Drugs – Page 144 – Balding Blog

July 22, 2009

Hair Loss InformationI’ve Noticed My Hairline Recede and Thin – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello, I am a 23 year old African American male my hair has thinned drastically over this last past year. In 2007, I had a full head of hair. Later that year, I noticed my hair line slowly recede, but my hair remained full. Currently, my hair is thin and I have a nearly bald spot in the front of my head. Can you please recommend any treatments? Are there specialists I can see? Can this be the result of stress or does it signal some other sort of health issue? Thank you very much for your assistance and have a wonderful day.

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Stress loss isn’t usually limited to the hairline. It sounds like you’ve got genetic male pattern baldness. Treatments include Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride), though they aren’t known to work that well in the hairline. The Propecia could prevent further loss, however. You can try to find a doctor in your area by checking the physician search at ISHRS.org… and though the listings are for hair transplant surgeons, I’m not suggesting you should rush into surgery. These doctors are knowledgeable about hair loss in general, so either try them or a dermatologist.

July 21, 2009

I’m a Norwood 2 with Family History of Hair Loss, But I Want My Hairline Thicker – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

In the norwood scale, I beleive that I am a 2. Frontal hair line receding. I’ve done some research about hair loss, and It’s said that there’s nothing I can do to bring back my hair. Now, I can still see some thin short hairs on my hairline where its receding I was told that If I take an “ext therapy” (ext is based on shampoo,conditioners with midoxil and midoxidil pills)I will see some results. since the hairs are thin and not dead, they say that I will get results.If I can just make these little hairs thicker, I will be ok.I just dont know who to believe. And I would hate to spend $3k. Can anything make my hairline thicker? I am currently taking propecia for 3 months. I am 27yrs with history of hairloss in family. I am also considering an fue transplant, since I keep my hair really short, it’s said that that is my best option, since I am in a scale of 2, I dont really want surgery.

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Without seeing you right up close and mapping out your hair for miniaturization, I really can not render an opinion. I have seem many men who are afraid of their family balding pattern, fearful that it may hit them. Some, obsess over it and want to jump into the hair transplant process way too early for me. Why are you so motivated to fill the doctor’s wallet? I make my living doing hair transplants, so I don’t make money when I turn down a patient for surgery, and yet I turn down people for surgery all of the time because it is moral to do so. Any hair transplant surgery in a typical Norwood Class 2 patient is not only unethical from the doctors perspective, but also bad for the patient both short and long term. Starting a hair transplant guarantees a long term plan with more transplants if and when the balding occurs.

What is your total hair donor supply? That is a critical question for anyone undergoing a hair transplant so that a reasonable Master Plan can be created to keep the patient looking normal for their entire life. Having some degree of balding is normal, but becoming a freak because you may have jumped the gun and used up your donor hair (especially if the donor supply is low) is the wrong thing for young men.

I would suggest that you find an ethical, competent doctor who will treat you like you were one of his sons. I am glad that you ended the post with “I don’t really want surgery,” but many doctors who chase your money will try to talk you out of that position and scare the hell out of you with visions of balding that may not even be in your future. Just be careful.

July 21, 2009

Dandruff Shampoo, Ethnicity, and Other Hair Loss Questions – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, I’m a 21 year old male of white American (european?) and Bangladeshi (father’s side) descent. I feel that I’ve been shedding hair at a fast rate, but I honestly can’t tell. Hair loss does run in my family. My father is bald and some distant relatives on my mother’s side are as well. I’m a fairly hairy person overall, and I’ve been wonder if that’s also correlated with scalp hair loss.

I tend to have a lot of dry scalp problems for reasons that I’ve never understood. Often, showering using new water makes my head so dry that the area of dry skin creeps to more apparent parts of my forehead. On the whole though, it usually doesn’t — staying on upper scalp area overall (as opposed to sides and back).

