How true are the reports of hair loss worsened by Propecia?

[h82bebald]

don't believe everything you read. sure, some people will not respond well to it but if you notice, alot of people bad mouthing finasteride don't post any pics. The ones that do, are the ones that truly are not responding to it and they aren't many. I shedded big time withing the first month and felt so bad I started shaving my head. Its starting to grow back but its been 4 months now.

 

[Real_Hair]

I'll add my 2 cents:

Ive used both Propecia and Dutas.

Both resulted in BAD ACNE and accelerated hair loss.

I was on Propecia for 14 months. I went from getting bad.. to almost lost it.

The acne was shocking too.

 

[vipergts]

I wasn't going to post, but just had to, given that this has happened to me. Just read old posts from me and you will get you answers. finasteride/Propecia greatly accelerated my loss (did the same for my brother) and I lost more in the 1.5 years I was on finasteride than the 10 years prior. Since I stopped, my loss slowed way down - of course I am balding but at a much slower rate. I really wanted finasteride to just stop excessive shedding but in fact it did the opposite. I also experienced some mild "sexual side-effects" but didn't really care since at the time the only thing that mattered most was hair. Having said that there are many who are more fortunate than me and found the treatment to be a miracle. I don't regret trying finasteride (otherwise I would have always regretted not doing so). What I do regret is not using my common sense and stopping it after a few months of severe shedding.Like a fool, I took the advice of some morons on this forum and continued for a year and half before finally quitting. Things never turned around. The highly anticipated "turnaround" never came for me. Do yourself a favor and trust your gut, in the grand scheme of things finasteride IS NOT a cure, just a crutch that will buy you some time at the most.......hopefully hair cloning will become a reality one day rendering these bullshit snakeoil treatments obsolete.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

There are a SHITLOAD of ppl I know who used Propecia for 4,6 and even 12 months and their hair loss accelerated.

Sorry, but I just can't believe that claim. I'd have to see some serious medical documentation for such an alleged effect, before I could believe it.

[quote="Real_Hair":5y54080r]And as a specialist once put it on BB forum.. Propecia could possibly make your receptors MORE sensitive hence make your hair loss accelerated

I don't doubt the possibility that finasteride could make your receptors more sensitive (note that even Sawaya claimed to see an INCREASE in the number of androgen receptors in the hair follicles of men who had been using finasteride for six months), but that doesn't prove that hair loss could be accelerated by Propecia.[/quote:5y54080r]

Purely out of interest and because I believe you to be a well learned person (especially on the topic of hair loss), what do you think of Irish Prides story?

Also (this isn't directed at you Bryan) but isn't there a doctor that says shedding isn't actually an effect of propecia and shouldn't really occur? I remember reading it around here somewhere and just thought it was relevant seeing as a lot of the discussion relates around 'riding out' propecia sheds.


I'm definitely seeing unfavourable results from finasteride at the moment (I'm about 8 months in). Someone mentioned not having pictures which is something I regret, I never took comprehensive baseline pics, but when I first took finasteride there was virtually nothing to see. I took it under the hope of retaining everything that was there, I figured baseline pics to be more for people who were already in the more significant phases of hair loss and wanted to document regrowth, this didn't really seem necessary for me. Since then I have definitely got worse at a much faster pace than I was previously (of course this is only my word, and as others have mentioned here people definitely shouldn't just take what they read on the net and run with it). I still believe finasteride is generally a productive drug and I would still recommend most people try it, regardless of my experience, it is hard not to read both the success story section and the posts of people such as Bryan and think that finasteride isn't a positive way to battle male pattern baldness.
But I also believe that we probably don't know everything about finasteride from what has been documented (this is only my opinion) and I believe it is definitely viable that maybe finasteride can cause/hasten the loss of hair in some cases. It is hard not to look at Irish Prides case for example, his baseline to his month 5/6 pics were dramatically different, that's why I'd be interested to hear an opinion of someone like Bryan/Cassin on the topic.

Anyways 8 months ago I would have said people saying propecia worsened their condition were delusional and trying to make excuses for their hair falling out. 8 months on, I dunno though, like I said it is only my word but at this stage I would kill to just be back at my baseline (I'm 20 btw, older brother is 23 who I use as a scope of what to expect, and he has no signs of male pattern baldness yet (he is virtually where I was when I started), so seems unlikely my hairloss would have just suddenly hastened this quickly over an 8month period, propecia is the only change in my routine.)

In saying all that I'd still recommend you try it, the way I see it is if you are thinking of propecia you obviously see signs of male pattern baldness so you are probably heading down that path anyways. So you can either choose to try nothing and effectively continue along that path unaided or try to combat it. I don't regret trying to combat it, just a bit upset it hasn't necessarily reaped the results I would have liked.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Yeah I have been on it a bit longer than you, but I probably didn't go down hill as quickly as you. I am still pretty shocked looking at that month 5 pic of yours, just seems crazy that a drug aimed to prevent hair loss would dish up those results.

In saying all this though, just for some perspective I read this earlier tonight:

"Hey Guys,

Have been coming here for a few years now - I am 27 and first started thinning at around 24 - 25, it was a rough few years getting my head around the idea of going bald - took up so much time and obviously we all know about that too well.

I have been on propecia for almost 2 1/2 years now, only took a short break in the middle, but have really stuck with it. In almost all that time, I can honestly say all I saw was increased shedding, and things seemed to only be getting darker and darker.

Around 4 months ago I shaved my head, just a quick rash move to just stop thinking about it. Put it as short as I could with a clipper. My loss wasn't aggressive to the point that people could really tell, but as we also know, we know our heads better than anyone. The shaved head made me feel better straight away, and I pretty much just put it out of my mind.

