Is Propecia safe to use long-term?

[joer1212]

A prostate specialist recently told me not to take Propecia because it affects your prostate over time.
I had gone to this doctor to find out if he could write me a prescription for a Propecia refill (which I have been on for almost a-year-and-a-half), but he refused.
Does anyone know of any long-term medical studies that suggest Propecia is unsafe?
I have not had any of the much-publicized sexual side effects that Propecia allegedly causes. To the contrary, I think my libido has actually increased since I started this medication.
Besides this, I have not noticed any side effects..
Should I be worried? Is it safe for me to continue taking 1mg. a day of Propecia indefinitely?
By the way, I am 43 years-old.

[Dan26]

Anyone who tells you that propecia is safe or unsafe to use longterm is lying to you. The truth is we are not sure. There is a small amount of evidence linking it to more aggressive and harder to treat forms of cancer.

Hopefully medical advances in hairloss translate to smarter and more effective treatments hitting the market soon. Inhibiting DHT production in the body is a STUPID way to combat hairloss, but unfortunately unless you are willing to venture into the 'grey market' of hair loss solutions and spend a lot of money on things that in theory should be effective but may be impure, hassle to use ect., fin is one of the best options for saving your hair.

[rdawg]

I would have to agree with dan26,

With the way science is progressing lately I would say it's crazy to think there wont be an alternative or better solution than propecia within the next 5 if not 10 years.

propecia to me is a transition drug, simply to tide me over and keep the hair I have until the next new product comes out(i.e Histogen).

Long-term I dont know, but even though I'm not experiencing sides, I'd definitely prefer to be off this drug by the time i'm 30(im 20 now.)

[joer1212]

I would have to agree with dan26,

With the way science is progressing lately I would say it's crazy to think there wont be an alternative or better solution than propecia within the next 5 if not 10 years.

propecia to me is a transition drug, simply to tide me over and keep the hair I have until the next new product comes out(i.e Histogen).

Long-term I dont know, but even though I'm not experiencing sides, I'd definitely prefer to be off this drug by the time i'm 30(im 20 now.)

Wow, you're only 20, and you already have hair loss to the point where you're taking Propecia regularly? I guess I was lucky to not have noticeable hair loss until my late 30's!
It's good you took a proactive approach, and caught this thing early. I waited until I was 41 to start taking this drug. I should've started, at least, at 37.

[rdawg]

Wow, you're only 20, and you already have hair loss to the point where you're taking Propecia regularly? I guess I was lucky to not have noticeable hair loss until my late 30's!
It's good you took a proactive approach, and caught this thing early. I waited until I was 41 to start taking this drug. I should've started, at least, at 37.

haha unfortunately for me i'm about an NW3 and have had hairloss since a few months after turning 17, It was quite agressive looking back on it.

I'm glad I stopped it now, as I was probably a year from having a decent sized bald spot, now at month 4 it seems to be reinforcing my hair a bit. I actually wish I started on it a year or two ago when I had much less thinning and more vellus hairs(i was a NW2.5 about a year ago.)

EDIT: and On new treatments you can at least expect Allergan to come out late next year or the year after, and you'll be getting numerous updates between now and February 2013 on Histogen, Allergan, Aderans and Replicel I believe. So we will know if 2-3 products are going into phase III which would be a huge advancement in hairloss products.

[joer1212]

Anyone who tells you that propecia is safe or unsafe to use longterm is lying to you. The truth is we are not sure. There is a small amount of evidence linking it to more aggressive and harder to treat forms of cancer.

Hopefully medical advances in hairloss translate to smarter and more effective treatments hitting the market soon. Inhibiting DHT production in the body is a STUPID way to combat hairloss, but unfortunately unless you are willing to venture into the 'grey market' of hair loss solutions and spend a lot of money on things that in theory should be effective but may be impure, hassle to use ect., fin is one of the best options for saving your hair.

I won't be holding my breath for these "new treatments".
Way back in the late 90's they claimed to be steps away from hair cloning. I'm still waiting. So are millions of other men.

[Dan26]

I won't be holding my breath for these "new treatments".
Way back in the late 90's they claimed to be steps away from hair cloning. I'm still waiting. So are millions of other men.

I see what your saying. But, things were A LOT different back then. At this point, hair loss is nearly curable in theory,they just need to develop products suited for mass use. Anti-androgen's like CB, as well as PDG2 blockers and a host of growth stimulants are all being developed. The ideal permanent solutions is hair-cloning (which I too wont hold my breath for), but I am fairly confident within the next 5 or so years some of the things I mentioned will be available and will make treating hair loss much easier.

[joer1212]

EDIT: and On new treatments you can at least expect Allergan to come out late next year or the year after, and you'll be getting numerous updates between now and February 2013 on Histogen, Allergan, Aderans and Replicel I believe. So we will know if 2-3 products are going into phase III which would be a huge advancement in hairloss products.

You sound like you've done your homework. I wasn't even aware that there was anything coming out soon.
I will google these drugs, but how are they different from Propecia? Are they supposed to be safer/more effective/have different mechanism of action? I know they probably won't be cheaper.

[alipig23]

Propecia

Search for ‘hair loss treatments’ on the internet and you’re likely to find lots of rave reviews about Propecia. It’s the first and only pill to treat male pattern baldness and only available via prescription. But despite being clinically proven and medically approved, some doctors are still hesitant to prescribe Propecia as there have been no ten years studies regarding its long-term safety. Yet there is ample evidence that Propecia is a safe and effective hair loss treatment.