Propecia Losing Effectiveness

I have been taking Propecia for 7 years. I started in my early 30’s when I noticed some thinning. It worked well for me, stopping any further hair loss, and possibly re-growing what had thinned. Recently though, I’ve noticed some significant overall thinning that seems to have come on quite suddenly in the past 2-3 months. I am still taking Propecia daily, and have not missed a day in 7 years.

My question is this… Does Propecia lose it’s effectiveness after a period of time? Would it be of benefit to switch to Proscar, or Dutasteride? Please advise! Thanks!

After the initial improvement in hair count you get from Propecia during the first two years, there is a slow decline in hair count. But this decline is much slower and less drastic than what you would have seen if you had not taken Propecia at all. Stopping Propecia at this time would cause you to lose all of the hair that Propecia has protected for the past seven years. Proscar is the same drug (finasteride) as Propecia, just a higher dose. It has not been proven that a higher daily dose of finasteride is more beneficial, and you do run the risk of having more side effects. Dutasteride is not yet an FDA approved drug for hair loss, so I do not prescribe it.