I See Great Results from Finasteride, But It Also Caused Gynecomastia

Hello Doctor,

I had surgery to remove gynecomastia caused by Finasteride use for hair loss. I was taking 1.25 mg daily. I have seen great results from medication as regards to my hair loss. I would like your opinion on stopping the medication now because of recurrence or is recurrence not a possibility after surgery. Also can 1.25mg of finasteride be taken once every three days with the same results and less side effects..

thanks for your time

I have very little experience with those few patients who developed gynecomastia (breast enlargement in men) from Propecia other than having them stop the medication and see if the gynecomastia goes away. It usually does. On one patient I remember, I had him stop the medication and then after the gynecomastia went away, put him on a 1/2 dose (1/2 mg) of propecia and the gynecomastia returned. You are caught in a delicate predicament with clear choices. What I can tell you is that it was reported that half the standard dose (0.5mg) of Propecia has 80% of the impact on preventing hair loss and it may work for you, but then again in one of my patients it did not seem to help even at 1/2 the dose.

Your situation is different in that you had surgery once to remove swollen glands that are present in some men (most don’t take Propecia) and maybe it was there prior to taking the drug? If I were you, I might try (speaking as a layman, not a doctor) the drug one more time. It may not cause recurrence, but if it did, then you should be able to stop it and reverse the effects (as most men who stop the drug do). I would speak to my doctor before making that decision and get his sage advice on the matter.