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What level, what can I expect?


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  • Regular Member

I just started a thread asking who I would be best going to, Dr. Cotterill or Dr. Seager and was just wondering about my hair in general. I know it's not possible to determine how one will lose hair but if I'm noticably losing it at 23, I figure I can expect to be pretty bald and it's really, really hampering me. I feel deflated all day and it's consuming my every thought.

Thanks for any input.

 

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  • Regular Member

I just started a thread asking who I would be best going to, Dr. Cotterill or Dr. Seager and was just wondering about my hair in general. I know it's not possible to determine how one will lose hair but if I'm noticably losing it at 23, I figure I can expect to be pretty bald and it's really, really hampering me. I feel deflated all day and it's consuming my every thought.

Thanks for any input.

 

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  • Senior Member

Unidel,

 

man I was considering propecia but not after checking out that link! SHIT! Thats crazy! I had no idea that ANYONE experienced those type of side effects MONTHS after discontinuing use!!! It sounds like some of those guys had permanent side effects!!! Im really glad you posted that. Thanks.

Your hairloss: its really not that bad. I know at 23 ANY hairloss bothers you, but I dont think it looks that bad. If it bothers you that much go to a coalition (recommended) doc and get a free consultation. Just make sure you do your homework and never settle for a doc because their cheap. Check out Hasson and Wong.

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Doing surgery at a young age without the boost of medical therapy can be a difficult proposition. When you do your consults, make sure the physicians knows you are not planning on taking meds as this will surely impact the treatment proposition.

 

BTW, if your hair loss is negatively impacting you mentally as you say, you might look at minox and Nizoral shampoo. They are not homerun treatments, but they can help. Just a thought.

Notice: I am an employee of Dr. Paul Rose who is recommended on this community. I am not a doctor. My opinions are not necessarily those of Dr. Rose. My advice is not medical advice.

 

Dr. Rose is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

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  • Senior Member

Propecia (Finasteride) isn't harmless but it's also rarely ever as bad as the cases on websites like that. There are people complaining about all sorts of medications on those sites and claiming all sorts of stuff was caused. (I remember one guy claimed that Propecia turned him GAY.) Read enough of that stuff and you can scare yourself away from taking meds that you've already been tolerating fine for years.

 

 

I won't bullsh*t you, the Propecia side effects are real. And they're probably a lot more common than the 2% figure the maker claims it to be. But just from hanging around the hair-loss web community and talking to others, I find it most common that the negative effects quickly reverse themselves as soon as the drug is discontinued. Most guys in the hair loss community seem to feel the stuff is a valid option that should be on the market, although they'd also like to quit it as soon as something better comes in the future.

 

 

The cases of the SERIOUS stuff (irreversible sides, wiener shrinking, etc) are still extremely rare. The manufacturer says they don't exist but I tend to believe that at least a few of them do.

 

In every one of those cases that I can recall, the guys readily admitted that they felt plenty of warnings. You almost always read that they felt serious side effects right away, but stayed on the drug for months after their bodies were already telling them they should probably quit the stuff.

 

 

It's all a risk. Just like most everything else in life.

 

 

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Originally posted by Unidel:

No. I've read that Rogaine doesn't do much and nothing but horror stories about Propecia on www.propeciahelp.com so I'm hesitant to try that.

 

I am not sure what horror you are talking about. The medication that you are refering to has been on the market for years. It has a very entrenched saftey record. Also in terms of sexual side effects they are reported in less then 2%. I think you are very mislead in what you are reporting. Also it is approved by Health Canada and the FDA, for hair growth. Almost everything eles including the shampoos, and laser combs are a complete waste of time and money, not only are they not approved meaning they have no results, based on creditable research.

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I just saw the link that you posted. It is not creditable in terms of research or in anyway based on real scientifically reported side effects. That is someone's opinion, not based on clinical facts. Junk science, and a bloggers.

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I know I probably shouldn't buy into it but having prolonged sexual side effects after the drug is discontinued gives me trouble. If it is something that becomes a problem but something I can just give up the drugs and solve, I wouldn't be so apprehensive, but even the chance of it going beyond the drugs life scares me.

