Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Did Meth Use Regrow Hair?

A website called ‘faces of meth’ shows mug shots of men and women before and after abusing the drug. Here is an article – link.

The included picture shows a man with a notably receded hairline before the use, then after one year, a ridiculously full head of hair. Anything could have happened in that year I suppose but I was just wondering what your take on this was.

Those are some… disturbing photos. People see what they want to see. The two pictures are not comparable, as the one with long hair does not give us a view of the frontal area in details worthy of my opinion. He could still have thinning at the hairline that we can’t see. I doubt he styled it that way on purpose for his mugshot, and in all likelihood it is just dirty and matted. But who knows — maybe he used minoxidil along with his meth.

If you are suggesting that meth is a cure for balding, I just smiled with the inference. Sorry, but I am afraid advocating meth for treating hair loss is just not what I want to do!

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Did I Get an Infection After My Hair Transplant?

I’m a female, 41 years old.I underwent hair transplantation 10 days ago.Everything was fine, but 2 days ago I started with a clear discharge from the site of the implants. It is oozing non stop now and red. I saw my Dr.yesterday.He assured me it was not infected…How so ????? If it is draining it could not be right.I’m worried sick…Should I be taking antibiotics ?????

You are doing the right thing by seeing your doctor. It is impossible for me to give you any medical advice without examining you myself. Please follow up with your doctor and ask him these questions or if you are not satisfied, get a second opinion. Certainly, recipient sites should not be draining at any time, especially 10 days out of a hair transplant surgery.

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Did My Using Minoxidil Mess Up Propecia Benefits?

In October I noticed slight thinning on the vertex and purchased 5% minoxidil. I applied this twice daily to the vertex for 2.5 months at most. I did not see any change at this time, but was tired of applying minoxidil twice a day and switched to propecia. I have now been taking propecia for 4.5 months and there is noticeable thinning on the vertex. I am also shedding quite a bit more than I ever have which has been going on for almost 2 months. I know that Propecia can awaken follicles and increase shedding, but how long does this last? Also, even though Minoxidil did not regrow any hair for me, can it have a negative effect on Propecia possibly reversing hair loss on the vertex even though I used it for only a short period of time and it did not produce any hair regrowth and thickening? Basically, did I screw myself by using minoxidil before Propecia?

No.

You may subjectively notice thinning and changes in your hair. However, it is impossible to tell what is working or not working. Consider the fact that you may be just progressing to losing more hair and taking those drugs may be slowing the process down (even if it does not seem to be). In other words it can be worse, but not because of Propecia and minoxidil. You may also consider seeing a doctor who can examine your hair under a hair densitometer to see its miniaturization pattern and quantitavely track the effects of what Propecia is doing.


2006-06-20 09:21:10Did My Using Minoxidil Mess Up Propecia Benefits?

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Did My Pain Pills Cause My Hair Loss?

i am 21 years old and i started loosing some of my hair when i was 19. It was all of the sudden after i had a kidney infection and was put on pain killers and cipro. it began to grow back until i got my wisdom teeth out which required me to be on pain pills for a month which caused significant hair loss. That was about a year ago and although i feel it doesnt fall out in the same large quantities i feel that the hair that has grown back is fine baby hairs. Is there anything that can reverse this or will i loose all my hair?

Physical stress and sickness are known causes of temporary hair loss, as are adverse drug reactions. That being said, pain pills are not a known cause of hair loss and are unlikely to be the reason your hair thinning orfalling out, so it may be a coincidence since when you were sick both times you had to take pain pills as part of your recovery. Therefore, the most likely cause of your hair loss is that the physical stress from your sicknesses caused the hair to have weak growth and/or shed.

Hair can take some time to recover, especially if your body is still recovering to full health – getting healthy is the best way to reverse this sort of loss. You may want to get evaluated by a dermatologist or a knowledgeable hair doctor to see if there is some component of genetic/pattern loss and get your hair mapped for miniaturization, but you should be reassured that it is unlikely you will permanently lose all your hair due to the events and medications you describe, unless you are amongst the unfortunate few who has hair shaft thickness changes early in life.

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Did My Conditioner Cause My Hair to Thin?

hi, im 17 and i have always had thick hair, though recently i have noticed that it has thinned out. This has happened around my ears and towards the back. Though my fringe is still very thick. I conditioned my hair very roughly a few weeks ago and continued so up until i noticed it a few days ago. Do you think the conditioner or the way i administered the conditioner has something to do with the thinning? and will it grow back?

I highly doubt that the use of hair conditioner has thinned your hair. Otherwise it would be called a hair thinner, rather than a hair conditioner. If for any remote possibility that hair conditioner was the cause of your hair thinning, you would have experienced hair thinning all over — not only “around ears and toward the back” as you describe.


2007-07-23 09:32:41Did My Conditioner Cause My Hair to Thin?

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Did my finasteride fail to work?

26 male, just over 8 months on finasteride 1mg. No crown thinning but recessed temples at Norwood 2.5. Nothing has changed progress-wise. If anything my hair has thinned more around the temples. I hate styling my hair. Is there no hope?

Many times, finasteride works by slowing or stopping the hair loss, not reversing it. If your on it for a while and then stop it, you might find out the hard way that it was working for you. If you are not having side effects as most men don’t, then continue with it because it does slow down the hair loss as shown here: https://baldingblog.com/5-year-growth-plotted-with-propecia-compared-to-control-group/ . This chart shows that finasteride does slow the loss down.


