Dr. William Rassman – Page 1505

February 20, 2008

Is My Son Losing Hair from LSD or MDMA Use? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello
My son is 21, he believes that his hair is thinning at the crown and at the hairline. He has also been complaining about an itching, tingling, burning sensation on the top of his head. I personally do not think that it is thinning as both sides of the family have a long line of full heads of hair. He has a long history of depression and chronic anxiety, he is also a hypochondriac. However about a year ago i discovered that he had taken large amounts of estradiol, in the form of my estrogel, a month or so prior to me discovering it missing. He stopped after i confronted him about it. Approximately six months later he took LSD while at a friends, then he took MDMA, overdosed and had a seizure. My question is could his hairloss be due to either of these? I am very concerned about him, he has always been depressed and lossing his hair would be a huge blow on his self esteem.

I can understand young men experimenting with drugs, as illegal and harmful as they may be, but it is strange that a young man would knowingly be taking female hormones. Does he have gender identification issues?

Hair loss can be a source for depression for many young men, but I would be less concerned about your son’s hair loss when there are potential life threating issues such as: depression, anxiety, illicit drug abuse, seizures, etc. Your son sounds like he needs help and I do not think hair loss ranks near the top of the list.

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February 20, 2008

My Dermatologist Prescribed the Following for My Female Hair Loss… – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

For the past several months, I had noticed my scalp progressively showing through just behind the crown of my head. During this time, I had not noticed excessive hairs falling out, in my hairbrush or in the shower. I’ve been doing my hair in a ponytail for the last 2-4 years. I first went to see my GP a few weeks ago, she did my bloodwork and referred me to a dermatologist. At the time of the appointment, the dermatologist had not yet received the bloodwork results. He spent a few minutes with me and prescribed the following:

Rogaine 5% for men daily at night

DHS Free and Clear shampoo daily for 6 days per week

Salex shampoo 1 day a week

Betamethasone valerate cream after shampooing.

Appearex Biotin 2.5mg daily

Vicogen 1 daily (a multivitamin)

A few days later, I received my bloodwork results which are all in the normal range. I am a 44 year old female. I am not sure if I should start this treatment plan or not. My GP had mentioned that the dermatologist may do a biopsy of the hairs, but he did not talk about that and when I mentioned it, he said it was not necessary.

Please advise, thank you so much!

It looks like he’s just throwing everything at you and hoping something will work. Ask him directly and try to find out:

What his diagnosis is
What his expectations are for your use of these medications

I do not know what your dermatologist’s line of thinking was.

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February 19, 2008

How Do So Many Older Rock Stars Still Have Such Great Hair? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I always find it amazing how rock and roll stars in their 50’s and 60’s still have hair like 20 year olds. Could there be something they are doing or is it just the lack of stress of being a rock star has enabled them to keep their youthful look. Just some examples would be Sammy Hagar,Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and Steven Tyler.

Thanks

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Rock and roll I can not comment specifically on any of these men, but I am personally aware of a few musicians that use either hair extensions or hair systems to give the appearance of a full head of hair. Long hair seems to be for musicians like hair was to Samson and I have been told over and over again, that without the appearance of hair, they can not perform well. Perhaps it is a confidence issue, perhaps it is something else entirely.

February 19, 2008

48 Year Old Woman with Hair Loss and Thyroid Problems – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,
I am writing to you because I would greatly appreciate your opinion as I have read much about you in the past and know you have a wonderful reputation when it comes to hair loss. I am a 48 year old female who has been around the block for several years dealing with AGA since my twenties. I know I carry a predisposition to it, (Dad, brother, Grand dad all went bald early) but assume it was aggravated by the high androgen birth control pills I took for several years as well.

