Can I donate a kidney if i’ve been taking propecia/finasteride for the last 2 years?
I do not see why not, but you should ask your transplant surgeon or transplant coordinator as they would be better aware these things.
In the News – Singer Tom Jones Has a New Hairline? – Balding Blog
Snippet from the article:
Last year he decided to give up the dark hair dye and grow old naturally with silver locks.
But it seems Tom Jones hasn’t completely given up on his quest to look youthful.
His once receding hairline appears to have been transformed into a full thick mop, sparking speculation that he’s had a hair transplant.
The 70-year-old, now fit for a L’Oreal advertisement, was also showing off a healthy tan as he was pictured after appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York.
Read the full story (with more photos) — Tom Jones’ receding hairline is transformed into luscious locks
We’ve written in the past about the changing hair color of Tom Jones, but it appears he’s gotten himself a new hairline. It’s difficult to tell from the photos shown in the article since they aren’t really focused on the hair, but the thicker looking hairline could be caused by a hair transplant, a wig, the use of concealers, or even some creative styling.
What do you think?
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Using Olive Oil Before or After Minoxidil to Prevent Dryness? – Balding Blog
I have been using minoxidil 10% twice a day for the past two months as well as propecia. Could you tell me if using hair oil (olive) before or after application could adversely affect the absorption or mitigate the effect that minoxidil has?…..
my hair looks very dry now and that is why I ask.
First, I don’t recommend 10% minoxidil for treating hair loss. Sometimes higher or stronger dose does not translate into better results. In fact, there are more side effects without necessarily increased benefits. Perhaps that is one of the reasons your hair is feeling so dry.
I realize there are many regimens that go along with hair loss, but I generally use olive oil for cooking and do not know how it would affect your minoxidil use.
Hair Loss InformationUsing Chest and Back Hair When Scalp Density is Low? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
I am Norwood 6/7. I had a nice transplant to the front 1/3 of my head, which frames my face well. Unfortunately, the density of my donor area is on the low side. I have VERY heavy body hair on my chest and back.
Would this be an acceptable situation to transplant body hair to crown area?
Body hair is a difficult call for me. I have tried using it and have not done well with it. Aside from the physical characteristics of the body hair, the growth cycles are different from that of scalp hair.
There are a few doctors who claim to specialize in using body hair for scalp transplanting, but I am skeptical that the results are as good as claimed. The patients I’ve seen in my office with body hair transplanted to the scalp at other clinics have been less than impressive. If you’re considering body hair transplants, just be sure to meet with patients that have had it done by the doctor you’re considering so that you can see the results for yourself in person.
Taking Finasteride After Kidney Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Hi
I had a kidney transplant 5 years ago. I use immunosupresants (Tacrolimus 2 mg/12 hr and micofenolic acid 1 g/12 hr). And im balding
Is it safe to use Finasteride to help regrow some hair?
Finasteride is a safe medication, but before you start or stop any medication, check with your doctor who knows your medical history and medications. This is not a place to receive personal medication reassurance or endorsements.
You may not even have androgenic balding and finasteride may not work for you. I don’t know enough about your medical or hair loss history to make that determination. Since finasteride is a prescription medication, your prescribing doctor will be able to tell you.
Did Propecia Just Go Up in Price? – Balding Blog
Hi Doc.
My Propecia price have just been raised almost 20% from one day to another. We have a different currency in my country, but the price was 79 US-$ before pr. month and now it’s 100 US-$. This seems extreme. I’m buying Propecia on prescription and at a pharmacy so I’m buying it legal. Have you heard anything about this???
Please help!
Best regards!
I don’t know anything about international Propecia pricing. You might want to call around to different pharmacies to see if perhaps it isn’t increased everywhere. Any international readers out there experience a recent price increase?
My costs for Propecia have not changed in a while. The price did go up about a year and a half ago, but currently we sell it for $190 for a 3 month supply (which breaks down to about $63/mo).
Good Surgical Candidate Vs Bad Surgical Candidate – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Dr. Rassman,
Thank you for your very informative blog, it’s a daily read for me.
My question for you is simple. I’ve heard Dr. Bernstein say that one of the reasons why he has not undergone a surgery is because he is not a good candidate.
