well, I suppose like many others, i have been lurking in the background initially reading the very interesting points raised in this forum without telling my story. I have found this to be a very useful tool in getting through what has been a pretty tough period in my life. So here is my story. Started about March this year when I saw a slight recession around my right temple. Then the shedding started in April. Has been consistently about 50-100 hairs everyday since and I am thinning up top despite having very thick hair and no family history. Don't want to bore you but it does seem to be happening very quickly. I thought that, at first, it (receeding/thinning) would stop and perhaps resume in a year or so. But no. Therefore, I have seen a few "specialists" in the london area. Saw someone yesterday and based upon the results of a blood test said I have too low a testosterone level to go on propecia. However, his clinic does not sell the drug only their own version of a 3% minoxidil lotion so somewhat dubious as to his motives. Nevertheless, still concerned about his advice as I had earmarked propecia as my potential saviour in this plight. Seems like topicals are not as successful as well as being time-consuming and labourious. Anyone had this experience? In fact does anyone get a blood test before going on to propecia? Any response much appreciated
Testosterone too low for propecia
- Thread starter steve b
- Start date
Cornholio
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 1
Get your actual testosterone level with the normal referance range (and was it total or free testosterone) from the doctor and post it here if you have questions. If it is low there is the question "why?" which can be persued with other tests. And what is your age? I have never heard of testosterone level being a reason to not use DHT blockers. If anything DHT blockers will raise testosterone. Gotta wonder about his motives and reasoning.
finasteride in higher doses is routinely perscribed to elderly men who are at much higher risk of having low testosterone (and nobody recommends checking their level). Also, the propecia studies were done and shown to work for a group of people who's testosterone level was unknown (no reason to check it before perscribing). If you are over 18 and maturing sexually you have enough testosterone to cause male pattern baldness, and there is no study that says finasteride would not help you.
There is also no reason to have checked your testosterone unless you were having symptoms of low testosterone (fatigue, impotence). If it is low and you have hair loss and relatively low testosterone (less than 300) and have symptoms then that is a delima since you may feel better with testosterone replacement but lose more hair. In that case trying finasteride WITH testosterone replacement would be possible.
finasteride in higher doses is routinely perscribed to elderly men who are at much higher risk of having low testosterone (and nobody recommends checking their level). Also, the propecia studies were done and shown to work for a group of people who's testosterone level was unknown (no reason to check it before perscribing). If you are over 18 and maturing sexually you have enough testosterone to cause male pattern baldness, and there is no study that says finasteride would not help you.
There is also no reason to have checked your testosterone unless you were having symptoms of low testosterone (fatigue, impotence). If it is low and you have hair loss and relatively low testosterone (less than 300) and have symptoms then that is a delima since you may feel better with testosterone replacement but lose more hair. In that case trying finasteride WITH testosterone replacement would be possible.
Cornholio
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 1
Judging from all of the women with good hair, NO. Lower testosterone should result in less DHT and less male pattern baldness.
Rapidly changing hormone levels (for example falling DHT with new treatment) has been blamed for Telogen Effluvium (Teleogen Effluvium) which is a temporary shed, but these changes should be temporary.
Low testosterone has been blamed for the "male menopause" syndrome, fatigue and impotence, but not hair loss.
Rapidly changing hormone levels (for example falling DHT with new treatment) has been blamed for Telogen Effluvium (Teleogen Effluvium) which is a temporary shed, but these changes should be temporary.
Low testosterone has been blamed for the "male menopause" syndrome, fatigue and impotence, but not hair loss.
nohairnodandruff
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 6
I had my bloodwork tested and they said I was normal for Testosterone. If you have a low Test Level, then try looking around for other causes of Telogen Effluvium. The evidence shows you have no history of male pattern baldness in your family.
