Propecia and young people

[mike92]

I'm interested what the experience of people who know people/or who have taken themselves hormone blocking treatments such as Propecia, etc, at a young age <-22/23 (before full maturity). I am 19 and have been losing very slowly since I was in mid-teens, in fact I was born with a slightly receding hairline. I've been taking propecia for about 2-3 weeks, I haven't noticed any really obvious sides - for a while I thought it might be giving me a little fleshier chest/decreased libido, but neither are effecting me seriously.

When you really consider that a male is still developing way into his 20s, usually referred to as filling out, do you think propecia and other blockers are you screwing these young guys up, like myself, without us knowing? There is no data in the effects diminished DHT has on men still in the later stages of development (18-22). I'm looking forward to saying goodbye to my teenage years as they've been disappointing, but I don't want to possibly be a diminished adult because of my actions (taking propecia) while I'm still developing and live my entire life in a sort of half developed emasculated manboy. There'd be nothing worse than saving your hair to find out 5 years down the line when some study come out that blocking DHT is <23 yo stops them from reaching their full adult potential/capacity hormonally, physically, mentally etc.

For example if a 30 yo man was to start propecia, he has already fully developed and I don't just mean completed puberty, he has went through all the changes men go through in their late teens/early twenties. So when they take propecia the hormone they are blocking is important but it isn't involved in development in the same way it might be in someone around my age (19).

I don't know if I'm talking nonsense and pseudo-science, but I'm concerned. I can grow a beard, have chest hair, my voice isn't high or anything - but I'm only like 5'8/5'9 and compared to my father etc I have a very small frame/body (only bout 150lbs). Opinions on development and propecia?

[PvH]

there hasn't been a formal study on that subject. we can instill our own personal beliefs in you but in the end it's your body and your risk to take

[clandestine]

Very good thread, very good question. Currently 20 and considering propecia, same questions are coming up in my head.

[Cr779]

This is something that's been nagging me for a long time too. Only I'm more concerned with mental maturity. I could handle never growing a beard or having boyish facial features. My biggest question is how does DHT effect your brain, I mean I think we all know as people leave their late teens early twenties they start to emotionally mature and become more stable and composed(generally speaking) I don't wanna find out i've ****ed with my brains hormonal maturity and am gonna have some kinks down the road. I always wondered if this may have something to do with the small percentage of men who experience depression on the drug.

[mike92]

For worrying for myself.
@PvH: exactly, no official studies - seems very reckless they wouldn't test this on the age group I refer to specifically. I've been all over the internet in just about every propecia/hair loss related site looking for info and all I get is responses from guys my age saying they wanna know this too.

@Cr779: There is no way to say for certain as there hasn't been tests. If you concern is solely emotionally I wouldn't worry too much about it as although hormones play a large role it is more something which is changeable from person to person, too many variables to even know through a scientific test. What is a very real concern is what effect the hormones have on your ability to development holistically. Which is what I want to know.

[Gandolf]

I'm interested what the experience of people who know people/or who have taken themselves hormone blocking treatments such as Propecia, etc, at a young age <-22/23 (before full maturity). I am 19 and have been losing very slowly since I was in mid-teens, in fact I was born with a slightly receding hairline. I've been taking propecia for about 2-3 weeks, I haven't noticed any really obvious sides - for a while I thought it might be giving me a little fleshier chest/decreased libido, but neither are effecting me seriously.

When you really consider that a male is still developing way into his 20s, usually referred to as filling out, do you think propecia and other blockers are you screwing these young guys up, like myself, without us knowing? There is no data in the effects diminished DHT has on men still in the later stages of development (18-22). I'm looking forward to saying goodbye to my teenage years as they've been disappointing, but I don't want to possibly be a diminished adult because of my actions (taking propecia) while I'm still developing and live my entire life in a sort of half developed emasculated manboy. There'd be nothing worse than saving your hair to find out 5 years down the line when some study come out that blocking DHT is <23 yo stops them from reaching their full adult potential/capacity hormonally, physically, mentally etc.

For example if a 30 yo man was to start propecia, he has already fully developed and I don't just mean completed puberty, he has went through all the changes men go through in their late teens/early twenties. So when they take propecia the hormone they are blocking is important but it isn't involved in development in the same way it might be in someone around my age (19).

I don't know if I'm talking nonsense and pseudo-science, but I'm concerned. I can grow a beard, have chest hair, my voice isn't high or anything - but I'm only like 5'8/5'9 and compared to my father etc I have a very small frame/body (only bout 150lbs). Opinions on development and propecia?

This is not based on any type of scientific study, but from my experience, teenagers that experience very early hair loss are almost always early bloomers and done maturing. All of that testosterone and DHT required to cause such aggressive hairloss fuses your growth plates and causes other changes to your body so I think the risks of harming your growth are pretty slim by the age of 19-20 or so. However, you are 100% right to at least be somewhat concerned about these things. While some men mature into their 20's, I'd say that virtually none of them are the ones who have significant noticable thinning/recession in their teens.

I know that the first time I ever looked in the mirror and thought that maybe, just maybe I am losing my hair in when I was 20. I didn't get on propecia for another 6.5 years and looking back, I wish I had as my body was 100% done maturing at 20. I reached my full height by about my 15th birthday, so you might want to use that as a guideline. If you haven't grown at all in height in at least 2-3 years it's much safer. If you're still growing or only recently stopped then you should probably wait a few more years.