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Almost on Propecia for 7 months...no results, any hope?


il.mafiozzzo

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I'm 22 y/o with early frontal thinning. I'm a NW2 but a hair specialist did a miniaturization and said I'm an early NW3 with mid anterior thinning. So I been on Propecia for almost 7 months and almost nothing. Although after about 4 months I started shedding way less hairs and after about 5 months I saw a little improvement but at the same time a litte loss as well. Anyway now for the past 2-3 weeks shedding increased again and nothing thickening or regrowing. Is there still hope?

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Hi il.mafiozzzo;

 

Read below and follow exactly as I do. Have patience, 7 months IS NOT enough time but, YOU COULD DEFINITIVELY do more than just Finasteride.

 

First of all, stop buying Propecia unless you have absolutely no money limits. I do not buy Propecia, google Finpecia; it's the generic drug name Finasteride, it comes from India and I've been taking it for about 1 1/2 years. It takes about 3 weeks to arrive.

 

Also, increase your dose to 1mg in the morning and 1mg at night. If you can't get an erection go back to 1mg per day unless you don't have a girlfriend or don't have much sex.

 

I strongly believe that Biotin is being wrongly undermined. Biotin WILL NOT stop hair-loss BUT SHOULD be used to thicken the hair. It works VERY VERY WELL. In only 2 weeks you will realize that your hair feels much heavier, thicker. I'm taking 7,500mg per day along with Finasteride, Procerin (pill and lotion)and Minoxidil 5%. It's obviously important to specify that I DO NOT take all these products at the same time; I do 3-6-month cycles. I've been taking Finasteride for just over 2 years and I'm now taking 1mg in the morning and 1mg in the afternoon and this works amazingly well. I diet, workout, dance, take vitamins, don't smoke, don't do drugs and have absolutely no side-effects for taking this increased dose of Finasteride.

Right now i'm taking Finasteride, Biotin and Procerin lotion.

I switch between Procerin lotion and Minoxidil every 4-6 months. I never stop taking Finasteride and Biotin, and every 6 months I add 2 months of Procerin pill on top of Finasteride.

 

I have to say that it is EXTREMELY important to stop EVERYTHING for about 2-4 weeks every 6 months to let the body take a break so when you start again, all these products work better.

 

I'm 27 and I was Norwood II (close to III); I'm now moving closer to Norwood I after 2 years.

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First point, its exactly right that you will need to be taking propecia for over 7 months to really see what it can do for you, and even then, it is an ongoing thing. For example, although you may not see too much improvement in regards to thickening, maybe without it, you could potentially be even further down the MPB route. Also be aware, than generally, propecia does not have such amazing results regarding regrowth in the temple and hairline region.

 

Ale.s. is also correct regarding generic Propecia. Propecia is just a brand of the drug Finasteride. You may be better to try and source somewhere other than India through the internet though as you need to be sure of the source, otherwise you will be wasting a lot of time, hope, effort and money.

 

The taking of two 2mg tablets a day is somewhat interesting though. I have heard that your body can only accept so much of the drug in 24 hours and therefore more than 1mg tablet daily would be a waste as it would not be used, but this theory can not be entirly true due to the much stronger product Avodart that many use.

 

Ive also been asking questions regarding the genuine help of a med break every so often to see greater results again and whilst some swear by it, this holds no medical proof, but each to their own. Especially if it works for them.

 

Good luck!

Patient Advisor for Dr. Bisanga - BHR Clinic 

ian@bhrclinic.com   -    BHR YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcH4PY1OxoYFwSDKzAkZRww

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

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I only use authentic Propecia I get it from my pharmacy for like $180 for a 90 day pack no big deal. But anyways, I know Propecia doesn't have amazing results in the hairline and temple region. But you see my hairline is still a good NW2 but just half the density it should be like the first inch and in the middle of my forelock I'm getting a spot there, if I could just get a 1/4 back of it it would look great. And on both of my temples I have pieces of hairs that just don't grow more then 2 inches! I know Propecia may stop my MPB but it's just that my hair loss is early and Propecia should be able to do the job but I'm getting so frustrated!

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Relax. Don't get frustrated. I've been there, done that.

 

I think (could be wrong) that the only reason Propecia (Finasteride) is prescribed 1mg a day is because higher doses WILL show that way more than 1% of patients experience lower libido. WHICH IS REALLY BAD MARKETING DATA.

