Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Does Finasteride Cause Weight Gain? – Balding Blog

Hello,
I’m in my mid 20s and considering using finasteride. Out on the internet, there are of course plenty of people reporting side effects. One I’m worried about is weight gain-as an athlete a gain in fat would directly impact my performance. Is weight-gain a side that occurs in a relatively small number of users, such as the other sides? Or are a large percentage of people seeing this weight gain? Is it possible as a young, athletic person I have little to worry about here, or could I actually have more to worry about with regards to weight gain? I’m ready to start finasteride immediately but this is the last worry on my mind.

If you are ready to start finasteride, then you must be in contact with a medical doctor since it is a prescription medication, so please address these concerns with your doctor.

Of all the potential side effects associated with finasteride, I do not think weight gain is even on the top ten list. In the grand scheme of things, ALL drugs have side effects. Before starting any medications you and your doctors should consider all the risks and the beneits, and lay out a clear Master Plan.




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Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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Hair Loss InformationGluten y la calvicie? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hola Doctor Rassman,

Ama a tu blog. Mi pregunta es, ¿existe un vínculo entre el consumo de gluten y la calvicie prematura? He leído bastantes artículos sobre él, y parte de mí cree que es una locura hablar, pero me pregunto. Obviamente, hay un montón de gente que come gluten y calvo nunca, pero si es el destino de una persona de ser calvo y que consumen una gran cantidad de gluten en una edad joven, que puede causar la aparición?

Gracias por tu tiempo!

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Creo que las dietas libres de gluten han ganado popularidad y cuenta con muchos beneficios de salud. Con respecto a la pérdida del cabello y su relación con gluten, yo permanecen fijos en mi postura. Pérdida de pelo masculina del patrón es una cuestión genética (no es una cuestión de dieta). Tal vez ciertas dietas pueden acelerar o desencadenar el proceso de calvicie, pero estas cosas son especulativas.

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Hair Loss InformationEl ̩xito temprano con Propecia e indicaciones futuras РHair Loss Information РBalding Blog

Médicos,

Gracias por el gran blog.

Comencé a tomar Propecia unos 7 meses a los 21 años y he tenido grandes resultados. He tenido un cierto nuevo crecimiento incluso en el nacimiento del pelo.

Es el éxito temprano cualquier indicación de la eficacia futura / la longevidad? Estoy tratando de calcular cuánto tiempo puedo esperar Propecia para contener a la calvicie. ¿Has encontrado algún tipo de correlación con sus pacientes?

Gracias.

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Parece que las personas que tenían una buena respuesta a la finasterida temprano consigue resultados a largo mejor. Como he dicho antes, he tenido pacientes con este medicamento durante más de una década con grandes resultados continuos. No voy a ser capaz de saber qué tipo de marco de tiempo de éxito que tendrá, sin embargo.

Si usted ha tenido el rebrote en el cuero cabelludo, que es bastante raro, pero emocionante!

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Hair Loss InformationSon el gen de la calvicie y las características del pelo no relacionados? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Papá y su familia han sido difuso calvicie ya que sus 30 años. Él tiene súper cabello fino, fino. Tengo el mismo super pelo fino, fino, aunque por suerte no hay signos de calvicie todavía. Un primo por parte de mi padre tiene bastante difuso calvicie severa, el otro también tiene difuso calvicie, pero no tan grave.

Todos los varones de la familia de mi madre tiene el pelo muy grueso, y ninguno de ellos se están quedando calvos pesar de que están bien entrados los años 60.

Desde que tengo el pelo fino de mi padre, ¿significa que soy más propensos a tener su gen de la calvicie? ¿O es el gen completamente independiente de las características de los pelos ‘?

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Características del pelo no están relacionados con el proceso de pérdida de cabello genética. Así que sólo porque tienes el pelo fino de su padre, no quiere decir que usted está garantizado para tener su cabello.

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Hair Loss InformationStyling After a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doctor

I see a lot of HT photos, a lot of the patients seem to have their hair up and raised back like they’ve been in the wind. Is that just the way they style it? If I was to have a HT I’d want my hair down towards my eyebrows..

Is every patient different?

Regards

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Hair normally grows forward in the front (parallel to the ground when standing upright). As one moves back from the frontal edge, the angle starts to change with hair pointing a few degrees upward until it reaches the front of the crown, where the frontal pointing hairs are about 35 degrees to the ground. So you see, the hair when placed by the surgeon is never placed perpendicular to the horizon. At the crown, the hair changes direction in a circular pattern (swirl) and as you look further back, eventually the hair points down and away from the front.

What you see in our patient photos reflect each patient’s styling (or lack of it), not something we do. I always put the hair back in the direction it would have been had they never lost hair and depending where I am working on the scalp, the rules I discussed above are followed with every hair placed by me. Patients generally like to play games with their hair and although a few comb it forward, most do not. Some comb it to the side with a part on one side, others comb it back with some product that they apply to the hair. Some just let it stray, taking on the character of the hair itself. If the hair is curly, then the natural state will look less groomed than if it is straight or has a nice wave to it. If you want to comb it down to cover your forehead and point to your eyebrows, you can do that also.

