December 2009 – Page 6

December 14, 2009

Diabetes and Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I would like to thank you first for this wonderfull and highly educating blog.I am a 20 years old Male with type 1 diabetes. I have been experiencing hairloss for the past 2 years. I tried Regaine for the past year but stopped it because of the major itching it was causing. My two questions are if I started taking propecia, would it cause me any health damage related with the my situation.? is there any particular tests I should take before starting on propecia? (I dont have any health problems other than type1 diabetes). Thank you

Type 1 diabetes should not be a problem when you take Propecia, but get a good hair doctor involved in the diagnosis and treatment.

I’ve written quite a bit about the drug, so I won’t rewrite the same stuff again… but Propecia will work best when you’re in the early stages of genetic hair loss, which it sounds like you could be (I can’t say for sure as I haven’t seen a photo or met you).

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December 11, 2009

Does Dr Rassman Only Endorse Big Pharma? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

Strictly for the sake of playing devil’s advocate with you here —

When you imply that products offered by non-“Big Pharma” companies are likely bogus or that you don’t buy into their efficacy because the only proof of their viability is based on their own self-promotion basically (i.e. your posts about Drs. Lee or Proctor or even laser product makers), isn’t that slightly hypocritical? I mean, your career and business is of course enhanced by people foregoing these alternate methods, so shouldn’t people just as much suspect an ulterior motive on your part?

I understand your usual answer that, without personally seeing the research, you cannot recommend one way or another on something. But frankly, were you physically present for the Big Pharma trials on minox or finasteride? I’m assuming not. Going a step further then, I assume you base your support for those “proven” products on the basis that you read their documentation — so how much documentation is necessary for you to believe a product is in fact what is says? Some of those non-Big Pharma products people have written in about have “some” documentation, though certainly not to the extent of the FDA mandated trials I’m sure. Where do you (or do you at all) draw the line?

Or is your ultimate argument that, “If [said product] were that good, a Big Pharma company would have picked it up?”

Thanks for your time, love your site (though I had to plead ignorance to my girlfriend when I recognized you on her favorite show “Jon and Kate Plus 8”, haha), your replies on these sort of issues just sometimes irk me — aspirin was discovered by a non-Big Pharma guy, after all.

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Boy scout Oh boy. I never said I needed to be there during the research study of a product to know it was true or not. No, I wasn’t physically present at the trials of the finasteride or minoxidil, but those medications are proven to work and FDA approved. The problem with many of the products I’m asked about is that they come out of nowhere — old wives’ tales, myths, etc. Most of them offer testimonials or mentions of a study, but offer zero evidence that the study was even conducted or if it was even valid. People write to me at this site every single day asking for solutions to their hair loss. Should I tell them to just go ahead and potentially waste their time and money on an unproven product while they lose more hair that they can’t get back… or should I let them know about medications that are proven to be effective?

I have no bias to solutions produced by the large pharmaceutical companies. I look at everything that is offered in this field by the evidence that is produced for me to review. I have, for example, evaluated the hair laser and found that the actual research was inadequate to recommend that patients use the laser for hair growth. I even took it one step further and acquired a large laser system and tried it for 12 months at my cost for as many patients as I could find willing to be studied (for free). The results were clear that the Low Laser Light Therapy (LLLT) had no value to those patients that were studied by me. If I would have found otherwise, I could recommend this treatment and charge for its use (making money), but I can not do that if I am not convinced that it will work. I learned from the days I was a boy scout that “honesty is the best policy”, and I guess I am an old-fashioned clinical scientist.

December 11, 2009

Hair Loss at the Cowlick – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

Great to find a forum that cuts through all the nonsense on balding; this really is a great service. I am a 25yo male with a hairline receding around two inches at one side. On this receding side I have a “cow’s lick,”(not sure of medical definition!) and this seems to be where the majority of the loss is occurring. I am currently on finasteride, and am worried that the loss at one side looks rather odd.
Is a “cow’s lick” particularly prone to loss? Or is this purely coincidence?

All the best!

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Asymmetrical hair loss is not uncommon. It would be a coincidence that your cowlick is on the side with the hair loss. You should see and doctor and probably go on appropriate treatment. Lopsided hair loss does not look good for most men.

December 11, 2009

My Legs Below the Knees are Bald – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I love reading your blog and after educating myself and talking to my doctor, I am now taking Propecia.

I have an “odd” question for you. I don’t have any hair on the outside of my legs below my knees. It is almost completely bald. Have you heard of this before, or could you offer any advice?

Thanks!

Leg shaving I assume you’re not shaving them in your sleep…

But yes, I have heard of this before (many times). We do not know the causes, but sometimes it comes from rubbing of the outside of the leg on the other leg (crossing them). There is probably a genetic cause of the problem if you can not associate any chronic rubbing that could cause traction to the leg hairs.

December 11, 2009

I Have a Surgery Phobia, but I Want FUE – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr.
I have a general phobia of surgeries. I am very scared of the whole idea of my skin being cut so when I have my hair transplant I will probably go for FUE. Is this procedure painful?
Thanks.

