Month: February 2006

Posted on

Hair Loss After Chemotherapy – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in July 2005 and began chemo and lung radiation shortly after that. I lost my hair after the first month of treatment. After my chemo, my hair started to grow back, only for the doctor to tell me that I needed to do a 3-week round of brain radiation as a percautionary measure since the lung tumor was gone and there seemed to be no other organs affected. I finished these treatments about two weeks before Christmas 2005. I totally lost all of the hair that I had grown back, yet again. Well…here it is February 19, 2006 and still no sign of any hair growth at all. My question is this: How long before I should consider this a permanent condition? I’ve basically already given up hope and kissed my long blonde hair goodbye. I would just like to know how long I should wait before I consider the fact that I might not be growing back any hair ever. Thank you.

Block Quote

I am sorry to hear that you have small cell lung cancer. After cancer treatments, hair can go into a dormant phase for many months. You may have to wait up to 6-8 months for hair to regrow. Some people will have all of their luxurious hair grow back once the effects of chemotherapy have gone. Let’s hope that this is in your future along with a healthy body.

Posted on

Hair Loss from Hot Showers? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 22 y/o man, and I started losing my hair when I was 19. When I was 18 I moved from a tropical country to a cold country and I started taking hot showers. I think that could be the biggest problem. I lost about 40% of my hair at the rear top and front, both sides of my head, and whatever hair I have left on those spots is very thin, and I still am losing hair. I have no history of hair loss in my family but my father started losing hair when he was over 40 y/o. Should I visit a doctor to know the reason of my hair loss before I start using any product? I used rogaine for 1 year but I had no change.

I am certain that hot water does not cause hair loss. Many people love hot showers, so if your suspicion were correct, everyone living in the US (or other parts of the world for that matter) that took regular hot showers would be bald or balding. This is simply not true. As a man between the ages of 19-24, advanced hair loss indicates that you probably have strong genetics for balding (assuming there is no medical cause). Propecia and possibly Rogaine may help with your hair loss, but you need a working diagnosis by mapping of your scalp for miniaturization to confirm if it is actually male patterned balding. Based upon your history with 40% or more of the hair lost already, you are on the fast track for becoming a bald man, so I would not delay in seeing a hair doctor and finding a correct path to take.

By looking to find a cause for your hair loss, you are exercising a psychological trick that the mind routinely uses when it does not want to face ‘bad news’. Psychologists call this denial. My own son used denial to justify that he was not losing his hair, under constant pressure from his brothers and sister who recognized his pain. He eventually accepted that Propecia might actually be a good thing to take, accepting that he was the victim of his (my opinion) mother’s genetics. It took him over a year to recognize his Norwood Class 4A thinning pattern. I would see him suffer over his early hair loss, in silence. Now, his hair loss has partly reversed. He does not appear to be balding anymore. A victory over hair loss for my own family, thanks to the proper use of Propecia. Happily every after? Unfortunately, there is no way to tell what the future will hold or how long the medication will last.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Concerns About Bald Area After Third Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was a Norwood Class 6, with straight, dark brown, medium weight hair with a donor density of 2.1. I had three hair transplant sessions totaling 5,300 follicular unit grafts with very little done to the crown area. It has been 7 1/2 months since the third transplant, and I feel as if I still have to do a comb-over to conceal the right parting area of my hair ( I part my hair on my left side). I conveyed my concern over this area prior to the third surgery and the surgeon suggested that I not tell him how to do his job. And, I don’t believe that many grafts-if any-were placed in this area of concern. I do recall the surgeon stating that he’d favor the left side part since this is where I part my hair. I am generally happy with the surgeons work. Based on my profile, is it realistic for me to expect that I would not have to do a comb-over to conceal my hair loss. In other words, am I expecting too much from three transplants of 5,300 grafts? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Block Quote

Norwood Class 6The keys to patient satisfaction are: good communication, setting expectations with reality, and proper patient education to show where that reality is. I was disturbed by your doctors comment, to “not tell him how to do his job,” for that implies that he may have fallen short of the three critical issues I just mentioned.

Think about the math of the transplant process. In a typical person with a Norwood Class 6 pattern, the person would have lost about 50,000 hairs. If you had 5,300 grafts, then you would have received (assuming that they are follicular units) 10,600 hairs. That is 20% of your original density. There is an art form that will make 20% look like far more hair than it should, but it can not be equal to the original hair population, either in fact or in appearance. I always tell my patients that the surgeon creates an illusion (the surgeon controls the distribution of the grafts) assisted by various patient factors not always in his/her control (e.g hair and skin color, hair shaft thickness, hair character or the degree of waviness, and the densities that are achieved). This is very difficult for the average patient to understand before hand, so I take the unusual step of having the open house events monthly at my offices (done for over 13 years). For these events, I invite between 5-15 patients who’ve had various degrees of balding with different hair characteristics to allow people like you to meet patients first hand, so that the art and the illusion is appreciated. That (without taking an “I know it all because I am a doctor/surgeon” type of attitude) produces a very high patient satisfaction rate. The answer to your question is that you probably did not have the type of realistic expectations that you should have had and no matter how good your surgeon may be, your surgeon did not package all of the important elements into your Master Plan to give you what you needed to know.

