Drugs – Page 329 – Balding Blog

April 18, 2006

I Stopped Propecia and My Hair Fell Out — I Want It Back – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Dr. Rassman,
I have a question about using propecia. I am now 26 years old. I started noticing hair loss at about 22 years of age and started taking propecia at 23. I took propecia for about two years and it worked very well. My hair loss stopped completely and it appeared to me that I even experienced regrowth. I stopped taking propecia about one year ago. Since that time, I’ve lost a considerable amount of hair. I did not react well to my hair loss and so I have started taking the propecia again. I’m wondering how much, if any, of the hair I’ve lost in past year may return? Also, I’m interested in hanging on to every last hair in my forelock that I can. Is there any chance that adding minoxidil to my treatment could aid in maintaining my hairline while I wait for the propecia to take effect?

This is the classic thing I warn patients about. Propecia is a lifetime commitment, else balding is the consequence. You will most likely not regain all of what you lost since stopping the drug, though possibly some of it may come back. Holding on to what you have may be the thing you now need to focus on now. Any return of the hair will be a bonus. I hope that this message reaches anyone thinking about stopping their Propecia, even if they think it is not working (it most likely is working, at least in slowing or stopping the progressive loss).

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April 18, 2006

Kevis and IntraUterine Device (IUD) – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,
i have had andorgenetic alopecia for year now. it started at the age of 12 or 13 and now i am 26. i have lost more than half of my hair. it is really devastating. i have been on kevis for about a year now. in the beginning, i felt my hair loss problem was going to be a thing of the past but now i am experiencing a great amount of hair loss. i am confused as to what is the reason. i have had an IUD inserted also about a year ago- it caused great amounts of bleeding. could it be that i now have acquired a low serum ferritin count that is causing this imbalance? i also have irregular menses, could it be a hormonal imbalance caused by the IUD (it was a copper IUD). The reason i ask this is because the IUD caused me to have delayed periods and bleeing for more than a week.
i am really stressed out and do not know if to continue the kevis or not. i am so thankful that you have a website like this for people like me.
thank you

Bleeding and anemia can cause hair loss. Low ferritin can also contribute to hair loss, as well as hormonal abnormalities which you seem to have. Kevis is incidental, I suspect. The active ingedient in Kevis is minoxidil, so I would suggest that you switch to it and simplify what is happening to you. You need to get your doctor very involved in this problem.

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April 18, 2006

Promel – New Drug For Graying Hair? – Balding Blog

See this link from NewTechSpy.com — World’s First Drug to Reverse Gray Hair

It sounds interesting, but I cannot find any other source of information on this ‘new’ drug. I am not familiar with the drug but I wonder how it would affect skin color since melanocytes are what gives us pigment in our skin as well as hair. I would be interested in seeing clinical studies or pharmaceutical data and FDA clearance addressing the critical safety and effectiveness issues before I jump on this bandwagon. If the drug is not safe, I would rather be gray than dead. Not to say it would go that far as that would be quite an extreme example, but at this stage I do not have more information and safety is always the critical element in the decision to take a drug.

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April 18, 2006

Catch-Up Period When Stopping Finasteride – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr Rassman,
Can you please explain the ‘catch up period’ scientifically when someone stop using proscar?
Kind regards

Propecia and Proscar (both Finasteride) block the effect of DHT on the impacted hair follicle. In simpler terms, it interferes with the ‘dying’ cycle for that particular hair. Each hair is programmed to live a particular number of hair cycles. It is believed that either the hair cycle is prolonged or another few hair cycles are obtained when the DHT is blocked. When the DHT is released from the blocking effect of Propecia, then it remembers where it should have been and goes directly to its genetic programming, whatever that destiny is. We see similar effects when we treat leukemia with one of the newer magic bullets. The same is true for Insulin and Diabetes, and Steroids for Addison’s Disease (John Kennedy had it). Provided that the patient stays on the drug, the disease is blocked from taking its normal course. If the medication is stopped, or the drug is not maintained at its recommended dose, these diseases may take the life of the person, or by maintaining the drug they may hold off the effects of the disease indefinitely. Propecia may hold the hair in a more healthy state for long periods (each person varies with the power of the inherited genetic profile found in that particular individual). As we are each different with different genetics, some people will have a long, more effective course with blocking DHT than others. The good news is that we are not talking life or death here, just hary or balding.

April 17, 2006

Can I Take Propecia If I Have Stomach Problems? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr.
I’m 21 yrs old and have been taking propecia for about a year now. All in all, it doesn’t seem to be doing too much as far as I can tell. I’ve been having a lot of stomach problems for the past 2 yrs and that is exactly when my hair loss started to begin. I was wondering if my stomach/digestive problems may be causing the effectiveness of the propecia, such as I am not digesting the pill properly and thus not getting what I need from it. Also is it possible that my actual stomach/digestive problem could be causing this hair loss? Are there any tests that can be done to see if I am not absorbing nutrients or the propecia pill correctly or are there tests along those lines that can determine that everything is working fine inside of me? Thanks so much.

