Category: Drugs

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I’m Pregnant and Touched Proscar! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

How is Proscar “crushed” absorbed through the skin? I touched Proscar crushed diluted in water and my skin is intact (no cuts or tears, etc.) and I am a female and pregnant. Is it only absorbed through the skin if the skin has an open area?

And is the fact it was diluted in water decrease the risk of absorption, if it can be asorbed through intact skin?

I asked my physician and he did not know.

Worried in Ohio…

It is HIGHLY unlikely you will have absorbed any significant amount of the drug by touching it with intact skin. The warning label, in my opinion, is more medical-legal in nature. The risk is so minute I would not even think twice. The impact on the fetus had been noted when women had taken large doses of the natural equivalent of finasteride as it was in their diet. The impact only occurs in the first trimester when it is ingested, as I understand it.

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20 Year Old with Early Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, a dermatologist told me that I am definitely losing my hair. I come by it naturally as my father is bald. I am only 20 and wonder if I started now with the transplants it would be less noticable to people. I am already getting comments from people concerning my hair loss. It is really beginning to affect my life. Can you help? Thanks,

In a young man just starting to lose his hair, the best treatment is not hair transplants, but rather medications. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is the best way to approach the problem. Transplanting you at this age would be not only unethical, but wrong. I tell young men that see me to treat their hair loss that they need to get their hair mapped out for miniaturization prior to starting the drug so that you can understand the impact of the drug on hair measurements. The drug can stop and possibly reverse the hair loss if it is early.

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Late Onset of MPB? (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,

Consider this permission to use the photos if you use my question.

51 years old, full, thick head of hair until recently. I have been thinning for about 2 years I guess, it has been a few hairs here and a few there. Didn’t think too much of it until this last 6-8 months when it really seemed to accelerate. My brother is 59 and has no balding in the crown/vertex. I started on Propecia in December of this year and have been tolerating it well. So far no side effects. Have a very stressful life ( I’m in Healthcare ! ) and this Year has been the worse.

My question is ? I would like to try the propecia for a full year to see if it can help. Given my age and late onset of what I think is MPB do you think this is a good course of action ? At what point would I be a candidate for a hair transplant ?

Thanking you in advance, maybe one day we will meet !

 

It is unusual for a man of your age to start genetic hair loss, but I have seen it before. You want to make sure that you do not have a medical illness that is causing it. Propecia is most effective with recent hair loss of 2-3 years duration. Thank you for giving me permission to post your photos (click them to enlarge).

You have some options. You can try taking Propecia for 8-12 months. As a general rule, the older you are, the less likely will be the response, but with your gray hair, any response will add value and with the 2-3 year history of hair loss, you may break the ‘rules’. If you still have no response after that period of time and wish something done about it, then a hair transplant may have value. Alternatively, you can have a transplant and take Propecia. There is no doubt that the hair restoration will be good with the transplants alone, and any gain you have from the Propecia is a bonus. The more the grafts, the better the fullness if you go forward to transplants. I’d estimate between 1000-1500 grafts might give you reasonable coverage.

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Advice for a 16 Year Old with Bald Spot? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Okay, Well I’m not quite sure how this works but I’ll try it out anyway. I’m a 16 year old male living in the state of Washington. I constantly get crude remarks on how I have a bald spot. Self confidence and the inability to function without a hat is very depressing. I the thing that gets me is how young I am. If you could provide any advice it’d be very much appreciated.

Thank You.

Without seeing you, I do not know what you mean by a bald spot. Are you balding? Did you suffer from some trauma on your head, which produced a bald spot? You need to be examined by an expert doctor. If you are balding, then you will show miniaturization of your hair in the balding area. Even at your age, when balding occurs, the drug Propecia usually works very, very well to reverse it.

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Hair Loss from Exercise? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Doctor. I’m a 31 year old male with a receding hairline. I’ve been using Propecia for 2 years now and I believe it has stopped the recession. I would like to start exercising again to get back in shape, but I’m afraid the increased Testosterone levels from exercising will put me at risk for further balding. Now, I don’t want to lose any more hair, but I don’t want to remain out of shape either. Are my fears well founded or is hair loss and exercise not related. If my fears are well founded, what can I do to exercise yet not cause any further baldness. Also, since Propecia effectively cuts the levels of DHT in the body, will that inhibit any gains from exercising? Thank you.