Every patient is different and the results we get depend upon texture of the hair, density at the area we are looking at, thickness of the hair shafts, the degree of curliness (or lack of it with very straight hair). But the hair transplant you get will be your hair, and it will bring all of its characteristics that are present in the back of the head where the hair grafts are taken.

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Hair Loss InformationOver the Past Year, I’m Seeing Bald Patches in My Otherwise Full Beard!! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i have always have had a full beard- past year i am losing facial hair- i am getting bald patches and lines of missing hair on my cheeks and chin-what is this? is there anything to cure this? i would appreciate any suggestions.-thank you

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You need to see a good dermatologist, as such bald patches may reflect conditions such as alopecia areata. It’s possible this could be stress related, or an allergy, or something else altogether.

I can not say much more without seeing you myself… but even if you saw me in my Los Angeles office, I would still want the opinion of a dermatologist.

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Hair Loss InformationCould Someone Have Mixed Something Caustic and Dumped it On My Hair While I Slept? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female)
Dear Doctors,

2 years ago i went to bed with a clean dry head and awoke to a greasy, wet head. My daughter also awoke to a greasy head. She had had a friend sleep over that night, and now after 2 years and 3/4 of my hair gone on the top of my head, and my daughter’s hair thinning greatly, all i can think of is that her friend mixed something caustic with oil and dumped it on our heads while we were sleeping. We are both losing the hair only on the crowns of our heads and not in the back. Is there something she could have put on our heads to do this to us?

Also, if by doing this she killed the hair follicles does that mean there is no chance of getting hair transplants…i know you are very busy but i would greatly appreciate it if one of you could take the time to answer my question. i am pretty desperate….thank you so much, sincerely

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Your story is highly unusual. This sounds like a crime scene which may require some probing, interviews with the potential offender, etc. Yes, a hair transplant can probably solve the problem, but I would be very curious to know exactly what occurred first.

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Hair Loss InformationAdding Avodart Once a Week to My Daily Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor Rassman, I am sure you get this questioned asked alot, but in your opinion as a hair restoration expert, do you think by adding 0.5 mg avodart once a week to a every 1 mg propecia regimen can make a difference in loss of hair or even gain?

There was a study of a an individual who took one avodart pill once a week to a propecia everyday regimen and he saw substantial growth. The study was only on one person, but its not a conicidence that it happened when he added the low dose of avodart once a week? or do you think avodart and finasteride at the end of the day still produce the same outcome? I know at the 2.5mg it produces the best results, put more of a high side affect profile, and very expensive.

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Both Avodart (dutasteride) and Propecia (finasteride) work in a similar mechanism by blocking the formation of DHT, but I have often stated that treating androgenic alopecia is not only about blocking DHT. I do not believe if you block DHT 100% you will stop or reverse the balding process.

I’m not sure which study you’re referring to, but if it was an anecdotal report on ONE patient, it isn’t something I would put a lot of stock into. Please note that just because there is study results available, it doesn’t necessarily make it the golden truth. Now with that said, many doctors believe Avodart is a better medication for stopping hair loss than Propecia, but I am concerned about sexual side effects and the few reports of sterility that came from Avodart.

A few patients that I treated with Avodart did get a response after Propecia stopped working as well for them. That is as much as I know. I couldn’t tell you if adding a single Avodart dose per week will make a difference, though.

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My Hair Loss Was Caused By Lupus – Can I Do Anything to Regrow It? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 53 yr old, African American female with lupus, it is not internally only scalp. I have seen many dermatologists and finally after 2yrs of testing, they stated it was Lupus. I have been told that my scalp is scarred. From the top of my head to near my ears, I am bald. Is there any physician in my area that can grow the hair back or is this just permanent. My scalp literally looks like Bozo the clown. Is there any help for me? I have tried cortisone injections and no help…

Please Help me what can I do? Thanks for taking time to read my story, may God continue to Bless you for the help you have given many.

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Usually, people with lupus who lose their hair as a result of this autoimmune disease will not be candidates for a hair transplant. The Lupus Foundation of America has an article about hair loss that can result from the disease or the treatment, which you may find helpful (see here).

There is possibly a solution with Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) if you have some patchy hair, but I would need to view many good photos of your scalp and hair loss to see if you would be a candidate for this approach.

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Androgel and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 52 and very athletic. I started taking Androgel about 3 or 4 years ago and usually stay on a low dose (2 to 3 pumps/day) except when training hard for a marathon or triathlon (a couple a year) and I go up to 8 pumps/day. I noticed I have lost a significant amount of hair around my crown so I’m now wanting to quit Androgel for good IF there is evidence that the hair will grow back over time. Is there any evidence that this happens or have I lost that hair for good. My hair is otherwise plentiful and my hereditary traits are for thinning hair but not baldness like I am getting so I feel sure the Androgel is causing it.

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Usually, hormone induced hair loss in men is permanent. You might try minoxidil in the crown, which might grow back some of the hair. Finasteride (Propecia) may stop the progressive nature of the hair loss while you are on Androgel.