Switching from propecia to finasteride 5mg - am I imagining hair loss?

[fml123]

I am 33 now and the first time I noticed my receding hairline was around 24-25. I started taking propecia around that time and generally always noticed that my hair line was receded. I also used 5mg minoxidril (Walgreens brand) sporadically (usually once a day or once every two days). To be honest to this day I am not even sure if either works for me, but I kept taking propecia because I thought: well if nothing is changing that's good enough for me.

5 months ago my doctor told me that I could switch to 5mg proscar tablet which would be a lot cheaper than propecia. So I divided it in four and took that for 5 months. Now I can't decide whether I am imagining my hair loss or if switching to generic caused me to lose more hair. I asked my friends and everyone says it looks the same as 5 months ago. The more I look at my hair and obsess over it every day the more I think I lost hair.

Two days ago out of fear I changed back to propecia and started using minoxidril twice a day not once.

If my hair continues to stay the way it is now or recede slowly I am more or less okay with that, but what scares me is that I potentially screwed myself forever up by switching to generic finasteride and since generally propecia takes a long time to kick in that I will be "losing" hair for the next few months. That really depresses me. On one hand I read some horror stories here about switching to generic on the other hand I know that generic drugs have to pass the same rigorous tests as the original drug and HAVE to have the same results. Any thoughts or feedback here? Could it be that 1.25mg finasteride that comes out of proscar COMPLETELY didn't get absorbed my body and I was basically on 0mg finasteride for 5 months? I even considered hair transplant

Here is my hair:

Right after I washed it I combed it to show the hairline:

The top of my head:

This is how it looks from the front dry before I style it. I spike it up.

 

[zzzzz]

there is no difference. The only way it could be different is if the stuff was fake

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Unless you ordered the generic finasteride online from a less than trustworthy supplier and got a bad batch, changing from 1mg Propecia to 1.25mg Proscar generic probably wouldn't cause an excess recession or shedding from an increase as small as .25mg daily -- and in reality it's probably less because once you split the pill into 4 each pieces you lose a bit of it when it in dust/residue form (even with a good pill splitter). It may just be coincidental if it actually has receded a bit more because even after 8-9 years or so on finasteride, a little bit of DHT is bound to makes it's way to the scalp to damage some follicles, especially with your admission of undisciplined minoxidil usage. Your hairline could probably look fine with the right haircut, your crown is still very thick, and worst case scenario, if it's in your budget, give Bosley, Hair Club, or a trusted hair transplant surgeon in your area a call and have a chat with them. Probably would only take about a thousand grafts in the front to bring you back to NW2 status. I believe Bosley quoted me when I consulted with them about a long term plan for my hair loss at $4.99 per graft, at a minimum of 1,000 grafts, so you'd be in the ballpark of about $5,000 give or take.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

I have heard of people that change the type of finasteride they are taking and lose ground. Not sure if it is true, but I'm not sure.

 

[stop dht]

Dude 33 is too late for hairloss i think that s maybe mature hairline not much works for that almost impossible to regrow but your hair so far great for 33

 

[fml123]

Dude 33 is too late for hairloss i think that s maybe mature hairline not much works for that almost impossible to regrow but your hair so far great for 33

stop dht, thanks, but what do you mean 33 is too late for hairloss?

Also, anyone here ever switched from Rogaine once a day to twice a day? I wonder if this can help a bit.

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Unless you ordered the generic finasteride online from a less than trustworthy supplier and got a bad batch, changing from 1mg Propecia to 1.25mg Proscar generic probably wouldn't cause an excess recession or shedding from an increase as small as .25mg daily -- and in reality it's probably less because once you split the pill into 4 each pieces you lose a bit of it when it in dust/residue form (even with a good pill splitter). It may just be coincidental if it actually has receded a bit more because even after 8-9 years or so on finasteride, a little bit of DHT is bound to makes it's way to the scalp to damage some follicles, especially with your admission of undisciplined minoxidil usage. Your hairline could probably look fine with the right haircut, your crown is still very thick, and worst case scenario, if it's in your budget, give Bosley, Hair Club, or a trusted hair transplant surgeon in your area a call and have a chat with them. Probably would only take about a thousand grafts in the front to bring you back to NW2 status. I believe Bosley quoted me when I consulted with them about a long term plan for my hair loss at $4.99 per graft, at a minimum of 1,000 grafts, so you'd be in the ballpark of about $5,000 give or take.