Exercise will not cause you to lose hair, so I think you’re safe to start working out again (unless you have some injury or underlying condition that you haven’t mentioned). What I mean to say is — don’t let fears of hair loss stop you from keeping in shape. To my knowledge, there will be no impact on your muscle mass caused by Propecia (finasteride 1mg).

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Can Hair Miniaturize and Then Stay Forever? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hey there dr rassman. I have a question about miniaturization. Once a hair shows signs of miniaturization is it destined to eventually stop growing all together or can weak miniturized hair sometimes remain in that state and hang on into old age?

If so is this the basis for the head ‘mapping’ you guys do?

Miniaturized hair can reverse back to normal healthy hair or it can fall out. Or, I suspect, it can remain that way indefinitely. The percentage or how long a miniaturized hair will stay miniaturized is not well known and for genetic balding it is determined by your genes and your environment. Drugs such as finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil (Rogaine) can reverse such miniaturization.

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Taking Sermorelin and Worried About Future Hair Loss – Balding Blog

Doc, I was tested and had low igf-1 levels (45 yo male). My doctor is now prescribing a combination of sermorelin and a low dose T-cream. It has been 5 months now and to date I have had no hair loss. In terms of energy level, recovery from hard bouts of exercise (i am triathlete) and and my igf-1, hgh and t- levels…fantastic. I feel incredible. Should I be worried about hair loss? Does it occur with everyone?

I think you are getting way ahead of yourself — you don’t even have hair loss. I really cannot say how these medications will affect your hair since I am not familiar with them. The important thing is to get your health back and follow your doctor’s advice. If you have concerns about your prescribed medication, it is best to speak with your prescribing doctor.




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Reader Says Not to Trust Finasteride, Even Though It Worked for Him – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I tried Propecia for two years.
This medication just stopped my lossing hair, but never regrow nothing exept a visual under a microscope. This medication was found by accident,who pretend they spend money with their own research budget it’s a nonsence and you knew that! This medication was found with the US,European Budget for a medication for the high blood presure! call finasteride generic name or proscar on commercial! Merck frost spend 0 dollars for those research! It’s like the research for aids! all world government gave money for those research! The only money they spend was for the guinea pig they use for test the good & bad effect on human body! Phase I,II,IIV,IV

Propecia or (finasteride generic name) gave a bad effect on the libido (sexuality)! don’t try it or you’ll regret until you stop for 14 month and your libido will back again, right after this long period only. even though they claim it’s happen on a small % of peoples don’t trust them.

Trust me!

Somebody sure seems very angry!

Despite the erroneous nature of the facts you present, the confusing thing about your post is that you said it worked for you! It stopped your hair loss! That is the most common effect of the medication. There is no magic drug to bring back all your hair and Propecia works better in some men (and sometimes grow new hair) than it does in others. At the very least your hair loss stopped.

Just to be clear for the readers out there that aren’t aware — Propecia is a brand name for a generic drug named finasteride in 1mg strength. Proscar is a brand name for a generic drug named finasteride in 5mg strength.

When taken at the 5mg strength level, finasteride reduces prostate size, treats certain prostate conditions, and has even been found to decrease the risk of prostate cancer by up to 25%. It is not a high blood pressure medication. Some of the studies done on Propecia are taken from Proscar studies (higher dose) and the negative sexual side effects occur in 1 to 2% of men and is reversible upon discontinuation of the medication. And while not a published side effect, Propecia can also increase one’s sex drive (occurs in about 10% of men in our experience).

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Two Cases of Significant Sperm Count Reduction While on Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

See Propecia-induced spermatogenic failure: A report of two cases. by Liu KE, Binsaleh S, Lo KC, Jarvi K.

The conclusion of the article states:
Two cases of infertile patients with azoospermia or severe oligospermia who showed significant improvements in sperm concentrations 6 months after the discontinuation of finasteride. In one case, improvement in semen parameters prevented the need for testicular biopsy and corrected the azoospermia. Stopping finasteride in the infertility population may improve semen parameters, and may allow for less invasive fertility treatments.

We have already heard about similar, more frequent side effects with Avodart (dutasteride). While I am not completely surprised, I suspect the frequency is very low. I’ve written about sperm count and Propecia in the past:

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