2020-12-21 11:42:34Did my finasteride fail to work?

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Did my 1200 graft crown transplants fail? (photo)

There is clearly hair growing in the crown where there was not hair before which reflects growth. It is possible that you did not get enough grafts to do the job right? For the size of your crown, I would have expected at least 2000-2500 grafts depending upon the thickness of your hair, the finer hair requiring more grafts. Men with very fine hair with say 2000 grafts, could get this type of result because the hair just doesn’t have the bulk to it. I would either consider another hair transplant or possibly scalp micropigmentation (see here: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/gallery/thinning-hair/#!https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/scalp_micropigmentation-new_hair_institute-042-thinning_hair.jpg).


2020-08-23 16:06:22Did my 1200 graft crown transplants fail? (photo)

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Did Propecia Elevate My SGOT and SGPT (Liver) Levels?

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I am a 32 year old male with Norwood class 3.In December beginning I had started Propecia and continued with it for 7 weeks. I experienced no apparent side effects and in fact felt more energetic. There was no initial hair loss and at end of 3 weeks my hair felt fuller and it seemed that there was a decrease in hair loss ( lose fewer while combing/shampooing ).

During the 7th week a test revealed some of liver function indicators were elevated:

Value Range
A/G RATIO 1.29 1.2-2.0:1
SGOT(AST) 45.00 U/L 10 – 42
SGPT (ALT) 74.20 U/L 10.00 – 47.00

Subsequently, while still on Propecia, I also got these tested for

TESTOSTERONE 708.0 ng/dl 166 – 877 ng/dl
FREE TESTOSTERONE 4.88 pg/ml 4.25 – 30.37 ng/dl
DI-HYDRO 522.3 pg/ml 250 -990 ng/dl
TESTOSTERONE

A couple of years back testing for DHT had revealed that it was 3 times the upper limit. I was not treated for it.

I would really like to get back on to Propecia. Do you have any insights why SGOT/SGPT are elevated ( A few weeks before starting my Doctor had gotten me tested and LFT were normal then ) ? Could conversion of excessive DHT to Testosterone have caused such ? Would it be safe for me to restart Propecia ?

Regards

This is a question you need to ask your doctor. There are many possible factors that could be in play:

  1. To my knowledge, Propecia use will not impact liver function. If you have liver disease, you may have to reduce the dose of finasteride you are taking to take the disease into account.
  2. It can be a coincidence.
  3. It can be from alcohol use the night before.
  4. It can be from other drug use. Many drugs are metabolized by the liver and Propecia is not unique.
  5. It can be an insignificant temporary finding, but unlikely.
  6. It can be from an infection you are not aware of.
  7. The list goes on and on…

miniaturization study, not a lab test. I understand there are now genetic tests that can give you a “probability” score for androgenic alopecia, but sometimes even genetic testing does not really change the medical course of action.

One particular 18 year old patient I recently saw paid a few hundred dollars for genetic testing for androgenic alopecia at another medical group. The results were mailed to him and according to what he said, the doctor never followed up with him. He had no sign of balding, no hair loss, and no miniaturization. He had the test done because his grandfather was bald and he was afraid of going that same route. His results showed a “probability” of androgenic alopecia, but all it really did is tell him that he was carrying the gene for balding. Just carrying the gene does not mean that the gene will be expressed, as some men who carry the gene never go to clinical balding. The report given to him got him extremely worried and instead of following up with the medical group (who tried to sell him shampoos and lasers) he came to see me.

In my opinion, in this particular case the genetic test was a source of misery and misrepresentation. Sure, there may be a possibility that he may lose hair to some degree and have androgenic alopecia in his future, but I did not recommend any course of action (not even Propecia) for him, as he had absolutely no sign of balding or miniaturization.


2010-02-16 13:30:40Did Propecia Elevate My SGOT and SGPT (Liver) Levels?

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Did Propecia Eliminate My Body Hair?

I have been on Propecia for over a year. I think it stopped my hair loss and overall my hair appears thicker. I used to have to shave my knuckles and feet before I started the propecia as well as I always had hair coming out of my ears. I recently looked at my feet then my hands and all over my body and noticed that all the hair has vanished. I was just wondering if that was normal. I am relieved that I am not as hairy as I used to be but should I be concerned?

The finding you report is uncommon, though I have had quite a few emails about this phenomenon over the past month and others have periodically reported this side effect over time as well. It did not impact my ear, nose, or body hair, so that is a personal disappointment for me. I don’t see it as any cause for concern.

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Did Propecia Cause My Testicular Cancer?

Hi:
I was on Propecia for roughly six years between 2000 through 2006. I had decent results, kept the hair on the top of the head, however the temples were receeding a bit. The hairline in the front was thin as well. In 2007 I was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer. It was localized to my left testicle and I was lucky to catch it early as it did not spread anywhere else. I had surgery to remove the affected testicle and undergo preventive tests on a quarterly basis.

My questions are: Could the cancer be caused by the Propecia? I would like to start taking the Propecia again to re-gain what I lost as I am starting to get the dredded “hair ring” around the head. I am 38 and was wondering about fertility since I only have one “factory” left?

Thanks!!

I would ask this question to your oncologist. I highly doubt testicular cancer is caused by Propecia. There are many men who get testicular cancer who are not on Propecia. Most of the time you cannot establish a causal relationship.

With respect to your fertility, I am not the doctor to ask this question to (as I am not a fertility doctor).


2009-10-05 19:57:30Did Propecia Cause My Testicular Cancer?