 

1mg is just enough to stop hair-loss. Increasing the dose WILL NOT cause any permanent side-effects. Some people are taking 5mg a day! Eventually, I know I will get there but, first I will increase to 3mg, then 4mg etc, etc.

 

I read everywhere that Finasteride does little on the hair line. Think I'm crazy but, MY HAIR HAS GROWN on my hair line. Yes, it has grown A LOT more on my top, side and crown. But I believe that using all the products I use WILL grow hair on the hair line.

Remember, I'm not an average case. I take Finasteride, Procerin, Minoxidil, Megabiotin and I'm extremely healthy, I play Soccer, Dance, Diet, take Nutritional Products, don't smoke or do drugs and don't drink in excess.

 

Also, Procerin. DO BUY PROCERIN RIGHT NOW!! Buy both pills and lotion for at least 3 months. I feel that Procerin does not work better than Finasteride BUT! it takes a slightly different approach because it uses Palmeto, which is a natural DHT blocker as its main ingredient to stop hair-loss. So now you have TWO DHT blockers!!!!!!! please don't tell me that this DOES NOT make sense. Best of all, Procerin has NO side-affects because it's all natural.

 

For you il.mafiozzzo and everybody else reading I suggest the following;

 

* Increase Finasteride to 2mg to 5mg per day (in 2 or 3 daily intakes).

* Buy Procerin and take it as suggested; 1 pill in the morning and 2 at night and apply the lotion before bedtime.

* Megabiotin 7,500mcg once daily.

 

I call this a "cycle" which should last about 6 months. Take one or two weeks brake every two months or one full month brake at the end of your 3rd month.

 

Once you finish this cycle, take a 2-4 weeks full pause and start all over again but this time replace Procering lotion with Minoxidil 2%. Buy Minoxidil for one month only and if you don't suffer its side-effects (you forehead gets all red and itchy) then buy Minoxidil 5% for one month and check for side-effects; continue 5% if you are fine or go back to 2% or Minoxidil does not work for you if at 2% you get side-effects. Minoxidil WILL make your hair look very dry when you wake up in the morning; It's normal and it goes away if you wash your head with plain warm water in the morning.

 

Also, I read in Mr. Bernstein website forum (I'm in NYC and Dr. Bernstein himself introduced me to Propecia over 2 years ago) that at the begining of your treatment with Finasteride many people suffered increased hair shedding. This happened to me as well and I decided to stick to it because there was nothing else to try. I strongly believe that on your first year shedding WILL accelerate and THIS IS A GOOD thing because it means that the drug is having effect on you and those hairs that fell will regrow much stronger. I remember having about 3 shedding acceleration periods on my first year. DON'T PANIC and stick to Finasteride.

 

Thanks.

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Thanks for the encouragement so far guys. But here's the thing about Propecia and hairlines...if you expect that Propecia will regrow a hairline like move you down from NW3 to NW3 chances are like 1 in 500! But if your hairline is in the early stages of falling out (which is the case for me), Propecia can make those hairs stronger and thus you will look much fuller! The reason people don't have much success in hairlines is because they start to treat too late!

 

As for the dose increase studies have shown that more then 1mg won't help, it may do it for you but for most it won't make a difference but switching to Avodart that may make a difference though, but since it ain't approved yet we don't know what to do!

 

And Ale.S I also saw Dr. Bernstein which was in July 2008 and he said under miniaturization I have a early NW3 with mid anterior thinning pattern so he put me on Propecia and that was it.

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Btw...I been reading on baldingblog.com which is Dr. Rassman's site (an associate and friend of Dr. Bernstein) and he keeps saying you should see your regrowth or thickening of weak hairs by the 8-9 months, if no regrowth by then later it's unlikely to happen! The reason I believe him is because he prescribes Propecia more then anybody and has lots of experience with it so this is leaving me confused.

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Have you noticed ANY hair regrowth? like very thin, light hair like the ones on your forearm coming out of your hairline?

Also, have someone (preferably your doctor) to check your crown and see if there is ANY regrowth.

 

Have you checked this thread? Help

 

Let me know.

