October 2008 – Page 6

October 22, 2008

Psoriasis Treatments to Keep It Under Control? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman,

Firstly i would just like to thank you for providing such a constructive and educational forum for unbiased, informative hair loss advice. I work in a hair transplant clinic and never hesitate to refer patients to this site for additional information.

My question however is regarding a friend of mine who suffers from psoriasis, her scalp being the worst affected area. I felt compelled to seek your advice after seeing her in tears yesterday, fed up with the constant irritation and discomfort. She is nearly always scratching her scalp and is now experiencing noticeable thinning and loss in some areas.

Can you recommend any particular treatments to control the condition or at least alleviate the itching? She has seen numerous doctors and dermatologists but is yet to find anything that works.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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This is a standard dermatologic condition which any good dermatologist should be able to address. The best person to treat your friend’s psoriasis is her dermatologist, but as she’s having difficulty finding a treatment that works, I found a good list you can both review at the National Psoriasis Foundation site.

October 22, 2008

Wrinkles Around Eyes with Propecia Use? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 21 year old male that has been using propecia for about the last 9 months, and seems to have shown good effectiveness at preventing further hairloss (I’ve been losing hair since I was about 18). However, recently I have noticed noticable wrinkling around the eye area, and having searched online have found this to be a seemingly not uncommon problem after using propecia. Also, many men report that this doesn’t seem to be reversible after discontinuing treatment. Now I’m not sure whether to stop treatment, because in afew motnsh I’ll still have the lines, but also thinnign hair aswell, so I’m not sure whcih course of action to take.

I searched through medical journals, but I don’t see wrinkles around the eyes being a side effect of Propecia (finasteride 1mg). There was one previous post about that here, but elsewhere on the web I found the PropeciaHelp.com forum thread that discusses it, but many problems tend to be applied to finasteride on that forum without much fact to show it was the medication that caused the issue. If it is indeed an unproven side effect, it is a quite rare one. I don’t believe there is a connection, however.

If you think you have wrinkles around the eyes, I would have to believe that is what you are seeing, but you need to address this with your doctor who prescribed you the medication so they can examine you and make an assessment. The course of action is to see your doctor.

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October 22, 2008

Is Hair Loss from Prescription Medication More Treatable than MPB? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Is MPB caused from prescribed antidepressant use on a person without family history of MPB more aggressive and less treatable than MPB caused from natural occurrence?

Male pattern baldness (MPB) is from genetic causes. You may not have a noticeable family history of MPB, but it can skip generations… and you do not get it from prescription medication. MPB is generally treatable with medications such as Propecia (finasteride) or Rogaine (minoxidil).

As for hair loss caused by medication, as long as you are on the offending drug, the hair loss will not reverse. It may not reverse at all, even if you stop the medication. Some people get better from withdrawal of the drug and others do not. There is no way to compare this problem (worse or better) with genetic hair loss.

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October 22, 2008

Correcting Iron Deficiency to Regrow Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(female) if my hair loss has been caused by an iron deficiency, how long will it take to see some regrowth now that I have been taking iron supplements?

Nothing happens fast with respect to hair growth. If your hair loss was due to iron deficiency alone, I would give it about one year to see some growth. Unfortunately, more often than not, I find that hair loss is not completely reversible even after correcting the problem.

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October 22, 2008

Can I Prevent Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Hair loss is on both side of my family, so I’m assuming I won’t escape it, but what can I do to best prevent it if I have already noticed a slight thinning at the age of 19? Does flaxseed oil actually help prevent hair loss? What steps have shown the most success?

Nutcracker

Short of removing your testicles, there is no way to completely prevent your genetics from unfolding. If you are concerned, get your hair mapped out for miniaturization yearly and you will be able to catch it early enough to treat it more effectively with drugs like Propecia (finasteride).

You can read all about flaxseed oil (see the comments toward the bottom) here.

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October 21, 2008

If I Have DUPA Should I Take the Hair Gene Test? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor Rassman,

I have a question concerning this post- Tinea Capitis / Ringworm Scars

In this post you said there is a genetic test that can test if you have the balding gene…

I have been struggling a long time with the thought of getting off propecia. My situation is that i have DUPA, and do not know if i should continue with the medication, being that it is very expensive and i do not see any thickening from it. Would you recommend i also take this test? and why isnt this suggested to anyone who is unsure of their hairloss situation?

