Is It More Difficult to Try to Gain Muscle Mass If I Take Propecia?

Hi,

Great blog! It gave me all the information I needed to go ahead with a transplant. I had a transplant performed about 13 months ago. I had about 7500 hairs done. My current age is 33. The results are truly spectacular, I really can’t believe the before and after pictures :)

Since the operation I have been on propecia and have also been on a stringent weight loss & gym/cardio/weight training sessions 4-5 times a week. The good news is that I have lost weight, just not really increased muscle mass. I have definitely got a decreased libido from propecia although I am sexually 100% functional.

My questions are centred around gym/testosterone/muscle growth and libido.

1. Because propecia suppresses testosterone, am I swimming upstream by trying to put on muscle ?
2. There are many gym supplements that include testosterone that claim to help in building muscle , increased sexual desire etc etc. If I take this will my hair start to fall out?

Thanks for creating such a good resource on the net!

1. Propecia does not suppress testosterone. It decreases the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In theory it should slightly elevate testosterone levels. I believe you are misinformed about Propecia and its effects on muscle mass.
2. There are no supplements that I know of which are proven to build muscle mass other than weight training and exercise and a good balanced diet. Furthermore, there are no legally obtainable supplements that contain testosterone. If there is a supplement that artificially increases testosterone levels, you do risk more hair loss from androgenic effects of the drug.