Will the effectiveness of propecia eventually expire?

[wendal]

I created a thread recently asking if people who are not suffering male pattern baldness but are taking propecia as a form of insurance on their hair (like myself) are wasting their money. Somebody responded and said the effects of propecia only lasts around ten years or less so it's best to only take it when you really need it. The thread apparently got deleted.

Anyhow, does anyone know if this is true? Will propecia stop hairloss for only a period of time before it no longer works and prevents hairloss? Will your body eventually become immune to propecia?

 

[Petchsky]

Your body will never become immune to propecia, though, your male pattern baldness may hit a point where it slowly starts to eat away at the gains you made or at the most vulnerable hair, i.e the temples. It may not, some people have hit 10 years on propecia with the same amount of hair, adding minoxidil seems to give a bit more life to it also. i'm on 7 years now, and weather i've lost ground or not is really hard to say, so if i have, it's very slow.

Propecia blocks 70/80% of DHT, so if you do start thinning again it's going to take a lot longer than it ordinarily would, but remember that there's no absolutes when it comes to propecia.

P.S, i would only take propecia if i needed it, not as a pre precaution.

 

[iwantperfection]

r you in denial? im not being rude but what guy takes finasteride when they not balding? i mean like who wud? u must be thinning a bit. i kno b4 noticed some hair fall i would have never thot of hairloss or taking meds to prevent it.

 

[Hammer87]

He posted his pics in another thread. His hair looks great.

I think for a 31 (?) year old, he just has a very irrational fear of going bald more often than not seen in a 15 year old who's hairline is starting to mature and wrongly thinks he'll be slick bald by the time he's 20.

I stand by what I said, propecia isn't a drug you want to take unless you have to. The vast majority of guys are are actually balding don't want to take it so don't, so I can't see why you would.

 

[Bryan]

r you in denial? im not being rude but what guy takes finasteride when they not balding? i mean like who wud?

Oh, I think a smart person "wud" do that. If you have a strong family history of balding and it appears inevitable that it's eventually going to hit YOU, too, then the smart thing (in my opinion) would be to go ahead and start taking finasteride in advance of obvious symptoms. If there's ever a perfect example of something supporting the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", it would be the treatment of hairloss.

 

[HairDont]

Bryan,

Do you own any shares of Merck?
Just curious.

What if your family has a strong history of cancer? Start consuming cancer drugs now?
Might as well add some T3 and T4 drugs into the system as well, since Grandma had Thyroid issues.

I really don't think this guy is at the "appears inevitable" stage yet. 31 and no signs of thinning.

 

[ClayShaw]

Your body will never become immune to propecia, though, your male pattern baldness may hit a point where it slowly starts to eat away at the gains you made or at the most vulnerable hair, i.e the temples. It may not, some people have hit 10 years on propecia with the same amount of hair, adding minoxidil seems to give a bit more life to it also. i'm on 7 years now, and weather i've lost ground or not is really hard to say, so if i have, it's very slow.

Propecia blocks 70/80% of DHT, so if you do start thinning again it's going to take a lot longer than it ordinarily would, but remember that there's no absolutes when it comes to propecia.

P.S, i would only take propecia if i needed it, not as a pre precaution.

I may be deluding myself here, but I feel like if the younger guys here look at Propecia as a maintence tool (as opposed to regrowth), we can almost certainly count on some sort of better treatment in 5-10 years. I'm not saying that anyone should get a wildly dense hairline hoping for HM, but if you hope to maintain on Propecia, it seems like most guys do ok. Maintain as long as you can, and wait for medical advances (new drugs, more effective treatments, etc.). I have a 28 year old buddy with alopecia totalis, and I fully expect him to be able to choose to have a full head of hair by the time he's 50.

 

[Quantum Cat]

Get your hair examined by an expert regularly. If he confirms that it is male pattern baldness, get on the finasteride. Doing so before that seems pointless

 

[hairrific]

r you in denial? im not being rude but what guy takes finasteride when they not balding? i mean like who wud?

Oh, I think a smart person "wud" do that. If you have a strong family history of balding and it appears inevitable that it's eventually going to hit YOU, too, then the smart thing (in my opinion) would be to go ahead and start taking finasteride in advance of obvious symptoms. If there's ever a perfect example of something supporting the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", it would be the treatment of hairloss.

I agree with you. I got hit by male pattern baldness very fast out of nowhere. By the time I discovered that it was my hair in the shower drain, I had lost allot of ground making much it harder for me to reverse the damage that had already taken place. Wish I had known, I would have got on Propecia years before that could of happened.

By the time most people figure out "oh what"s this! I think I should do something", they have may already have started a bald spot.

 

[el_duterino]

Bryan is 100% right on that one. take finasteride before you have visible loss. finasteride will work a lot better and even longer on healthy follicles.

Here is one proof: look at my photos (Viril Mane thread on HLH)..I am being "accused" of being too un-bald to be on those boards...but I did the right thing !
pics:
http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=all1ib0.jpg


Ideally, you can take a genetic test to see if you have the male pattern baldness gene.

But if you notice that hair is getting "thinner", flimsy and less pigmented..no need to deny it..you know where you are headed to.

https://www.hairdx.com/FAQs.aspx

quote:

Current diagnostic of hair loss relies on visual observation of hair thinning. When hair thinning is visible you have probably lost about 50% of your hair in that area of your scalp. Because, the only FDA approved medications to combat hair loss, minoxidil and finasteride, are most effective at stabilizing hair loss rather then re-growth, the earlier you can predict Pattern Hair Loss, the more likely you are to save your hair. The HairDX genetic screening test for Pattern Hair Loss helps your doctor assess your risk for hair loss and can offer you the opportunity for early medical intervention prior to visible signs of hair loss, allowing you to retain your hair.