Losing hairline due to propecia?

[Hairworry]

I have been on propecia for 6 months and my hairline has never looked worse.

For the first couple of months, my hair loss seem to have stopped but it didn't occur to me to take a close look at my hairline as I thought it was still not at a very bad stage. Little did I know that it was slowly being eaten away, and at 6 months, to my horror, I can see that the hairline has receded quite badly.

I noticed it when I realised I couldn't style my hair the way I used to and it has become rather wispy and thin. Is this a passing phase? Will propecia cause this thinning before it starts to work?

Guys, please share your experience.......I'm thinking of quitting propecia........

 

[BodyDysmorphic]

propecia does not make you lose hair!

maybe your just getting your "mature hairline" god i hate that term!!!

or your front hair is just too sensitive for the even lowered dht in your scalp

i wouldn't stop until after AT LEAST a year and like 3 months

maybe the "thinning" is making room for healthy hairs

you really cant say but if your not getting any "sides" i would most def stay on propecia for another 6 months and review your results

TAKE PICS to see if you have improved or not

you cant remember what your hair looked like 3 months ago so take pics to show your "actual" progression

your mind can make you think your worse after the treatments but pics don't lie and they can show you if you are improving, maintaining or not

if your really curious about improving your hairline ...i would try topical spironolactone
its an androgen blocker and can boast effects of propecia

the front and temples are the most sensitive to DHT

are you on the big 3? because min finasteride and nizoral can be effective at regrowing hair at the line

sooo these are your options
take care bro


ps you can always get an hair transplant later on in life sooo dont loose hope

 

[nohawk]

I'm in the exact same boat and I highly doubt that propecia "can't make you lose hair". My hairline is going to sh*t after 6 months of propecia and its definitely because of propecia and not as some on this board might fight to the death about being 'your natural progression and you would have been the same or worse off without the propecia". Anyways, I'm gonna keep at it until 1 year and then start minoxidil. if that fails... headblade.

 

[Mabe]

This is a touch subject, but there have been plenty of discussions on this here and on hairlosshelp.

I've seen a bunch of people post this same thing and then update it 3 or 6 months later retracting their negative statements about propecia and actually improving.

One was on propecia for 2 years and saw his hairline get worse and eventually devolve to a Norwood 2.5. He jumped off it for 6 months and he said his hair grew back tremendously to a Norwood 1.5.

Just give it time. Give it at least 12 months. If things continue to get noticeably worse (MAKE SURE they're getting worse, take pictures) and take off for 3 months or so. If nothing improves, forget propecia and move on to other treatments, but I doubt that will happen unless your male pattern baldness is actually just too aggressive to be halted/reversed. But for now, keep a positive mindset. This is a common complaint for propecia users, but time and time again it comes up as a temporary problem.

 

[billythekid]

if you're not getting sides, stick with it.

testosterone levels usually spike when first using propecia but level off eventually. this could be the reason.

 

[Bryan]

testosterone levels usually spike when first using propecia but level off eventually.

No, that's not true. In fact, I've even seen Rittmaster claim just the OPPOSITE of that in a review article of finasteride: he said that testosterone levels stayed about the same for the first several months in a certain finasteride study, but then after a year or so, they increased a bit by the usual ~10% or so.

In any event, there's no reason to think that the slightly elevated testosterone would ever "level off". Not as long as you keep taking the finasteride.

 

[Hairworry]

There's definite thinning in the hairline and frontal area as the feeling is obvious when I brush my hand through my hair. It used to be stronger and fuller but nowadys it's just thin and doesn't hold up well in the wind. Pictures I have taken is proof of the thinning.

I'm also not sure if this is a coincidence but I realised that my hair started to get worse when the side-effects (soft erection, watery semen) of propecia was disappearing. Does this mean that the drug's effectiveness is wearing off?

While I'm happy that the sides are disappearing, but please don't let my hair go along with it!

