Well, Propecia is just too significant a hair loss treatment not to have its own topic. In my opinion it is the single most effective hair loss drug currently available.

In my three years of corresponding online with the "follicularly challenged" I have heard of many dramatic cases where men have not only stopped thinning but also regrown hair (although it typically does not regrow hair in the frontal area).

Merk the maker of Propecia claims that 80% of men who take it for at least a year find that it either slows their hair loss and or regrows hair. I have no reason to believe this is not true.

But I have also heard from a smaller group of men that have said that Propecia/Proscar did nothing for them. But some of them also reported once they stopped using it their hair loss accelerated.

I believe that Propecia (or the much cheaper Proscar) can be a great treatment for slowing or even halting hair loss, especially in younger men or those that have just started losing their hair.

As good as hair transplants now are, why not hang on to what you have? So many men should use Propecia/Proscar whether they do hair transplants or not.

I also believe that if you do take propecia for a few months before doing hair transplants it may strengthen your thinning hair so that it is less at risk for "shock fallout" (for topic "shock fallout" for a full discussion about this issue.

I have been taking Proscar (the cheaper alternative to Propecia - see below for further explanation) for over three years now. It never really regrew any hair for me (I was too far gone on top) but it did stop my hair loss in the crown area).

The Basics about Propecia/Proscar -

The History - Propecia is a FDA approved pill for hair loss containing a 1 mg dose of finesteride (the active ingrediant). Finesteride was originaly marketed by Merk Pharmaceuticals in a pill called Proscar that contained a 5mg dose of finesteride for the treatment of enlarged prostates.

However, they noticed that one of the side effects of the drug was that many men saw their hair loss stop and some even regrew hair. Further experiments showed that only a 1mg dose of finesteride, rather than 5mg, was needed to produce the same hair saving benefits.

In the late 1990's Merk was granted FDA approval to market finesteride in a 1mg dose pill as hair loss treatment called "Propecia".

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Re: Propecia

I am very happy since starting appx 7 months ago, I have had no fall-out..and hair seems a bit stronger..I have had no noticable new growth, but that is o.k...as long as I keep what I have and what I have had transplanted.

I have had 2 possible side effects..not necessarily related to propecia...at 1st I started using 2.5 mg's <proscar 5 mg cut in half>...I noticed a minor loss of some body hair <chest area>. And seemed as though I had some knee joint swelling/pain......So I have since went to 1.25 mg proscar quartered daily...at redused doses..both side effects seem to have dis-appeared. My hair however has NOT disappeared. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

About a year ago, in lieu of surgery Pat suggested I try Propecia/Proscar, and I've been quartering the little blue (Proscar) devils ever since. Typically, the finasteride did little or nothing for my formerly frontal forelocks, but it did seem to noticeably fortify the rear, including the all-important donor area.

I think finasteride for most is a proven weapon in the war on DHT, and a nice complement to HT surgery. I plan to stay on it for insurance even after the new hair grows out.

I started using Propecia about three months ago and I am beginning to see some good improvement in my frontal region of my head. I switched to proscar about a week ago and had a few questions. One, the pill isn't much bigger than the propecia pill, I'm concerned because it's suppose to be 5mg compared to 1mg propecia. But, I'm not a doctor so I have no idea if the pill should be five times as big (probably a stupid question). Two, should I receive the exact same results as a propecia pill. I've been quartering the pill so the dosage should be 1.25 mg, should this be a concern? I would appreciate any responses.
Thanks,
Concerned

I am a scientist at a pharm co so I can tell you that the tablet CAN be the same size reguardless of dose. Just a higher concentration of active.