September 2008 – Page 4

September 24, 2008

Hair Loss InformationHair Loss at a Young Age Lead to Problems with Alcohol Abuse – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,
I’m a 46 yr old male. My brother was killed in a horrific car accident when I was 9 yrs old. Shortly after my hair began to fall out in dime size patches. By the time I was 10 my hair was completely gone. Docs said it was alopecia and they began a regiment of cortisone shots in my scalp. It was pure hell growing up with no hair as kids are so cruel. I wore a wig through the 10th grade and finally got rid of it by 11th.

I write this because I know giving kids a false sense of the hair growing back will ultimately do more harm than good. To fit in I hung out with the drinking crowd and I’ve been paying for that ever since. I slowly became a high functioning Alcoholic. Being in the USAF working flightlines where drinking after work was the norm and promoted did not help.

I’ve come to realize that drinking was just a symptom of my deep routed problems which began when I was 9. Fear and the fear of rejection were my underlying problems. I feel you have to be straight with kids and get them into counseling at a young age. This will do wonders for self confidence and spirit. If someone had got me some help with dealing with emotions at that tender age it would have saved me a lot of time and bruised knuckles.

I counseled a kid when I was stationed in the UK and his mother was almost in tears when I told her that I knew what her young son was going through! I don’t know why I felt compelled to write this but maybe it will help someone out there

Take Care

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Thank you for sharing this with us.

September 24, 2008

Stopping Propecia for Weeks Before a Sports Competition – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am currently on propecia. I am also considering entering some sporting competitions that require a drug test. Finesteride is banned from competition because it can be used as a “masking agent” for performance enhancing steroids.

If I stop taking propecia for 3-4 weeks, will I notice hair loss? Will this hair grow back?

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Stopping Propecia (finasteride) for 3-4 weeks may produce some early hair loss. I can’t say whether it’ll grow back, if you see any loss at all. I think that the drug may be detectable in your system for some time with the urine testing, just like steroids.

September 24, 2008

A Week After Highlighting, I Have a Bald Spot! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female) I had my hair highlighted approx 1 week ago, i thought everything was fine, but i now have a very sore bald patch at the top of my head,do you think this was caused by the hairdresser at all,i have had my hair done in this way many times ,but have never had anything like this happen before!

Thanks

PS, im really scared that all my hair is gona fall out!!!

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Ouch! Chemical burns from dyes start off just like you’re describing. You may want to see a dermatologist to find out if the burn did indeed go deep enough into the skin to cause the problem.

September 24, 2008

Ejaculation Volume Increased from Finasteride? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr,
I have a problem like this. I am Taking 5 mg finasteride 1 tablet/3 days due to the difficulty to cut it and here i also don’t have any 1 mg finasteride production. Now the problem is i am taking finasteride for 3 months. some times i feel lack of libido and sometimes i feel high sex drive.There is no stability.Many times i feel high sex drive and i can stay without masterbation. the problem is the volume of my ejaculation has also been increased significantly.Is it possible due to finasteride. Really ti has been increased. But i feel it’s a bit watery i feel than before.Is it possible due to finasteride? Does it mean decrease of my sperm count?

Sperm There are reports in the literature of a reduction in ejaculate volume from finasteride, but I don’t remember reading of the reverse effect and I confirmed this with some more research. I can’t seem to find any cases to match your findings. In those with a decreased ejaculate volume, sperm counts were generally as good as before taking the medications, but there are reports that suggest a decreased sperm motility with finasteride. See this study (The Effect of 5α-Reductase Inhibition with Dutasteride and Finasteride on Semen Parameters and Serum Hormones in Healthy Men) from 2007 that was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism — PDF file. Also see this past blog post — Propecia and Sperm Count.

