Consultation with Dr. tomorrow regarding Propecia

So after years of denial, I have finally come to terms with the fact that my hair is thinning. I don’t have aggressive “baldness” per se that would give me a horseshoe ring and shiny head, but in certain lighting I can see right through my hair to my scalp and it’s especially noticable at the top and if I part my hair. Even still, I would definitely say that I am in the early stages of this and think my situation is salvagable. I am 26, going on 27 in a few months, and the first time I looked in the mirror and noticed thinning hair was 6 years ago, at the age of 20. Several months ago, someone (my older brother) commented on the hair loss for the first time and that’s when I got extra self conscious about it. I will also add that my dad had similar hair and a similar thinning pattern that I’m experiencing (although his didn’t start until about late 30’s) and he used Propecia when it was new (he was late 40’s at the time) and had excellent results from it. He regrew the majority of what he lost in just a few months. So, hopefully it is in my genes to respond well to this treatment. For the record, my dad just decided after a few years that he didn’t care about the hair loss and went off the Propecia. His hair thinned again, but it was a very slow and gradual process as now after being off Propecia for about 10 years he’s in a similar condition as he was right before he used it in the late 90’s. So, his regained hair definitely didn’t just fall out once he went off.

So anyway I called my Dr’s office today and set up an appointment for tomorrow to discuss Propecia. I am interested to hear if we have any other members my age (mid 20’s) who had great success with Propecia and regained hair like they had in their teens and early 20’s. It seems to me from my research online that people who are only 5-10 years into their hairloss seem to respond better than those who have lost most of their hair over several decades.

I might take some pictures and document my results with treatment here for others to learn from like I did years ago with my Phalloplasty (let’s hope this goes better, lol). Let me know if there is any interest in seeing that.

Anyway, I welcome any questions and/or comments. I will go out and say that yes, I am aware of the possible side effects of Propecia but I figured I should give it a try myself to see if it works FOR ME and how bad the effects are (if at all) FOR ME before condeming the drug. While some people claim the drug “ruined their life” there are just as many, if not more, that say they had zero side effects so I guess I will have to see.

Propecia plus Rogain. One of the best things I ever did. Have been using for about 5 years straight. No side effects. Was probably about a year into what appeared to be rapid thinning. Have a crazy full head of hair now with no end in sight.

Dad and both grandfathers had major hair loss so its got to be in my genes. I have nothing even close to resembling MPB when most men my age do.

Again, one of the best physical thing I’ve ever done for myself and absolutely no sexual side effects.

Two big thumbs up from me.

Thanks for sharing. What age are you now? Did this help with your hairline as well as the hair on the top of the head?

The problem is if you are one of the unlucky few ” that ruined their lives” it is too late once you’ve “tried” it. I don’t remember which countries, but there are countries requiring Merck to supply literature with propecia stating ( I don’t remember the exact phrase) side effects are potentially permanent. Do yourself a favor and look through the propeciahelp website. In my mind there is no way it’s worth it, it’s like dancing with the devil, but educate yourself and make your own decision.

I know what kinds of stuff they say at the Propeciahelp website, no need for me to go over there and read it. My degrees are in fields other than pharmacology, so I am not an expert by any means, but I do have some understanding of Testosterone/DHT and it just doesn’t follow logically that Propecia could cause permanent defects, even if the user discontinued the drug. Do you know if the countries you mention actually found any concrete evidence of permanent damage, or was it more of just a general warning that anything is possible because enough studies haven’t been done to refute the theory of long term damage?

Been on Finisteride for 10 years and it stopped my hairloss. I didn’t have any problems until I started reading about problems caused by Propecia on messageboards. Then I started having erectile and libido problems. Then I had surgery on my penis and couldn’t have sex for a while and I soon realised it was all in my head and came to understand just how incredibly powerful a placebo effect is and how reading things on the internet can have such a huge impact on your mind and body. Once I learned about the potential side effects I got them, but luckily for me my circumstances were such that I discovered it was all in my head. And believe me I was as convinced as most of the posters on Propecia help. Had it not been for distraction of constantly worrying about my penis recovering from surgery, which stopped me worrying about the side effects of finisteride (and when you think your penis is deformed, you really wouldn’t even spend a split second worrying about libido or ED) and the abstanence from anything sexual, I would still be suffering from the “side effects” now. I’m sure some people have sides, but far, far fewer than internet messageboards would have you believe. The trouble is once you are aware of them you start looking out for them. Had I been unanware of the sides and not had a good erection one day, i’d have just put it down to stress or tiredness. But once it happened a few times after I’d read about Prop sides, I became worried and really started having erectile problems. It was the same with my libido. If I didn’t feel like sex, I’d become worried, to the point when I ahrdly felt like having sex.

