Category: Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)

My son is 31 – he took prednisone for 7 days. He experienced hair loss which never got better only worse. Could this medication, for such a short time, trigger this.?? He blames himself and is very depressed. I am so concerned not only about his hair loss but on how down on himself he is. Thanking you in advance.

I highly doubt a very short course of a medication such a prednisone would cause hair loss, although it is possible. Actually, we routinely prescribe prednisone to our hair transplant patients after surgery to reduce inflammation and swelling. Your son may have a component of genetic male pattern hair loss and needs to be examined. He should get his hair mapped out for miniaturization to see if he has genetic hair loss.

Is hair loss associated with medications reversible? I have been taking both Ranitidine and Adderall for a about a year now and suddenly my hair looks and feels very thin in the crown and temple areas. Also I seem to be having problems with Alopecia Areata on my face. I had two spots that suddenly went away but now have returned. Would stopping the medicine reverse the hair loss?

Your situation sounds out of the ordinary for alopecia areata. With your thinning hair and taking medications that are known to cause hair loss… plus carrying a diagnosis of alopecia areata? It doesn’t add up. Often, people who use medications that cause hair loss, can stop the medication and see that the hair loss reverses, provided that there is no underlying condition such as genetic balding.

There is no substitute for a good doctor to manage you and I am assuming that since you have a diagnosis, that you are seeing someone now. Your doctor should establish a miniaturization analysis of your hair to see what areas are impacted with genetic type balding.

I have been taking Propecia for 22 months. It worked wonders for me. After 2 months my hair loss stopped. After 10 months I would estimate 40% of my hair grew back. After 20 months my estimate would be that close to 60% grew back. I had a small bald spot on my crown less a 1/2 inch in diameter that completely grew back. The front of my head was receding rapidly and looking thin. The receding stopped and I actually got regrowth mostly only on one side and overall my hair looked drastically thicker. I swore by the stuff based on the results that I saw.

About two weeks ago I got a very short hair cut, not a buzz cut but real short and about three weeks ago I started taking a training supplement that is a testosterone booster. (I purchased at GNC) In the last 4 or 5 days I have suddenly noticed shedding in the bath tub and my hair is looking much thinner in the front than it has in a long time. I am 35 and never miss taking a 1mg pill first thing in the morning.

My guess is that taking the testosterone booster has messed with my system and is dulling the effectiveness of the propecia. Can you comment?

My guess is that you are right. I do not know of a testosterone booster natural supplement, but if it indeed increases testosterone, then you will likely have more DHT production as a result and this may tip the balancing scale over to more hair loss. It seems that your Propecia (DHT blocker) regimen was working well. I would stop taking the testosterone supplement if you are noticing a direct correlation to hair loss.

I cannot comment on whether your hair will grow back; it may or it may not. If I was a betting man, I’d say that your chances of growing more hair back is slim, but stopping the offending formulaes you are taking would be wise. This is just my opinion though and I am not your doctor.

What if you are taking propecia. Can that offset the negative effects of the steriods and let you keep your hair if you have mpb genes???? Please let me know you answer…

Steroids may accelerate the time it takes for your body to move to its final hair loss pattern. For example, if you are destined to become a Norwood Class 5A by the age of 40, the steroids may induce this pattern to develop earlier (age 25+). You will not become balder than your destined pattern. Propecia may slow down the impact of the steroids, but it will not completely stop it from occurring.

My doctor but me on testosterone shots a couple of months ago ( every 2 weeks ) do to my testosterone levels being low. The shots have helped my sex life not sure yet if it has helped my energy level. I have a full head of hair, I shaved it 10 years ago and my own mother did not like the way it looked ( the shape of my head ) so it is important to me to keep my hair, the doctor said it would not be a problem if it does not run in My family, but have been reading on the internet of people saying they have lost alot of theres on the shots.

If I am going to lose it I am willing to stop the shots. If I continue the shots and start to lose hair and stop will the hair loss stop? What is a good way for me to gage if I am having more than normal hair loss. I am in my late 40’s male.

Yes, you have a risk of hair loss with testosterone shots if you carry the genes for hair loss. While it may be somewhat reassuring that male pattern baldness does not run in your family, the gene (or genes) for hair loss is not readily predictable and as such, you have a risk for androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness) even if your father or grandfather is not bald. It is all depending on whether you carry the gene(s). As with all medications and general things in life, you must consider the risks versus the benefits of what you are doing. And you should have had this discussion with your doctor.