Well, I feel like I never read enough good stories or any sort of success on here (some sometimes, but overall, you know..) so I felt compelled to share something with you guys.

I don't know if either my hairloss has leveled out, or its the propecia, or the fact that I have been on a pretty strict macro diet and also getting a ton more exercise - but suddenly as my hair is growing back in, things are very very different.

1. my scalp no longer hurts. (that pain in the hairline and crown, burning sensation)

2. I run my hands through my hair and not a single hair comes out. I even give it a good pull and nothing! - even in the shower - my hands used to be covered in hair, 10-20 at a time. and now, i run my hands through wet hair and cant get a single strand.

3. the quality is back to what it was a few years back before this sh*t started. Its getting thicker faster the longer it gets. Its also not as frizzy as it was.

4. no miniaturized hairs everywhere - I used to see kinked, bent, shrunk, distorted hair everywhere. was awful, now not a single one out of place or kinked?

Overall, I am kind of stunned and didnt expect this to happen - my best guess is the propecia is working suddenly? could it really have taken over two years to really see it shine?

my hair is so much thicker than before I shaved it - and I shaved it around the same length it is now. And its just thicker, and not shedding a bit at all. I almost was afraid to write this because maybe its too good to be true.

I am sure you guys will ask for photos, but I really don't have many, as it grows I will try to find some shots with longer hair to compare to now. But the feeling of not caring about this anymore is worth everything to me.

And to top it off, have a new girl in my life - who keeps commenting on how thick my hair is. which is nuts to me. so cheers to good luck, or propecia, or both.

Hang in there dudes. People have no idea how hairloss effects us until they see it themselves, I felt shattered most days. Anyway, just felt like writing something positive. Stick with the meds, I am a believer now!

best,
WNY "

This is a story over on the Hair Loss Help forums, hope the guy doesn't mind me quoting it.

 

[mayo783]

Im about to start finasteride, but man all this talk is scaring me. I guess the only way to find out is to try it, and use some toppik while the shedding is happening and hope i dont get acne too bad or all the other bad sides that could happen.

 

[blizeH]

Another person coming off finasteride here.

I've just had an operation on my ear, and as a result someone else has had to wash my hair for me for the past couple of weeks - I've always lost a fair amount of hairs (maybe 15 or so?) when washing my hair, but they noticed just how bad it was, and the bath has just got blocked now, presumably from my bloody hair! (I normally wash it in the shower, or maybe the sink, and the bath has never, ever been blocked in the many years we've had it)

I've been on finasteride for maybe 4 or 5 months now, and whilst I'm aware that isn't long enough to really tell if it's working, I can safely say 100% my hair loss hasn't got any better, and in fact, yes it quite possibly has got worse.

Not going to bother with any other treatments though really, I did a lot of research and Propecia seemed to be not only the most effective treatment by quite some way, but also one that requires minimum hassle.

It hasn't worked, but I'm still glad I tried it, just hope things won't get a lot worse now that I'm off it!

 

[SuperMeh]

I guess at the end of the day you have to weigh up the possible good and bad points, I am still without any sides or sheds at all at 8 months of using it..

Very confusing compared to some of the drastic reactions by some members here. But I suppose we all react differently to these things.

@ Mayo

If you do start it just be sure to keep on it, big sheds can occur with major fluctuations in hormone levels, and this would happen if you knock on and off of the drug, try to stick with it and good luck =]

 

[mayo783]

thanks man.
your right everyone reacts to it differently and the only way to find out is to try it. I think reading a few posts like this where the person had some negative sides, makes me feel like it is gaurenteed to happen to me to when in reality its the minority get really bad side effects/hair worsened.

 

[CCS]

I thouroughly read the literature and understand the time frame for results. I was only commenting on the reports from certain posters who have claimed that they had accellerated hair loss through 1+ year of treatment when they had only started with mild thinning.

I have also read a lot of conflicting information regarding hormonal changes when starting Propecia and a possibility of permanent hair loss as a result. I just wanted to know if anyone else has investigated these claims at all.

You can trust a 2000+ man 5 year study by FDA, or you can believe that FDA was paid to make up that study and that there are WAY more side effects/hair loss than reported.
As for this forum, it attracts people who had bad results. People with good results go on with their lives and don't report.

 

[azmodien]

I am thinking we should just stick it out. My shedding is worse than ever, but Im pretty sure that I am sprouting new hairs along my hairline. I didn't take any baseline pics for the same reason Tyler mentioned, but they are short and seem to be new. I will probably wait a month or two and take pics of my thinning spots with a macro lens to see if there is any new growth.

To those who have acne: If your testosterone has increased, then finasteride must therefore be lowering your DHT. Right?

It seems that if worse comes to worse, we can stop the finasteride at some point and we should eventually grow most of our baseline hair back.

 

[pproctor]

Finasteride can induce hair loss in two ways.

1) "The shed" . Finasteride and other agents that bring hair follicles out of dormancy can induce early shedding of loss-phase hair. This is benign, often the first sign treatment is working, and the hair was about to shed in the next few weeks anyway.

2) Reflex hyperandrogenicity. Rarely, the reflex increase in testosterone plus the reflex increase in androgen sensitivity overshoots and finasteride produces paradoxical hyperandrogenic symptoms such as increased libido, skin oiliness, etc.

Whether this is also sometimes associated with exacerbation of pattern loss is uncertain. But in any case, exacerbation of balding is unlikely in the absence of other hyperandrogenic symptoms. This is because finasteride differentially protects hair follicles.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD, MD