May 2007 – Page 10 – Balding Blog

May 11, 2007

Propecia and Dosage – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doc

After years of loyal service I found that 1/4 a pill of proscar a day has stopped working for me & I am shedding hair again.I upped the dose to 1/2 a pill proscar a day & after 4 days of use I can get an erection but am finding that it takes a very long time for me to ejaculate & when I do,the ejaculate is signifcantly reduced.I am also suffering from brain fog & hot flashes. What should I do ?

I don’t want to stop the medication because I don’t want to go bald. Any suggestions ? Would decreasing the dose to 2mg a day make a difference ?

I am really desperate for feedback. Thanks in advance.

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The dosage of Propecia was arrived at because when Merck went through the FDA the 1mg dose was found to be lowest effective dose to get the desired result based on the clinical trial program that was done. That may suggest that a higher than 1 mg dose may be more effective, but that was not studied for treating hair loss.

We do know that higher doses of finasteride will increase the known side effects. A decreased ejaculate is one of those side effects. With regard to brain fog, there is nothing that I know of that will support this as a known side effect of finasteride. Be careful that you are not setting yourself up for this and obsessing too much. If you want to play around with the dosage, wait a few weeks between changes as it takes that long to change the tissue levels of the drug.

May 11, 2007

Hair Loss InformationUsing Donor Hair from Family or Friends? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

Great site. I am a long time reader, first time poster.

My question is this: Is it possible to use donor hair from a friend/family member with the same style hair your have if there not enough donor hair on a subject?

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Hair could be donated from other people just like organ donation, but without drugs to suppress the immune response, it will be rejected. Patients who are receiving an organ transplant need to be matched before the surgery for antigen compatibility and stay on anti-rejection medication for the rest of their lives. If you have an identical twin, it will work because the hair has the same genetic code as you would have.

Here’s a clip from our NHI video about identical twins and hair transplantation:

May 11, 2007

Hair Loss InformationI Have Alopecia Areata – What Can I Do About My Eyebrows? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello baldingblog staff!

My question for you, I’m a guy , 35 years old, im suffering alopecia areata (patches). I really can do nothing, Im very affected by this disease and decide to completely shave my head and i deal with it. My real problem here to resolve is the eyebrows… I’m wondering what i should do for this particular case. Im not sure about tattooing my face. I’m sure the same way you just wrote it in your article, that it will look fake on a man… Anyway, I’m asking you what’s the best avenue for my needs here?

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For men tattooing the eyebrow may look “fake”, but a stippled effect with some pencil on it may be helpful. There is no real great answer. Unfortunately for patients suffering with alopecia areata there is not much hope in terms of a hair transplant procedure as long as the disease stays active for then a hair transplant will not work. When the disease burns out (become inactive) then hair transplants can work and you can get your eyebrows back. There is always a risk that the disease may return.

May 11, 2007

Hair Loss InformationHair Washing After Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had hair transplants a month ago. My hair looks like it is caked with crud. When can I wash my hair?

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A month following the surgery you may wash your hair as you normally would. You should have started to wash it after the surgery, but the ‘crud’ you are talking about reflects scabs from the surgery and skin that normally sheds. To wash it clean, apply shampoo and leave it on for 5-10 minutes, then gently with your fingers, rub off the built up ‘crud’. Repeat it until it is clean and then all you must do is wait for the new hair to grow in.

May 11, 2007

Is Merck Suppressing the Cloning Cure for Balding? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

What is you take on the idea of companies like Merck trying to suppress a “cloning cure” for balding, with all this huge amount of money being made on drugs like propecia?

Do you think that this might be preventing a cure for hairloss because in the end its all about the money.

Thanks

Your question is like a set up for a ridiculous Hollywood movie “conspiracy theory”. I hope that you asked this question in jest.