Hi, I ordered finasteride from the same place I ordered propecia: Walgreens, so I am sure there is nothing wrong with them. By the way, wouldn't more finasteride suppress DHT more? I read that taking more finasteride is not a problem, but taking less is. Otherwise wouldn't men taking proscar (5mg finasteride) for prostate issues have serious problems losing hair?

As for hair transplant: 2-5k is not an issue for me, but what I am worried about (after reading some stuff online) is 2 things:

- They say they don't have to shave you and that you pretty much look as before 3-7 days after (except with new hair that will fall off in 4-6 weeks and then start regrowing), but the pics often show shaved heads. Not sure why.

- Shocked hair? If it is really psychological and my receding hairline wasn't affected much by my drug switch then I know one thing: it is moving really slow. If hair transplant guarantees that it will add hair or at least not destroy (shock) any of my existing hair I would gladly consider it.

Any feedback on those questions?

 

[stop dht]

I mean hairs u got now looks so much strong so even if u try something i dont think u will see any benefit or harm . I think your hairloss or maturing stopped . But if u got jupiters luck u may improve your right temple

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

stop dht, thanks, but what do you mean 33 is too late for hairloss?

Also, anyone here ever switched from Rogaine once a day to twice a day? I wonder if this can help a bit.

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Hi, I ordered finasteride from the same place I ordered propecia: Walgreens, so I am sure there is nothing wrong with them. By the way, wouldn't more finasteride suppress DHT more? I read that taking more finasteride is not a problem, but taking less is. Otherwise wouldn't men taking proscar (5mg finasteride) for prostate issues have serious problems losing hair?

As for hair transplant: 2-5k is not an issue for me, but what I am worried about (after reading some stuff online) is 2 things:

- They say they don't have to shave you and that you pretty much look as before 3-7 days after (except with new hair that will fall off in 4-6 weeks and then start regrowing), but the pics often show shaved heads. Not sure why.

- Shocked hair? If it is really psychological and my receding hairline wasn't affected much by my drug switch then I know one thing: it is moving really slow. If hair transplant guarantees that it will add hair or at least not destroy (shock) any of my existing hair I would gladly consider it.

Any feedback on those questions?

Well, walgreens is about as legit as it gets when filling a prescription, so the bad batch theory is out the window lol. And I'm not really sure how doctors gauge the dosage for the actual prostate issue. I don't know if they actually take 5mg of Proscar daily, every other day, or how that actually works. They may have more serious hair shedding, but I've never actually heard any input from men on the drug for it's prostate benefits. My only familiarity with the drug dosage is in it's regards to male pattern baldness. In my opinion, I doubt that you're recent increase in dosage has anything to do with the new hair loss you've noticed, but I could be wrong -- I'm obviously not a doctor with access to a lot of patients and their individual cases.

As for the hair transplant procedures. FUT surgery is the one where they cut a hank of skin off the back of your scalp and take out the follicles from there, and they don't need to shave your head. It does leave a nasty scar which isn't a problem if your hair grows over it, but if you ever wanted to rock a crew cut for the summer or just bic your head completely the scar. FUE is where they take the hair straight from your the back and bring it to the front instead of cutting out that long piece of skin. Typically your hair has to be real short for this so the Doctor can see your whole scalp and map out where to take the hair from and where to put it.

Sometimes shock loss happens with hair transplants, and it can take a while for the hair in the donor reception area to, for lack of a better term, get along. The hair should all grow back, and at it's full thickness, in due time. Which is why I would just buzz my hair real short for a few months after the transplant because you can get a better look at the growth of your transplanted follicles, and because a buzzcut looks awesome when you have a normal hairline. Hopefully, after a short while, all the hair will grow back normally and you can cut and style it as if you were a kid again.

 

[fml123]

I mean hairs u got now looks so much strong so even if u try something i dont think u will see any benefit or harm . I think your hairloss or maturing stopped . But if u got jupiters luck u may improve your right temple

Didn't really think it was related to the age :-O if it is true then good. Thank you!

