Dr. William Rassman – Page 1269

September 4, 2009

I Heard Rogaine Causes Heart Attacks – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i was wondering is rogaine safe. i hear that rogaine causes heart attacks but you know how people are. i just had a hair transplant and wanted to see if it was safe. thank you doctor

High doses of Rogaine (minoxidil) can drop your blood pressure and may not be a good idea if you have existing heart disease. I can imagine some case where a person uses minoxidil and has one of a variety of existing heart conditions, and the medication causes a drop in blood pressure leading to a heart attack… but that is theoretical and I have not actually heard that such a case exists.

So to answer your question, Rogaine does not cause heart attacks.

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September 4, 2009

Propecia and Minoxidil Made My Hairline Look Eaten! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

ive been on propecia and minoxidil for four months and am going through a horrible shed, my whole temple point has thinned out, my hairline looks eaten and my hair feels horrible, from your experiece is this common?

thanks

I am not sure what “eaten” looks like other than some erosion that is asymmetrical. We are all different — and that includes hairlines. It could be accelerated shedding from either of the medications, but you need to see an expert in the field to give you and examination, or at the least send me a photo so I understand what is “eaten” about your hairline.

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September 4, 2009

Stopping Minoxidil After Just 3 Months – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr Rassman
I’ve been taking propecia and minoxidil for about 3 months. Now i feel there is improvement in my hair. I am thinking of quiting minoxidil and use propecia only. Would i maintain my hair if i use propecia only. Thanks.

If the minoxidil gave you any improvement, stopping it would see those benefits disappear. Propecia will not maintain any minoxidil benefits for you (and vice versa). If the improvement you saw was from the Propecia, then stopping the minoxidil will be fine. Unfortunately, since you started both at the same time, the only way you’ll really know which medication was working is by stopping one and hoping you made the right choice.

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September 3, 2009

Hair Loss InformationTechnique Development and Badmouthing of Doctors – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doctor Rassman,

with all the shady HT docs out there you seem to have a very good record of ethics; but recently I came across the first negative “report” that i’ve ever seen about you.

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“Bobby Limmer presented FU style grafting in 1989. It took 10 years to gain a foothold even though it was clearly better. During this time there was an active movement by the practitioners in the industry to badmouth and prevent the adoption of this new technique. That’s right they were actively stopping the evolution of technique. If a patient asked about these techniques they’d be told false and baseless statistics about transection, etc. if they were lucky. If they were unlucky the doctors wouldn’t even present the option to them. Documented examples of this exist online.

“FUE grafting encountered the same resistance from the industry. Every trailblazing FUE practitioner has had false claims and allegations made against their results. Leading this badmouth charge was William Rassman from NHI. Dr. Woods has recorded evidence of this.

In fact FUE was known by the industry for several years and you couldn’t get any of the top clinics to admit its existence.”

Care to comment?

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I originated many of the techniques done today (see medical publications) including the follicular unit extraction (FUE). Dr. Woods and I seem to have evolved it simultaneously, but I published the technique in 2001 and he kept his technique secret. In fact, I am still not sure just what he does, technique wise. I have taken lumps on my head as other doctors badmouthed me in the early 1990s, but after my patients got out to the market, the great results seemed to quiet down the accusations made against me. In 1994, I presented 23 patients with completed results to a group of about 500 hair transplant surgeons at an ISHRS meeting in Las Vegas. I would say that 95% of the doctors at that meeting were doing the old plug technique at the time. I did my presentation with live patients and compared what I did with the poor photography shown at the meeting by other doctors. My patient models spoke reams about the techniques I used, and that meeting seemed to be the actual end of the plugs as the standard of care.

I have been an outspoken critic of misrepresentations by doctors about their skills and techniques. After I announced FUE to the world, one doctor called me to ask how it is done. He had never done anything like it before. Within the week, he announced (over the internet) about the FUE technique he invented and his wonderful results from it. Now, when I meet that doctor I want to puke.

Nobody is without criticism and I am sure that some patients may not have reached their expectations with me as their surgeon, but setting up expectations is what I do and then the surgery is just a fulfillment of meeting those expectations. I show patients off every month at my office in Los Angeles and the experience of sharing has been central to my entire practice strategy.

September 3, 2009

Hair Loss InformationI Don’t Know If I Have Diffuse Loss or MPB – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i was diagnosed for MPB, BUT i naturally have thin hair according to my mom. I have thinning hair at the crown and the vertex…and back of my head, left side… but i dont know whether it is MPB or diffused hair loss. Do you have any suggestions of how to find out which one without going to the doctor as there are no good ones in my city?

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If you have loss at the back and sides of your head, that is not typical male patterned baldness. It could be something like DUPA, but first, to be sure you’re actually losing hair on the back and sides, I’d take a look at this page to show you how you can perform miniaturization mapping on yourself, since you say there is no local doctors you like.

September 3, 2009

Is Propecia Time Released? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’ve read that taking half a dose of propecia is not good because it is a time release drug and cutting it will release to much of the medicine at once. Is their any truth to this?

