Hey guys,

I thought I'd share an experience with you that may help you in the future.

I was talking to someone a while back that had called in to ask about our clinic. I obviously asked if he was doing anything to stop his existing loss and he said that he was.

He said however that while initially he had a great response to Propecia and that he had substantial regrowth in the crown and that he had been super happy with how it had turned out. He said that later on though his gains turned into a loss as the improvement started to revert to additional loss and it wasn't stopping. He felt that he was back to where he had started or was even a bit worse than before.

I started asking him some questions and everything seemed to be normal but after some further brain wracking I threw out a simple question that was basically just a shot in the dark. I asked him, "Have you changed anything AT ALL regarding your intake, routine, etc. Anything no matter how insignificant it may seem. For example, did you change the source for where you get your Propecia?". "YES! I did."

He used to get Propecia from his local pharmacy but decided to save some money and order it online. Knowing what I know about online pharmacies I suggested he throw his Propecia in the garbage, call his local pharmacy and get another refill on his prescription. "Call me in six months after you've done this.".

He did and he told me that all of his hair that he lost had grown back once he started using the local pharmacy for his supply again.

Lesson to learn from this? Not all Proscar or Propecia or any medication for that matter is the same. Be careful of where you are getting it and if possible, and highly recommended, stick with a brick and mortar pharmacy instead of one of these online joints that have no real history or reputation to rely on. It's your hair so do what you can to keep it.

Fincar and finpecia is junk. If they have ANY finasteride in them at all they have low uneven doses in each pill . Ive read alot of complaints about both.

This is a very good thread and worth reading for everyone. Spend the $$, get a script from your family practioner or a Derm, and get the meds from a local pharmacy where you know you're getting the real deal.

This has always been my fear with online pharmacies. I am sure there are some legitimate ones but not all of them are.

Thanks for sharing this important story.

Falc

P.S. I moved this topic to the "hair loss drugs" section and added this important topic under our frequently asked questions and discussions featured thread.

Falc

Jotronic - you continue to provide a great service to this community. Thanks for this excellent advice.

I used original Propecia for years then I started to buy generic finasteride on internet from the last 2/3 years. I have bought from 2 online pharmacies. Results have been the same and much more economic

First I bought from
http://www.quality-rx.com/prescriptions/propecia/?fid=5144
For the last 2 years I have bought from
http://www.4rx.com/online-pharmacy/categories/skin-hair...pecia.html?kbid=6979
Never had problems.
But I think there are more legit online pharmacies

I've always gotten my Proscar online from Quality Health Inc. It's the only place I've ever purchased it for the past 11 years. They sell the real thing made by Merck, not a generic. I think if you purchase the real thing you should be OK.
http://www.qhi.co.uk/

Guys,

I just picked up 30 Proscar pills from Costco Canada for about $63 (let's assume 1usd = 1cad).

1 pill once cut into 4 parts and consumed MWF is going to last slightly over a week. So, 30 pills would last 30 weeks+, appx 8 months.

A year's supply of Rogaine Foam is $150.

$150+$63 = $213 for 1yr on maintaining/re-growing your hair isn't all that bad.

So why turn to shady sources?

About two weeks ago I made the switch after several years from Propecia to Finpecia by Cipla. Last nights shower I found 7 to 10 strands while washing hair. Now I don't know if this is a new phenomenon or not. I generally don't inspect for hair strands while washing my hair, but because I switched to Finpecia, I am somewhat unnerved. Anyone experience this type of situation? Is this something to be concerned with or is it just some sort of "adjustment" from one source of fin to another?

Fast Eddy, I wouldnt be worried by 7-10 strands from the shower considering we can shed upto 100 hairs a day naturally,its just that you happened to spot these ones.See how it progresses over coming weeks/months,if you notice your hair looking worse on the Finpecia then maybe go back to Merck.