effectiveness of any treatment. This is
why it is STRONGLY recommended that a regimen including Propecia also
include Nizoral shampoo used once every 3 days in rotation with your normal
shampoo. You will not see optimum results without Nizoral, or a shampoo
like it, in your regimen.
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Clinical Trials &
Related Studies
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SHEDDING: Our hair naturally goes through growth and resting cycles.
Each hair has its own cycle, and at any given time, a large % of follicles
are "resting" while the remainder are "growing" as
hair on the scalp. When Propecia enters the system, the sudden removal
of DHT from the follicles can sometimes shock a large number of follicles
to enter into the resting phase at the same time. Its known as a synchronization
of the hair cycle. To the layman, it's frequently known as the "shedding
sh*ts". Panic can set in as the person who sought to stop their hair
loss, suddenly see's it get worse right before their eyes. The change
is typically not noticeable to anyone but the one on the treatment, but
its enough to cause many to freak out and lose their stability. We are
here to inform you to NOT worry about shedding. If you are shedding, this
means you are responding to the treatment. A larger number of hairs have
entered into dormancy so that they can rest, and rejuvenate in 2 or 3
months free of any DHT affliction. It's as simple as that. Shedding rarely
lasts more than 4 months, and typically results in a sudden "awakening"
of large numbers of hairs.
PATIENCE: Propecia takes time. Do not expect results in 3 months.
If you are a good responder, your hair loss will stop at about month 4.
You typically will not see any regrowth until month 6 to 8, and your optimum
results on the treatment won't be seen until after one full year. Be patient,
know that you've got an 83% chance to keep what you have today, and let
it do its job.
NIZORAL: As mentioned above, it is a little known fact that the
FDA required trial participants to use an anti-inflammatory shampoo like
Nizoral for the duration of the trials. This means you should too. You
must keep your scalp in a non-itchy, non-inflamed, non-flaky state in
order for Propecia (or any other treatment for that matter) to work well.
COST: As mentioned above, Propecia is just a 1mg version of Proscar,
the 5mg tablet used for treating BPH. The ingredients in Proscar are identical.
Both contain finasteride. If you can find a physician to write you a prescription
for Proscar, you can get 30 tablets for about $60. The same cost for 30
tablets of Propecia. The fun part is, Proscar has 5 times the dosage,
so some people split the pills into 5ths with pill cutters and take 1/5th
a day. This $60 will last you 5 months, effectively cutting your monthly
"Propecia" bill from $60 to about $12. Note! It is extremely
difficult to cut a Proscar pill into 5ths. Some just go with 4ths and
take 1.25mg per day. You do this at your own risk! Side effects are notably
higher at this dosage. Others dissolve a pill in ether and split it into
5 equal parts, taking one part of the liquid per day, effectively getting
exactly 1mg at quite a discount.
The following product documentation has been
made available on Propecia:
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Click here for an Online source
of Generic Finasteride at Cheap Prices
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