I have tried everything under the sun including avodart for the past two years (which did not work for me, and therefore I went off a month ago) and since December have been using rogaine 5% foam twice a day on most days, the hair max laser comb 3 times a week, taking a hair vitamin containing saw palmetto and other hair friendly vitamins, and trying to eat a well balanced diet. I also was diagnosed with hypothyroid and am currently taking “synthroid” for the past couple years for an underactive thryroid, which I can’t tell if it is making the hair loss worse or not, even though it is suppose to help treat hair loss. I have been taking yasmin now for at least 5 years which is suppose to be a more hair friendly bcp.

(my questions are as follows: Is it worth it for me to see an endocronologist to conduct more tests other than thyroid, and iron levels (normal) at this point in my life? I went to a supposed expert dermatologist here in Boston several years ago who basically took a quick look and said genetic, and dismissed me telling me to try minoxidil..( I never did at that point). I would like to know if you think I have all the basis covered since at 48 I will be entering menopause soon, and can’t afford any more hair loss!

I was told I was not a good candidate for hair transplant, too much hair, and too thin all over and the results would not be any better than what I already have.
I really would appreciate your feed back.. Thank you so much.

You have a double combination of low thyroid and genetic hair loss. In women I have seen, when genetic hair loss is present and low thyroid precipitates more, even correcting the thyroid does not often help. Seeing another doctor may have value, but I am not hopeful. The appearance of menopause adds the third negative, which may or may not make you worse. The use of Rogaine Foam is a good choice and you will have to wait 1-2 years to see the benefits of this treatment. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I am waiting for some drugs to be introduced or better research which may show us better what is happening to folks like you.

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February 19, 2008

Applying Rogaine Foam Directly After Showering – Balding Blog

Does applying Rogaine Foam directly after showering with the hair somewhat wet, but not soaked, bring down the effectiveness of the foam? I read through the directions, but it does not specify unlike the old Rogaine solution.

Thanks!

I believe that it should be applied after a shower and after you mostly dry your hair. Circulation in the scalp is high at that time.

February 19, 2008

Heavy Metal Music and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

My question is in regards to the hairlines of many rock musicians which I have noticed over the years. I’ve been big into heavy music for many years and i’ve notived many of them seem to have slightly receded hairlines which have never gotten worse. Some examples are

Dez Fafara from the band Coal Chamber (now Devildriver), Bass guitarist Oliver Reidel from german heavy metal band Rammstein, And in particular Pogo, once keyboardist for Marilyn Manson who has retained i’d say what’s inbetween a 2 and 3 on the scale for many years.

All of these artists seem to have retained around a 2 and 3 class pattern and has never gotten any worse. I guess it’s possible they all have gotten hair transplants at one point. Any knowlege on this? Is it possible for someone to have they’re hairline recede like that and just stop? I mean it happened to both my uncles who had they’re hairlines recede a bit around my age (19) and now in they’re late 30’s hasn’t gotten much worse. Thanks and hope to hear from you!

Norwood Class 3 You are correct to look at the genetics of your family for the answers. Many people stop at Norwood Class 2 or 3 levels. I actually believe that the Norwood Class 2 pattern of balding is not real balding, but just the appearance of the mature hairline. That being said, I am not Dr. O’Tar Norwood and do not know if he recognized the mature male hairline as a normal transition for a maturing man when updating and devising the Norwood classification system that we use today.

As I’m sure you could likely assume, I’m not a big heavy metal music fan, and didn’t have the foggiest idea who the people you specifically mentioned are. I asked someone on my staff to hunt down these folks, and their photos are presented below:

I don’t see any hair loss in the gentleman on the left, Dez Fafara, as the photos I’ve seen have his long hair covering any pattern that may be present. The other two guys, Oliver Reidel and Pogo aka Madonna Wayne Gacy (thanks Internet!), each appear to be Norwood Class 3. It is completely possible that they stopped at their current levels and did not require any hair restoration, but I have no first hand knowledge about that (and if I did, I couldn’t say).

February 19, 2008

How Long Is The MPB Process? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

How long can MPB take?

