Is Propecia wearing off?

[mr_xxxplosive]

I'm 23yo with early frontal hair loss confirmed by a hair transplant doctor in July 2008! I began using Propecia since then! Until today my hair looks practically the same at least to my eyes as it did since I began Propecia so I assume it stopped my MPB. After about 9 months into Propecia I began to see almost nothing in the shower and in the morning when I comb my hair! I used to see a lot of hairs there for the past few years before I began Propecia! Never thought it was anything until at the age of 21 1/2 I saw mild thinning in the front!

 

Now in the past week or 2 I'm starting to see some more hair in the morning and in the shower again! Does it mean Propecia is wearing off? I'm really panicking and thinking of jumping to Avodart which my dermatologist is willing to prescribe anyhow.

[ScottishGuy]

Unless you're shedding hundreds of hairs it's likely nothing to worry about. Shedding is a completely normal part of the hair growth cycle and we all experience phases of increased shedding every so often (maybe it gets triggered by the change of season or something).

 

It will probably take about a month or so, but the shedding should ease off again then you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

 

How long have you actually been using propecia? You generally need to use it for a year before evaluating the results.

 

Unless your dermatologist agrees that propecia isn't working for you then it would probably be wrong to change to different meds at this time.

 

Some people report that propecia can lose its effectiveness after many years of use although I've never heard any HT surgeon say this. I suspect that for some people propecia only slows down hair loss so eventually the hair will fall.

[ScottishGuy]

I should learn to read properly...I see you've been taking propecia for over a year.

 

Anyway, the important point to remember is that hair shedding is normal and isn't the same as hair loss.

 

It's probably also a good idea to take monthly photos of your scalp so you can gauge how well propecia is working.

[mr_xxxplosive]

I too know Propecia doesn't really wear off! But what I meant by that is that your hair genes may start to move strong and Propecia can't stop it. I dread that everyday!

[mattj]

My hair has pretty much stopped receding on finasteride, but I still see loads of hairs in the tub every day. I don't let it worry me as if they weren't being replaced I would be very bald by now.

[Severn]

I've read for many it continues to work indefinitely. However, the benefits of propecia only lasted about 4 years for me. I was initially a great responder and I grew back about 90% of the crown hair that I had lost.

 

But it slowly lost its effectiveness and after 4 years, I had lost all I had gained. I stopped taking it and there was no difference even about a year later, so the drug had done all it could do for me.