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September 23, 2008

Lateral Slit Technique vs Choi Implanter – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr Rassman can you tell me which of the following methods of follicle transplantation are better in terms of least trauma, fastest healing time and greatest density achievable:

1. Lateral slit technique
2. Choi implanter or similar needle type device

Also what density (per cm2) would be necessary as a minimum to stop scalp showing through on abald person. Many thanks and keep up the good work

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You are asking for me to compare a tool to a technique — something that is difficult to do. The key to fast healing following a hair transplant is in the size of the recipient wound not the instrument used and the direction the hair is placed in. The smaller the wounds, the better they generally are. Both lateral and vertical slits (techniques) or the Choi Implanter can produce very small wounds, but the success in growth depends upon the graft trimming and dissection from the donor strip. Many people cut the grafts too short for the Choi Implanter, because the very small size of the tool may not take a chubby graft… but these skinned down hairs may not grow as well.

With regard to your question about density not being see-through — well, that depends on many factors, including the character of your hair, the thickness of the hair shaft, and the color contrast of your hair and skin color. I’ve said before that a blond can lose 85% of his hair and not look thin (having low densities), while someone with black, straight, fine hair and white skin may look see-through at 50% of the original density (not unusual for this person to be Asian).

September 23, 2008

Scalp DHT vs Serum DHT – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What is the difference between scalp DHT and serum DHT? Avodart reduces scalp DHT by 55% and serum DHT by 92% what does that mean? How does that impact the hair?

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Avodart Yes, it is true that Avodart (dutasteride) inhibits 92% serum DHT and 55% scalp DHT — and Propecia (finasteride) inhibits 70% serum DHT and 38% scalp DHT (see study). I hear the terminology of scalp DHT and serum DHT every once in a while, but I really don’t know how significant they are. You would think that lowering scalp DHT is better than lowering serum DHT, but one flows to the other starting off in the serum.

So while Avodart has been proven to be more effective than Propecia in inhibiting serum DHT and scalp DHT, Avodart actually has more short and long term side effects than Propecia. For example, there is a worry about sterility (not common but present) with Avodart, something that should worry the young man.

September 23, 2008

I’m Taking Dutasteride and Finasteride Daily and Now I’m Extremely Aggressive – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i’m using both dutasteride0.5/day and finasteride1mg/day for last 2.5 months. but they makes me very very very aggresive man. stopping the medicine will keep this aggression?

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If you believe that your demeanor has changed since you started to take these medication in combination, you might consider stopping one of them. These are both prescription items so you should ask the doctor who prescribed them to you. I have not heard this complaint before from my own patients, but I am aware that testosterone levels do rise on these medications and this could be responsible for aggressive behavior.

September 23, 2008

Wife Feels Pulling Sensation on Her Hair Each Morning – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, My wife and I recently moved her from Thailand, my wife is Thai. Since we have been here she complains that her scalp hurts every morning when she gets up – she describes it “as if somebody is pulling my hair”. The pain eases in intensity during the day to say 30%, but arrives at full intensity the next morning. Thai women seem to shred hair anyway, but this seems to be greater now though the loss of hair is not visually apparent.

Any ideas

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She might be stressed from moving to a new country. Stress does strange things. Remember that the average person loses about 100 hairs per day so the hair you see in the shower or on the brush may be her normal daily loss. She will grow back about the same number each day and once it breaks through the skin it will grow at about 1/2 inch per month until it gets to her normal length. I don’t know what the pulling sensation might be otherwise.

September 23, 2008

Testosterone Boosters and Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i have recently started taking propecia. I was wondering if i can continue using testosterone boosting supplement for working out?

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I don’t know your individual history, so you’re best off asking your prescribing doctor. Anabolic steroids are illegal to use without a physician monitoring your use. If it is a natural supplement claiming that it boosts testosterone, it is OK from a legal perspective, however you may be more at risk for androgenic hair loss. It is your body and you need to make a judgment call.

September 23, 2008

Female Hair Loss Concentrated on Front and Top – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female)
My hair loss is concentrated on the top and front of my head, and is happening slowly. Does that mean it must be androgenetic alopecia (as opposed to telogen effluvium)? Also, I noticed the loss about 10 months after moving (from the US) to Korea. Life in Korea isn’t stressful – is it possible that something else about the change or Korea could cause hair loss? For example, the water?

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You may have a variant of female hair loss that impacts just the frontal area, not the back of the head. This genetic condition can be triggered by stress. Get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and then the diagnosis should be evident. Telogen effluvium does not behave this way.