I’m Pleased with Propecia Results and Have Taken it for a Decade

I’ve been taking Propecia/finasteride for going on 10 years now (started when 23). I am very pleased with my results, including hair REgrowth on dome and even in front.

My question is, how long can I anticipate this will continue to work and should I have any concerns about taking this drug for so many years now and into the future? I have not experienced any known side effects.

I am glad you’ve had good results with Propecia with no side effects in the last ten years you have been taking it. Unfortunately, I cannot predict the future. I have no basis of your own personal progress. I do not have a set of measurement points so that I can even take an educated guess. This is one of the reasons why we remind folks to follow up with their doctor. Hopefully if one doctor has been following your progress, there should be some sort of documentation or some objective measurements that they can refer to give you a better answer. Generally speaking, some patients report their visual benefits decrease after around 5 or 6 years, but I’ve got some patients taking it for over a dozen years with excellent results. Each person is different.

We suggest that all men taking finasteride get a bulk measurement baseline to help quantify when the drug may be starting to show less benefits. Bulk measurement will tell you much and if you do it every year, then you can clearly see a trend if it is starting.

As for safety… well, Propecia is a safe medication and I don’t think you should be concerned about the long term use. It’s worth noting that finasteride (in a larger 5mg dose) has been on the market for nearly 20 years now.