January 2008 – Page 6

January 22, 2008

I Am Vegetarian and Dutasteride Capsules are Made from Gelatin – Balding Blog

Hello,

I take one 0.5mg generic dutasteride capsule (Duprost) daily for hair loss purposes.

The capsule is made from gelatine, an animal product, and as I am vegetarian would there be any negative effect on the effectiveness of this product if I bite down on the capsule to release and swallow only the contents but do not swallow the gelatine capsule?

Thank you

Honestly, I don’t know for sure. The contents of the pill can likely be ingested without the gelatine capsule — I can’t say how good or bad the taste is, though. I’d ask your prescribing doctor, however. I’ve prescribed this very few times and the pills I’ve prescribed aren’t in a gelcap, as far as I know (though they might not be generic). I’m not ready to recommend dutasteride yet in treating hair loss, as you would probably have more negative side effects from dutasteride over something like finasteride.

Update:
The official Avodart labeling I found on the FDA site specifically says, “The capsules should be swallowed whole and not chewed or opened, as contact with the capsule contents may result in irritation of the oropharyngeal mucosa.”

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January 22, 2008

Hair Loss Worse After Going from 0.5mg to 1mg of Finasteride – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr Rassman,

After taking 1mg propecia/day for about a year, i dropped my dose to about .5mg/day due to side effects I was having. I recently jumped back up to 1mg/day, but have noticed an increase in acne and hair oiliness. Also my hairloss seems to have gotten much worse. Could this be due to a case of reflex hyperandrogenicity? My sex drive/body hair hasn’t changed, but im worried that continuing finasteride could make my hair loss worse – is this possible?

While your theory seems possible, I really do not have a good idea if that is what is really going on. You have two options:

Go back to the 0.5mg finasteride dose
Continue with the 1mg finasteride dose

Either way, you should discuss the plan with your doctor.

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January 22, 2008

Does FUE Destroy Follicles? Does FUT Traumatize the Scalp? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i wonder what size instrument you use and do you do FUE and not FUT as a preference. i am over 50, auburn curly hair, very fine, i think miniaturized; loss on top and front. i read one article which tells me FUE is not reliable and destroys follicles; then i read another which says FUT traumatizes the scalp; i am stuck! which is safest and produces good results? can cortisone injections cure pattern loss in women? thanks

Actually, you are correct about the follicular unit extraction (FUE). Please see the post titled, What Doctors Don’t Want You to Know About FUE. As you see, there are always the pros and cons of any type of surgery, but you must weigh these out before making a decision.

I do not agree that FUT (strip procedure) traumatizes the scalp, though. FUT is considered a minor outpatient surgery.

Cortisone injections are sometimes used by doctors for female hair loss, but in my opinion it generally does little to help hair loss.

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January 22, 2008

Applying Toppik or DermMatch with Rogaine Foam – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. and thank you for this website, it is incredible the amount of information here displayed. I have 2 questions:

I will start using Rogaine Foam as I used ScalpMed in the past and I had mild results (better than not using anything at all), but I wish to use a hair concealer after the topical application of the drug. I am not sure if I should use DermMatch (that had worked wonders on me) or switch to Toppik. DermMatch has to be applied on wet hair and that is what makes me doubt about using it (I might wash away the Rogaine). What do you think?

Toppik announces a “fiberhold spray”: Toppik.com
do you believe it could affect the effect of the toppically applied drug, or once the Roagine Foam is dried I can pretty much put anything on my hair?

Thank you again!

FiberHold Spray

Apply the Rogaine Foam first, then use the Toppik after the foam has worked its way into the skin. You can experiment with both the DermMatch and the Toppik and see what works best for you.
I don’t know more about the FiberHold Spray than what is already in the link you sent, but I do not believe it will produce a negative impact on Rogaine after it has been absorbed. It seems to be just a fancy hair spray for Toppik users.

January 21, 2008

Reader Encourages Others to Send In Their Success Stories – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi there Baldingblog team! First and foremost Id Like to thank you for your outstanding site. Losing your hair causes such panic and as the internet is where most of us look for help,Sifting through all the rubbish takes time,and is frustrating, type “hair loss” in google and reams of pages trying to take your money will come up, claiming cures, 98% success etc. People in this world really do pray on the weak! I have found this site an amazing source, and think i’ve now educated myself pretty well! I have been coming here for almost a year and this is one of my first posts.

The reason why i’m writing is because I noticed a lot of negativity and criticism coming from obviously frustrated balders,this is also because I dont think many people with propecia success stories/great hair transplants come here to post. only paranoid,frustrated, critical people who are looking for someone to just tell them it will all be fine…. the fact is guys, there isn’t a cure…yet. But there are things you can do,educate yourself…and just have the guts to try the treatments available. there is no harm in that.they wont be instant at working, and they might not even work at all for some, but dont be that much of a skeptic that you wont even try. just be patient.