All anesthesia hurts a bit (like the dentist who prepares your teeth). While the surgery is going on, you feel no pain and after the surgery the pain has been reported as minimal by most people who have had it. Everyone has different thresholds though, so I wouldn’t make bold, sweeping statements like “guaranteed pain free” or similar. Make no mistake — this is a surgery and you need to know what that means for you by meeting with a good, caring doctor who will take the time to go over the process for you.

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December 11, 2009

Can I Use Anabolic Steroids with Propecia? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Doc, is it ok to take anabolic steroids with propecia? I was losing my hair before steroids, now im taking propecia to prevent the hair loss but at the same time on steroids. Whats going to happen? Will the propecia still stop the hair loss

You are better off stopping the steroids. Propecia may or may not help, but I can’t tell you what will happen with any great certainty. It at least would have a better chance without the steroid use, which has been shown to promote the balding that occurs from genetic hair loss.

By the way, I know that’s not likely to phase you, but the use of anabolic steroids without a prescription is illegal in most countries. So you can see why I’m not too excited about answering questions related to illegal drug use. And I assume you don’t have a prescription, or you’d be asking your prescribing doctor these types of questions…

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December 10, 2009

Bimatoprost on the Scalp? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman,

You mentioned bimatoprost a week or so ago. Has anyone you know tried using it for scalp hair growth? Apparently some doctors have been experimenting (see link). As a rule, of course, one should wait for clinical trials. But if, according to the FDA, the drug is safe enough to put in your eyes for glaucoma, surely applying it to your scalp wouldn’t be dangerous?

YouTube

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I have heard some scuttlebutt in the hair professional community that bimatoprost does not work on the balding scalp, but I really do not know much about it as I do not use or promote it. I wouldn’t want to speculate on the dangers, as I don’t know enough about the medication at this point.

That being said, the comedy site FunnyOrDie.com created a parody of the Latisse commercials that Brooke Shields did. Check it out:

Lashisse from Molly Sims

December 10, 2009

Soy and Eyebrow Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear DR. Rassman

i started eating high amounts of soy per day (6 soy bars per day) for about 3 months ago. – i have been shedding my eyebrows for two months. they still look full. i just read this article about soy and the new research saying that soy is not as healthy as we all think. HealingCrow.com

Do you think that the side effects of Soy could lead to hair loss?

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There is not enough data and clearly not a focused study to connect hair loss and soy intake. I suspect if you had an allergy to soy, hair loss wouldn’t be a total surprise. But for those without a soy allergy, I can’t make the leap to connect it to your thinning eyebrows.

December 10, 2009

Why Did Dr. Rassman Become Interested in Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

What inspired DR.Rassman to become interested in hair loss related issues and how to tackle them?

There are a lot of men who would consider you and all the other scientists regarding hair to be their knight’s in shining armor

Thank you. I am humbled. In all of the fields of medicine I have practiced — heart surgery, orthopedic surgery, gynecology, cancer, and vascular surgery — the field of hair is the happiest of all. The patients are helped, grateful, and at times their lives are transformed. I am an agent of that transformation and that makes me a very lucky doctor. In my former practices, I did it all and felt that I lacked the challenges of new things with the more traditional surgeries. The hair transplant industry was generally doing terrible work and I saw opportunity to change it, invent new technologies, push the envelope and create something that was never done before, so I began doing hair transplants to meet those personal needs after doing the appropriate research. If you look at my CV, you will see what I did and what I published in medical journals, radically changing the field.

90% of my practice is made up of male patients, and these men want their youthful look back. I carry out the steps to get them what they want. Men are delightful patients and the bonding I have with everyone is wonderful. For the 10% of women I work with, there is a special relationship, because most doctors don’t want to deal with their hair loss problems. It takes great patience and time to diagnose female hair loss and the time to educate them makes them happy for the experience with me. About 80% of the women I see are not surgical candidates, but I take the time to get to know each woman on a one-on-one basis.

December 10, 2009

Vicodin, OxyContin, and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

This was a comment posted in response to this old post about hydrocodone and oxycodone:

It’s not very inspiring that Dr. William Rassman, Medical Director and Founder of the New Hair Institute has no idea that this med causes hair loss. Whether it’s temp or not, rare or not, it obvious DOES have the potential to cause hair loss.. I find ‘user reviews’ on websites way more helpful than doctors these days. Doctors always say i’ts not a problem. I had a doc tell me that about Prozac – said it didn’t cause hair loss. Well, within 8 days, my hair went into resting phase (telogen effluvium) hair loss & i’ve been losing hair steadily for 2 months,.. even though I stopped the med after 8 days.

Be careful folks with medications. It may be ‘rare’ side effect, but it still affects some people, and it can be devasting – (especially if your female)

Inspiring or not, I do what I can with the information available in the medical literature. If you’re concerned, always discuss these issues with your prescribing doctor! Look at it this way — if you’re the 1 person out of 100 that sees an odd side effect, then you’re going to be obviously angry or upset about something you might not have been informed off. While I love the internet for many reasons, reports of drug side effects can appear skewed because you don’t see the other 99 people posting comments about how they didn’t see those same unusual sides.

Testimonials by anonymous internet users might be helpful to know you’re not alone in what you’re experiencing, but the doesn’t mean the alarm should be sounded over a side effect that isn’t necessarily the norm. Its unfortunate if it occurs, but each person reacts differently to medication and for the great, great majority they will see no such effect.

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