Dr. Say no avodart or 5mg proscar

[Blushark]

Hey all,
Looking for some advice. Been on 1mg finistride for the first three months then moved to 2.5mg of pro scar bc no improvement, 4 months on that and still no abatement of shedding or signs of regrowth. So this first dermatologist wants to now put me on avodart .5mg or at least proscar 5mg. Shedding started one year ago and lost a good 50% of density in 3-4 months, no family history of significant hairloss or balding that I can find and all three brothers, father and uncle have nice thick set of hair so I guess I am one of the unlucky statistics. I do have hypothyroid related issues (hashimotos), but the video-microscopy from one hair specialist says otherwise, so that is what I have settled on...mpb, bc thyroid meds have not had any effect on hair and labs now show I am at near optimal hormone levels except for the Hashimotos related tests.

Anyway, I got a second opinion about the meds from a prominent hair dr. In NYC who has been on many day time shows regard mpb (he is the one who did the video-microscopy on my scalp). He said that 3 months to see improvement is not realistic, more like 12 moths to see any improvement...that part I understand and have read about. He also said he would absolutely not put me on anything but 1.5 proscar if he were perscribing meds to me.

So, does everyone agree with that assessment and if so why not a stronger dose? Is he suggesting that the higher effectiveness of 5mg proscar or avodart is only better if you are a responder to such meds, and therefore the sexual risks aren't woth it unless you know you'll respond to the typical 1.5 procar? In other words, if you don't respond to 1.5, your not going to respond to anything higher?

I understand a year needs to pass but so far (7 months) I have seen zero improvement/reduction in shedding. And what sucks is that although it's most visible on the crown and vertex, it's fairly diffused throughout my entire head. I would have at least expected to see a halt or significant slow down in shedding by now.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated and sorry if this post was a bit long, just wanted to give a full picture.

[burtandernie]

If 1mg is the recommended approved dose for hair loss why would you take more than that before even seeing if it works at all after the first year or so? I dont see how he is wrong. Personally I would probably go with .25mg a day if I started on it but my hair loss is very slow and gradual.

[Blushark]

The reason I would even consider upping the dose it because 7 months has passed and so far the shedding has not decreased, in fact it seems to have accelerated. I understand it takes time for propecia to allow the folicles to recover, but at least I would expect the shedding to have slowed down a bit by now.