Propecia and Rogaine

HI DOC,
Thanks for the wonderful blog. Can you please post your opinion on the combination treatment of Propecia and Rogaine ?

Applying rogain twice a day is cumbersome for me. But I have started on Propecia since past 2 weeks. My derm tells me combo is a the best. I dont think I will be able to continue on Rogaine for longer than 3 months. Can I leave it after 3 months since I am already on propecia? how do you think it will impact my hair? Also How bout the option of 5% minoxidil once a day combine with propecia? My hair thinning/ some loss is 8 months old. Thank you!

The two medications have different mechanisms of action. Rogaine (Minoxidil) gets great results about 15% of the time, but does require twice daily use and has side effects of dryness and flaking. Some people get dizzy from the antihypertensive effects of this drug. Propecia (Finasteride) works in a much higher number of young men, so I tend to recommend it with little side effects. I’ve found that increased sex drive occurs in about 10% of men (it happened to me), a decreased sex drive in less than 2% of men, and a decrease in the occurance of prostate cancer in about 25% of men by a recent report.

I prefer starting on one first, usually Propecia, and then after a year if the goals are not met, I may start the patient on Minoxidil.