I am on finasteride for 4 months. I think I suffer side effects. I would like to know how ‘real’ these side effects are, so actually ‘test’ the side effects.

Therefore, what if I stop for 2 weeks?
– would side effects go away in 2 weeks, so can I feel a difference in that time?
– would a stop of 2 weeks hurt my hair?

Reason for this: I just want to know what if side effects are psychologically or if they are ‘real’.

I suppose you could try it. To be thorough, I’d talk to your prescribing doctor before you make any changes to your medication.

In two weeks, I doubt that you will lose the benefit of taking the finasteride over the past 4 months. The side effects should be gone by then (I’m not sure which side effects your experienced or how quickly you saw them), unless there is some psychological reason for them to persist.

Hi Dr. Rassman. How are you?

I don’t know if you have heard of Dr. Richard Lee from Regrowth LLC (www.minoxidil.com) but apparantly the FDA shut him down for selling what they consider ‘dangerous and illegal drugs’ aka: his Xandrox Line of specialty Minoxidil Products. I wonder how he could be forced out of business since he is a medical doctor, and correct me if I am wrong, but can prescribe drugs for off label usage. And why after 25 years of doing this they all of a sudden come after him???

What is your opinion on this and do you think it is the shape of things to come with regards to the FDA cracking down on buying drugs online or do you think that the makers of Rogaine saw him as a threat and applied pressure on the FDA to shut him down? (Conspiracy theory thinking I know! LOL)

Just curious as there are other MD’s doing the same thing as he did and yet they haven’t been touched…yet..Knock on wood!

Personally I think the FDA, in this particular case, are doing the public (balding men in general) a huge disservice because I believe thousands of patients relied on his products to keep their hair.

I believe the issues the FDA had are with claims that Dr. Lee made about his products. Claims are under FDA control and every claim has to be backed up with good science, effectiveness, and safety testing. I think that playing by the rules just serves the public, helping to limit false representations and scams which are on the internet by the bucket full. Just because a doctor says it is legal, does not necessarily mean it is.

Minoxidil in itself is available in generic form, so I’m not sure the makers of the name brand Rogaine would make a stink about Dr. Lee selling it. Perhaps it had something to do with mixing prescription finasteride into a topical and selling it online? Perhaps it was the other ingredients and the claims attached that the FDA didn’t like? I have no idea. The shutdown isn’t a total shocker to me though, as I even mentioned that I thought there was a violation of the FDA rules well over 2 years ago (see here).

Hi,
firstly, I’d like to thank you very much for your awesome blog.

I am a 17 year old male. I recently started taking Finasteride and after taking 0.5 mg for 3 days in a row, I stopped because of the decreased libido and sexual side effects but after a month of further hairloss, I decided to go back on the drug. This time I started taking 1 mgs per day. On day 3 of taking finasteride, I experienced some pretty bad chest pain and burning and itching in my breasts so I immediately stopped taking the drug as I was concerned about gynecomastia but two days after stopping, my erectile problems got worse and the burning/pain in my chest didn’t go away.

I am almost entirely unable to maintain an erection now and my erections are almost always soft. I also feel like there is fat gathering up in my breasts. I am very concerned and was wondering if these side effects will go away any time soon? And if there is any medication (such as Tamoxifen) that I can take to stop gynecomastia (if I have it). I also always feel very tired and depressed. it has been three days since my last dose of Finasteride.

I thank you in advance for your reply and wish you a very good day.

While it is possible, it is highly unlikely that all of what you are experiencing is due to the actual side effects of the drug itself. I mean, you’re talking about developing gynecomastia in 3 days after taking Propecia, which is hard to accept from a medical point of view. It would likely take weeks to months before this could occur on a full dose, not just a few days (and you’re taking half the dose to begin with). Please see the doctor that prescribed the medication to you and discuss these issues with him/her.

Your symptoms (real or imagined) sound serious, so you need to see a doctor in person. I really cannot help you on via the internet without an examination and knowing more about your medical history. This can be the result of the power of suggestion and if you look for these symptoms, you might find them. Most of what you are experiencing may be psychosomatic.

Hi, i started taking finasteride around august 2012, and half a year later i got chronic sore throat. The pain starts when i talk, and my question is could finasteride cause this? Or do i have a low immunity like my gp suggested.

I got antibiotics which helped greatly but after a week it was all pain again. What is your opinion about this? Finasteride or weak immunity.

A sore throat and finasteride are unrelated, unless perhaps you have some sort of allergy to the pill. If you didn’t experience anything for the first 6 months of taking it though, I think it would be highly unlikely that it was even an allergy. I’d follow your GP’s suggestion about low immunity (which is also not caused by finasteride).

If you really think it is finasteride, then consult with your doctor about stopping the medication.

I read that you don’t advise starting both minoxidil and propecia at the same time at the risk of not knowing which is helping, as well as addicting the hair to both types of treatment.

Here’s my question: As a 22-year-old male with about a 3-inch receding hairline (straight back, not up toward the crown), which should I try first? And how long should I stay on that first treatment before stopping and trying the second, or simply adding the second to the mix?

If you’re trying to treat a receding hairline, either medication isn’t likely to regrow the frontal region, though it’s not impossible. Propecia is a prescription medication, so you should see a doctor to learn more about it. Minoxidil is available over the counter, but does most of it’s regrowth in the crown (which you said isn’t a problem).

I’m not your doctor and haven’t examined you though, so I really can’t say which medication you should try first… but I will say that Propecia can halt the hair loss from progressing further back, so that might be your best bet if your doctor agrees and prescribes it to you.

As for how long you should wait before starting a 2nd medication, that’s really a judgment call. If you stop either medication, you will lose any benefits they gave you.