Dr. William Rassman – Page 1361

January 19, 2009

Woman Lost 50% of Her Hair in Under a Month! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have lost a good 50% of my hair in the past 3 weeks. I have been weaned off Metoprolol recently and stopped Pravastatin on Christmas Day in an effort to see which, if either, are causing the massive loss. How long might it take for the Pravastatin to clear my system and if Pravastatin is the culprit, how long before my hair stops falling out. I am a 60 year old female who previous to this had a very good head of hair. I had a triple bypass in September and e-coli sepsis a few weeks later. I was hospitalized for 5 days of intravenous Avelox but not very sick with the sepsis so I’m assuming it was caught early. If my hair loss was caused by the sepsis would it fall out in such large amounts and so quickly. Thank you!

I highly doubt any drug is the culprit of your hair loss, but to lose 50% of your hair in only one month is definitely not normal. There may be medical issues that you are not aware of. You need to see your physician and discuss your issues with him/her. It seems you have gone through some serious illness and surgeries in recent months. Acute telogen effluviums can cause this problem, but the real question is what caused that? I would strongly urge you to be followed by your physician regarding your medication regimen, as I trust your physician is aware of you stopping or weaning off certain medications.

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January 16, 2009

Hair Loss InformationWhere’s the Scar? Hair Transplant of 1807 Grafts (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I saw this patient last week for a follow-up and he had a wonderful result from a single session of 1807 grafts in the frontal area. When I looked for the scar to see how well it had healed, I could not find it. The scar was closed with an upper and lower trichophytic closure and the results of doing this make strip surgery more than competitive to follicular unit extraction (FUE). This type of closure allows hair around the wound to grow through the scar, making it extremely difficult to see once it heals. To learn more about this, see Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring. I have been routinely getting this type of healing from trichophytic closures.

The after photos were taken about 22 months post-op. Click the photos below to enlarge.

Before on the left; After 1807 grafts on the right:

Donor area – After. Can you find the scar?

January 16, 2009

Alternating Different Generic Finasteride Brands – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have been taking a generic finasteride for 2 years now,with good results. I am paying about $600.00 Canadian for a one year supply.I recently saw an advertisment on line for finasteride for about half that price. My question is what do you think about me alternating every other day the two different genertic finasteride,just in case the cheaper one is not as good as the one I am already taking?

Assuming this other generic is really finasteride, it should be the same. There may be different filler ingredients, but as long as both contain 1mg finasteride, alternating shouldn’t be a problem. Be sure that the manufacturer is reputable and that they are approved for sale by the FDA which will provide some assurance of purity in what you are buying.

Keep in mind that this is your body you are dealing with, so if you don’t trust the cheaper unknown brand, you may consider not buying it. I can understand if it is a car or a house or anything else and you’re looking for a great deal, but I wouldn’t recommend skimping on medications. Online prescription drug sales are also suspect in my eyes, particularly when they’re imported from other countries and violate various laws.

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January 16, 2009

Burning Sensation on My Scalp – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

About 2yrs ago I started getting an itching and burning sensation on the back of my head on the scalp around the hairline up about 2inches. I noticed my hair thinning, I went to see a Dermatologist he gave me a couple of steroid shots. He told me to come back for a follow-up, when I did he said it hadn’t helped but not to worry about it, with time it should grow back. It hasn’t and seems to be getting thinner on my right side. It still itches and hair falls out more than on the other side. Can you help or suggest any solution?

I’m not sure how long it was between the time you received the steroid shots and your follow-up visit. You’re under the care of a dermatologist, and if you feel you’re not getting adequate treatment for whatever reason, you should consider trying a different doctor. Without examining you, I can not help you. Sorry!

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January 16, 2009

Can’t I Just Take Dutasteride Bi-Weekly Because of the Long Half Life? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hi dr,
i just have a question about dutasteride. ive heard that the half life of the medication tends to persist longer then propecia. why cant we just then take it on a bi weekly basis or something instead of taking it daily like propecia which half life is 6 hours? wouldnt this be something to try? just thought id get your opinion. thanks for your time and answer in advance

Bi-weekly dosing makes sense, but it is not what I recommend today. Remember, the medication is still not FDA approved to treat hair loss at this point. Some people suggest taking 2.5mg, some suggest 0.5mg. Once the formal clinical trials are made public, many questions will be cleared up. I am not experimenting on patients, so you will have to find a doctor willing to do what you are asking. The half life of dutasteride is measured in weeks.

