Senior Member GTDL Posted March 12, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 12, 2009 Can finasteride and minoxidil be used simultaneously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GTDL Posted March 12, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 12, 2009 Can finasteride and minoxidil be used simultaneously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member imissthebarber Posted March 12, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 12, 2009 Short Answer: Yes. Slightly Longer Answer: They work in different ways which a lot of people believe can be symbiotic. The process by which minoxidil works is not very well understood, it is applied to the affected region/s of the scalp. Finasteride is taken as a pill and inhibits the DHT type of testosterone to which certain hairs on the male scalp can become susceptible. So they work in different ways and can be complimentary. However, if you start taking them both together and only one works you won't necessarily know which one is working and which one isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member chris, but with more hair Posted March 12, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 12, 2009 i just had my transplant 3 days ago. I have been using Minoxidil for close to 10 years. I will be resuming its use along with finasteride in about a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member stamos Posted March 13, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 So Chris what are the results of 10 years Minoxidil use? Did you have any regrowth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member chris, but with more hair Posted March 13, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 I am 40,and have been using it for a long time. I never developed a bald spot, and I am convinced that I would, had it not been for the use of minoxidil. My crown slowly got thinner, and my hairline receded slightly. I feel that without the use of minoxidil, I would have been bald in the crown, and my surgery would have required a lot more work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted March 13, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 IMISSTHEBARBER great post. you said it short and to the point. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BANDIDO Posted March 13, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 I am using rogaine and proscar. I quarter up the proscar and take it four days on and 1 day off. Is this okay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GTDL Posted March 13, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 Thanks for the feedback lads. Although I only use finasteride myself, however in answer to Bandido, I take a quarter each and every day. I use the Proscar too, 1.25mg daily. From what I know about the drug (although I'm no doctor) is that it must be taken consistently or else it's effects will wear off. Therefore (I would assume) that taking a break every four days would not give you the full benefit. Like I said, I'm not a doctor and please (anyone) feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe since it's such a small gap between the times that you take it, perhaps it might not make a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member latinlotus Posted March 13, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 However, if you start taking them both together and only one works you won't necessarily know which one is working and which one isn't. I have seen lots of good results from Finasteride alone, yet I have never seen a case that Minoxidil works alone. Every single guy that I talked to who claims that minoxidil works, is actually using it in combination with Finasteride. Conclusion: minoxidil is snake oil in my book. ******** I am not a doctor. The opinions and comments are of my own. HT with Dr. Cooley on Nov 20, 2008 2097 grafts, 3957 hairs Proscar, 1.25 mg daily, skip the 5th day, started Nov 2007 My Hair Loss Blog - Hair Transplant with Dr. Cooley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member latinlotus Posted March 13, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2009 Originally posted by chris, but with more hair:I am 40,and have been using it for a long time. I never developed a bald spot, and I am convinced that I would, had it not been for the use of minoxidil. My crown slowly got thinner, and my hairline receded slightly. I feel that without the use of minoxidil, I would have been bald in the crown, and my surgery would have required a lot more work. Chris, but with more hair: Without regrowth, it is impossible to prove that the drug works. Saying that 'if i did not use it, i will be balder' is not scientific. You will never know that if you did not use the drug, you will be in the same or worse position. Actually, there is only one way to test this and you need identical twins. ******** I am not a doctor. The opinions and comments are of my own. HT with Dr. Cooley on Nov 20, 2008 2097 grafts, 3957 hairs Proscar, 1.25 mg daily, skip the 5th day, started Nov 2007 My Hair Loss Blog - Hair Transplant with Dr. Cooley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member chris, but with more hair Posted March 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 14, 2009 I know my experience is purely anecdotal and is lacking in any scientific method. However, I am still convinced the minoxidil slowed my hair loss for a decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LondonTraveller Posted March 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 14, 2009 Hi To add my two pence again... I have been using Finasteride 1.25mg every day for some years. I have decided 6 months ago to add minoxidil 5% to my daily regimen. However, as we all know with Minoxidil applications twice a day there are: 1. Compliance issues (busy lifestyle) 2. 'Messiness and greasiness' issues. Do you think that a single application at night can be effective? Some physicians indicate that this is a viable option, considering minoxidil's half life... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BANDIDO Posted March 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 14, 2009 GTGL, I really appreciate your feedback. What you say about the gap makes sence. I wonder if anybody could come in here and add their two cents on taking proscar 4 days on with 1 day off. LondonTraveller I also only use rogaine at night time. I find my hair is a little harder to style when I put it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GTDL Posted March 19, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 Bandido, I may be able to shed some light on your question after all about the dosage of Proscar and why some people take it four days on and one day off. It's actually really simple when I sat back and thought about it. With Proscar they are broken down into four 1.25 mg pieces to be taken daily. Now, with Propecia they come in 1 mg tablets, Proscar comes in 5 mg tablets. They are basically the same drug (finasteride), but because of Proscar's size it can only be broken into quarters. So you should be taking 5 mg (approx) of the drug within 5 days. With Proscar it's only possible to take 1.25 mg daily, therefore, after only 4 days you will have already taken 5 mg. So that is probably why you were told not to take it on the fifth day, and then start afresh the day after. Bearing that in mind it's probably ok to be taking it the way you have been doing. Hope that's of some help to you. But remember, I am not a doctor, so it would be best to ask one of the doctors on the forum for their opinion also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Leeson Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 Not a good idea to skip any days due to finasteride's short half-life ~5 hours. My Hair Loss Website - Dr. Hasson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GTDL Posted March 19, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 I wasn't aware of that Leeson. So does that mean that the drug has been absorbed and done it's job within five hours of taking it? After which the body would need more ASAP to continue working effectively? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Leeson Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 half-life means the time for 1/2 to decay. now there's 50% left. 5 more hours to decay 1/2 that and so on. There is still some finasteride in your system, it's just constantly decaying to a lesser amount. My Hair Loss Website - Dr. Hasson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GTDL Posted March 19, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 Ah right, now I understand. You learn something new every day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member latinlotus Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 there is a related thread with great information provided by dr. Cooley: http://hair-restoration-info.c...401089593#1401089593 ******** I am not a doctor. The opinions and comments are of my own. HT with Dr. Cooley on Nov 20, 2008 2097 grafts, 3957 hairs Proscar, 1.25 mg daily, skip the 5th day, started Nov 2007 My Hair Loss Blog - Hair Transplant with Dr. Cooley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SERIOUS Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 Conclusion: minoxidil is snake oil in my book. Latinlotus, of all the thousands of treatments invented to treat hairloss in the last hundred years, there is only "2" substances that were proven to work (through countless scientific studies and numerous clinical studies with human subjects) and that met worldwide pharmaceutical and health organizations standards: Finasteride and Minoxidil. Minoxidil is so "old" and its results worldwide known that its effectiveness cannot be questioned even by the best doctors and scientists. But as imissthebarber said, it works differently than finasteride, and is more a hair growth promoter than a hairloss stopper. Therefore, the synergy between finasteride and minoxidil is a very interesting one. Usually, people do not realize the extent of minoxidil efficacy until they stop to use it and start to lose what minoxidil was able to keep for all these years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Leeson Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 Minoxidil is not worth the effort of twice daily for life. The mess of applying everyday, it would be cheaper to have the 10 hairs it may give you put in with FUE and call it a day. My Hair Loss Website - Dr. Hasson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SERIOUS Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 I have to disagree Leeson. It always depends on your level of motivation towards your hair reconstruction goals. People that enters the hair transplantation roller coaster better use all the "proven" tools to help them keep the hair they already have and avoid a future crash. But as you said using it twice a day can be a drag if you're a busy person. I use it only at night but with a double dose. I noticed something through all these years of observing and studying the hair loss field and its solutions: usually, people with "wow" results that lasts for the longest are the ones committed to use finasteride "and" minoxidil... and those with "ok" result that kinda look good are the ones not using meds at all, or using one or the other. Using the 2 in synergy is more ambitious and leads to more ambitious results. As I said earlier, you never realize the extent of the efficacy of minoxidil until you stop it. I would say the same for finasteride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Leeson Posted March 19, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2009 Maybe I'm just biased because it irritates my scalp and I can't use it. Anyway, I stick with the big gun, avodart. My Hair Loss Website - Dr. Hasson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GTDL Posted March 20, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'd like to hear more about Avodart Leeson. It is meant to be a stronger version of finasteride, is that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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