Drugs – Page 313 – Balding Blog

August 4, 2006

Mood Swings on Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I would justlike to say that I have also experienced the mood swings while on Propecia. I have been taking it for about 6 months now. I feel more anxious, stressed, and foggy headed. Please research this so more people are aware. Thank you.

It might be difficult to come up with the answer you are looking for. Men do get mood swings without Propecia. I can remember many moody men whose wives report mood problems that may turn out to be caused by many other factors. It is possible the finasteride is a cause of such swings as many other causes can be the etiology. I am not in a position to perform clinical research for this question, although it is a good one.

August 2, 2006

Cutting Proscar – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear sir,

when using proscar for hair treatment by cutting it into quarters, you will have 1.25mg per quarter, does that induce a risk of an overdose ?! and does getting the pill out of its cover affect its efficacy ??! because it will stay out for four days before taking it!

thank you

Cutting pills is not a precise science. Cutting a 5mg finasteride tablet in quarters will leave you with 1.25mg pieces if it is perfectly cut. Even if you account for the small fragments and powders that you discard, I suspect it will still be over a 1mg dose which should not have any adverse effects on its efficacy. Furthermore, cutting the pill should also not affect its efficacy. It would be ideal to cut it is 1/5ths but that is difficult and becomes impractical.

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August 2, 2006

Miniaturization Mapping After Hair Treatments – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I think that mapping for miniaturization, “mini mapping”, is a great idea, nevertheless, this raises a very pertinent question: Can miniaturization be accurately diagnosed if drugs such as Propecia, Avodart, and / or minoxidil have been successful in treating MPB since these drugs may have thickened the hair, thereby making the once thin hairs look more like larger terminal hairs. Thank you for your time as this blog must be quite time consuming.

Measuring miniaturization of hair is a great way to quantify the change of your scalp hairs’ health over time It is obviously best to record the degree of miniaturization before a treatment is started, but it is never too late. If you have access to mapping your scalp hair for miniaturization, then it is my opinion to have it done to keep a record of your current state of hair health. Progressive deterioration or improvement can be measured giving you an idea where you are heading.

You are correct in stating that a successful treatment for male pattern baldness should reverse some or all of the miniaturization. The more successful the treatment, the better the assurance that you are on the correct path. Wouldn’t be nice if, for example, if you had 80% miniaturization in the crown before treatment and then after treatment it dropped to 30%?

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August 1, 2006

Taking Propecia for a Long Period of Time – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Just out of curiosity, have many of your patients spent an extended time on the drug Propecia? For a younger man considering beginning treatment with this medication, the idea of being on it for decades can seem a bit daunting. That, and the lack of clinical studies beyond 5 years, make me a bit wary. Just curious about any personal experience you have with individuals using the drug for longer periods of time (I realize this does not have the validity of an actualy scientific study).

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I have seen many patients that started taking the drug prior to its official US FDA release, as they went to Mexico to get it. They have been taking it for about 10 years with no negative impact to them. The focus on the 5 years of data that the drug company published is the wrong focus. Would you rather be bald? That may be the choice here.

There is strong evidence that this drug will reduce the incidence of Prostate cancer. That would suggest long term use is probably a good idea. Preventing prostate cancer and keeping your hair should be better than being a bald person with prostate cancer. Your choice again.

July 31, 2006

Hair Loss InformationHair Loss from Weight Lifting? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I am a 24 year old male medical student. I have had a very gradually receding hairline for the past 2-3, but just recently (past 6-8 months) I noticed the shedding of hair has increased and my hair is thinning in the front. This realization really is depressing because I didn’ think I would start REALLY balding until I was well in my 30s. At least thats been the pattern in my immediate family. I have an appointment with the dermatologist in a month to pinpoint it to male pattern baldness and not something else just to make sure. Anyways, my question to you is whether or not there is a correlation between weight lifting and hairloss?

Working out, especially with heavy weights, will increase your testosterone levels. So the natural assumption would be that increased testosterone levels = increased DHT production = more hair loss. I personally have been a big fan of whey protein supplements, glutamine, and creatine to boost my gains in the gym. My parents always warned me against taking these saying it was “unnatural” and would have consequences in the long run, and now I’m wondering if they might have been right after all. I’ve had a protein shake(30 grams whey protein) and maybe 5 grams of glutamine maybe 3-5 times a week for the past 4-5 years. This is very coincident with the time that my hairline started to gradually recede.

