Jump to content

Is Propecia( Finpecia) safe to use?


Raj05

Recommended Posts

  • Regular Member

Hello All,

Initially, I did use Finpecia, it was good & did help me to stop my hairloss to a certain degree. But after reading so much negative news, I did stop it for close to 3 years. As of now I use only minoxidl. Off late, I've realized I'm losing lot of hair & Minoxidl without Finpecia is of no use.

I'm thinking to get back on Finpecia.  Is it safe to use?   I'm not able to take a decision since I'm worried about side effects. I understand each person reacts differently to drugs.

My doctor has not been helpful too & gave me a very casual reply  - Take it till you don't see any side effects. I would like to take senior members opinion here. Will it been fine getting back on Finpecia. I did experience very mild side effects but nothing threatening.  I'm about to get married in next 3 months so was thinking to hold off but then I'm losing so much hair that I feel if I don't act now, I might lose even more hair. Pls do advice.  

Edited by Raj05
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

Get get a lot of people saying it is no good for you etc and on the other side saying it's perfectly safe. For me, the truth is probably somewhere in between and like you say it's effects can vary from one person to another but if you've taken it in the past and not had sides and want to do all you can to stop/slow down your hairloss, then you should probably include it in your regimen.

Personally, I've used it and suffered sides so dropped it but ideally think it should be the first port of call for anyone looking to fight hairloss. At the very  least should be tried and see how things go. Might be one of the lucky ones and suffer no sides and if you do suffer sides, can just drop it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

When I first started using Propecia I recall the Merck rep would come in, leave samples, etc.  Learned a lot about the medication  and truly believed, as I still do, that it can help most patients with retention of the native hair, particularly towards the back of the head.  Takes a good year to see what it will do. 

When the patent expired, doctors started writing scripts for the 5mg pill and telling patients to get a pill splitter and take a 1/4.  The pill, however, is difficult to 1/4 since it is small.  The rep, to be able to continue selling the med, would say a number of things including,

"when you cut into fourths, not all pieces are equal, so you may get more of the active ingredient one day and not so much the next."

"The active component may be in one of the 4 sides and nothing on the other 3, that's why you should continue purchasing Propecia as a 1mg tablet." 

And all sorts of other comments......

Eventually all of that went away and the 1mg pill became availble...Best price that I've seen so far is $14 for a 3 month supply from Costo online.

There are other names for the medication, like Finpecia, depending where they come from.  I believe this comes from India?  You can correct me if I am wrong.  I am also aware that you can obtain it from Canadian pharmacies at a competitive cost.  

The problem, and many believe, that anything obtained abroad may not be equivalent to the one made in the States.  Perhaps others can share their opinion on this.

The internet then came into the picture.  It is wonderful.  Lots of info.  Unfotunately there is also a lot of missinformation.  How many times have I heard "I stopped the medication because I read on the internet about all possible side effects."  I have visited with patients that never experienced side effects.  Had been on the medication for 15 years.  A year later they came with little to no native hair left. Said, "I stopped the meds because I read on the internet........" I asked him "who wrote it?" Did not have an answer.  A shame.

I recall going to national meetings early in my career.  Every year, it seemed, we would hear concerning information regarding the medication.  Years later a revision of the study would be issued.  

During the ISHRS convention in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, again, more concerning information regarding the medication came up.........I have now been on the med for about 20 years and will continue doing so.  Do I care?  NO.

I was recently helping a doctor in a star-up and the same subject came up.  His thesis was on Propecia and he is under the impression that in can lead to dementia......

Having said all that....Propecia, Rogaine, laser and PRP are the only modalities approved/released by the FDA for retention and enhancement of the native hair. The mechanism of aciton of each is totally different and thus, are synergistic when used simultaneously.  They seem to help most, but there is a subset of  patients that, despite the meds, they will go on and lose all their hair.  Similarly, some will experience side effects.  Most don't.  So, talk to your PCP or a doctor in a hair restoration practice and get educated.  If you do get started, keep a record.  Did you experience a side effect? What was it?  Talk to the doctor and decide if you should continue.  

Lastly, there are tons of products out there claimin a number of things.  If you are using them and you feel they are helping, continue using them. 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Regular Member

i use finasteride for 5 years now. Now im thinking to get off of it and see what will happen. The reason why i want to do that is because i feel that my state of mind is too depressive, even tho nothing bad happens in my life. It could be my age ( 36)  but i just tired of life  and cant enjoy it anymore. Hard to tell what cause such way of feeling , Let you know later how it goes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...