Category: Drugs

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Is Thinner Hair in the Crown Normal? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a 29-year-old male with an extremely thick head of hair…may not sound like a problem but I’ve noticed that it is somewhat (not much, but noticeable to the feel) thinner in the crown area. I still have full coverage however, but I’m just wondering if this is something to keep an eye on or if it is natural of most people’s heads and nothing to worry about.

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Some people develop crown thinning leading to crown hair loss (which is what I had). Get your scalp mapped out for miniaturization to determine if you have genetic thinning of the crown and if you do, drugs like Propecia (in its early stages) can completely reverse the process and maintain a reversal for years and years in some people.

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Propecia and Testosterone Booster – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

is it ok to take propecia with a testosterone booster? and will i still lose my hair like crazy if i already am losing my hair?

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Propecia is not 100% capable of undoing the hair loss effects of testosterone. It may have some protective effect against the testosterone (in hair loss), but better just to not take the testosterone and you will not have to protect yourself against something that you are not taking. I hope this is as obvious to you as it is to me.

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Propecia and Testicular Cancer? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

35, male

I have read that Propecia can cause testicular cancer. Is this true? I was born with a congenital anamoly which increases my risk for it and don’t want to exacerbate that risk.

If my wife were to accidentally get pregnant while I was on Propecia, would it negatively affect a baby. I have read that a pregnant woman should not handle finasteride, but is there enough in the sperm to harm a child if a pregnancy occurred?

Can Propecia regrow hair at the hairline or only the crown?

What do you think about dutasteride?

Currently I take minoxidil+azelaic acid. I have no problems applying it regularly.

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  1. I have not heard or read that finasteride (Propecia) may cause testicular cancer. If possible, please send me the link (if it was on a website) or the publication (if it was in print) that you got this information from.
  2. Most doctors ‘in the know’ and the drug company Merck believe that you can safely take Propecia while trying to conceive. For those who are still worried or their wives are preoccupied over risks, it is my standard practice to tell my patients not to take Propecia for the one week each month where the female partner is in their fertile time. Your hair will not fall out because you didn’t take it for one week. Some doctors (for medical legal reasons, not based upon any facts that I know of) tell their patients to use condoms during the first three months of pregnancy.
  3. Propecia is unlikely to grow hair in the hairline, as it works mainly in the crown area (sometimes in the top between the ears). That being said, there are rare cases that it does works in the hairline to regrow hair.
  4. Dutasteride is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss. It is a very potent medication and you should discuss using this medication with your doctor, only if Propecia does not work for you. If you are even remotely worried about using Propecia during your partner’s pregnancy, you should be very, very worried about dutasteride, which has a half life of 5 weeks.

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2% Minoxidil Worked Well, 5% Worked Better – Should I Try 15%? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

A while back I began using Rogaine 2% and found after a number of months that it worked well for me. I have always have very thick dense hair in my youth. I then tried the newer 5% Rogaine and found that it worked even better, including additional hair growth of the hairline, though not a great deal. Going on this premise that the higher concentrations offer myself additional hair growth I am interested in trying even higher concentrations. I hear that they are available up to 15%. What would you advise, should I attempt it and how high a concentration can I use safely. I have not had any adverse reactions in the year that I have used these products. I am a male 50 years old.

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Some doctors regularly formulate 15% minoxidil. I am sure that if there are no side effects you experience (such as blood pressure drop manifested by light headed feeling), then it would probably be more effective. Just a guess on my part and it would require a doctor’s involvement.

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More on Rogaine Foam – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

In a previous post, I discussed Rogaine Foam when it just came to market. There appears to be good information now that the foam delivery system for Rogaine seems to increase the effectiveness of the medication by a factor greater than two. With greater effectiveness as measured by increasing blood levels, one could and should assume that the delivery into the skin is more effective than the traditional oil or alcohol base of the ‘old’ standard product. Greater skin delivery will almost certainly bring better benefits. Time, of course, will tell us what it all means, but for the moment, I would recommend using this product and sticking with it for a full 8 months before drawing conclusions one way or the other.

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Rogaine for Different Races? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

how would you recommend rogaine for black women? could i get by with washing my hair only 2-3 times weekly with its use?

I am not sure I understand your question. Rogaine (minoxidil) does not discriminate between races. Use it as directed. You should use it daily, but I would try to wash your hair to remove the residues at least 3 times a week.

