I am taking Hctz for high blood pressure. On the bottle is says to stay away from artificial light. Is it ok for me to have laser hair removed on my face? The laser tech thought it should be fine but it worries me? Any info would be great. Thank you.

Speak with your prescribing doctor about the warning. I found the following websites that may help you understand the warning:

• eMedicine – Drug-Induced Photosensitivity
• MedlinePlus – Hydrochlorothiazide

Dr. Lee from Regrowth says that the response to minoxidil is dose dependent, so taking 5% twice a day is really just going to hold the hair you already have. Thats why he is suggesting to take 5% in the morning and 15% at night. The solutions also contains azelaic acid, which he says inhibits 99% of DHT in the scalp. So there is no need for proscar, but it can sometimes help, also in conjuction with spironolactone 2% or 5%. What do you guys think?

High dose minoxidil (15%) applied topically can cause systemic side effects such as a life threatening drop in blood pressure or fainting from low blood pressure. I guess if you take it at night before you hit the bed, you wouldn’t really have to worrying about the fainting part because you are lying flat. All joking aside, there is no proven combination of drugs that stops hair loss completely. If it works, then I suppose your Dr. Lee will be a very rich man. It seems DHT is a buzzword and everybody jumped on the bandwagon claiming that Product X, Product Y, and Product Z all block DHT.

I just returned from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) conference in Las Vegas, where hair loss experts convened to discuss the latest in hair loss technology. Nothing was mentioned about 15% minoxidil or azelaic acid as a substitute for finasteride. Azelaic acid is an acne medication.

I ordered propecia from the canadian pharmacy and they sent me finasteride 1 mg tablets. The packaging on the back of the pills (they come in strips of 10) say they are from Pharma Corp Inc (PCI). Are they legit?

I did some searching and couldn’t find who is actually producing the pills sold by Pharma Corp, Inc. From what I can tell, PCI is just a distributor/wholesaler based in Florida.

Buy reputable drugs from a reputable place. That is your best assurance, although the black market has even substituted the real drugs like Propecia with fake ones. If you buy name brand Propecia, it is not unreasonable to think that you get what you pay for. Some generics are made by reputable companies, but if it is sold (even in Canada) in 1mg tablets, then they may not be legitimate, because a legitimate company would not violate the Merck patent on the 1mg dose of finasteride.

Hello,

I was on propecia for 2 years on and off. I changed to a new doctor he was surprised i had been taking propecia, my hair was really thick. So he said go off for a couple months and see what happens. Anyway, my its been about six months now. The hair is all still there but now it is incredibly thinnner. I am on propecia again, just half tablets because of sexual side effects. Can i expect the hair to thicken again? Or just be thankful for what is still there?

Im 26 years old.

Thanks

When you lose the benefits of Propecia and the hair benefits take steps backwards, restarting it may not get the hair back to where you were at. You will know in about 8 months. You need to have a good doctor create a Master Plan to help determine what is going to happen to you. Get your hair mapped out for miniaturization so that you can be prepared for the future of your hair loss status. Not all doctors are using their brains when it comes to Propecia. Perhaps it was just inexperience with the drug.

I am curretly on propecia and was wondering if I can take singulair while on propecia? I know it saids for singulair dont mix with other prescriptions.. but they all seems to be tb related antibiotics.

I am not aware of any interactions with Propecia (finasteride) and Singulair (montelukast). For more on Singulair side effects or drug interactions, see Drugs.com.

I used Propecia for about 5 years with great results. I had no more hair loss after I started using Propecia. About 7 months ago my doctor told me I should switch from Propecia to the generic Finasteride because it was the exact same thing only cheaper. Now, my hair is falling out in large amounts. Is the Finasteride not working for me or is there a transition period. Should I hurry up and go back on the Propecia.

I would want to know if you store the pills after you cut them (they may absorb water from the air) and if you cut more than one 5mg pill at a time (you should keep it to just the targeted number of 4 or 5 sections). There is no difference between the two drugs other than the strength. I would be curious to know if you are taking the 5mg finasteride or the 1mg finasteride. There are other countries that make 1mg finasteride, which is illegal in the U.S. due to patent infringement. Generic 1mg finasteride is still illegal or does not exist in the U.S.

You must be aware that there is a counterfeit market for generic finasteride, as there is for many drugs, and these fake pills may not really be what you think you are buying. That could explain the observation of hair loss from the generic.