Finasteride Advice: Brand Or Efficacy Issue?

[GoEagles1982]

Hi Guys,
Been reading through these threads for years, they've always been very helpful and really appreciate everyone's input as they've helped me greatly. I'm having an issue that there is so much conflicting information on, I'm not sure how I should proceed. I was just curious to hear opinions from all of you.

I've been on Propecia for 4 years. 4 years ago I started with Propecia/Rogaine/Nizoral and it worked great. Hair seemed to almost be back to normal. I then switched to the "Accord Brand" Finasteride Generic 1mg via CVS for 2 years and fortunately continued along the same path. About 4-5 months ago I started taking the 5mg Generic Finasteride (Cut up in 4ths) from Walmart simply to save money, and I've noticed this past month that my hair seems to have thinned considerably. My hairline has thinned on the sides and top, and my hair overall just feels less dense. It's not noticeable yet, but it will be soon I'm sure. It's pretty much where it was at 4 years ago right before I started my current regimen. I've been feeling pretty down and depressed about it, and I've been racking my brain trying to answer one simple question:

1.) Is my male pattern baldness just simply progressing and Finasteride is becoming less effective?

2.) Did switching brands 4-5 months ago for some reason cause this? It doesn't seem likely, but it just seems like such a drastic change in 6 months to go from great to back where I was 4 years ago.

Obviously no one can answer definitively, but I'm trying to decide if it's worth going back to the Accord Brand and paying more money, or simply accepting my fate and hoping the 1/4 Proscar can hold me off a couple more years? What would you do?

Really appreciate your feedback guys

Thanks

 

[jetlife1]

Hi Guys,
Been reading through these threads for years, they've always been very helpful and really appreciate everyone's input as they've helped me greatly. I'm having an issue that there is so much conflicting information on, I'm not sure how I should proceed. I was just curious to hear opinions from all of you.

I've been on Propecia for 4 years. 4 years ago I started with Propecia/Rogaine/Nizoral and it worked great. Hair seemed to almost be back to normal. I then switched to the "Accord Brand" Finasteride Generic 1mg via CVS for 2 years and fortunately continued along the same path. About 4-5 months ago I started taking the 5mg Generic Finasteride (Cut up in 4ths) from Walmart simply to save money, and I've noticed this past month that my hair seems to have thinned considerably. My hairline has thinned on the sides and top, and my hair overall just feels less dense. It's not noticeable yet, but it will be soon I'm sure. It's pretty much where it was at 4 years ago right before I started my current regimen. I've been feeling pretty down and depressed about it, and I've been racking my brain trying to answer one simple question:

1.) Is my male pattern baldness just simply progressing and Finasteride is becoming less effective?

2.) Did switching brands 4-5 months ago for some reason cause this? It doesn't seem likely, but it just seems like such a drastic change in 6 months to go from great to back where I was 4 years ago.

Obviously no one can answer definitively, but I'm trying to decide if it's worth going back to the Accord Brand and paying more money, or simply accepting my fate and hoping the 1/4 Proscar can hold me off a couple more years? What would you do?

Really appreciate your feedback guys

Thanks

I doubt that finasteride is losing its efficacy especially since you have already responded well to it. A month is too short to panic as shedding is a normal part of the hair cycle regardless if you are on propecia or not. Also as a side note, did you know that August is actually the month of most shedded hairs/ most hairs in resting phase? My advice is to give it more time and I bet your hair comes back thicker.

Also, if anything were to lose efficiency it would probably be the rogaine. Finasteride is proven to be effective long term in mostly all men. In the long term study, hair got more thick the longer people were on it.

Good luck and let us know what you do and how everything works out.

 

[GoEagles1982]

I doubt that finasteride is losing its efficacy especially since you have already responded well to it. A month is too short to panic as shedding is a normal part of the hair cycle regardless if you are on propecia or not. Also as a side note, did you know that August is actually the month of most shedded hairs/ most hairs in resting phase? My advice is to give it more time and I bet your hair comes back thicker.

Also, if anything were to lose efficiency it would probably be the rogaine. Finasteride is proven to be effective long term in mostly all men. In the long term study, hair got more thick the longer people were on it.

Good luck and let us know what you do and how everything works out.

Hi Jetlife,
Thanks for your response and feedback, I really appreciate it. It's funny you said that about the shedding, because during this time of year I seem to notice more shedding. Especially in July/Aug, I seem to thin a lot. Just have one question for you, I'm definitely staying on the Finasteride but do you think I should stay on the Walmart cheaper brand? Or go back to the CVS brand? Logic tells me they are both the same, but a little part of me is nervous that for some reason I responded to the other brand (cvs) better.

Thanks again Jet

 

[Mach]

I switched to merck proscar brand because I wanted peace of mind.

I read before that some ask for 5mg but got 1mg and cut the 1mg into 4ths thinking it was 5mg. Check your bottle to verify you got 5mg.

 

[jetlife1]

Hi Jetlife,
Thanks for your response and feedback, I really appreciate it. It's funny you said that about the shedding, because during this time of year I seem to notice more shedding. Especially in July/Aug, I seem to thin a lot. Just have one question for you, I'm definitely staying on the Finasteride but do you think I should stay on the Walmart cheaper brand? Or go back to the CVS brand? Logic tells me they are both the same, but a little part of me is nervous that for some reason I responded to the other brand (cvs) better.

Thanks again Jet

Not sure. I think all finasteride should work the same but maybe you're shedding a little more because you upped the daily dosage to 1.25 which would be normal I think. For me, I've been on generic finasteride 1 mg from Walmart the past 2+ years and only changed generics once over that time which wasn't a problem at all.

 

[GoEagles1982]

I switched to merck proscar brand because I wanted peace of mind.

I read before that some ask for 5mg but got 1mg and cut the 1mg into 4ths thinking it was 5mg. Check your bottle to verify you got 5mg.

That's a very good point you make, I did verify it was 5mg. Apparently the manufacturer is Camber which is in New Jersey so I'd think it should be fine.

 

[GoEagles1982]

Not sure. I think all finasteride should work the same but maybe you're shedding a little more because you upped the daily dosage to 1.25 which would be normal I think. For me, I've been on generic finasteride 1 mg from Walmart the past 2+ years and only changed generics once over that time which wasn't a problem at all.

Appreciate the feedback, I agree with you I'd think they'd all work the same. I'm leaning towards it more being a coincidence, hopefully in combination with seasonal shedding/loss. Think I'm going to stick it out for a little and see because the brand really shouldn't matter.

Thanks again for your response