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My crown is fine I only have early frontal hair loss but in the middle of my forelock there is a small spot forming. My hair looks almost the same since I started Propecia but where that spot is its left side got thicker after 5 months but at same time its right side got a little thinner, that's all that happend during this time on Propecia! All I really need is that my existing hairs get thicker and that automatically will make everything look way fuller. But I don't seem to have any luck there!

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You always seem to be on the pessimistic side; you gotta change that buddy or else you'll go crazy.

It seems there is a good chance that Finasteride is not working for you.

I have the same issue regarding disparity, on my left side i'm NW1 and my right side is NW1.5 or 2.

Where do you live? It seems that your best choice there would be to have hair transplantation to patch that area. But, if you don't find a drug or product that stops your hair-loss, in 10-20 years the only thing left on that area will be the patch that was transplanted from the back of your head. You are too young for transplantation too.

Do you live near NYC? Dr. Bernstein is a great doctor that will give you great advice. Do not go to MHR, they are nation-wide but they don't give a fu%@, they only want your money (this was my feeling when I visited them and I could of course be wrong).

What else have you tried? Have you tried monoxidil? Procerin?

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I'm only using Propecia and have been so for the past 7 months! That's what Dr. Bernstein told me to use. But now I'm confused...first you said 7 months is not enough time but now you are saying it's not working for me, it's only natural to be pessimistic lol. And about that spot in the forelock...it didn't just start forming now it's been there before I started Propecia but like I said after 5 months its left side thickened up some but its right side got a little more thinner. Besides that everything is the same since starting Propecia maybe you misunderstood me on my last post.

 

I haven't tried anything else, putting stuff like Rogaine is a real pain and other stuff like Procerin, Provillus, Saw Palmetto etc. is not proven to help, plus I don't have the time and money to invest in that stuff and there is good chances it won't work!

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Hey,

 

Yeah, 7 months is not enough. But you never said that one side is worsening, getting thinner.

I understand the money side, that's why I buy generic Finasteride from India and put money on other products.

Minoxidil is indeed proven to help in many cases. But if you don't feel confortable trying other things, then I really don't know what else to suggest. Maybe someone has some other opinion or alternatives.

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I see that you indeed said you got mixed results under Propecia... I don't know what else to suggest to you.

 

Maybe your drinking habits? drug use? exercising perhaps? increasing your propecia daily dose?

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Nope don't drink, do drugs or got bad lifestyles thus even if I did I don't know if that would make MPB worse anyway. Also a higher finasteride dose won't work in most cases!

 

As for one side worsening here is exactly what happened...after a little more then 5 month on Propecia I saw the left side of that spot got thicker and fuller but at that same time it's right side got just a little thinner but hasn't gotten worse since. So since being on Propecia for 7 months nothing has changed everything looks the same in the front (at least to my eyes) except the middle of my forelock had some changes that's all. But I don't know if it was normal to suddenly have a bit of hair loss after 5 months!? Maybe it happened a bit earlier just haven't noticed it.

 

Truthfully, I'm thinking about Avodart but only after being on Propecia for 1+ years! You see it ain't approved yet and I don't what it might do and plus not many docs will prescribe it anyway.

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il.mafiozzzo; if you do use drugs (pot, cocaine, crack) and you smoke cigarettes, have bad eating habits and don't excercise; any hair treatment WILL have less effect on you.

Like you said, higher doses of Finasteride won't work in "most" cases, and that means not 100% of the cases. How do you know you don't fall in the slim category of cases where it does work?

 

Leeson, are you taking Avodart now? what dose? how often?

 

I found this article about Avodart that was VERY interesting. It also talks about Finasteride @ 5mg. It's a 2-page article; Go to article here

 

I think I'm gonna try Finasteride 5mg. I'll think about avodart, i'm pretty sure I wanna try it out.

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Well I guess we covered everything and I just wanna say thanks guys and I'll see how it is by July I'll be 1 year on Propecia then, hopefully everything will be ok by then. And I hope all you guys get your hair back too and keep up the good work.

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Hi mafiozzo, I'm new to this. This is my first post and (God willing) definitely not the last. Awesome site!

 

I wanted to mention, that out of all the users I have read so far(not many of them!), you and I are likely to be in a similar scenario.

 

I am 24, NW 3, and in bad need of advice, support and hope...i'll post in some pics shortly.

 

Best Regards

dontwantbald

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