Maybe I should ask my doctor about it... if it's possible to have prolonged effects after ceasing the drug.

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Originally posted by Unidel:

I know I probably shouldn't buy into it but having prolonged sexual side effects after the drug is discontinued gives me trouble. If it is something that becomes a problem but something I can just give up the drugs and solve, I wouldn't be so apprehensive, but even the chance of it going beyond the drugs life scares me.

Maybe I should ask my doctor about it... if it's possible to have prolonged effects after ceasing the drug.

 

 

If you were taking any other medication and had a bad reaction you would change your meds or reduce your dosage, so just do the same kind of thing with propecia. The problem with some people who want to cry about the negative side effects is they refuse to make adjustments. They want to either take a large amount or none at all... and the thing is propecia works almost as good at very low doses.

 

The recommended dose is 1mg a day. Start out taking .5mg every other day for a few weeks. You will get benefits even at that level. If you have problems at that level, then I would probably stop taking it. If it's not giving you any negative effects then raise it to either .5mg every day or 1mg every other day. If that gives you trouble then just back it down to the .5 every other day and stick with that. If you're still OK you can try going 1mg a day if you want to.

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

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Unidel,

 

You are not a hair transplant candidate at this time due to your age and level of hair loss.

 

Regarding Propecia...

 

I think it's important to have a level of discretion when researching consumer discussion forums of any kind (and that includes here). Whereas I can't sit here and say that all the members of that forum are liars, certainly we can't believe everything we read. In fact, how much do you want to bet that some of the "members" of that community or exaggerating side effects because they are covertly selling "herbal remedies"?

 

Don't get me wrong...

 

Propecia side effects are the real deal and very possible and need to be considered.

 

I would imagine however, that if as many people had these long lasting side effects from the medication that there would be so many lawsuits against Merck where we'd all get something in the mail stating "If you have taken Propecia and experienced any of these long term side effects, you may be entitled to $$$$".

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

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You're right to be concerned about permanent sexual side effects. You'd be a moron NOT to be concerned about that as soon as you read the first case of it happening with any drug that you're considering taking.

 

But you're also right to be concerned about all kinds of things from any medication, surgery, etc. Heck, even if you were to get a HT right now, there's always a risk of an infected donor area wound, and permanent sensitivity/pain in the area, nerve damage, etc. I think there's even been a case of a guy actually dying during a HT surgery in California.

 

 

My point is not to talk about HTs, my point is to say that the risk of taking medications should be rationally weighed against all the factors. There are some guys who've said that they didn't take Finasteride for X number of years because they were scared of the side effects. Then their hair got so bad that they couldn't stand it any longer and they tried Propecia. It worked, and now they're kicking themselves for not starting it sooner.

 

 

I'm just saying don't make a knee-jerk decision either way. It's not wise to take Propecia impulsively, but you also might someday live to regret an impulsive decision not to take it either.

 

 

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I'm going to speak to my doctor and seriously consider taking Propecia. If I notice a problem and can nip it in the bud, maybe that's something I can do. But to try it and have it not work and create problems is troublesome.

 

Can I assume there are a lot of people here taking it, showing positive results with no side effects?

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I think Calvinmd makes some good points about rationally weighting risk and reward. Ask a few transplant patients who are on Propecia how the side effects of medication compare to those of surgery. You need to recover from surgery - physically and cosmetically ??“ even with the best docs and techniques. This is usually not the case with medical therapy. Try to keep it all in perspective.

Notice: I am an employee of Dr. Paul Rose who is recommended on this community. I am not a doctor. My opinions are not necessarily those of Dr. Rose. My advice is not medical advice.

 

Dr. Rose is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

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  • Regular Member
Originally posted by Unidel:

I'm going to speak to my doctor and seriously consider taking Propecia. If I notice a problem and can nip it in the bud, maybe that's something I can do. But to try it and have it not work and create problems is troublesome.

 

Can I assume there are a lot of people here taking it, showing positive results with no side effects?

 

 

Yes you can assume that. The major majority of men who take Proscar do not have sexual side effects. It is reported less then 2 percent. It is a very tolerated medication.

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