I’m starting to wonder now whether my dedication to weight training and diet actually hastened the hair loss process. For now, I am discontinuing all forms of supplements including protein drinks and glutamine. Doing this will obviously cut my gains in the gym, but as long as I can save my hair for now I don’t care what it takes. What is your opinion on this???

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What you are suggesting is logical, but there is no proof to it. Since you are 24 years old and at the peak of the early balding process when genetics generally tend to kick in, it may be coincidental with your training process. Realistically, if you have genetic hair loss you should have a diagnosis made, then probably treat it with Propecia, which should stop the hair loss impact of DHT reasonably well. As a medical student you should approach this process the correct way.

July 31, 2006

Hair Loss InformationContinued Thinning After a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m thinking about a hair transplant procedure, but had some reservations about what happened if one continued to lose hair. The transplanted hair is supposed to permanent, so what happens to the rest of the hair on the crown if you get hair transplanted to the front hairline area? Does it stay and the rest of it go?

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Assuming you are a male, have genetic hair loss, and you are taking Propecia (finasteride), then the hair loss should stabilize so that as you add transplanted hair you are gaining, not losing hair. Hair loss is a progressive process, arrested by finasteride in most men. Hair transplants in the front will frame your face and finasteride for the crown should stabilize or reverse the hair loss. Get you scalp mapped out for miniaturization to be sure of the diagnosis and then you can get a transplant if that is part of your Master Plan.

July 31, 2006

Almost All of My Hair Has Grown Back! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,

At 21 I started losing my hair in the front of my head and on my crown. I ignored it for about a year and then at 22 I started taking finasteride this was about 8 months ago.

6 months into it I noticed no results but I believed my hair had stopped falling out; to try and maximize my results I started using minoxidil 5% on my scalp.

Suddenly about 2 weeks ago I noticed almost ALL of my hair had grown back and am experiancing almost zero hair loss. My question is do you think this is because the finasteride finally kicked in, or is it because I am using both finasteride and minoxidil?

(Just to clarify: I have been using finasteride for 8 months and minxodil for a little over 2 months)

I always tell people to go for a full 8-12 months on finasteride before drawing any conclusions. Likely, the impact of what you are reporting is the result of finasteride. Less chance it was minoxidil. If you have only been using the minoxidil for 2 months, you might try stopping it now, but if it should result in hair loss, then kick back in using it. You are a lucky and thoughtful man and you did the right thing.

On an unrelated note, this is the post #2,000 on BaldingBlog. Wow!

July 31, 2006

No Improvements After 18 Months on Propecia — Should I Continue Taking It? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I noticed hair loss from the age of 17 and am now 23. About 2 years back I started using Minoxidil 2% for 6 months and started Minoxidil 5% for another 6 months. There wasnt any improvement and started using propecia for the last 1 year and 6 months. Over all these years there hasnt been any sort of improvement. I can only see my hair getting thinner and thinner with time. I thought propecia is supposed to arrest hair loss. Do I still continue on propecia?

First, as I have said again and again, you need a good diagnosis with your hair mapped out for miniaturization. If you have genetic hair loss and stop the finasteride, you will almost certainly see the hair loss become worse. Just because you are not seeing benefits, it does not mean that you are not getting benefits. Put some science and medical diagnostic force in what is happening to you.

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July 28, 2006

Hair Loss InformationAvodart and Androgenic Alopecia in Women – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What information did you learn about Avodart’s effectiveness in treating androgenic alopecia at the Sept. ’05 conference in Sydney, Aust.? Any hope for female pattern hair loss?

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Avodart (dutasteride) may have value in those men where Propecia (finasteride) fails to work, but as it is not FDA approved for treating hair loss I can not in good conscience wholeheartedly endorse it. It does not show value in women.

July 28, 2006

Hair Loss InformationOxymetholone and Androgenic Alopecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

How soon into a three week period of Oxymetholone therapy will androgenic alopecia become aggravated?

If Oxymetholone does worsen pre-existing MPB, are the effects reversible upon discontinuation of the drug or possibly improved by other means?

Thank you.

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Why are you undergoing Oxymetholone therapy? Do you have a major health problem? If so, you might look to that problem as a cause of your hair loss. I am sorry but there is no magic number and no way to tell, but this steroid is known to cause hair loss and once it kicks in, it may not be reversible. In determining if it might reverse, you may want to know if you have genetic balding and determine the degree of miniaturization you have.

Hair loss and the degree of hair loss can be a very subjective observation until one day you notice you are bald, since you can lose up to half your hair density and still look normal.