There was a time that I suffered a few anxiety attacks and I lost an IMMENSE amount of hair that time and was sure I was experiencing hairloss. I hope that’s enough background. Here are my questions:

Is there a particular pattern of male-patterned-baldness that I should be looking at? From looking at me, at least not to my eye or anything else’s, I have a full head of hair. However, I’ve been losing a lot of hair lately, and I definitely do feel that it’s noticeable in the front crown area.

Do you think I am a decent candidate for propecia?

Do you have any idea why anti-dandruff shampoo works sometimes and not others? Does that impact my hairloss?

Generally speaking, is the hair on the back and sides of a head always thicker than that on top? I don’t know how to view my ethnicity in this regard, because of the mix.

Does length of hair affect hair loss?

Thanks.

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You may inherit the genes from one side of your family, so what you can expect will reflect the inheritance pattern, which varies widely in different family lines.
Young men with hair loss (and miniaturization) will find that Propecia (finasteride) will slow down the genetic component of hair loss. I can’t specifically say whether you’re a good candidate without seeing you first, at least in photographs.
There are different types of dandruff shampoos. If one doesn’t work, try another one. Some are just more effective than others (see Wikipedia for treatments). Dandruff does not cause hair loss.
The hair in the back and sides of your head will not miniaturize and therefore, if you have genetic balding of any degree, will be thicker than on the front and top.
Hair length does not dictate how much hair you will lose unless you abuse it.

July 20, 2009

I’m Growing Hair in the Temples After Taking Propecia for a Week – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I just started taking propecia about a week and a half ago and have been taking rogaine for about three months…I still have relatively thick hair and have only experienced hair loss mainly in the temporal area with very slight thining in the crown…still full coverage however. I have noticed that in the temporal area hair follicals are starting to appear and i’m growing a few very fine hairs in the temporal area…I think i am responding very well to the medication as i am only 21 years old.

I was wondering how rare is it to regrow a descent about of hair in the temporal area? As well as the hairline on the side of my head? If i were to take propecia for one year and experience good results and no further hair loss would it be wise or would you recommend a 700-800 hair transplant in the temporal area? I hair a very low hairline in the back of my head…i.e. the donor area. How many hairs in the donor area can be transplanted?

I know i have a lot of questions…I thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look towards your blog for guidence and i am also very optimistic of saving my hair as i took control of it early. Only noticed hair loss over the last 8 months.

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A week (or even three months) is too short a time to draw any significant conclusions, but what you are reporting is good. When you talk about temple hair, I think you are talking about the hair in the hairline (corners). I have seen it regrow in a very small number of people but almost all have been under 23 years old. At 21 with good results from Propecia and Rogaine, you probably should not be transplanted at all, but whatever you do, see a doctor with integrity and a high ethical standard. Many doctors chase the almighty dollar and you never know what you really needed when you see one of them.

I know of some doctors who put 3000+ graft in the first 1/2 inch of hairline where the juvenile hairline was, and those doctors are not doing a service to their patients. Rather than focus on hair transplants and how many grafts you might need, I would rather like to see (at least) your pictures in a year. Maybe I can help you avoid the pitfalls in this industry and offer advice for you that would be helpful.

July 20, 2009

A Doctor on YouTube Says Finasteride Will Leave You Impotent – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

I was watching this video on youtube

This gentleman, John Crisler, D.O. says finasteride can smash an endocrine system ans leave you impotent, even in cases where a person has been taking it for as little as week. Can you speak to this? Is this doctor, just pushing his own concoctions. This is quite scary, no?

Thanks in advance

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In my opinion, he is just promoting his own product. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and just because someone has two letters behind their name, it does not make them an authority. Yes, that includes me.

For what its worth, in the video he says he has NEVER prescribed finasteride. So how can he be such an authority just by reading unverified posts on a “Yahoo discussion forum”? I have been prescribing Propecia for over 10 years now and I have not seen a patient with such “terrible” and “irreversible” side effects. I do see some patients (1-2%) that have side effects, but when they stop or lower the dosage of the medication, the side effects reversed. Maybe I am just lucky.