Posted on

Spider Bites in Teen Causing All Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hello,
1st i would like to start off with my age being 17. Up until this year i have never experenced hair loss, however in the recent months i have noticed my hair falling and still now i have “rows”, for lack of a better term, balding all over my head. more recently i have noticed all my body hair is falling from my legs, arms, underarms, and even my eyebrows.i have also noticed what i assume to be bite marks on my scalp and legs leading me to think maybe spiders have been bitting me when sleeping, and also just today i noticed a small light red spot on the back of my right hand slightly faded though still clearly visible. on top of this problem, i am also experiencing blurry vision, random blackouts meaning my eye sight becomes all black for a quick 2 seconds then returns. and finaly far away objects blur in a swirl. i have no idea if all these things come togther or if i have multiple disorders, nor have i seen any type of Doctor to professionally examine me. this left me to the internet where i found this site regarding my specific issues so that i may understand what may be occuring to my body. if you have any ideas as to what my problem could be i would appreciate it truly as any sort of advise or information will help me so much. thank you for your time and i look forward to your responce. thanks again…
sincerely,
Concerned Teen.

Block Quote

I am not convinced that a spider bite would be the cause of your hair loss. I recommend that you visit your primary care physician to address your many problems and concerns. The internet should not be used as a replacement for what a good doctor can do for you in person.

Posted on

Transplanting Very Low Hairlines – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman, I live in Indiana and I am wondering if you have any recommendations for hair transplant doctors in the midwest. Dr. [name removed] has an office in Chicago, do you know if he is a good surgeon? His pictures on his website look great but he only has a few of them and he seems to be a little risky with giving young people very low hairlines.

Block Quote

I do not comment on particular doctors when I have not seen the doctor personally do the work. I always say that the good news and the bad news about hair transplants is that hair transplants are permanent.

You are correct to worry about physician choice. This is an extremely important step in the overall process. The procedure itself, just like most other cosmetic surgeries, can be expensive depending on the amount of work that needs to be done, and just selecting a doctor because they happen to be local doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the best results you can. It is crucial that you do your own research before chosing your physician. That is why we hold open house events monthly where people shopping for a doctor can meet face to face with many patients who have had hair transplants done. What you see is what you are going to get, so this type of activity is the best way to search out the process. We do have a travel reimbursement program and will allow someone to include the round trip to come to an open house in the hair transplant reimbursement program. Not only do we have more transplant patients on our newhair.com site than any other medical group, but we have been holding these open house events and seminars for 13 years. In all of the years we have been doing this, we have never had an unhappy patient come to one of these events and that, I believe, says a great deal. I am not saying here that every patient has met their needs or their expectations, but what I am saying is that the doctor must work hard to make the expectations of the patient match the reality of what the experience will be like after the process is over.

Posted on

Transplanting Hair Into Burns – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is it possible to regrow your hair through the likes of transplant surgery even though my hair was burnt in an accident? It is not a lot, its just on one side. How does one get a hold of any doctor who can help out?

Block Quote

Yes, it is possible to transplant hair into the scarred area caused by burns, provided that the skin is healthy. Some badly burned patients lose skin and receive skin grafting which may not support transplanted hair if the skin graft was ‘partial thickness’. The early years of hair transplantation were for burn patients by Japanese physicians. So again, provided that the skin is healthy, hair will grow if carefully transplanted. For help finding a doctor in your area, I would use the physician search on ISHRS.org.

Posted on

Ritalin, Adderall XR, and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have been taking Ritalin since I was in grade school, which I am 24 now. However,four months ago my Doctor switched me to Adderall XR. Could these medications be causing my hair to thin? If I stopped taking them will my hair regrow? What Vitamins as well as foods could I take to supply sufficient nutrients to promote hair growth?

Block Quote

Adderall and Ritalin can produce hair loss. A good diet is important as a general health issue and hair health reflects your overall health. If you have genetic balding, you need to be diagnosed by mapping your scalp for miniaturization. At 24, there are many things you can do, but first you need to get a Master Plan to be able to know what your future options will be.

In your case, if Adderall or Ritalin are the cause of the hair loss, stopping them may help, but with genetic hair loss it is possible that your hair may not regrow. Vitamins and good foods are healthy things to do, but unless you are vitamin deficient or malnourished, these things will probably not reverse any genetic hair loss.

Posted on

Kelly Osbourne Going Bald? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Kelly Osbourne

What do you think about the news that rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s pop-singer daughter Kelly has revealed she is going bald? The article is here: InsideOnline.com

Block Quote

The article shows what can happen when hair is abused. If the abuse stops and she is losing her hair secondary to the abuse, then it MAY return. If she continues abusing it (which is what the article implies), it may become a permanent type of negative balding, just the opposite of what she is trying to achieve.

Posted on

Should I Take Propecia Before Having Hair Mapped? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hello dr. rassman,
i am a 46 year old male and my hair has started to thin a little, but yet it’s very thick. baldness doesn’t run on either side of my family, but i know that sometimes doesn’t matter. i was curious as if i should start taking propecia, or should i first have my hair analyzed by a hair surgeon. also, how long does the effectiveness of propecia last if taken for a lifetime, otherwise could one still keep their hair if it they stay on it. thanks very much for your response.

Block Quote

Getting your hair mapped out will give a metric to the degree of miniaturization, so that after you have taken Propecia for a year, you can measure any progress you’ve made with the medication. You must stay on the Propecia for life, or you will lose all of the benefits accrued quite quickly.