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Well, walgreens is about as legit as it gets when filling a prescription, so the bad batch theory is out the window lol. And I'm not really sure how doctors gauge the dosage for the actual prostate issue. I don't know if they actually take 5mg of Proscar daily, every other day, or how that actually works. They may have more serious hair shedding, but I've never actually heard any input from men on the drug for it's prostate benefits. My only familiarity with the drug dosage is in it's regards to male pattern baldness. In my opinion, I doubt that you're recent increase in dosage has anything to do with the new hair loss you've noticed, but I could be wrong -- I'm obviously not a doctor with access to a lot of patients and their individual cases.

As for the hair transplant procedures. FUT surgery is the one where they cut a hank of skin off the back of your scalp and take out the follicles from there, and they don't need to shave your head. It does leave a nasty scar which isn't a problem if your hair grows over it, but if you ever wanted to rock a crew cut for the summer or just bic your head completely the scar. FUE is where they take the hair straight from your the back and bring it to the front instead of cutting out that long piece of skin. Typically your hair has to be real short for this so the Doctor can see your whole scalp and map out where to take the hair from and where to put it.

Sometimes shock loss happens with hair transplants, and it can take a while for the hair in the donor reception area to, for lack of a better term, get along. The hair should all grow back, and at it's full thickness, in due time. Which is why I would just buzz my hair real short for a few months after the transplant because you can get a better look at the growth of your transplanted follicles, and because a buzzcut looks awesome when you have a normal hairline. Hopefully, after a short while, all the hair will grow back normally and you can cut and style it as if you were a kid again.

This is comforting: I guess/hope it was mainly psychological. Everyone I asked said they notice no change. I guess I will keep taking propecia and start using rogaine twice a day and may get a consultation about the transplant with a doctor in the coming months to see if I am a candidate.

Thank you all for your feedback.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Didn't really think it was related to the age :-O if it is true then good. Thank you!

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This is comforting: I guess/hope it was mainly psychological. Everyone I asked said they notice no change. I guess I will keep taking propecia and start using rogaine twice a day and may get a consultation about the transplant with a doctor in the coming months to see if I am a candidate.

Thank you all for your feedback.

Hey man, I'm more than willing to share any knowledge I have or may have in the future with anybody on here. I'm not quite yet a seasoned vet in all things related to hair loss, but I'm getting there. As far as I'm concerned, any man that's balding is my brother in arms, just like how every single Marine is the brother of all the other Marines, and I'm always willing to help a brother out because I know just how life altering this change can be for many men, no matter what age.

 

[fml123]

Any other feedback guys? I keep freaking out that my hair loss will progressively get worse and I get bald in the coming 3-4 months (I just switched back to propecia a week ago)

 

[mr the hairy monkey]

I recommend nofapping! I've gone about 6 months and have my juvenile hairline back.

yep , do as the doctor here says !

take 1 pill of nofap everyday , wait until 6months and you'll see the changes , the difference is , that medication doesn't cost anything.

so basically : feeling better + getting hair + preventing your wallet (minoxidil budget) from going bankrupt .

 

[fml123]

 

[dreamermerlin]

Forget about shock loss=existing hair which permanently dies after hair transplant, it's "tales". Existent hair follicles cannot die just because another hairs are put near them, of course, as long as their roots are untouched, and this must be the case, if the hair transplant doctopr knows what he does.
And why i said this, well i have a "story":i did a bad SMP at a clinic in the crown of my head, and it was so bad that i had to removethe pigments via laser. I was not completely bald in that area, just that the hair was very thin in diameter, and i was worried that the laser would destroy the remaining hair, as even most laser doctors told me.
Guess what: after 4 sessions of laser, no hair was affected! They grew back perfeclty fine.

So i think that if after 4 lasser sessions(the pigments were very stubborn), that simply appeared to "burn" the scalp and the hair follciles(thje sensation on the scalp was very painful) , and they grew back fine, there's no way with this "shock loss" when hair follciles are untouched, only that some other hairs are planted near them.

So yoiu can stop worries about that. In fact, my hair transplant doctor told me that , on the contrary, if you make a hair transplant in an area you ar enot completely bald, even old weak hairs can get better, because the vascularisation increases in the zone when the newly healthy transplanted hairs come there.

 

[-Synergy-]

And like always no update........

 

[recedingornot87]

Dude 33 is too late for hairloss i think that s maybe mature hairline not much works for that almost impossible to regrow but your hair so far great for 33

He was on propecia for 9 years though. Theres a chance he could have been bald if he wasnt on it.