Long Term Benefits from Rogaine?

i know that many people have written to you about how after a few years they start to see their hair thinning even though they take propecia daily..Ur response has always been that the drug doesnt prevent hair loss but only slows it down and after a period of time genetics will win out over the drug and you will start to see hair loss.. You also say that you shouldnt stop taking propecia otherwise the hair loss will be much more..i think you refer to it as catch up hair loss..

But one thing i havent seen here is people writing in to say that after using rogaine for several years they are now seeing hair loss..I get the impression that the long term effects from rogaine are much much better then the long term results from propecia. Of those people who are no longer benefiting from propecia how many of them are also using rogaine? I bet not many!

I myself use both rogaine and propecia and things are pretty stable..It may very well be that the propecia isnt working but the slack has been picked up by the rogaine..I would never know. The one basic difference between the 2 is one is something you take internally and the other is something you use externally. Could you tell me ur thoughts about this? I would imagine another reason that rogaine is probably doing a better job long term is that phizer switched from a liquid to a foam for better penetration into the scalp as well..

Yes, there’s no medication that will stop hair loss forever. And yes, if you take both Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) at the same time you may never know which medication is doing the trick, though perhaps both are doing their own unique thing to treat your hair loss. Many of my patients do use both medications together, though some only use one or the other. I don’t have any polling data that shows what percentage of Propecia users also use Rogaine, so your guess is as good as mine. Just as with Propecia though, if you stop using Rogaine you’d also be subject to the catch-up hair loss.

I suspect there’s not a wide discussion about long-term Rogaine use, because it is available without a doctor’s prescription and it is not a hot topic like Propecia. I also don’t have data on long term benefits of Rogaine compared to those of Propecia, as it either isn’t available or just isn’t something that’s been presented to me (if anyone has it, please feel free to send it my way). The drugs have more differences than just oral vs topical, as Propecia actually blocks DHT (one of the causes of hair loss), whereas the reason for Rogaine’s hair growth isn’t known.