URGENT PLEASE HELP

[slurms mackenzie]

I have read countless of forums and blogs, that scare me about propecia. some people claim that propecia made there hairloss even worse by accelerating it, and the hair never grew back. I honestly don't know what to do. I have also read that there is a little rise in testosterone from propecia, and that testosterone is more damaging to the front/hairline/temples than dht.

Hi Tom, the consensus is that propecia will help your hair, by at least maintaining what you have or maybe even growing a little bit more, in around 10 percent of cases you will still lose hair but most likely at a slower rate, take your time go to the other forums on this site, go to the success stories forum and just as importantly go to the tell your story forum.

If hairloss concerns you then i think you'll be willing to spend a couple of hours reading about peoples experiences, you might even want to start a thread of your own for the next tom who comes onto this site worried seeking answers.

Propecia is a medicine, medicines should never be taken lightly, read up on the possible side effects, and match that with the testimonials you read.

I have read DHT is the cause for hairloss. Testosterone binds with 5 alpha reductase to create DHT. Propecia inhibits the conversion. DHT goes down, and testosterone goes up abit. I mean its called angrogenetic alopecia and testosterone is an androgen as well. This is making me reluctant in taking propecia. I have taken it for 3 weeks, and I stopped because my libido kinda went up, and I experienced more acne and follucitis on my scalp. Not sure wether its propecia or just a coincidence.

does testosterone by itself cause hairloss at all? or is it only DHT.

my understanding is that testosterone is far less potent when it comes to causing hairloss, so as far as hair loss is concerned if you had to choose between exposing a follicle to testosterone or dht then you'd chose testosterone.

When propecia is taken and the testosterone that goes up can that cause testosterone related balding as well? is there any risk to the hair follicle from testosterone?
[quote:rld18lk8]

seriously i wouldn't worry about the testosterone affecting hair loss, dht is the main problem here.

I have read there is something called reflex hyperandrogenicity which means “When the effects of androgens in the body are lessened, e.g. through lowering DHT or by systemic hormone receptor blockade, the body seeks equilibrium through a process called upregulation. This can take the form of increased hormone production and/or increased tissue sensitivity to the remaining hormones. The reason side effects usually gradually disappear with finasteride is probably due to such upregulation. In a small percentage of individuals, it may be that this process overshoots the mark, resulting in significant hyperandrogenicity. This is marked by such signs as greatly increased facial oil, increased pimples, and greatly elevated libido. It’s possible that in certain cases such hyperandrogenicity overcomes the hair-protective effect of, say, finasteride, though this does not appear to be the case for the vast majority of people.â€￾


is there any truth to this? I asked my dermatologist and he has no answer to this. Thats is why I am asking you guys.

I would really appreciate a reply.

basically, can propecia accelerate balding, and cause one to lose more hair. basically if propecis doesn't work in everyone, then the person who loses hair due to propecia and never grows it back. Would it not be better to not just take propecia jump start the thinning?
Thanks in advance[/quote:rld18lk8]

IMO these cases tend to be rare and rarely talked about you're more likely to hear on these boards about the reverse which is hypogonadism, this is also rare, but not unheard of.