Propecia Effectiveness After 6 Years

Hello Dr.
I am a 40 year old male who has been taking Propecia for the last 6 years and up until early this year appeared to have great results.
The last 6 to 9 months have been a different story. I have noticed an acceleration of hair loss over this period. My doctor just switched me to Proscar this month to save money and see if that would have better results. He also had me take blood tests and saliva samples to test for illness or hormone imbalance. These tests should be back in a few weeks. Any idea why the Propecia has appeared to lost its effectiveness?

Propecia has only 7 years worth of documented value, although everyone expects that Propecia benefits will not last in the long term and the loss will resume. The hope is that the loss, when it restarts, will be slower over time. Studies show that the hair loss goes back to the ‘start’ level at about 5 years (had you not taken it for these 5 years then the loss would be much greater). The value still maintains hair even if it is less effective over time, because for those who have stopped it, the loss became extreme when value had been seen. Some people think that a higher dose might help, but there is no definitive proof to that. Other drugs like Avodart may be more effective, but without safety and effectiveness certification from the FDA for hair loss, most doctors do not prescribe if ‘off label’ possibly because of potential legal problems (search for Avodart on this site for more information).