Propecia is not time released. Take it as directed. Recommended dosage is one pill daily. It’s actually quite simple. It has a half life of 4-6 hours and that means that each 4-6 hours, the dose circulating in the blood will reduce by half. Some of the drug gets into the tissue of the hair follicle and it may stay there for a few days (tissue fixation), so that is the reason you do not need a time release on the drug.

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September 3, 2009

My Dermatologist Told Me to Use Rogaine as a Preventive Measure – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a dermatologist that recommended although I don’t /appear/ to have MPB, he suggested that I use Rogaine once a day as a preventative measure, so if the thinning does start it would be severely curtailed. On one hand, this does not seem like conventional advice, and I would be paying money for drugs for nothing, but on the other hand, paying $80 a year (six months supply stretched to twelve months) for relative peace of mind regarding my hair seems like a decent investment.

What do you think? Is there any value to using medications as a preventative measure if you are not balding (yet), but MPB still runs in your family, or is it better to wait for miniaturization to start showing?

If you don’t have balding or any miniaturization, then I wouldn’t use anything. Personally, I don’t think it’ll help that much and your dermatologist’s theory makes no sense. I certainly wouldn’t recommend a medication to a patient that doesn’t need it.

If you don’t have MPB, but you are one of those people who feel compelled to try something, then you can consider Rogaine (minoxidil), as it has the least side effect potential and is available over the counter.

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September 3, 2009

Propecia and Male PMS – Balding Blog

Hello Dr.,

I’ve been reading through your blogs and took notice to a question posted by a Dr: Propecia Produces PMS in Men?

It appears that we are in the same situation as we get PMS symptoms w/ Propecia usage. My question is, if we are getting these side effects as a result of increased estrogen as a result of taking Propecia, is there a supplement or anything we could take or use to prevent/combat this from occurring. I, as everyone else here, want/feel I need to maintain my hair like you wouldn’t believe. It is important to note I have never gotten gyno from Propecia. I’m trying hard to get this figured out so I can utilize the only real proven hairloss fighter. Thanks so much, your help is greatly appreciated!

The post you are referring to is from one reader of BaldingBlog who is not my patient, nor do I have any sort of proof that he’s actually a physician as stated, not that it makes it any more plausible. I personally have never had a patient tell me they are having PMS-like emotional symptoms from taking Propecia, and combining my patient experience with the complete lack of information about it in the medical literature, I’d have to conclude the symptoms you experience are unrelated to Propecia use. I assume you’re just referring to the emotional symptoms of PMS and not the physical ones, too (such as cramping, bloating, etc). While it does not invalidate the symptoms from one such reader, I do not think it is really an issue for me to address, as it is all mostly theoretical.

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September 2, 2009

Oral Ketoconazole? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

dear sir,thanks a lot for your kindness and great care about answering my questions. dr, can ketoconazole be taken systemically to treat seborrehic dermatitis?

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There is a ketoconazole oral, but it has huge warnings about liver problems that can sometimes be fatal. That being said, ketoconazole is an antifungal medication… and to treat seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff), you would probably be better off with a shampoo.

September 2, 2009

Hair Character Changes, Prescribing Proscar, and Finasteride OTC? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I was wondering a couple of things about hair loss/thinning.

I am half Asian and half Caucasian. I have read that Asian people tend to have fewer hairs per square inch of scalp VS Caucasians. When I was younger, I had very thick hair typical of a small Asian child. As I’ve gotten older my hair seems to have gotten thinner. Does it make sense that this is a result of some sort of genetic maturation? As far as physical appearance, I also went from appearing like a purely Asian child to look so white that most people think I’m adopted upon meeting my mother.

Second, I was wondering how difficult it is to actually find a doctor to prescribe generic Proscar for hairloss treatment. Is this a common thing or will I be pretty much forced to get Propecia which is much higher in cost?

And finally, I was just wondering what is keeping Propecia(or just generic Finasteride) from being an over the counter medicine available the same as Rogaine. Is it really so dangerous, for lack of a better word, that the general public can’t handle responsibly acquiring and taking it?

Hair changes its character as we age. It is not unusual for an 8 year old boy to have a coarser hair than he has when he is 20. We see that even more often as a person gets older (greater than 50-60 years old). Your physical appearance has little to do with your hair character and hair thickness (coarse vs finer).

Propecia/Proscar (finasteride) is a prescription medication. Some doctors may have an issue prescribing Proscar, but you’ll just have to ask them and let them know you’re aware that the pill needs to be cut and you just want the generic (only available in 5mg) to save money. There are many doctors in the New York area that can see you for a consultation if you are losing hair, one of which is my colleague Dr. Robert Bernstein in NYC.

As for why finasteride isn’t available over-the-counter, sometimes it can be a danger issue, other times it can be political. The FDA must decide upon a drug’s safety, effectiveness, and whether it can be managed without a doctor’s supervision. There’s an article about the road from prescription to OTC, relating specifically about the emergency contraception medication known as Plan B, but a good overview all the same.

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