May 1 2007, 1:32 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs
hey doc, im 19 and i just recently started propecia for my thinning crown. Is this too young to start fin? i think that my facial hair is only about 70% in, because im so young will fin effect my facial hair? and will it affect my height if im still growing? will it stop me from broadening out as most plp do in around my age?
its a bit scarely to be losing hair at this age plz help me out
Propecia (finasteride) may affect facial and body hair growth. I do not believe it is a clear published fact, but I have seen and heard anecdotal stories. In women with Polycystic Ovaries where hirsutism (excess body hair) is a problem, finasteride has been tested and is moderately effective at reducing body hair. Based upon this observation, Propecia MAY diminish facial and body hair. While it is my personal opinion that it is a very low possibility because of the thousands of young men I treated over the past 8 years, only one patient reported reduced body hair (he was over 40). If you are concerned about growth of body and facial hair issues, I would advise you to:
- Talk with your doctor about these concerns
- Continue Propecia and see if it is an ongoing problem (when you stop it everything should reverse)
- Consider stopping the Propecia (but the risks of hair loss then have to be balanced in the decision process)
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i had an almost identical question, and this dosnt help anyone at all. not every doctor is like you…every doctor i have spoken to tells me that propecia is fine and harmeless and sticks exactly to the side effects announced from mereks studies. but obviously there are other un documented ones such as facial hair loss. many people have talked about it on this site. anyway, I for one, choose not to take the drug for i do want to grow and broaden more. i am also 19 and still not yet a fully grown adult. DHT is necessary for these characteristics and no one wants to hault, stop, or even reverse these. It is far more commonly acceptable to be bald then look like a teen ager the rest of your life. in addition, i have choosen to wait untill i am 22, hopefully then i will not have lost too much hair that itll hurt my looks too badly, and by then i will not be to concerned about haulting my development. doc, i love this site, and it has helped me more than any other, but dont be so causious in your answers….every answers is almost the same..(ie. propecia is great, map hair for miniturization, talk to doc). we get that but for most of us this has failed, so we rely on ur opinion, and we know its just an opinion so spill your guts dont be so text book.
Andrew,
The reason a lot of my answers might seem to have the same stuff (miniaturization, talk to a doctor, etc), is because without the benefit of examining your scalp, I really can’t give you advice. This site isn’t meant to diagnose medical problems — I’m merely sharing information to the best that I can. I can’t just tell you to take Propecia if you lost a few hairs — you need to be examined by a doctor in person so that if you do have genetic hair loss, then the right call can be made. As for side effects, the internet is full of people that experience things that the great, great majority would never experience. There’s no way to really tell if these people on the net even took the drug to begin with, or if they are taking other medications that are causing the side effects that they are pinning on finasteride. That’s the internet for you. I’m glad you find my site helpful, but I need to clearly state that this site is not for medical diagnosis or treatment. Just my opinions.
Dr. Rassman,
I totaly agree and understand. side effect complaints, and the who make them on internet aside… Isnt it science that DHT one of the necessary hormones in a males development, including the sexual function, deepining of the voice, broadining of shoulders, and facial hair. Personaly i wouldnt mind at all losing my facial hair, and from what ive read, you would love it…but i would mind never properly developing. So wouldnt blocking this vital hormone when not fully developed (i.e. many 18 and 19 year olds) be detremental to their health, and most likely worse than hairloss itself? so complaints aside, is this not a scientificaly logical theory?
(having said that, i must also add, that i have two friends who are 18 on propecia doing great with no side effects what so ever, and they swear by the drug. however they did hit puberty fairly early and pretty much had already full developed prior to taking the drug.
Thank you very much for your time, and service (especially considering propecia probaly takes away some potential customers, no?)
Hello Dr. I went to see Dr. Bernstein, I drove an hour to see him and he saw me for 2 minutues did not do mapping of the scalpo for miniturization, and did not evaluate any family history. He wrote me a prescription for proscar to be cut into 1/4th and told me to come back in a year. I wanted to be photographed and my hair mapped to see if I had dupa, since I have thinning of the hair all over the place. My question is later on when I decide to have children and I’m married what will I need to do?? I don’t want the baby to be damaged because of me. What are the studies?? Also will proscar cause me to want to urinate frequently.. 3. I am 27 years old and early on in hair loss.. How important is dht for males when you’re this age..Thank You.
I’ll tell you, I was on this stuff for almost 3 years, from age 19 to 22…and then, after about a year of being off, all of a sudden, here comes the chest hair. dht promotes hair growth on the chest and face, so by lowing my dht I was delaying my chest hair from coming in? Just correlation, not causation, but still…
Doctor RASSMAN,
Please please find the time to respond to my last post on this question. i am in dire need of stoping my hair loss with propecia, but if my estimation is some what correct, i will tough it out and not bother. please respond.
Thanx, doc
sincerely,
-Andrew