Obviously I am a little biased but I think the best thing to do when your going bald is just to accept it. You may be going bald a bit earlier than your friends but they’ll catch up.

That’s very interesting and I think you’re right. Once you’re worried about things like ED, that will only make the problem more likely so it because somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy. I will remember your post if I feel like I’m having side effects. Obviously, I was aware of the possible side effects before taking the drug, but I’ve avoided even looking at places like Propeciahelp as I’m sure that would only increase the chance of me “experiencing” the possible side effects.

I’d actually say I’m middle of the pack. I’m not so much “going bald” but my hair has definitely thinned down. I have friends my age who have the same hair they had in high school, and I know guys 25 years old who are bald as a que ball, so I’m somewhere in the middle. I definitely couldn’t just accept it, at least not at this point in my life. If I was 40 years old, married, with kids and such I could probably focus my time and effort on things other than my hair.

I have a whole thread on it, if you decide to do it you can the India version of it for like six bucks a month.

Propecia problems?

Well, I just popped my first Propecia pill a minute ago. I went to the Dr. and explained to him my situation, and that I’m hoping to try Propecia. He tried to sway me away, but not for the reasons I expected. First he gave me a lecture about how being bald is a good thing and how women actually are wired to be attracted to bald guys. He then listed several famous bald guys, such as Telly Savalas and explained how these were masculine figures and guys I should try to emulate. I should add that this is my GP I have been seeing my entire life since I was a baby, and I think he is losing it mentally for a number of reasons including but not limited to this little talk we had with me. He also said that he has very few patients of his on Propecia due to the cost. I will admit, the cost was more than I was expecting. I asked him about getting a script for 5mg Proscar and cutting it into 4-5 pieces but he said that wouldn’t fly with the insurance company due to my age and the fact that a 26 year old wouldn’t need Proscar (to which I don’t think he’s right, but I didn’t see any point in debating it with him).

So, I got the prescription for the Propecia. Mine is the actual name brand version. I will definitely try to find a cheaper option, but I don’t feel comfortable buying drugs from one of these shady online pharmacies in India of some place like that. I’ve noticed that most of the people online use these sketchy types of sources for their Finasteride and they also seem to have much higher incidents of self reported side effects that the official studies that used the name brand drug. Perhaps some of these people weren’t getting a quality product and that could have lead to their problems?

Anyway, it was interesting. I can’t wait until I’m at maybe the 6 month mark to see how well it works. I am thinking of also adding a topical Minoxodil solution but haven’t fully researched that yet.

How can you be sure you’re getting a quality product with the Indian version?

Most of the ingredients that are used in our drugs are imported from these so called shady Indian companies. So as long as you buy one of the major players your going to be fine. Just Google what ever brand your thinking about and usually it will be a huge company not some dude in his basement. The cheapest way to buy it is buying the 5mg pills and cutting them in fours which gives you 1.25 just in case the Indian pill is weaker than the real thing. I had great results as far as hair goes. The problem I had was maybe a 10% decrease in my sex drive which I hardly noticed until I went off, I also got less night wood which is healthy for your penis. I never had ED or anything from it, but PE wise while on I had very little in the way of gains.

Yeah, I’m going to break down and just use the online pharmacies. It’s too expensive to buy the name brand stuff. So far I don’t feel any negative effects. Did you notice them right away when taking the Propecia? Or did it take a couple weeks of building up in your system before noticing the decreased sex drive?

I noticed it after a couple of days, and than after maybe two weeks it started to pass and level off at a 10% drop off.