Androgenetic Alpoceia

Question
HI Michael,



I just came back from visiting my Dermatologist.



I have just received the sad news I have androgenetic alpoceia. My dad has it too I guess. It appears my dad went the hair transplant route in the 70's and 80's. It worked for him, but as he is in his late 60's now, the balness has really taken hold on him.



Anyway, I am 34 (and a bit). I take very good care of myself (weight lift and cardio and eat well). My hair is still pretty good, looking at me you could not tell I am going thin. I have just noticed thinning. It mostly looks thin when my hair is wet. So I guess I have caught it at a very early stage.



I have some concerns/questions about my diagnosis;



1.  The Doctor has prescribed me some Proscar. I am to cut the tablet up and take 1mg daily. I am concerned that taking Proscar will cause some side effects. Are there any known long term side effects? We are considering a 3rd child and I am not clear on whether that can cause birth defects.



2.  Is Proscar truly effective? Will it cause re-growth? I have heard that initially it can cause shedding and that terrifies me.



3.  Will I need to take Proscar the rest of my life? What happens if you stop taking Proscar? How quick does the hair fall out?



4.  The Doctor also suggested I use Minoxidil. I was wondering though if I truly needed to use the Minoxidil or if I could just take the Proscar? Is this in the form of a shampoo too? I guess that would not be bad to use (other than cost) as I generally use nizoral. It would just be another shampoo.



5.  Personally I would really prefer to not take Proscar and Minoxidil and would much prefer to use natural supplements. I have been taking Saw Palmetto, Nizoral and natural shampoos the past 2 months. I wish this would work. Maybe it would over time, but I am not sure if I want to chance it.



I am quite anxious about this news today and would really appreciate your advice.



Thanks,


Answer
1. In some men Propecia/Proscar inhibits sex.  The man is unable to have an erection.  Women are not supposed to touch the medication especially if there is a male child involved as there can be birth defects.

2.  I would say that Proscar is 75% effective.  It can stop hair loss as well as grow hair in most men

3. If you stop Proscar the hair will eventually revert back meaning you will loose all the hair that grew back and that was stopped from falling out.

4. Some of the patients that I have treated say that taking Proscar and topical Minoxidil was more effective than using one of the medications alone.

5. Nizoral and natural shampoos do not work for hair loss.  There are no scientific studies to show that Saw Palmetto is effective for male pattern hair loss.