Q. I’ve been using Rogaine (minoxidil) for more than 12 years to slow hair loss. I started taking the oral medicine Proscar when I heard that this drug could also help grow hair. (Proscar was cheaper and stronger than Propecia.)
It worked well to give me denser hair, even better than Rogaine, but it had negative side effects. The climax during intercourse was less than climactic.
To get around this, I tried splitting the 5 mg Proscar tablets into five chunks of 1 mg each. That’s hard, so I ground up five 5 mg tablets and put them into a one-month supply of Rogaine liquid. I mixed the drugs together and put the solution on my scalp. It works like a charm and I have no more sexual side effects.
I tried not using the Proscar and my hair began falling out again immediately, so the mixture is better than Rogaine alone. I warm the solution before I put it on my scalp and it soaks in quickly. I’ve checked the bottle at the end of the month and there’s not a speck of residue.
A. Finasteride is the active ingredient in both Proscar (for prostate enlargement) and Propecia (for male pattern baldness). It blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which causes both problems.
Oral finasteride has been linked to sexual side effects. Your experiment may have sidestepped this problem. We could find no scientific study of this combination.
One caution: finasteride in any form must be kept away from pregnant women. DHT is essential for a male fetus to develop masculine characteristics.
