Less hair

[Tango]

Hi! Friends,

I am 29 year old with generalised less hair more in temporal area but not with bald area. It looks like gradually getting lesser though they don't fall a lot.

I used 5% minoxidil for near 1 year one to two times a day but didn't notice any significant change and stopped in mid oct 2006. At present hairs don't fall a lot but looks like getting lesser gradually.

What should I do? Should I resume minoxidil, or start propecia, or see HT doctor. I heard increased risk of severity of prostate cancer with propecia/finasteride.

[Tango]

Hi! Friends,

I am 29 year old with generalised less hair more in temporal area but not with bald area. It looks like gradually getting lesser though they don't fall a lot.

I used 5% minoxidil for near 1 year one to two times a day but didn't notice any significant change and stopped in mid oct 2006. At present hairs don't fall a lot but looks like getting lesser gradually.

What should I do? Should I resume minoxidil, or start propecia, or see HT doctor. I heard increased risk of severity of prostate cancer with propecia/finasteride.

[NervousNelly]

Minoxidil has never really been proven to help in the temporal area although some people do claim that it helps. I wouldn't expect it to if I were you.

 

Yes you should consider propecia because it is more likely to help you in that region. Yes there are rumours that it increases prostate cancer chances but there is nothing definitive. Prostate cancer was the #1 diagnosed type of cancer for men over the age of 50 long before propecia. Understand that anytime you take a medication there are chances of side effects. You have to weigh how badly you want it.

[Toad_NW3]

You are right on track where I was. I was told by a GP that I didn't need propecia and it would make me impotent when I was about your age. I wish I had been given better advice. If you are balding slowly now, remember all balding is progressive. I started propecia more than 1.5 years ago and have been amazed how it has strengthened by crown. For me, that alone is enough to use it. My HT (now two months old) was all in my frontal area. Hopefully the two will get me back to where I was before the bad advice from the doc.

 

I tried rogaine and hated it. It never grew anthing in my temperol area, just irritated it, made it flakey, and impossible to groom.

 

I may be wrong, but from my understanding propecia does not "cause" cancer. I thought the problem was that it might mask the cancer and make it more difficult to predict in its early stages. That is a consideration, but different than being a cause. Also seems odd that it would cause cancer, given it is a medicine designed to reduce the prostate when it is enlarging. I have heard just as many rumours that it can in fact prevent cancer. But, to my knowledge, both sides of this argument are unsubstantiated by empirical evidence.

 

To the doc that gave me the bad advice. I still have rock hard erections and have more hair in my crown than before I started the propecia.

 

Toad

[HK500]

I agree with Toad, I read that Finasteride will give you a false, as in too low, reading in your PSA test. Which in turn could smokescreen a high PSA count, hence a cancer could be detected late.

[George8211]

If you read the medication report that comes with the prescription... or you can find it online. There are animal studies that have shown... If an animal gets cancer, it tends to grow more aggressively and spread to other location in the body if the animal is taking the equivalant 5mg dose used to treat Enlarged Prostate humans.

 

Your doing the right thing by doing your home work. The Erectile Disfuntion is a person be person issue. These pills do effect a variety of hormones in the human body.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I heard increased risk of severity of prostate cancer with propecia/finasteride.

 

Considering Proscar (which contains finasteride) is prescribed for prostate problems, it seems logically unlikely that it would cause cancer of the prostate, and I've also heard that in fact, the opposite...that it would make someone less likely. But I'm not a doctor and cannot verifiy this.

 

Tango,

 

Your best bet is to talk to a doctor about finasteride, just as others have said. As NervousNelly stated also, some claim that minoxodil will help in the temporal area, but I don't believe there is any empirical data for it.

 

Bill

[George8211]

A Quote From a 'Ask the Doctor Website'

 

What information do you have regarding the increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer when taking Proscar or Propecia (finasteride)?

 

A: Proscar is in the family of drugs commonly used to treat or prevent benign enlargement of the prostate gland and to restore hair growth. It inhibits an enzyme that converts the principal male hormone, testosterone, to its more potent form, dihydrotestosterone. Thus, it is a mild form of hormonal therapy. In my opinion, Proscar might mask the presence of prostate cancer for a time, allowing more aggressive cancer cells to develop. In addition, Proscar has adverse effects on sexual function in some men.

 

Recent studies have reported that men taking Proscar had a 25% lower rate of prostate cancer during 7 years of follow-up but a significantly higher rate of high-grade aggressive appearing prostate cancer.

 

I'm just putting this out there... since it's in line with some other articles I've read

[George8211]

.

 

This is a Publication by the National Cancer Institue that introduces the risk of finding more aggressive cancers later (not as early) in men taking Proscar.

 

National Cancr Institute Publication Regarding Proscar

 

 

.

[Toad_NW3]

Interesting article George. The first paragraph says it is a study that finds that proscar actuall reduces chances of cancer by 25%. Then it gets into the discussion of how it might affect the determination/cause of more aggressive cancers.

 

Dr. Bernstein wrote this recently on his blog.

 

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/blog/index.php?/archives/184-PSA-levels.html

 

Toad

[YoungGuy]

The cancer thing, from what I've read, is basically this: you get a much smaller chance of getting prostate cancer, but if you do manage to get it anyway, it's likely to be more malignant.

 

The FDA figures it's worth the risk I guess, I agree.

 

Numbers for the study are here:

http://www.ishrs.org/articles/finasteride-prostate-cancer.htm