Is propecia ineffective in the front?

[FlashFirez]

Hello I recently went to a hair specialist hoping to get a prescription for propecia but I was turned down because they said that the drug would be ineffective in the front where my loss is basically at and they said that the drug wasn't worth taking at my current stage since I'm only 19 and I have minimal of temple recession and thinning in the front. I was hoping that propecia would be able to contain my situation but they said there was no point taking it yet. So if propecia is trully ineffective in the front is there anything else i can take? I dont need regrowth just simply maintain my hair. I'm in Canada so its not possible for me to get propecia w/o prescription and so far my gp and the specialist have turned me down. I got a appointment with a dermatologist but thats all the way in december.

 

[drunkmonkey425]

From what I've read and been advised propecia is less effective in the front.

This could mean it has no effect at all and wont stop hairloss there or it could cause regrowth there, it's really dependent on the person.

If your gp and specialist are turning you down for propecia, are you sure you have male pattern baldness?

 

[FlashFirez]

Its not that I dont have MBP its that they said my loss isn't relevant enough. The specialist said that I have minimal loss and that propecia's risk isn't worth it at my current stage.

 

[Kev123]

According to Bernsteinmedical, Finasteride/Propecia not working in the front is just a myth.

Scroll all the way down to the end of the page of this link:

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medical ... nasteride/


"Common Misconceptions about Finasteride

Myth: Women can’t touch the medication.
Fact: Pregnant women should not handle crushed or broken tablets.

Myth: It only works in the crown.
Fact: It potentially works any where on the scalp where there is some hair, even in the front of the scalp.

Myth: Once you start it you must take it for ever.
Fact: You can stop the medication any time you want – you just lose its benefits when one stops.

Myth: Finasteride lowers testosterone
Fact: The medication, on average, causes a rise in serum testosterone levels by 9%.

Myth: The sexual side effects are frequent and irreversible.
Fact: The sexual side effects occur in 2% and are reversible when the medication is stopped.

Myth: Finasteride causes birth defects if a man takes it when his wife is pregnant.
Fact: Exposure of pregnant women to semen from men treated with Propecia poses no risk to the fetus.

Myth: Propecia was originally a prostate medication that was found to prevent hair loss.
Fact: Propecia is not a prostate medication that was by chance noted to have a side effect of hair growth, it is a medication that was known since its discovery that it could grow hair."

Dr. Robert M. Bernstein is a doctor who is recommended by the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) and is part of the American Board of Dermatology (ABD). So I would take his word for it.

 

[FlashFirez]

Thanks for all those info I just wish my specialist felt the same way because he pretty much meant that I'm not bald enough for propecia. Although its true that I have minimal loss and I have a low hairline but that doesn't mean that i should let it go higher before doing something about it. If anyone knows way to get propecia in Canada without a prescription it would greatly help.

 

[leverkusen]

I have been on it for 7 months and I probably have 1/2 of the hairs that I started with in the front
:shakehead:

 

[Nene]

I saw 0 regrowth from propecia in the front, I never had a problem in the back. It might be maintaining but of course it's impossible to know for sure.

 

[FlashFirez]

The thing is I don't really need regrowth as I am in the early stages where its good in the front so I was simply looking to maintain the front. Im only 19 and so far I dont have any problem anywhere else except for my front so if propecia were able to maintain my hair including the front I'd be satisfied more than enough. However according to the hair specialist I visited they refused to prescribe me because I don't have enough loss on the front and that propecia wouldn't do anything for me there to maintain so its not worth the risk. I don't want to waste time but now I'm pretty lost to what i should do to simply maintain my current hair.

@leverkusen Does that mean that you lost half of your baseline hair in the front since going on propecia?

 

[Nene]

The thing is I don't really need regrowth as I am in the early stages where its good in the front so I was simply looking to maintain the front. Im only 19 and so far I dont have any problem anywhere else except for my front so if propecia were able to maintain my hair including the front I'd be satisfied more than enough. However according to the hair specialist I visited they refused to prescribe me because I don't have enough loss on the front and that propecia wouldn't do anything for me there to maintain so its not worth the risk. I don't want to waste time but now I'm pretty lost to what i should do to simply maintain my current hair.

