Q. Does hair fall stop immediately with the use of Proscar?

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Both, Minoxidil and Finasteride takes time to act and in some cases it will take two to three months. Both are FDA - Food and Drug Administration-approved forandrogenic alopecia. You should always remember that if it is used once, then you need to take it for a lifetime. Otherwise, you would come to a previous stage of baldness.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

No, you should not increase the dose. FDA approved dose is only 1 mg per day that too for androgenic alopecia. Now, I am having a doubt over your diagnosis. These both are for androgenic alopecia and you are probably suffering from telogen effluvium (attachment removed to protect patient identity). Do you have any history of trauma, surgery, illness, medication or stress in the last three months?

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Yes, it may be, but there is a pretty fair chance of superimposed telogen effluvium. If you are on both medications, then it has got to control except in few cases where these will not work. Since you said that you are already on Minoxidil for the last 6 years, I do not find any reason for its progression as you have responded well. Now, regarding telogen effluvium, it is a pretty common disorder and is considered the closest differential diagnosis of androgenic alopecia. The only difference is that there will a typical pattern of hair fall in androgenic alopecia while in telogen effluvium whole scalp is involved. This is the reason I have asked you about the recent history of trauma, surgery, stress, etc. Serum iron deficiency is also an important cause behind it, so you need to test your serum ferritin level. In most cases, it is self limiting and in a few cases, it gets converted into chronic telogen effluvium.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I do not think so. First of all Finasteride is 5-alpha reductase inhibitor that is it stop the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. Dihydrotestosterone is the most potent androgen and is mainly responsible for androgenic alopecia. So, there is no way that it will cause such side effects. Although, minoxidil is said to do so because of the phenomenon known as an immediate telogen release, which means after using Minoxidil, telogen hair shed off and is replaced by anagen hair. So, up to two to three months of using Minoxidil paradoxically can cause hair fall and no such phenomenon has been reported with Finasteride. Lastly, keep taking the medication without hiking its dose and also start taking hair vitamin supplements like Keraglo Eva tablet daily. Also, get your serum ferritin level.

Same symptoms doesn’t mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Atishay Bukharia

Experience: 13 + Yrs

Dermatology

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