My hair kind of leapt into a widow’s peak during 2003/04 and is now considerably thinner than it has ever been in my life. So this is about 5 years maximum – i thought MPB took on average 15 years or more?

What happened?

Once you know you have male pattern baldness (MPB), it remains a progressive process until the day you die, but in reality most people slow down the loss in their late 30s or 40s. There are always exceptions to the rule, but most people are destined to develop a pattern and that pattern is not always a class 6 or 7 pattern (see Norwood Chart below). They may stop at a class 3… but of course, each person is different.

February 19, 2008

Is It Ever Too Late to Start Propecia and Minoxidil? – Balding Blog

I am 36, have been balding since 21 and now seem to have a pretty full head full of hairs in the advanced miniaturization, with some hairs in the moderate miniaturization phase. Not a lot of normal hairs at all.

Area of balding pretty much covers the entire area; T1, T2 = Temples
F1, F2 = Frontal
M = Middle
V = Vertex

When is it considered too late to start a regimine of Propecia/ Minoxidil? Can these miniaturized hairs be saved, or is it already too late? In the past, have used minoxidil with some results, with the middle and vertex becoming much less visible. More pigment, thicker hairs, but threw in the towel after a year.

It is never too late. I like the fact that you now have a baseline measurement to know what these medications will do if you start them again. Go for it!

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February 19, 2008

Lexapro and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,

I’m a 35 yr old female who was put on Lexapro to combat mild depression last Thanksgiving. After two weeks of taking the drug, my hair began to fall out in large clumps leaving me with bald spots. I contacted my doctor and she told me to stop taking the Lexapro as it this is a known side effect. I am not taking a replacement drug as my depression was only mild and the hair loss has scared me enough for now. The hair stopped falling out 7 to 10 days after I stopped taking the Lexapro. Luckily, I had long thick hair and even though I lost about 15% to 20% of my hair it was not extremely obvious. However, I have been waiting patiently for my hair to start growing back, but the bald spots are still bald. How long should it take before the hair starts growing back as it has been over ten weeks? I would think that by now I’d see at least some stubbles of new hair growing back. Also, I have a friend who told me that after she had chemotherapy treatment (breast cancer) her doctor told her to take Biotin vitamins and use Nioxin shampoo. Should I use these products to try and speed things up?

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions!

Telogen effluvium may take from 2-6 months to reverse. Assuming that this is a drug induced TE, you should wait out the process for at least 6 months and then if you still have bald spots, you need to see a specialist. The medications used by your friend may have value. Also, the use of minoxidil 5% may help.

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February 18, 2008

Hair Loss InformationRemoving vs Camouflaging Old Plugs – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

In correcting an old pluggy hair transplant,is it feasible or possible to transplant behind the old plugs first, let this mature, then remove the old plugs so the initial transplants (from the donor area) can camoflage the surgical sites of the excised plugs(this is assuming the old plugs cannot be camoflaged via a transitional zones of fue transplants). I have seen the reverse procedure on your website often when corrective procedures such as this are done. Also, if old plugs need to be excised can you use a flesh colored suture material to minimize post surgical incision lines of the excised plugs? And final question, in determining whether to excise old plugs or place a zone of camoflaging units in front, if the existing hairline is on the borderline (low or high) what is your criteria in your choice.Thanks.

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The decision to remove the hairline is a joint arrangement between patient and doctor. Sometimes the social limitations of removing the frontal hairline is just not a good choice for the patient. One should outline the number of surgeries with the various approaches. The decision for FUE, or excision of single plugs and building a hairline in front of the old plugs at the time of the FUE, or individual plug excision, seems to be the choice most patients are making despite a hairline excision which may, in the long term, be a better decision. The location of the old pugs is important. If the old plugs are at least 1 1/4 inches above where the natural juvenile hairline was located originally, then just camouflage may work fine. The lower the hairline, the better is the excision of the hairline, but still many people today are opting for the FUE/selective plug excision and frontal camouflage, because it does not limit their ability to go out in public within days of this surgery.