Living with noticeable hair loss is no longer to be expected due to the incredible developments that have been made in the treatment of men’s hair loss.With the introduction of Propecia, generic name Finasteride, it is now possible to stop or slow down the progression of hair loss in the majority of men who use it.
Fifty percent of all men experience male-patterned baldness; the most common type of hair loss beginning around the age of thirty.
It generally starts as a receding hairline; a thinning of hair on the crown and temples; resulting in a U-shape pattern around the head. In some rare cases, a male may end up completely bald.
The condition is genetic; caused by an abundance of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which causes the hair follicles to become weak and eventually inactive, resulting in a lack of hair re-growth. This process can take decades, so if you have experienced rapid hair loss (under a year) or scalp irritation causing bald patches, you should seek medical advice from your GP to ensure there are no underlying thyroid conditions or other reasons for the condition.
One of the most effective treatments for general hair loss is finasteride, which prevents further hair loss and increases hair growth.
Approximately 60–80% of men who experience male-patterned baldness get off finasteride and begin to achieve and maintain a normal hair growth and protect against further hair lossOf those men who get off finasteride, 40–50%–55%–60%–70%–75%– 80%–85%–90%–. This figure is higher for men who have never experienced male-patterned baldness – or if you are a men’s health professional – 50%–55%–65%–70%–75%–. In fact, most men who experience male-patterned baldness never experience any form of baldness.
In most cases, men have had to stop treatment with finasteride for this type of hair loss, which has been reported to affect many men’s hair loss treatments.
A few years ago, I was interviewed by a German TV channel which wanted to show that taking over the counter drugs was a dangerous practice, and had gone to great pains to do some secret filming in Thai suburban pharmacies (of which there are numerous).
The drug they wished to highlight was our old friend (or probably better described as the “friend of the old”), the blue diamonds. They had chosen Thailand because so many blue diamonds were being taken here, and they wanted to show the disastrous side effects from taking the fake pills.
During the course of the interview I pointed out that Germany has its own very well known red light areas, so they could save money on plane fares and get the blue diamond statistics much closer to home. I also pointed out that we were not inundated with octogenarians with heart failure and loaded condoms, and “over the counter” (OTC) drugs could be found all over the world, and not just here.
It might come as no surprise to those who have an inkling of television “news” that they cut my interview out of the feature. Do not forget the journalist’s creed – “Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story”!
So back to counterfeit blue diamonds, how do you find out that yours are real or otherwise? Every day I receive Spam, offering me the opportunity to keep a battalion of beauties satisfied. These are the internet email offers of cut-price drugs that will keep me in a state of perpetual priapism, a continuing (and painful) male erection and the term was coined after the Greek god Priapus who is shown in paintings to have a central member like a third leg.
Offers like these which are too good to be true, are usually just that – too good to be true! These cut-price drugs are not the real deal. The chances are very high that they are counterfeit.
One of the patients showed me a box purporting to be genuine brand name Cialis tablets, which were not having the desired effect. I was immediately suspicious as the box was not all that well printed. I was quite sure they were counterfeit when I read the Patient Information slip (the printed sheet that you don’t read). The English grammar was incorrect, and there were spelling mistakes. Eli Lilly, the ‘real’ manufacturer does not send out mis-spelled literature with their product. How real is the threat of counterfeit drugs? The World Health Organization estimates that one in three drugs on the worldwide market today is counterfeit. One in three!
Pfizer’s laboratories analyze fakes and stated, “We’ve seen boric acid, heavy metals, road paint, floor wax to coat the pills and give them a shine.”This is actually a serious situation. If specific drugs are only available through pharmacies, on the prescription of a doctor, is it safe to just buy over the internet (or counter), without any doctor’s advice?
According to WHO, drugs commonly counterfeited include antibiotics, antimalarials, hormones and steroids. Increasingly, anticancer and antiviral drugs are also faked. And you can add to that, the ‘blue diamonds’. Get your medications on a doctor’s prescription. There is a reason for it.
I do know that many of our patients complain that my hospital’s pharmacy is expensive, but that is the price of guaranteeing that your medications are not the WHO’s one in three fake medications in our pharmacy! We may be more expensive, but the medication is the real deal!
Previously published in the Pattaya Mail.
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retchedotinesildenafilIs it safe to just buy over the internet, without any doctor’s advice? As one patient stated, “ ” Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart problems or high blood pressure. Weizercoupys can also be offers from hospitals, especially at a time when major pharmaceutical companies are expected to slash costs "over the counter ’± medicine’." Hafnia alaynde ereu kaufen kann das Gegner-propekte auch einen werten. Das Propekt ist auch bekannt.
The FDA issued a warning that generic versions of Propecia (finasteride) may cause serious side effects in men with prostate-related tumors, particularly in younger men. In a study of 1,857 men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) who took finasteride, the incidence of these side effects increased from 2% in men taking finasteride to 3% in men who took finasteride alone. The findings indicate that this may be due to a possible increase in side effects in men taking finasteride.
The side effects of finasteride were reported in a small number of finasteride-treated patients. However, the incidence of side effects in these men was minimal, and the incidence in men taking finasteride was not reported.
