Drugs – Page 159 – Balding Blog

April 8, 2009

Finasteride Side Effects — Readers Asks People to Get a Grip! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

How come people can’t get a grip?

There is so much hysteria out there about the sexual side effects of Finasteride on all the balding forums and blogs that I though I should link a couple studies that might calm some of this down.

Medscape (*Editor’s note: requires login)

Journal of Sexual Medicine

Both of those independent studies were done with the 5mg dosage and both are aimed at explaining the occurrence of sexual side effects from taking the drug. The second one is especially interesting because it involved splitting users into two categories, ones who were told about the sexual sides and one who were not…big surprise; the ones who were informed of the sides reported side effects at a MUCH greater frequency then the people who were oblivious.

Both studies conclude that side effects are very rare and in most cases are psychological. Archives of Dermatology (PDF file)

Then there is this study done recently at the University of Bologna by Dr. Antonella Tosti where:

“The IIEF, a brief, reliable questionnaire, was self-administered to 236 patients taking Propecia® and 236 age-matched males attending the Department of Dermatology of the University of Bologna”

She concluded that sexual dysfunction is actually less common then reported in the literature and there was no real statistical difference in sexual dysfunction between the men on Propecia and the men who weren’t on anything.

I am someone who was considering taking Propecia but I was on the fence after all the horror stories I read, finding these articles really helped put my mind at ease and I hope they can help others as well.

I thank you on behalf of all the visitors to this site who are in a panic or undecided about this subject, which you so nicely elucidated!

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 8, 2009

Has Anyone Died from Using Minoxidil? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Ive been using minoxidil for some months now then I started experiencing prolonged chest pains. Reading the other questions posted here I’m just wondering: Has anyone died from using minoxidil? Or at least are there cases when users developed drastic health problems from its use?

I’m not aware of any reported deaths from using minoxidil, but I did find that there was something published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology over 20 years ago titled, “Deaths associated with topical minoxidil therapy“. The problem is, I can’t find any text from it, nor have I found anything referencing minoxidil related deaths since then… so the title could be misleading. It has been reported to kill cats though.

Minoxidil was originally an oral blood pressure lowering medication. When you put it on the scalp, it can be absorbed in to the blood stream and cause low blood pressure related symptoms which could restrict coronary and brain blood flow (in theory) causing a heart attack or stroke. If you are having chest pains, it may not be related to minoxidil and could just be coincidental… or you may be unmasking a serious heart related issue. I would urge you to go see your doctor and have your heart checked out.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 8, 2009

I Felt Testicle Pain Within 2 Days of Taking Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,
First I would love to thank you for your informative website which is really helpful.

Two month ago I started Finastride 1 mg as my doctor told me to do. I felt a testicular pain within two days of using the medicine. It got worse everyday till the 6th day that I got annoyed so, I stopped taking the pill and the pain disappeared within a week. now I started again with 0.25 mg of the medicine as my doctor said to lower the dosage. Again the second day I felt the pain. I was wondering if it is harmful to wait for a while? and how long is the time that I can wait without being harmed by the drug, assuming that the pain is bearable?

There are reports of testicular pain with finasteride, although rare. Your history suggests a one to one relationship between the two. If half the dose (0.5mg Propecia) does not work and your doctor examined your testicles and they are normal, then you may not be able to tolerate the drug. Speak with your doctor before making that decision.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 7, 2009

How Many Months Does it Usually Take for Regrowth from Propecia to Occur? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. William Rassman,

First I want to thank you for your updated and truthful blog. It has surely helped me and obviously many others understand the many things about balding. I am a 25 year old male with what I would perceive as a Norwood III. I have significant loss in the hairline but no baling spot in the back or top the head. I’m not going crazy about the loss of hair but surely want to do whatever it takes to try and stop it from becoming worse.

After reading your blog I know that I have pretty much three current options that I am comfortable with: finasteride, minoxidil, and of course surgery. I don’t feel as though its bad enough to go for surgery right now and find that topical solutions just don’t outweigh the effort (id rather shave my head instead of having to apply the stuff daily), so i started finasteride about three months ago. I have very little if any side effects from the finasteride and have no problem taking it daily. As you know, three months isnt a long time to be on finasteride and its hard to tell if it is actually working for me. however, I plan on taking it for at least a year before I come to a conclusion.

I know that finasteride’s focus is to prevent further hairloss and any regrowth should be looked at as only a positive benefit but my question is that if I were to see any regrowth, how long do you think it would take? Again, I am not taking finasteride with the assumption that it will result in regrowth, I am just wondering when it would be noticeable it regrowth were to occur.

To give you a little background of my family history, there are a few people on both sides of my family that have receding hairlines and thinning on the top of the head. However, there is no one (and i even asked some elders) in anyone’s recollection in my family to have a completely shiny “chrome dome” scalp.

I realize that thing email is particularly long for such a small question but I wanted to give you as much information without pictures as possible. Thanks for any reply you might give and thanks again for having such an informative blog!

Graciously,
Anonymous

I am sorry, but you will likely not see regrowth on your front hairline (or front corners) if you are Norwood Class 3. It’s very rare for those areas to improve from medication. If regrowth happens it is mostly on the top crown areas where there is miniaturization. The best outcome for you on Propecia is slowing or cessation of hair loss in the front. If this happens it would take about 6 to 12 months for you to appreciate.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 6, 2009

Generic 1mg Finasteride Recommendations? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

I have read countless articles on the net about generic propecia. I have found your site to be the most helpful. My question is do you recommend a site to get generic 1mg finsateride? I know that there is a very popular brand made in India. I want to start buying generic due to cost, but I am worried that it won’t work and I will begin balding again. Propecia has worked GREAT for me. Let me know asap if you know of any good sites/places to get generic propecia. Thanks again!