I'm thinking of adding minoxidil but my Doctor advised me against it for fear of making things worse. Should I continue the propecia for up to a year or should I quit? I'm getting depressed already looking at myself in the mirror.......

 

[gps]

Well, I have a mixed experience with Finasteride.

The temples seem to have gone bad with it, but
overall it seems to have thickened.

I started taking 1 mg finasteride in July 2007 (I was 29 and probably
a Norwood 2 at that time).
After a couple of months, my right temple which was not so bad
seemed to be worsening (I observed this when I would get up from sleeping;
there would be a clear recession - unlike previously)

I stopped after 8 months or so in Feb 2008 because I was losing a lot
of hair (probably a shed) and was just not sure what was happening. Then I went to
a doctor and he said that finasteride had actually worked for
me in the crown area.

Anyway, I started taking finasteride again in Aug 2008, but the temples really seem to
be worsening. The right side is especially bad, has
become kind of diffuse and now I am headed beyond NW3.

It was also pointed out during a hair cut that the temples were bad, but
the overall hair (back, crown) were thick and good.

So I am confused as well. A guy on another forum said that by decreasing
the dosage to 0.25 he achieved better results. You may want to try that
without completely giving up?

But I do believe that lots of people do benefit from finasteride.


Hope this helps. Good Luck!

 

[OverMachoGrande]

The reason this could be happening, is due to increased estradiol, which promotes DHT production. Propecia inhibits alpha-5-reductase...right? Well when you inhibit alpha-5-reductase the "free testosterone" (testosterone not bound to SHBG) will be converted into estradiol (a potent estrogen) that's why propecia has side effects and a wide range of other nasties. When estradiol binds to the estrogen receptors and possibly even the androgen receptors, it exerts its "girly" effects. As a result of this, the body will try and produce a stronger androgen to compensate for this "girly" effect... that androgen being DHT, which is 3 to 5 times more potent than testosterone. But if you keep inhibiting alpha-5-reductase the estradiol keeps building up resulting in, low testosterone, high estradiol, and hardly any DHT to battle the effects of estradiol, resulting in E.D. or even a nice pair of man-boobies. I strongly believe testosterone is your friend when it comes to hair, and I strongly believe excess estrogen is the main enemy for MALE hair loss. Don't get me wrong... DHT is what kills the hairs, but why would your body need to produce DHT if you didn't have high estrogens to combat? If you combat: estrogen dominance, aromatase, xenoestrogens, and free radicals, chances are you will stop losing hairs and possibly regrow new ones. Oh... and Bryan...don't bother.

 

[Bryan]

The reason this could be happening, is due to increased estradiol, which promotes DHT production.

Increased estradiol doesn't promote DHT production. If you reduce estrogen by taking an aromatase inhibitor, your DHT will go UP, not DOWN. Get your facts straight.

DHT is what kills the hairs, but why would your body need to produce DHT if you didn't have high estrogens to combat?

You have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[icdalite]

what's "misterE" goin on about?

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Well, I have a mixed experience with Finasteride.

The temples seem to have gone bad with it, but
overall it seems to have thickened.

I started taking 1 mg finasteride in July 2007 (I was 29 and probably
a Norwood 2 at that time).
After a couple of months, my right temple which was not so bad
seemed to be worsening (I observed this when I would get up from sleeping;
there would be a clear recession - unlike previously)

I stopped after 8 months or so in Feb 2008 because I was losing a lot
of hair (probably a shed) and was just not sure what was happening. Then I went to
a doctor and he said that finasteride had actually worked for
me in the crown area.

Anyway, I started taking finasteride again in Aug 2008, but the temples really seem to
be worsening. The right side is especially bad, has
become kind of diffuse and now I am headed beyond NW3.

It was also pointed out during a hair cut that the temples were bad, but
the overall hair (back, crown) were thick and good.

So I am confused as well. A guy on another forum said that by decreasing
the dosage to 0.25 he achieved better results. You may want to try that
without completely giving up?

