Stopping then starting Propecia

[artvandaley]

A little over a month ago I stopped taking propecia, no real reason, I've already been taking it for about 3 years and I just wanted to stop taking it and see what would happen (I didn't flat out stop, I slowly started taking it less and less, and a little over a month ago was the last pill I took). I noticed that the thinning along my hairline got more aggressive over the past two months, so I realized that propecia must have been doing a good job slowing down the process. I decided that maybe I should go back on it for another year or so and see what happens. So here are my questions if anyone can help:

(1) When I start taking it again, will it be like starting from scratch?

(2) Will I be able to gain back or thicken any hair that i've lost from the time that I've been off of propecia?

(3) Will it be really bad for my body to start taking it again after I stopped?


Well I think that's it for now, thanks to anyone who can help me out.

 

[Hans Gruber]

the only thing i can really say here is get back on it,and i doubt itd do ya body any harm stopping then starting it.......just keep taking it til you wanna stop completely or til there are better treatments :hairy:

 

[ficki4]

When I ask for propecia prescription my doctor said that I have to use it in circles of 3 months with 1 month intermission and especially in the months of spring and autumn.


I had the same problem because for medical reasons I had to stop both propecia and minixodil for two months. Now I start over and I am very concerned if I could manage to get back in the position I used to be!

Is anyone have an experience what would have to expect?

 

[artvandaley]

Just wanted to bump this topic, I should be starting propecia again within the next week so wanted to see if I can get any more insight.

 

[Aplunk1]

When I ask for propecia prescription my doctor said that I have to use it in circles of 3 months with 1 month intermission and especially in the months of spring and autumn.


I had the same problem because for medical reasons I had to stop both propecia and minixodil for two months. Now I start over and I am very concerned if I could manage to get back in the position I used to be!

Is anyone have an experience what would have to expect?

This is interesting. I've never heard of Propecia being used in the cycles that you mention here.

3 months of daily use... followed by 1 month of no use...

I wonder is this has any benefit for "shocking" the follicles on and off.

 

[md2002]

Hello Ladies :lol:

I can help you on this topic. I have been taking Propecia from the day it hit the market. Must be about 7-8 years now. One day I decided that I do not want to take a tiny pill for the rest of my life. I have had zero side effects, well maybe the cloudy mind thing everyone talks about. I actually pretty horny and ready for sex at any time. I think Propecia has INCREASED my libido rather than kill it. This has been known to happen. Anyway, I decided that I didn't want to take a pill for the rest of my life so I started watching these boards and tried every shampoo on here, with no results.

At this point I cut down to taking propecia on Mon. Wends. Fri. Sun. I should first say that I WAS taking 1 mg of Propecia, when I went to the 4 days a week I changed it to 1/4 pill of Proscar ( becasue of what I read on these boards ). You can do the math, in a week I was getting 5 mg of finasteride instead of 7 mg. Well, to my suprise I started losing my hair. Noticeable amount of hair. I can't remember the last time I shed that much hair in the shower. This was from cutting down by 2 mg a week.

Everyone is different but my experience was that once I tried to cut down, I started losing hair again. For me I guess it is all or nothing. However, I still got no side effects and this was last September and all the shedding seems to have stopped.

Sorry so long but..... thought the whole story might help.

 

[artvandaley]

Were you able to gain back anything that you lost from decreasing the dose?

 

[md2002]

Tough to say??? It seems like my hair is getting thinner but that could just be from natural progression??? My crown is still going strong, I haven't had a problem back there since I started on Propecia. I did have a blad spot before I started and that went away and never came back. The top is where it seems to be getting thinner.