There’s a patent law which prohibits a generic 1mg finasteride from being sold in the US legally. Merck still has the patent on the 1mg dosage. Sales of 1mg generic in the US obviously still occur, but I can’t recommend any websites where to purchase illegal medications — plus, they are prescription medications where a prescription is not verified.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 6, 2009

Impotence from Minoxidil? – Balding Blog

hi doctor. i have been using regaine 2% from 3 years last year i started with regaine 5% and now i stopped because i’m really afraid of its side effects. are they true? i mean the side effects such as partial or total impotence? i have to declare that the effect of regaine was amazing and now i dont know what to do?

thanx a lot

Well, Wikipedia does list that as a side effect of minoxidil (Rogaine/Regaine), but I’ve yet to encounter a patient that has experienced that. Anyone can update Wikipedia, and the revision history shows that someone added that to the side effect list just a few months ago. In other words, someone is goofing around with Wikipedia.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 6, 2009

Taking Saw Palmetto Capsules with Provillus? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’ve been taking Saw Palmetto Capsules for the hair loss control but discontinued because I started taking provillus dietary supplement(because containing Saw Palmetto), Can I continue with the Saw Palmetto capsules (The reason: I’m interested in the protate benefits)along with Provillus. Thank you in advance for your help.

Saw palmetto and Provillus are over the counter natural supplements, though Provillus now contains minoxidil along with saw palmetto. The use of saw palmetto may or may not work, but one of the problems is the dosage between different manufacturers and as it is an herbal remedy it is not covered by the FDA regulations for claims. I really don’t believe it works in treating hair loss, but I also see no harm in taking it. I would be careful not to take excessive dosages of any natural supplements, though. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what an excessive dose of saw palmetto would be.

Provillus has 5% minoxidil in it now with their “improved formula” (it should say so on the bottle), which means that it is now as good as the cheaper generic minoxidil you can get at any pharmacy or most supermarkets.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 3, 2009

Miniaturization Tests Show Propecia and Minoxidil Didn’t Work for Me – Balding Blog

I have been to every doctor in my country, untill i found one that does hair miniturization test. He took a test of my hair and said i have miniturization of 17% so he prescribed me to propecia. 1 year passed and back then I had 87% hair density and now i only have 69%. He said propecia just dosent work on me.

Now I have for the past 2 years an itch wiv acne on my scalp which no remedy was able to fix. Also I took blood tests which show I have copper deficancy although i eat alot of meat and food. Im 22 years old and my family have no sign of baldness besides my dad who started thinning in his mid 30s. This is the most details i could give you from you without looking at my head directly. Also I did take minoxidil for a year and it didnt help also, my balding does look genetic because my hair is thinning on my front sides, although my hairline is still there.

Thanks so much for listening and i hope this time you will be able to help me, because I dont know what else to do, my only last option is to fly and meet you but im a student and dont have much money. Thanks again

17% miniaturization may be within normal limits. Something is wrong here. I can’t believe that the medical community is unable to help you with a diagnosis — which is exactly what you need. The numbers you are supplying me make to sense to me. You need to have a doctor who explains what is going on with you in a logical way. Perhaps you should look into the new HairDX test for finasteride response.

Diet and vitamins are good, of course, but you have a series of questions which may or may not be related. I need good scientific baselines to determine what is going on and I can not get this over the Internet. Pay me a visit and I will be happy to help you if I can. I’m located in the US, so I’m sure there is someone closer. Try the physician search at the ISHRS for a doctor in your area.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 3, 2009

Questioning the HairDX Finasteride Test – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Good day Dr.,

I’m just riddled with questions regarding this new HairDX test and although it’s brand new, I was wondering if you could help me clear up at least one. How accurate do they boast this test to be? They say: “Scientists discovered that among men that had the best response to Finasteride approximately 70% had a CAG score below 22 while among men that had a subtle response to Finasteride approximately 70% had a CAG score above 22″

Does that mean that even if someone has a score above 22, there’s still a chance at having a best response? I mean, say the score comes back above 22… is that the end of hope or is there still a chance the pill could work? And if someone scores below 22, does that mean it’s a slam dunk that it’ll work for them?

Thanks again for the great site.

HairDX You do not need the HairDX test to find out if you have a balding gene if you already show miniaturization and/or balding. The CAG repeat test, however, does suggest how sensitive you will be to a drug like finasteride. This may have value in establishing expectations for finasteride, but any benefit of finasteride is better than none. I’m not completely familiar with the HairDX tests yet, as I’ve not used them, so I can’t give you specifics on what their descriptions mean.

If you believe you are balding without much physical evidence of balding (even after a miniaturization test), I would not recommend Propecia to you even if you test positive from the HairDX finasteride test, as we bald at different ages and although you may be positive for the genes for hair loss, if you are not yet losing hair, no treatment is needed until it starts.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 2, 2009

Are My Hair Treatments Causing High Cholesterol? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi there Dr I have been taking Finastride, saw palmetto and rogaine. I need to know if any of these products cause high cholesterole or are damaging for the body in the long term.

I can not state anything about saw palmetto with any degree of certainty (I don’t recommend it), but Rogaine and finasteride are safe and are not known to cause high cholesterol.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):