Month: January 2008

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I’m Going In for Knee Surgery – Do I Need to Tell My Doctor I’m Taking Finasteride? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,
Thanks for offering such an objective viewpoint on the subject of hairloss where many others seem to offer empty promises and such skewed opinion. I may require surgery on an ACL injury in about 6 months as that is most convenient time for me to have the surgery. I am 22 and started taking propecia about 3 months ago, but I did not go through my doctor and just did my own research and bought off a reputable website. I don’t want to damage the relationship between my doctor and tell him that I did not even consult him before starting with propecia, but I was concerned that I might have to tell him I was taking this medication for my own safety given the ACL operation. Is it necessary he knows this information if I have surgery. Also, you talk alot about young men obtaining better results with propecia, but I couldn’t find any statistics apart from the study for men between 18-41. What is the exact benefit for under 25 compared to 30 year plus.

Thanks for your help

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PropeciaThank you for your kind words.

I would recommend that you come clean with your doctor and tell him everything about your health and medications that you are taking. After all, if you are trusting your doctor to perform surgery on you, I am sure you would want your doctor to trust you. It makes for a good doctor-patient relationship.

With respect to Propecia statistics, the scientific data comparing one age man with another is not available. From the extensive experience by many physicians in the field, Propecia works best when hair loss is more recent and that implies younger men. The practical answer is that it is never too late and I have seen it work in men from 18 years old to 70 years old. And all the research and statistics go out the window when YOU are the one taking the medication, because if it works… it works! You should only worry about statistics if you have a wager on how well it will work on you, because even if the statistics are low, I am sure you will take it since you have nothing to lose (but hair).

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Giraffe Poop Decreases Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This sounds like an urban legend. Thoughts?

“Scientists at the University of Sydney have discovered that giraffe shit will decrease hair loss and at the same time increase existing hair on balding men. The study was carried out over a two year period with 50 balding men. Group A, the control group consisting of 25 men, were given falafel to apply on their head and group B…”

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GiraffeHa! If you want to rub animal droppings on your scalp, that is entirely up to you, but if you’re trying to stop your hair loss with these droppings, you’re going to wind up pretty disappointed (and smelly).

There is nothing published from the University of Sydney, and the only reference I can find about this oh-so-scientific study is the source article. I can say with certainty that it’s just a joke. If you prefer, you can even call it a hoax, a satire, or even a fake. Plus, if you stop and consider that the source is a website called Turd On A Stick and the article was written by “Bill O’Turdly”…

The full article can be found at TurdOnAStick.com

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Evolutionary Reason for Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I know this may sound ridiculous and maybe hypothetical, however i find it reasonable to ask. Hypothetically speaking, who ever the first person was on the planet to go bald, what scientific REASON did he? I know you may answer by saying they would have had DHT-sensitive cells,but that isnt really explaining what chemically or otherwise is making the follicles sensitive to DHT. People have DHT yet dont go bald, so what makes the cell sensitive to it? The usual answer i get given to why am bald is because the balding ‘Gene’ has been passed down. Well who ever was the first person to bald, What specific reason did his cells become sensitive to DHT?

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Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human EvolutionThis is a great question. For those readers who believe in evolution and not intelligent design, I gave one reasonable answer to why hair loss occurs in a previous post — Why Does the Back and Sides of the Head Not Lose Hair?

After having read Sex, Time and Power: How Women’s Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution by Leonard Shlain (referenced in the above link), I became a believer, as it was the only explanation for balding I’ve ever found.

The book is available at Amazon.com.

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After Stopping Propecia, I Feel Very Depressed – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hi – i have been on propecia since it was first introduced (fall of 1998) – so about 10 years now – i stopped taking it abruptly about 6 weeks ago because i just decided to stop taking a chronic medication and wasn’t sure what kind of potential side effects there were – a few weeks after stopping, i started feeling very depressed and anxiety ridden – something i’ve never felt before – a few stressors WERE present in my life at the time but nothing more than what i’ve experienced before – any chance this is linked to my abrupt termination of taking propecia? – i’ve restarted it recently in the hopes of mitigating my mood but has anyone heard of this?

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It is very difficult to answer your question. There have been reports of finasteride causing mood changes. You need to see your doctor for help. Were you also taking other medications that you abruptly stopped? Are there other stressors in your life (independent of stopping Propecia)? Could this be coincidental? There are many unknowns here and BaldingBlog is not the appropriate venue to discuss all of your issues. The only thing I can tell you is that after a few months of stopping Propecia you may find that your hair loss will accelerate and this may add to your depression.

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Do All Transplanted Hairs Grow At the Same Time? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,
what is the maximum time that it takes for hair to grow after a hair transplant surgery? 6-14 months? please give me a range.

do all the transplanted hair grow the same time?

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It generally take 6-8 months for 80-90% of the hair to grow. About 95% of the growth should be seen in 12 (rarely 18) months.