@leverkusen Does that mean that you lost half of your baseline hair in the front since going on propecia?

When I was 19, I had a very mildy receding hair line and my doctor prescribed me propecia. I was scared to take it b/c of sexual sides, so I only used rogaine. I finally started taking it at about 25 when I was pushing Norwood 3 because I felt it was getting so bad and I needed to take action; rogaine wasn't enough anymore. Half of me feels like I should've taken it at 19 and maybe I would've kept my Norwood 1. On the other hand, finasteride is a pretty scary medication, and I'm glad I didn't take it when I was so young and still potentially develping sexually and otherwise. If you're not concerned about side effects or long term damage, then get on it now and it might really help you maintain. There was a guy here before named Brucie, he was like 18 and he saw great regrowth in the front.

 

[mashang]

sorry to hijack this thread
but Nene i also started minoxidil 2 years prior to starting finasteride due to being scared of the sides, do you think that Mionox has lost its effectiveness ??

i too wish i would have started both treatments earlier

 

[Nene]

sorry to hijack this thread
but Nene i also started minoxidil 2 years prior to starting finasteride due to being scared of the sides, do you think that Mionox has lost its effectiveness ??

i too wish i would have started both treatments earlier

I'm not sure if it lost it's effectiveness or if my hair loss has just become too advanced for the rogaine to work the magic it used to work. Howver, I did stop using rogaine for about two years. Maybe if I didn't take that break I could've maintained more.

 

[wilderness20]

I have been on it for 7 months and I probably have 1/2 of the hairs that I started with in the front
:shakehead:

So why would you stay on it? I love these neg head-downer posts. I just had to say something. I've been on Generic finasteride 1.25 mg daily for 3.5 months with no noticeable sides. My loss seems to have slowed/essentially stopped but its difficult to tell because I buzzed my hair to 1/8 of an inch. I cut it so short because I was done with the stress and time spent counting hairs falling out--which was further compounded by the exponential finasteride shed I got within a week or two of starting the drug. So its tough to tell if I am still having the shed as my hair is so short....but I rub my hair through my hands and don't notice any hairs falling out so I conclude the finasteride shed lessened and stopped as did the initial underlying rapid Telogen Effluvium (leading to male pattern baldness).

With all the negative comments about finasteride it seems difficult to separate myth from fact. Are their men on here that have loss stopped and get regrowth? Because statistically half the guys on it hair loss should stop and another 30+ percent should get regrowth. Yet from reading these posts, it seems like the majority of guys are having horrible sexual and other sides, losing all their hair with the shed and having no luck. I mean what the F guys? Work with me here. I plan on taking this drug long term. I think if I don't have noticeable sides lets rock and roll and see what happens. People can complain about unnoticed long-term sides but I mean---with all the cancer-causing agents and drunk drivers in this glorious world...its worth a little risk to not look like bruce willis.

 

[FlashFirez]

I was planning on taking propecia simply to maintain as I dont need any regrowth my temple and hairlines a bit receeded but I have a low hairline so its all good. As for the sides I was planning on taking the chance as statistically speaking it seemed rare. However my GP wants me to go to a dermatologist before prescribing me and the appointment is all the way at december. The other doctor whos a hair transplant surgeon suggested that my loss was too minimal to consider propecia and that it wouldn't work on the front anyways which is were my concerns are at.

 

[Rawtashk]

I didn't get hairline re-growth, and it's thinned out since I started on Propecia....but I guarantee you that I would be NW3.5 or worse by now had I not started on propecia a bit over 3 years ago. EVERY SINGLE ONE of the males on both sides of my family have been no better than Norwood 3.5 by the age of 27, and about half of them (my dad, older brother, half brother, one of my uncles) were NW5 by the time they were my age.