If I Stop and Restart Propecia, Is It Less Effective?

Hi Doctor,

What happens if I start-stop finasteride. I took it for 1 year. Stopped for a six months. Started again about a half-year ago.

I know I don’t get its benefits while I’m not using it, but is the drug less effective the next period I use it? Am I tolerant/ habituated to its effects now? Thanks for your help!

Think of it as “Two steps forward, one step back”.

If you stop Propecia for a lengthy period of time (few months to a year) you will likely lose some hair (that benefited from the drug itself). If you start it again, the hairs that were lost may not grow back. This does not mean it is less effective the next time you started using it again, it means that there is possibly less survivable hair to regrow.