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January 16, 2009

Hair Growth After Chemotherapy – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I would like to know that the hair which are growing after the chemotherapy are healthy , should they be kept or should it be discarded and let the new ones grow after sometime , i am really confused . also the hair which are growing are all grey , what to do , pls answer my query. waiting for the reply. thanx

All the hair that survived the chemotherapy should continue to grow. The hair that is in your hands that has already fallen out is not worth keeping, but new hair should grow to replace what has fallen out in less than a year.

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January 16, 2009

Skull Expansion? – Balding Blog

Here’s an interesting theory about your skull expanding, causing hair loss. Anything to this? Big Head, Bald Head- Is Hair Loss Caused by Skull Expansion?

It might be a humorous hypothesis, but there’s nothing to it. The site that is mentioned in that press release states that, “Skull expansion is now being recognized as the true cause of androgenetic alopecia through its publication in the Medical Hypotheses journal“.

A hypothesis is simply what someone (the author of that journal article) supposes. It is certainly not proven or even recognized by the medical community at large. So when they claim skull expansion is recognized as the true cause of hair loss, because it was published in a journal that discusses hypotheses… wow, what a complete joke.

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January 15, 2009

Grab Bag – Questions About BHT, Propecia, Tricomin, Rogaine, and LLLT – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

Does Hair Body transplant works? I mean I have a lot of hair in my chest, I could use it instead of laser hair removal..

Also, do you recommend antiandrogens? I mean, what’s the difference between them and propecia?

Also I have read something about a Tricomin product, is rogain better than tricomin? Which should I use? Or should I use both intercalated?

And it’s rogain 5% better than 2%?

Normally I just wash my hair “day yes day no”, so that I can not have an oily scalp. So, should I apply rogaine everyday even with my hair “dirty/oily”?

Finally, do you recommend LLLT at long term?

Great blog and thanks for your advice!

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Hi.

Body hair transplants should only be used if you are out of donor hair from the scalp. The growth cycle of body hair is different than scalp hair, as well as the hair characteristics themselves.
Finasteride (Propecia) is an antiandrogen. An antiandrogen is something that inhibits the effects of androgens in the body. See Wikipedia for more info.
Tricomin’s website says you can use their product with Rogaine or Propecia. I don’t know what’s in it though, but I’d doubt it’s better than Rogaine. Remember, the only 2 FDA approved and proven medications to treat hair loss are finasteride (Propecia) and minoxidil.
Rogaine 5% is stronger than the 2% — the 5% is sometimes marketed as “extra strength”. If you experience irritation from the 5%, switch down to the 2%. It’s good to have options.
You should apply Rogaine twice daily. So, yes.
I do not recommend low level laser light therapy (LLLT). I’ve not seen any results that are worthwhile. I even had a LLLT machine in my office for my patients to use for free and wasn’t satisfied with the results (or lack thereof).

January 15, 2009

Hair Loss InformationWho Sees More Propecia Side Effects – Young Men or Older Men? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Would you say that a young man is more prone to side effects from Propecia than an older man? Maybe this is related to the fact that Propecia has more effect when started at a younger age than an older age?

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The studies that were done did not classify sexual side effects by age. As young men are far more sexually active than older men and more prone to demand the best sexual performance with their young girlfriends, I would suspect that there are more complaints from the younger men. Many older, married men accept a lesser libido and the incidence of erectile dysfunction is much higher as a man ages, so men may not challenge their penis to do what they may feel it will not do.

January 15, 2009

Added Propecia 10 Months Ago and My Stylist Sees Hair Growing in My Crown! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

Love the site….it is a great resource…….I am 39….and have had receding hair for years and slowly started thinning in the crown……I got serious with Rogaine Foam a couple of years ago and added Propecia to the mix about 9 months ago (maybe 10)…..I have noticed MUCH thicker hair (I can style it differently) and the crown is looking great….in fact, today, I got my hair cut and my stylist did a double take when she worked on the crown. She said, “You have HAIR growing here!” I said yes….and explained what I was doing and about your blog, etc….

To say it made me feel good is an understatement. I can tell a HUGE difference…..and I will send some pix in a couple of months (after being on Propecia for a year).

Please share my story with your readers. The fearful e-mails are silly! Go see a doctor! Propecia will only work if you try it and stick with it!

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Good for you! Thank you for sharing your experience and I’m glad to hear it’s working well for you. I think in many cases, patients that see good results with Propecia would not feel compelled to share their experiences, as opposed to those that get on the bullhorn if they have or think they have a bad experience (I can’t blame them for that). It just creates an unbalanced field of reviews. Thanks again for your note.