Category: Drugs

What if you need treatment for high blood pressure can using oral loniten help lower pb and also help a little with hair loss.

Thanks

You are very creative, but Loniten (oral minoxidil tablet) is not a reliable blood pressure medication and that is why it is not recommended for blood pressure management today. Topical minoxidil is more consistent in producing hair regrowth in the areas where it is applied, not everywhere on the body as Loniten did on occasion.

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Hi,
About 7 months ago I visited Dr. Pak in San Jose, and was prescribed Propecia. I took it for a month or two, however after reading many stories on the internet about its unwanted and possibly permanent side effects, I decided to stop. I have been taking minoxidil for about 5 months now, however my hair loss has continued very rapidly, and Ive also been drinking heavily (daily) during this period. I am wondering if the drinking could be a cause or contributing factor??

At this point I am very unsure about what to do, I really do not want to go bald at only 21 years old however I also am apprehensive about taking Propecia because Ive read also that dht is important in brain functioning and has other functions, so it seems that blocking it could be harmful. Would you recommend taking propecia and minoxidil together?? Also, I was wondering if you would recommend continuing minoxidil after 5 months of no effects and rapid shedding, and what the odds are that if I start propecia again that it will work?? Sorry for the long message but this hair loss quandary is really bothering me and I am really uncertain about what to do… Thanks.

If you are concerned enough about brain function, you might want to stop drinking heavily, as alcohol has many temporary and permanent effects on brain function. The scientific articles here and here discuss the way steroids work on brain and body function. I am linking to them for your overall education. We know that Propecia (finasteride 1mg) has minimal effects on brain function and is deemed safe and effective by the FDA. You have clear choices, and taking a safe medication that appears to have no significant brain side effects in most men at the 1mg dose is the alternative to taking no action to treat your balding.

Starting or stopping minoxidil is your call to make. I’d stick with it for a few more months, but it is ultimately up to you. I couldn’t tell you if Propecia will work, as each person is different.

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Dear Dr,

Have been using topical minoxidil for 5 to 7 years or so now, however have recently more concerned it may cause long lasting damage. Have had some minor surgeries were I have bled more then expected. Could this be due to the minoxidil having a systemic effect through vasodilation ? Have also noticed a slight increase in trembling of fingers again if the topical minoxidil is getting into my system, could it be playing havoc on my CV system. I recently came across a journal from the 80’s claiming topical minoxidil at 2% was affecting LV volume. So What are your thoughts overall ? I am 29 year old male and the topical minoxidil I use is at 15%.

Topical minoxidil for treating hair loss should be 5%. In my opinion, 15% is way too much and it probably does not have much more impact on hair growth. I would think it would have unwanted negative side effects, as it would be absorbed in to your circulation. In other words, I wouldn’t be using 15% minoxidil.

The cause of your bleeding issue might be related to minoxidil, but I doubt it. People who take minoxidil orally for blood pressure problems do not really have bleeding issues. Bleeding problems are most likely related to something else. It may even be hereditary (for example, von Willebrand disease being one of the most common inherited bleeding disorders). Also, taking aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) can affect bleeding.

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Hi,

I’ve been on Propecia for 5 months now. I’ve noticed a lot of the people who write in say they switch to Proscar after about a year. Why the change, isn’t it the same drug? Is Proscar a higher dose of finasteride per amount taken?

Many people switch because of the cost difference. Proscar (5mg finasteride) is the same drug, but you can cut it into 4 pieces to get about the same dosage as Propecia (1mg finasteride). Generic 5mg finasteride is legally available in the US, but generic 1mg finasteride is not here yet, as it is still under patent protection. I believe generic 1mg finasteride will be out of patent in 2013. Remember, you need to have a doctor’s prescription for either medication.

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Hi Doc,

I was wondering if you had heard of any new information regarding Neosil’s NEOSH101? This seemed fairly promising for a while but it seems like things have gone silent on this one, has this one bitten the dust?

Also in my travels around the internet i found this, a study based around using roxithromycin lotion to treat baldness. What are your thoughts on it?

Finally i hear a fair amount about Saw Palmetto and how great it is as a natural alternative to Finasteride but if this where true why hasn’t there been any decent studies on it? And why aren’t the producers of it funding studies to prove it works? That indicates to me that perhaps using Saw Palmetto for hairloss is a load of bunk. Surely if they had a product that could potentially help fight baldness you’d think they’d want to be able to prove it scientifically.

Cheers

I haven’t seen any news about Neosil or the NEOSH101 product they were working on. Last I remember, Neosil was bought out by Peplin, who in turn put NEOSH101 on the backburner to focus on their other products (though they said their hair loss treatment would be a future product). I can’t find anything since then…

Regarding using roxithromycin (a drug used to treat infections) as a hair loss treatment, your guess is as good as mine. I’ve never seen such study and the clinical trial link basically says to me that if there was a study they were starting to conduct, it didn’t go anywhere. They haven’t updated any information in years and there are no results or info available. I’ve not even seen any information about why this medication might work as a hair loss treatment.

The saw palmetto / hair loss treatment controversy has yet to be proven. Saw palmetto does not work like finasteride to treat hair loss. People jumped on the bandwagon because saw palmetto is used for prostate treatment, and as you probably know, finasteride is also used for prostate treatment. People put the two together to create pseudoscience through association. The thing is, it is an over-the-counter herbal that is readily available, so nobody is going to take the time or money to fund a proper study. They figure — why prove it when people will buy it regardless? When it comes to hair loss treatments, unfortunately people are willing to spend their money on just about anything with a hint of a promise.

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