I personally was losing my mind over my stupid hair… got propecia a few months ago (3) and my hairloss has stopped, and I can even see a few little baby hairs, getting a bit more coverage! Alas I havent covered my bald spot completely in a week as many of us would like! but thats just not where todays science is at. Id also just like to encourage readers with success stories to post, because the scale at the moment is just too unbalanced. anyway take care!

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I agree. It certainly seems like I post a lot of emails from people with negative responses from Propecia (or those that believe they’re having negative responses), but that is not a good sample of people, statistically speaking. I also post messages from those that are seeing results, but it may seem that the bad far outweighs the good. As I’ve pointed out before, I think more people are just ready to make their complaints known than those that just silently enjoy the benefits of the medication. So to all readers of this blog — if you have a success story you’d like to share about your hair loss treatment, please send it in!

January 21, 2008

If My Hair Loss is Due to Drinking Alcohol – Will It Grow Back if I’m Sober? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman.
After reading about the 26 year-old who had questions about his hair loss, possibly due to drinking & smoking. I am a 32 y/o white male in the same boat, except I don’t smoke. My hairline over the past year or so seems to be receeding more now than ever. I am wondering if indeed one’s hair loss is due to their drinking, if they stop drinking, would the hair possibly grow back, or is it too late? Thank you!

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Drinking alcohol should not produce hair loss unless your diet is deficient. I would look for genetic causes for hair loss by getting your hair mapped out for miniaturization to determine the cause of your hair loss.

Generally for a male, if the hair loss is precipitated by poor diet, it is most likely accelerating the genetic process and probably will not reverse. That said, for females, there is a good possibility that correction of the diet will help with the hair loss.

January 21, 2008

My Hair Grows Extremely Fast — Will New Transplants Grow as Quickly? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am thinking seriously about getting a hair transplant. My question is,my hair grows fast.I can cut my hair short and 4-6 mos later my hair is almost at my shoulders When I get my transplant, will the transplanted hair grow as quickly?

Transplanted hair will usually behave like the hair from the area it was taken. It is likely that your transplanted hair will grow as fast as it originally did.

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January 21, 2008

If I Have Thick Chest Hair, Can I Rule Out Nutritional Imbalance As a Cause for Scalp Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Dr Rassman,

I am a regular reader of this blog, and really appreciate your efforts in educating all of us. I am a 37 year old male with thinning hair. However, I have thick body hair on my chest and back. Given this I have the following questions:

Is the body hair different from scalp hair in its structure/chemistry even though they look pretty much the same?

Wouldn’t the nutritional need for body hair be no different from scalp hair?

Can I possibly rule out nutritional deficiencies/imbalances.

Would really appreciate your clarification.

thanks

Body and chest hair is different than scalp hair in thickness, rate of growth, and the different hair cycles that determine how long they will grow. Think about it — do you regularly get a body/chest haircut?

The most common hair loss in men is genetic hair loss. Nutritional deficiencies/imbalance are probably the lowest on the list for the causes of hair loss, particularly for most well-fed men.

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January 21, 2008

I Made a Foolish Mistake in Experimenting with Anabolic Steroids — Now I’m Losing Hair! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I am not 28 years old and made the foolish mistake of experimenting with anabolic steroids a few times a few years ago. My first two attempts, I had zero hair loss and then all of the sudden the third time I had quite a bit of hairloss in the diffused pattern all across the top. My question is was there a chance that I was not going to bald at all or was not balding at the time and the steroids started mpb that might not have started for another 10 years or not at all?? Just curious to if I would be losing any hair had I not experimented with the anabolics. Does it have the power to start mpb if you weren’t going to bald and can it start it up to 10 years earlier? I am asking this because my dad didn’t start to bald until his 40’s.

Thanks for the time.

Anabolic steroids can accelerate hair loss if you have the gene for male pattern hair loss. Even without taking anabolic steroids, you probably would have had hair loss at some point in your life. Anabolic steroids are illegal unless prescribed and managed by a physician and only for special health purposes. Anabolic steroids can not only accelerate hair loss (that is usually not reversible), it can also cause other medical problems such as liver damage, etc.

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January 21, 2008

Female Hair Loss and Depression – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(female) I underwent a serious depression 7 months ago due to an uncomfortable house and sharing with another family. I didn’t know that iam sufering from depression really. towards the end my hands started shaking, and i felt a certain outward force is dragging me. i went and took some treatment in i. I am taking anatax, nexito and valence tablets. but i have tremendous hair fall. can i be cured. iam worried about it.

Hair loss in women is a complex problem. Your stress may be as much of a factor as medications that you may be taking. Please see an expert in-person in the hair field for analysis of this problem.

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