But I do believe that lots of people do benefit from finasteride.


Hope this helps. Good Luck!

What did you notice in the time (Feb-Aug) that you weren't taking the finasteride? Did it get better/get worse or anything worth noting?


I'm 6 months in on generic finasteride and I notice a large amount of hair on my pillow everyday (not really a shed because it has been going on for ages) and my temples have undoubtedly got worse.
It definitely wasn't going at this pace before starting the finasteride, but I find it hard to comprehend that the finasteride could possibly make it worse, so I dunno?
I'm hesitant to give it up, but I am not seeing anything to instil confidence at this stage.

 

[luke 21:18]

I'm in the same boat I was on Propecia for about 13 months, and my hairline did nothing but worsen I was using minoxand nizoral at the same time. My hairline got so bad I opted hor a hair transplant, now the hairline is worsining(not a word I Know) even more. This ould be from shockloss, but i'm just not sure about the true effectivness of this drug

 

[KeyserSoza]

me too exactly....

i got on finasteride and minoxidil as soon as i noticed temple recession, i still had extremely thick hair and was only worried i'd lose my temples never though id go thin in back.

was on both for over a year and all that happened was a steady decline from the front.....

got off for a a few weeks to a month and had the biggest shed, lost so much hair, its now diffuse/thin all over, got a small bald spot in back and you can just forget the front, pretty much see the whole top balding going on....


so dont know what to tell you mate, either the drugs werent doing anything and its just at the age of 24 my hair went ok see ya, or they increased the loss, definitley didnt help....maybe the big shed after i stopped would have gone back put I panicked and im on other stuff now so who nows

 

[beaner]

Pictures I have taken is proof of the thinning...

Can you post them? I've always been curious about people that say finasteride has destroyed their hairline but no one ever has pics to prove it. You do, so now we can all see this phenomenon.

 

[kopper99]

I'm in the same boat. Since starting Finpecia 7 months ago my hairline has crept up. The whatever hairline i have is thin and wispy so its a matter of time before that fall out too. I honestly have no hope that any hair lost on my hairline will grow back even if i hold out for over a year. I also put regaine foam on my hairline in the hope it will halt it.

So if you are one of the unlucky ones whos hairline has been destroyed by finasteride, I'm afraid the outlook doesnt look good. I will be happy to be proved wrong and i'll come back and report if i see any unexpected regrowth on the hairline.

 

[icdalite]

As anyone thought of blaming minoxidil for the loss of hairline?.

I feel mine is more due to minoxidil and its constant sheds along the hair line

 

[pproctor]

Finasteride definitely does cause paradoxical reflex hyperandrogenicity in some persons. This seems to be caused by a combination of increased testosterone levels, plus increased tissue sensitivity to androgens.

The latter seems to primarily be due to roughly a doubling of androgen receptors, although other effects such as increased cellular androgen transport are known for antiandrogen treatment of prostate cancer and cannot be ruled out.

In theory at least, this could cause exacerbation of balding. However, in my opinion finasteride-induced exacerbation of balding is unlikely unless accompanied by other hyperandrogenic symptoms.

These include (e.g.) increased skin and scalp oiliness, acne, increased libido, etc. This is because finasteride "protects" hair follicles relative to other tissues. However, this is a very complicated system with all sorts of feedback loops. So you never know for sure.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

 

[KeyserSoza]

thanks for the post

actually my scap is quite oily, and my sex drive has increased.

if it is what your saying, does the hair come back? Does it pass if you stay on finasteride or should you get of asap?

And will dutas cause the same.

I have 'shed' or lost an extremely large amount of hair. Though when i stopped taking finasteride it was good for a month then lost heaps, now im on xandrox 15% for two months which contains a small % of topical finasteride it seems im suffering from the fastest hairloss ever seen.

I'd really appreciate your advice

 

[KeyserSoza]

actually i think im going to quit this stuff and just see what happens....it cant be normal to lose this much hair, even in a shed......