I do not know what stomach problem you are specifically talking about. If there is an absorption problem with food and nutrients from some stomach disorder, maybe the Propecia is not getting into your system. Some people talk about stomach problems and this could mean a wide variety of medical conditions impacting the stomach, small intentine, and large intestine. Many diseases of the small intestine and large intestine do have absorption problems associated with them. You need to discuss this with your doctor. Sounds important enough for you to do this and do it right!

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April 17, 2006

Is it Safe to Use Rogaine While Wife Is Pregnant? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,
Since my wife became pregant 5 months ago I’ve stopped using Rogaine as a precaution. Rogaine recomends that you stop using during pregancy. I’ve been doing some research on the internet and found that Rogaine is in the FDA pregnancy category C. This means that it is not known whether Rogaine will be harmful to an unborn to baby.

My question: Is it save for men to use Roagine/Monoxidil while their wives are pregant? Am I being overly cautious?

This is a guess, but I would suspect that you are being overly cautious. The restrictions on medications your wife takes are due to the drugs going into the baby. There is nothing that you can take (logically and from my medical knowledge) that should cross to her by skin contact, kissing, or sexual intercourse.

April 17, 2006

Scarless Healing from New Drug Called Juvista? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Again Mr.& Dr.Rassman

We’re all in here thanking you for your salvation blog as am now going thru it on a daily basis.

I’ve this Revolutionary News for you which might be the long awaited Deliverence to many of us who have had Traditional Strip HT & left with a linear thin scar(hopefully) in the back making us feel so confined. Have you ever heard of a new innovative drug being developed by ”Renovo plc.” so called ”Juvista”, as mentioned it’s now in the PhaseII clinical trial & might see the light in the few coming years. It’s basically used during the surgery by being injected to the wound edges while suturing(i think) which will later lead to an almost scareless healing (GOD I HOPE THIS GONNA HAPPEN), please comment.

Juvista consists of recombinant TGFβ3. TGFβ3 is present at high levels in developing embryonic skin and in embryonic wounds that heal with no scar, but by contrast, is present at low levels in adult wounds that scar. Since the FDA has not approved of this drug yet and it still is in clinical trials, I will not comment much until further studies have been published. To get this drug to be approved by the FDA may take many years. In the mean time, please take a look at Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring, which shows the modern techniques employed today (deep fascia closure and trichophytic incisions).

You can read more about Juvista here.

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April 17, 2006

Why Does Rogaine for Women Contain Only 2% Minoxidil – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a post-menopausal woman with female pattern hair loss. As you can imagine I am desperate to find a fix for this predicament. I’ve noticed that Rogaine for men has 5% minoxidil (sp?) while the women’s version has a maximum of 2%. The men’s version cautions that it is not to be used by women. Is that just because of possible child birth issues which would not be an issue for me?
Thank you.

Minoxidil will work better in women at a higher concentration. I can not tell you why some of the manufacturers recommend less than 5%, but I can tell you that the higher concentrations, although they may be more effective, do have more side effects. This drug is known to drop blood pressure and the more you use of it, the more the possibility of other side effects such as skin irritation.

With regard to use of minoxidil in pregnant women, this is a clear use that is contraindicated. Women must ‘know’ if they are pregnant and should be assured that they are not pregnant if they use this drug.

April 14, 2006

If Hair Loss Products Work, Why Aren’t There Celebrity Endorsements? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

If a hair loss product is really effective as it claims to be, in the case Scalp Med, why not give a well known baldy man in Hollywood like Bruce Willis a year supply and let the people notice if there is a chnage in his hair. Unless the Scalp Med do this or any other comapnies, I would remain skeptical.

This is not as easy as you make it. I am answering your question as a businessman, not as a doctor. The rich and famous value their time, privacy and endorsements, and they get big money from it, not a year’s supply of some menial substance that may or may not work. I suspect that you have good common sense and are applying it to things well beyond the movie watcher you probably are. I would do a hair transplant on some famous men for free just to get their endorsement 8 months later, as the world would see the transformation just like those hundreds of men posted on newhair.com. But the rich and famous are not interested in the money or any increased fame, what they are in most need of (if their hair loss bothers them) is the drive to research hair transplants and the courage to face their vanity.

April 14, 2006

Propecia Produces PMS in Men? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I feel that ever since I started Propecia, I was into wide fluctuations of emotions, mood swings, and hot flashes as if I was in Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). I am a physician so I know what I am talking about. I stayed on Propecia for 6 months and could not take it anymore, so I stopped about 3 months ago. These symptoms went away within a week and have not returned since. When I saw this website, I thought you might be able to give me insights into this unusual symptom not reported in the literature I reviewed. Any thoughts? The website is well done, thanks.

There are effects of Propecia on estrogen and estradiol production, so what you are describing may ring true to this hormone’s action or inaction. See: High Estrogen in Men