First, what makes him a bad candidate, and second, at what age would it have become apparent that he would become a bad candidate? I’m only 29, and although I’ve been told that I’m a good candidate for surgery now, I worry that down the road I’ll turn into a bad candidate because of future loss or donor thinning.
There are many things that make someone a good/bad candidate for hair transplants. A key problem for any candidate is a low donor density and a large balding area, which may mean the donor supply is insufficient to address the needs of the recipient area. I have had many patients that ran out of donor hair before they completed the transplant procedures they could’ve used. That is why I always stress a Master Plan for anyone undergoing a hair transplant.
Someone like Dr. Bernstein, with low density and a very large bald area, needs a great deal of hair to achieve any degree of fullness. The most he could have accomplished is to transplant the frontal area and leave the crown bald, so maybe he felt that the benefit was just not there. Dr. Bernstein is happily married and is not motivated to change his look. He looks handsome with his short hair style and is satisfied with that.
For you, at 29 years old, with the early use of Propecia you may slow down or stop the process and if your hair loss is confined to the front and top, then transplants may offer you a good option later if needed. Too many doctors want to push patients towards hair transplants because that is what they do for a living. The not-so-good doctors just do transplants without a Master Plan communicated to the patient. Many patients want hair, will pay for hair, want a bargain for the graft cost, and really have no concept of a plan.
In reality, they get no bargain and will pay for that ignorance in the future when their hair loss gets out-of-control and they find themselves out of hair and money. I see people every day in this situation and somehow I can not get the message out there that everyone needs to plan ahead for their worst case hair loss, because they will continue to lose hair for the rest of their lives. The question that should be addressed, as you so nicely pointed out, is about what you will look like 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 years later.
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Are My Antibiotics Causing Hair Loss? I Read They Can Cause Growth! – Balding Blog
Doc,
Was put on antibiotics for a persistent infection. After 3 weeks of cipro was switched to doxycycline. 2 weeks into that noticed extra hair loss. one week was looking at my hair commenting how well it was doing and a week later noticed much more thinning at the hairline and crown. Are you familiar with any connection between these drugs and hair loss in clinical practice? I suppose any drug could cause TE, huh?
Ironically on some hair loss sites I’ve seen references to monocycline to actual hair growth.
Thanks
Why are people so caught up trying to associate hair loss with a certain medication? First of all, you’re taking antibiotics to treat an infection. It is just a wild guess, but have you considered other reasons why you would be losing your hair… such as the infection that you are taking the antibiotics for, or genetic causes, or just coincidence?
While it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the medication could be the cause of your hair loss, neither doxycycline or ciprofloxacin list hair loss as a common side effect. I don’t know that either officially list “hair growth” as a side effect either, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone attributed weird side effects to various treatments.
Does Cutting a Month of Proscar Really Lose Effectiveness? – Balding Blog
Does cutting Proscar a month’s in advance really reduce its effectiveness?
Cutting a month of Proscar pills (5mg finasteride) in advance could reduce the effectiveness like any pill would if exposed to air and humidity for a prolonged period of time. I don’t know what the exact point is that the medication starts to degrade, but that’s why I suggest splitting one pill at a time. The protective coating on the outside is what extends the life of the medication, and a cut pill obviously loses some of that.
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Hair Loss from Coronal Brow Lift Scar – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
I had a coronal brow lift in Feb. 2009. I had a wider than desired scar. I also had a spot the size of a quarter of permanent hair loss. The plastic surgeon who performed the brow lift has tried to do a scar revision by excising the scar. But I am 3 weeks post revision and I see where all along the new revision scar I have hair loss. The line where he cut is pencil thin, but I have hair loss in front of the scar.
Is this going to be permanent like before? I thought that maybe the staples I had in initial surgery were the problem. But he used sutures to do revision and I still had hair loss. Why is it that every time my scalp gets cut I have hair loss in front of the scar? And what can be done to fix this?
Thank you
This is a real problem. You must wait out the course (about 4-6 months) and then you will know if the surgery succeeded. I suspect that you will see that the scar is the same or worse and the hair loss may not go away. I see many female patients with this problem and end up transplanting most of them with good results.