Although these findings are not necessarily the first sign of a serious side effect, it is important to note that the incidence of these side effects may be higher in men taking finasteride than those taking finasteride alone. The incidence of side effects may also be higher in men with a history of prostate cancer, such as prostate cancer.
The FDA has issued a warning that finasteride can cause serious side effects in men with BPH. These side effects are most commonly caused by the presence of androgen (male sex hormone) in the blood. For example, a study in theJournal of the American Medical Associationfound that men who took finasteride for 1 year had a 2.2 times greater risk of a serious condition when compared with men taking placebo.
Finasteride can also cause other side effects, including decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, decreased ejaculate volume, reduced semen volume, and gynecomastia, which can cause permanent damage to the male reproductive system. These effects are known as “prostate cancer” and can result in serious side effects that can lead to other health problems.
In addition to the side effects reported in the, there have also been reports of men who developed prostate cancer after taking finasteride. These men were treated with finasteride by a combination of an alpha blocker and finasteride by a drug other than finasteride. It is not known whether the alpha blocker caused these side effects.
The risk of serious side effects from finasteride use is greatest in older men, and it is not known whether the risk of these side effects in men with prostate cancer is greater in men who also have BPH. It is also not known whether finasteride use can increase the risk of other types of cancer such as endometrial hyperplasia (uterine lining growth), and breast cancer. It is also not known whether finasteride can increase the risk of breast cancer.
In addition, there are no studies that show that finasteride can cause serious side effects in men with prostate cancer. A small study in thefound that the risk of prostate cancer in men taking finasteride was reduced by a combination of finasteride and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). The results suggest that men with a prostate cancer may benefit from finasteride.
The FDA has issued a warning that finasteride may cause serious side effects in men with BPH. These side effects are most commonly caused by the presence of androgens (male sex hormones).
Although the side effects of finasteride have been reported, the incidence of these side effects may be higher in men who take finasteride than in men who also take finasteride alone. The incidence of side effects in men taking finasteride was minimal, and the incidence in men taking finasteride was not reported.
Last updated 18 January 2022
The UK patent forPropecia, a hair loss treatment for men, expired on the 11th Oct 2014. A few days later ‘generic Propecia’ or more accurately ‘generic finasteride’ became available from UK pharmacies. A generic medicine is a medicine which is the same as a branded original, but is prescribed and supplied by its medical name, rather than its brand name.
Propecia is a brand name. The active ingredient of Propecia tablets isfinasteride 1mg. Propecia tablets and finasteride 1mg tablets are medically the same.
Dr Fox supplies both from the drug companyMerck(MSD), which held the original patent, and lower cost, which other drug companies have made available since Merck’s UK patent expired.
When a medicine comes off patent price can fall dramatically. Men, who previously paid very high prices for Propecia, may be able to buy medically identical finasteride 1mg at lower prices.
When a medicine is under patent it can only be sold legally by the patent holder. This means the patent holder, which is normally the drug company which paid to develop the medicine in the first place, is free to market the medicine without competition from other pharmaceutical companies. The result is usually very high prices. When a patent expires other drug companies usually start to produce the same medicine, known as a generic copy, and start to compete on price. As a result the cost to patients tends to fall.
The cost to patients of a medicine depends on various factors; how much it costs to produce, how much demand there is, how many drug companies supply the same medicine, and how flexible the market is. Even when the wholesale supply price of a medicine falls, the price patients pay does not always fall by the same amount. Retail pharmacies may try not to pass on reduced supply costs to patients, and instead use falling wholesale prices to boost profits. If there is price competition between retailers, as there tends to be between online pharmacies and online clinics, price to patients usually fall in line with falls in wholesale supply costs, but not always.
Dr Fox is one of the lowest cost suppliers of most medicines for both branded and generic medicines.
At the moment (10 Dec 2014) only three pharmaceutical companies, apart from Merck, are supplying finasteride 1mg tablets. These companies areTrent,Actavis, andMylanAt the time of writing, all are offering their generic equivalent of Propecia at the same price; about 10% less than branded Propecia. Prices will hopefully tumble further in the days and weeks to come (as happened when last year).UPDATE JANUARY 2022Generic finasteride is now less than 30% of the price of Propecia from Dr Fox.
The original patent holder, Merck (MSD) may reduce the price of Propecia, or start to market its own generic finasteride 1mg alongside branded Propecia.
Not all men who previously took Propecia will switch to generic finasteride 1mg, even if the price of Propecia remains high and generic finasteride is a lot cheaper. If a patient is happy with a particular brand of tablet, they often will not switch to a lower cost equivalent, even if they are reliably advised that one tablet is medically the same as the other. Whether or not they switch depends on how much they wish to economise, and all the other factors which keep people buying certain products at high prices when they do not have to.
Finasteride 1mg tablets are taken daily to reduce hair loss in men, and can promote hair regrowth. See Dr Fox for details.
Cheap Propecia may be on its way which would be welcome news to the many men suffering distress as a result of male pattern hair loss.
Cheap generic finasteride is now less than 30% of the price of Propecia from Dr FoxAll prices are in UK and European currency.
The manufacturer of Propecia tablets and finasteride 1mg tablets,, first bought the drug from Dr Fox in 2014.
Stade de France Pharmacy