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While the genetic testing for male pattern hair loss is novel, you don’t need a genetic test to be diagnosed with genetic male pattern baldness. A good physician can give you a diagnosis and a recommendation for treatment plan. I do not know the relationship between diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) and classic genetic hair loss. We know very little about DUPA, but if we had 100 or so patients take the genetic test and all of them were positive, then we may learn more.

With regard to the post you referenced about ringworm, the genetic test (if normal) would rule out that patient experiencing genetic hair loss, so I would approach him differently without worrying about the impact of genetic balding on his problem. On the other hand, if he is positive for the hair loss gene, there is no assurance that he won’t bald as he gets older, so it would just confuse the situation and certainly not help in building a Master Plan for him in a worst case scenario.

I commend you for doing your homework / research, but be sure that you have a competent doctor overseeing your hair care. There are lot of subtleties that you may not be aware of and no amount of research or BaldingBlog reading can substitute for a physical exam by a qualified physician.

October 21, 2008

Hair Loss InformationLA Times List of Cancer Patients Hair Loss Resources – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

The Los Angeles Times posted a resource list of head coverings (hats, turbans and wigs) for patients that have gone through hair loss from life-saving treatments that I wanted to point you to. Also in the list is contact info for the American Cancer Society and information about a book that teaches you how to use makeup to alleviate some of the self-esteem issues chemotherapy patients may face:

LA Times – Resources for cancer patients with hair loss

October 21, 2008

Rogaine Trigger Shedding, So I Started Propecia and Now I’m Shedding Again! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doctor Rassman I am a 28 year old male that noticed that my hair was slightly thinning a little over one year ago. I decided to start taking Rogaine which triggered a major shed. I went to dermatologist who recommended that I stop taking Rogaine and start using Propecia. After about 2 weeks using propecia another shed started that has not stopped. I just started my 7th month on propecia and haven’t seen any signs of my hair loss slowing down or regrowth. Should I stop using the drug or stay the course?

I would want to examine you and perform miniaturization studies on you before you went on these drugs and after. Now add to the complexity that you are reporting a failure of the medications to work and want an explanation from me. That’s a very difficult thing for me to do over the Internet.

Go back to your doctor and ask those very same questions and then follow the advice you are given. Usually, the acceleration of hair cycling that comes about with both Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) stop in a few months. I would wonder if you are in an accelerated loss phase from your genetics.

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October 21, 2008

Lost Hair from ScalpMed – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Yeah i just bought scalpmed for men and i am 20 year old male and when i bought the item i had a receding hair line and thin hair. So i applyed scalpmed to my receding hair and about two weeks later my hair was falling out alot faster i iknow i need to stop using scalpmed because was making it worse is there anything i can do to get the air i lost from using scalpmed back!

There may be a money back refund with some products, but I do not believe there is a hair-back refund. Unfortunately most of the time, hair that is lost from genetic balding is permanent. I doubt ScalpMed (which is basically a boutique minoxidil) would cause hair loss from the product itself, but there may be a component of genetic balding that you are noticing. I cannot make a diagnosis of why you are losing you hair over the Internet without an exam. I would suggest you go see a physician if you are concerned about your hair loss.

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October 21, 2008

Is Stress Causing My Rapid Hairline Recession? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr Rassman,

I know that I am in a completely different country, but your website has been extremely useful for when i need some reliable information about hair loss. It would be great if you can answer my question.

I’m a 21 year old Asian male and for the last couple of years i was a Norwood II, but about 6 months ago, I had an extremely stressful University examination period. A month after the exams were over I noticed that the front of my hairline was thinning, and a month after that, my hairline had receded about a cm. From then on I’ve just been obsessing about my hairline, wondering if its just the stress causing the rapid hairline recession, if I’m heading towards Norwood III and wondering if the hair in that area would ever grow back. There is some miniturisation at the front of the hairline and some at the temples.

Any information would be a great help

Thank you.

Without mapping out your hair for miniaturization, I really couldn’t tell you if what you experienced is the normal progression to a mature hairline or just early balding. I’m hoping you’ve already read this post about the mature hairline, but you need an honest doctor to give you an opinion that can only be rendered after an examination.

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