July 20, 2009

I Got Testicle Pain After 3 Days of Finasteride – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i recently took 1/4 of proscar for 3 days i experienced testicle pain and side effects, how long till the side effects get reversed after quitting, and is 3 days enough to make me lose more hair after quitting?

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You should see your doctor about the testicular pain. There are many causes for testicular pain (see list). Propecia can potentially cause it, but that is very rare. Three days on or off the drug is not the issue here — the fact that you have pain is troublesome and should be checked out at once.

July 20, 2009

My Libido is Much Higher Now on Propecia! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a current propecia user who is currently 23 years old. For the longest time I was scared to death of taking this medication because of the horror stories I read all over the internet. About a month ago I finally decided I’d go for it after researching it more and listening to your take on it. Well so far it has been working great and I have not experience any of the potential sides except a large increase in my sex drive. It is so much so that I have to masturbate at least once a day just to relieve myself. With your patients is this fairly common? It seems like most people experience the opposite.

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I have found that this is not an uncommon finding with Propecia, but most people who experience it report that it returns to normal levels after a few months. I hope, for your sake, it is something you want along with the hair you save. Thanks for writing and sharing this with our readers.

July 17, 2009

Using Minoxidil 2 Months After a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a 1500+ transplant about 2 months ago. It was a phenomenal experience, and I haven’t had any issues, aside from some minor itching. My question is I have been using Xandrox with 15% minoxidil at night. Is there anyway the concentration of minox in this product or amount of alcohol (80%) damaged the newly transplanted follicles? Any information is appreciated.

Fantastic blog btw.

I don’t believe that minoxidil will cause damage to the new hair grafts. I also do not believe it will help cause more rapid hair growth on the newly transplanted hair either. I tried applying minoxidil to half of the head on a number of patients some years ago to see if it made any difference and it did not.

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July 16, 2009

Could Supplements Have Caused My Sudden Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi I have recently been experiencing sudden hair loss. I am a 23yr. old male, and have always had thick brown hair. This past march I took some pro-hormone supplements (oxyguno) to help my workout program. At the end of May, I noticed my hair was alot more blonde in areas, and noticeable thinning in the front hairline. I immediately went to a physician, and he said it was probably the supplements I took. I also had two tough last semesters (both 18hr loads). My doc prescribed me some propecia & told me to take Rogaine. My hair began to shed really bad after starting the two medications. After about a month I decided to stop the Rogaine, because my scalp was itching and I was continuing to shed alot of hair.

My question is, do you think this was caused by the supplements? Also is I got back on the Rogaine do the shed hairs grow back? Also there is some MPB in the family, although this hair loss just seems too sudden.

I would doubt that supplements caused your hair loss. The stress you are apparently experiencing will accelerate the genetic process and it can happen in a relatively show time frame. I can’t say what Rogaine will do for you — not everyone reacts the same.

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July 16, 2009

My Doctor Told Me to Take Finasteride for Just 2 Years – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

this is my first post and i really appreciate the community you’ve made here. Thanks to the internet and specially all you contributors.

I am 28 years old (29 in september) healthy male. Been losing hairs since i was 17 (its in the genes). I had a hair transplant (FUT) 12 days ago with 2024 grafts. Yesterday i went to get my stitches out but since my overall hairs are very very thin and weak my doctor has advised me to take: 1 tablet GENESIS (Finasteride 1mg) daily. The whole medication has been advised for 2 years

I really have doubts about this ”Finasteride” thing. I would really appreciate answers from doctors and professionals whether i should take Finasteride’ 1mg daily or should i take it alternate days..

What is the time frame in which the sexual side effects can be detected and it is possible, for example if am not having any side effects for the first 2 months of taking finasteride I wont get any side effects in future.

Finasteride will help prevent further loss and should be taken daily. Side effects are rare, but vary for each person. If you take the medication for just 2 years and stop, any benefits you saw will disappear… so I’m not sure why you were told to just take it for a limited time. It is a medication that must be taken forever (or until something better comes along that works in a similar fashion). Stopping the finasteride will produce catch-up hair loss.

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