The transplanted hair do not grow at the same time. They grow out in waves. I have personally seen complete hair growth as early as 2 months (in less than 5% of patients) and as late as 18 months for complete growth. Most fall within the 6 to 12 month range. This variability has to do with the individual and not the surgeon or technique itself.

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Does Niaspan (Niacin) Contribute to Hair Growth? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

have you ever heard of the cholesterol drug niaspan helping with hair growth. It is prescription niacin which helps increase blood flow thus the flush in the skin you get from it. In theory could it be positive? I love your site. Thanks for all the good info.

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Niacin is a supplement and not a drug. I don’t think that it will help hair loss or promote hair growth in a normal individual. With that said, I will refer you to a site which references a source on the value of niacin for hair loss — TheBeautyBrains.com.

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Cleft Lip Scar Growing Hair That Is Different Color from Rest of My Beard – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a very nice beard, But my cliff lip scar has very fine hair that is not long or same color as the rest of my beard. can I see if Rogane is alright to use there? Can I Get some help?

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I would think that it is alright to use Rogaine on your facial hair, however, I do not think it would do much to change the color. There are many products to change the hair color with a brush. Go to your local pharmacy and ask for them.

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Charging for Transplants Per Graft vs Per Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi i am quite confused about charging by graft and by per hair.I recently met up with a doctor and he told me that i would need about 1700 hair for the transplant.The transplant will cost me around $4500.The doctor told me that there will not be any side effect and that the new hair will look very natural but i was told by a friend that transplant might cost swelling face and that the new hair will look different.Is theis true.Overall is FUE method effective?Thanks

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In the United States, surgeons generally charge per graft (follicular unit). One graft contains anywhere from one, two, three, and sometimes 4 hairs. In general, one graft averages 2.2 hairs. Some doctors add to the confusion about pricing by switching to a charge per hair, to make it appear less expensive. So if 1700 hairs were placed at surgery, it would be like a 773 graft surgery. At our NHI standby rate of $5/graft, the surgery would cost $5 x 773 = $3,865.

Hair transplantation has many risks along with the many benefits, and they should be discussed in detail between the doctor and the patient. Some of the risks include (as you stated) post-operative swelling and shock hair loss, just to name a few. FUE is a great method when done correctly (with an experienced doctor and experienced team, as it is very labor intensive).

For more on ethics and hair transplantation, see How Do I Know I Am Getting the Number of Grafts I Am Paying For? — and be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the post for even more reading.

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I’m Allergic to Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman, I urge you to post this account of my allergic reaction to Propecia. Approx. 5 weeks ago I started on daily use of Propecia. In the first 2 weeks I didn’t notice any significant effects except mild loss of libido. Around week 3 or so I started to develop what I thought was a normal Winter time stuffy nose. I also started to hear strange little sounds like crickets and thought that was odd. What were crickets doing out in the Winter ? My so called stuffy nose continued to get worse until on day I was so stuffed my mucous would not drain out of my ear and I developed a severe case of Tinnitus. I also started to experience what I thought was overly sensitive ears.

I went to 2 Dr.’s and both diagnosed me with upper viral infection and eustachian tube dysfunction. I was given oral/nasal cortisone to help open my eustachian tubes, had a audiogram which was o.k. My throat was a little tight and as I continued to take the cortisone oral tabs and spray my symptoms would temporarily get better. I was told that Upper Viral Infection would take as long as 2 weeks so I just kept taking the meds. I noticed late at night my symptoms seem to get a little better and in the morning they would get worse.

This morning I took my Propecia and within no time my Tinnitus had gotten worse. I took my Cortisone and got a little better. I finally made the connection after 2 weeks of this that I was having an allergic reaction to the Propecia, causing the inflamed throat/ETD/Tinnitus and upper viral infection. I also found one other person on the net with identical symptoms. I also experienced a strange pressure in my head as though my head were being inflated and deflated slightly and “brain fog”.

Please help get the word out.

Thank you for sharing your experience, but it is hard to make a direct correlation. Based on what you’ve described, it sounds like an viral upper respiratory infection, as your doctor pointed out. Perhaps you should stop taking Propecia to see if your symptoms go away. I suspect if it is a viral infection, your symptoms will go also away. If you feel that you are allergic to Propecia, check with the doctor who prescribed it and consider stopping it.

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I Think ScalpMed is Working After Just a Week – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I just wanted to say that I have tried Scalpmed and I think it is working. I just bought it a week ago, but I feel I am already seeing results. I am not using it twice a day like it says because I don’t like how the product leaves my hair feeling like I have gel in it and it really weighs my hair down considering how fine my hair is already. I wear it only at night. But so far so good. I also thought it was going to me a scam but its good so far.

Good for you! I highly doubt anything works in just a week for treating hair loss. Could this be like a placebo effect?

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