Merck, like all drug companies, are entitled to make money (a return on its investment) from its research in the drug development process and they can not possibly conspire to stop progress. The rewards for cloning hair and the riches that will be derived from finding that magical cure, will be reward enough for anyone cleaver enough to solve the cloning problem. Did you know that it costs about $800 million to take a drug from development to the market? It also takes about 15 years where the money is consumed on things like tests and trials. Without a profit, they would stop creating new miracle drugs for all of us that improve our lives.

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May 11, 2007

Homeopathic Hair Cures? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Any comments on Dr.Batra, he claims to have cured 70,000 hairloss patients. It supposedly worlds biggest homeopathic chain of clinics. Does homeopathy have any drugs that are proven?

I’m not familiar with Dr. Batra, but homeopathic treatments have been used for years and are claimed to be effective in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, most of these claims are not supported with scientific research and third party studies that do not have a financial interest in the success of the products, are rare. This clearly applies to claims of cures for the treatment of baldness. We can recommend a procedure or treatment only if it is proven to be safe and effective.

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May 10, 2007

Hairs that Fall Out Are Different Thicknesses – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I notice that when I brush my hair, some of the hairs that come out are thin and wispy and approx 6 months old, some are normal thickness but only about 3 months old. The rest of my fallen hairs are full length and obviously time for them to fall. Does this mean anything. Thanks

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You can lose up to 100 hairs or so a day. They may break off when you are brushing and that could be the cause of the different lengths of hair. If you think your hair is thinning or falling out at an alarming rate, you should have you scalp hair mapped for miniaturization.

May 10, 2007

Woman with Head and Chest Pain, Losing Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am 47 year old female.

February of 2006 I was hospitalized for 12 days. I had double pneumonia and I was also diagnosed with TB and was put on medication. The medication ended in May of 2006 because numerous tests began saying that the TB was negative.

There was a small lesion in my upper right chest that created bad burning and hurting sensation which that feeling has spread throughout my entire chest.

I use to have full “a head of hair” and now I have barely any left. Since February of last year, I can barely brush my hair without the pain being almost unbearable. On a breezy day, my hair rips right out of my head. It is now April of 2007. I have several bumps at the top/back of my head in addition to weird looking brown marks on my scalp. I can’t scratch my head because more hair falls out.

I was using Nioxin since last 2006 and changed to Bee Propolus and now using Arbon organic products. Nothing is bringing my hair back. My head continues to hurt ALL OVER and my chest hurts and burns still. All of this is WORSE than last month.

Do you know what this is? The doctors in southern California appear to NOT know what to do in my situation.

Can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help me?

Thank you

There is not substitute for a good doctor’s analysis who knows about hair loss. If you lost most of your hair, you probably have some medical condition causing it. I can not diagnose you over the internet. What you are describing sounds complex, at the least.

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May 10, 2007

Minoxidil Destroying My Hair Texture – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr Rassman,
I have been using Rogaine for more than a year now and it had done nothing to my hair loss, actually it increased the rate of loosing my hair plus destroying its texture. My question is; if I stop it now, will it get worse and I would loose more hair, as I have read some blog about huge shedding after stopping Minoxidil ?

Thanks for your help

If you have been using minoxidil for a long time and stop abruptly, you may experience some hair loss for whatever hairs may have been benefited. There is no way to tell how much hair loss (if any) would occur. If you did not see a dramatic increase in your hair growth from minoxidil, I doubt it would have much impact if you stopped using it.

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May 10, 2007

Curis Hedgehog Agonist Hair Growth Program Terminated – Balding Blog

BusinessWire – Curis Provides Update on Hedgehog Agonist Hair Growth Program

This press release shows us the difficulty to bring a “hair loss cure” to market. Much hope had gone into the possibilities that this new treatment for hair loss could bring, but ultimately, it did not meet safety requirements for Procter & Gamble, who collaborated on this product with Curis.

From the press release:

Procter & Gamble has notified Curis that it has decided to terminate the collaboration agreement with Curis because the Hedgehog agonist compounds under development pursuant to the collaboration did not demonstrate an acceptable safety profile. Pursuant to the collaboration agreement, the agreement will terminate in six months.

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