ive been using propecia for several months.... i know due to family history that hair loss is in my future... but at 23 i have expierenced just some recession of the hairline and your everyday shedding of hair nothing out of the ordinary.. my doc about a year ago told me the sooner on propecia the better.. is this generally true? but my father and other elder males in my family are urging me to reconsider my usage of the drug... i admit the are less educated about this than i have become in the last year or two, but theyre saying i will speed up whatever hairloss the future holds for me if i stop using the drug say after 3 years of using it.. is there any truth to this, through personal expierence or through hear say???? Any response from vet monox expecially vet propecia users would be greatly appreciated..... thanx Ibrahim, Young but learning

IBRAHIM - I suspect that stopping the propecia after 3 years would just cause you to lose everything the drug was helping you keep up to that point, so it could appear to be accelerating your loss at that time. Also, keep in mind that it is very likely that within 3 years there will be other, more effective drugs on the market.

Speaking of other drugs, does anybody know the status of Dutasteride approval?

Ibrahim,

I agree w/Gary, dont stop Propecia, you are young enough to save a lot of Follicles. I experimented with stopping Propecia/Proscar after 2 years of continual use..

Here is the problem:

For me, everytime I have strayed from the regular usage of Propecia..I then have to "re-start" the drug..(out of my own common sense..duh..me!)..and sure enough, it seems my hair growth cycle is temporarily interupted (upon restaring), and I get initial shedding for 4-6 weeks, then later back to better hair growth then without the drug.

So, I have decided to commit and wait for info from early users of "Dutustiride" (proper spelling-not sure). I would at least commit to a smaller dose of Propecia, but stay on the drug to aviod any re-shedding when you go back to it later. BTW, "IF" Propecia had been around when I was say 28 or so, I may not be reading this forum !! No offense "Pat" youre the greatest host out there, and your HT observations helped me get my hair back !!!...but you know we all try to help one another, and a pill a day is not so bad.

Good luck !!