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Percentage of Patients That Actually Have Shock Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,
In a follow up to the shock loss posts what are the percentages of patients that actual suffer a degree of loss. I realise that everyone is different in terms of age and miniturisation but what are the overall figures for those on propecia and those not on it.

I am 26 have been on propecia for 4 months and have a degree of miniturization but would like the front of my hair restored as it looks terrible.

What are the risks? high?

I would suspect that with 4 months of Propecia under your belt, the odds are in your favor (80/20) for preventing shock loss. If at the time you started taking the drug the hair loss was very active, then the risks rise slightly, but are still in your favor (better than 50/50). Just a guess of course, as there is no data to reference, other than my years of experience in this field.

I have experience from the days when I was doing hair transplants prior to the availability of Propecia on the market (8 or so years ago). The young man undergoing rapid hair loss, when having a hair transplant, would accelerate his rate of hair loss in almost 100% of cases (these are men in their 20s). As the person’s age increased into their 30s and 40s, the shock hair loss reduced in most men who stabilized their hair loss, because they lost much of what they were going to lose. Men in their 40s and 50s rarely experienced shock hair loss.

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Scared to Lose My Hair with Chemotherapy – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 22 year old girl who will be starting chemo the first week of November ‘07. While the thought of treatment is really scary, what’s scaring me the most is knowing that I’ll be losing my hair outwardly looking ill. I’ve been doing a huge amount of research on any ways to retain my hair during treatment. I keep ending up hitting a product called Thymu-Skin. I can’t find any sites that discuss if there are any side effects to using this product while on chemo.

Can you please help me out with this? I’d really appreciate it!!

thanks

Chemotherapy does not necessarily mean you will lose hair. Hair loss depends on the specific drug used in chemotherapy. Your doctor who will be overseeing your chemotherapy treatment should be able to answer all of your questions and tell you how chemotherapy will affect your health and hair. The good news is that if you lose your hair, it will probably come back strong after the growth cycle is invoked.

To my knowledge, there is no FDA approved product to prevent hair loss from chemotherapy. With respect to ThymuSkin, I have heard of this product from patients and readers like you. Most accounts of its success/failure are based on anecdotal accounts. Despite the claim of ‘research’ and publications, they are rarely in peer reviewed mainstream journals and even if it is, the design of the study needs to be scrutinized for biases in the research. A theme that often echoes here on BaldingBlog is that it is a “buyer beware” market.

Of note, the ThymuSkin website seems to account the expertise of Dr. Morton Walker. Dr Walker is a doctor of podiatry medicine (D.P.M.) I am confused how a foot doctor came to be an expert in hair loss and the thymus.

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Hair Loss InformationDermaRoller – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Can you please comment as to your opinion of the dermaroller? Thank you

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DermaRollerHonestly… it looks painful. Its a roller with little spikes on it to open the scalp so that it can absorb minoxidil better. The site claims that it is pain-free though. I cannot really comment on how much of a benefit (if any) it has or if it really works, but the theory and concept seem valid.

Actually, I have one next to me as I am writing this blog. I ordered one to see it for myself. While the idea sounds good, like many good ideas, they often fail during the implementation. I’ve seen these for sale at a variety of online stores, from Amazon to Saks Fifth Avenue, so I’m sure there are plenty of users out there. If anyone has had experience using the Derma Roller, please write in to share your findings.

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Propecia Causing Tinnitus? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr,
I’m a bit concerned about a seemingly undocumented side effect of propecia, and I am hoping you can help shed some light given your extensive experience with this med.

Have any of your patients experienced tinnitus as a side effect? I’ve been on propecia for about 5 weeks now, and I believe that I have developed tinnitus as a side effect.

As a note, I spent some time on prozac several years ago. For me, tinnitus was a definite side effect of that medication. After years off the medication, the ringing subsided. As far as propecia goes, is this sort of side effect indicative of a poor tolerance scenario that could degenerate to someting worse?

In searching for more information this, I found this article, upon which I will withold judgement and analysis due to lack of understanding: http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/neur-sci/2004-August/058929.html

Thanks!

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Tinnitus or ringing in the ears is not a common side effect of Propecia (finasteride). In fact, I have never heard of such a complaint. Your tinnitus may be a symptom of something completely unrelated to a medication you are taking. Rather, it may be a warning sign of other medical issues. You should explore these possibilities with the doctor who prescribed you the medication.

With respect to your article, I do not think it has any significant relevance to your question at hand. Furthermore, it is a study done on mice and the chemical pathways and the questions posed, although interesting, may be an intellectual argument. At best, more research should be done.