Category: Drugs

Snippet from the article:

Lists of the side effects for prescription medications on drug labels, packaging and advertisements have mushroomed up to an average of 70 per medication, a new study reports.

Cautions about side effects were designed to inform doctors and consumers of potential hazards, but this expansion may have more to do with worries about litigation rather than actual health concerns, say the study authors, who argue the information could be presented much more efficiently.

“Having a high number of side effects on a drug’s label should not suggest that the drug is unsafe. In fact, much of this labeling has less to do with true toxicity than with protecting manufacturers from potential lawsuits,” the study’s lead author Dr. Jon Duke, Regenstrief Institute investigator and assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said in a university news release.

Read the full text — Lists of Prescription Meds’ Side Effects Keep Growing

Although the article isn’t about hair loss, in light of the recent hubbub about Merck, finasteride, and side effects, I thought this was an interesting study worth sharing.

Thanks for your blog. From your internet advice I’ve been on finasteride for 1 year and Rogaine for 1 month. I’m 25 years old and have had fairly aggressive hairloss in the last 2 years. The treatment above has drastically slowed the process, and my girlfriend claims after one year on finasteride, my hair looks much healthier.

My question for you is, based on the variety of patients you’ve encountered, has finasteride and / or rogaine shown to be more effective for certain ethnicities than others?

Thanks again!

From my experience I haven’t noticed ethnic variations in the efficacy of Propecia.

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Hello Dr Bill,

I am 20 years old and I have been balding since 15 years old. Last year I started to use propecia. For a while, I saw its benefit. My hair loss stopped and some of them regrew. After one year, I quit using that because I had muscular side effect. I mean I had muscle loss, I think. Thus, my hair loss started again. I have visible frontal and vertex hair loss now. My doctor said there is no serious adverse effect of this drug. Well, I started using it again 3 months ago. I havent seen any benefit last 3 months. Hair loss is still continuing and I have no visible hair growth also. Is that normal? Is that a cycle?

Thank you very much
Have a nice day

I do not believe Propecia will cause you muscle loss or be adverse to any gains you might see when working out. Maybe you need to hit the gym more. In fact, there was a theory that Propecia actually gave you muscle mass due to the slight increase in testosterone.

With respect to your hair loss, I would follow up with your prescribing doctor. Stopping Propecia after some time will give you “catch up” hair loss and re-starting the medication will not give you back the hair you lost. Either way, you likely won’t see much benefits-wise after just 3 months.

Hi
Is it possible for a male to place Estrogel on his scalp and get any hair growth.
Thanks

Estrogel (estradiol) is topically used to treat symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and vaginal dryness. There may be results from the use of Estrogel or other estrogen to promoting hair growth in women, but I wouldn’t recommend applying estrogen gel to your scalp. This is not my area of expertise to give you a definitive answer for a man’s use of this hormone.

Can minoxidil clog pores if you don’t wash it out? For example, if i don’t wash my hair for a day and apply minox the night before and then twice that day, could it clog the pores. As far as im aware, baring in mind that im no doctor, sebum is secreted from the inside out so the pores are not easily clogged. But just wanted an expert opinion.

Many thanks

Minoxidil doesn’t clog pores on your scalp. People used to think that clogged pores were a cause of hair loss, but that also isn’t the case.

Dr Rassman, like many others, I keep an eye on my head every day, not liking what I see. I’ve already been on propecia for a couple of yrs, seemingly with no significant benefits. This has lead to explore other options, theories etc. That being said, I would really appreciate your thoughts on 3 things and whether they earn a spot on the list of possible contributors to hair loss. They would obviously be an aside to the most common ones ie genetic, infection related, stress

1. The first is not drinking enough water, because generally speaking there are a number of ramifications for not doing so.

2. Second one is, benefits from using a boar bristle brush with the theory being: “The other excellent feature of a boar bristle brush is the massaging effect. The hard bristles stimulate the scalp, increasing the blood flow which can be very relaxing and soothing. The stimulation of the scalp also spreads the natural oils of the scalp – the sebum through the hair and down the hair shaft. This results in smoother, healthier hair that is soft and manageable. Increasing the blood flow to the scalp has been linked to stimulating hair growth, creating thicker and longer hair as well.”

3. And last, possible benefits from “supplements” such as drinking wheatgrass or matcha based drinks, both of which seemingly have a number of overall health benefits.

Thanks very much in advance for your time and valuable input!

We have said many times that genetic hair loss is not a curable or completely reversible process. It is what you are born with. Drugs such as Propecia (finasteride) work, but in the long run your genes will catch up. I’m not sure what benefits you’re looking for from Propecia. Are you merely looking for regrowth? Or have you seen continued loss at the same pace?

1. Drinking water and hydration have nothing to do with hair loss.
2. Massaging the head with brushes do not impact hair loss (either positive or negative). Blood flow is not the issue. Your hair follicles are programmed to die due to their inherent genetic programming tied to a particular number of hair cycles.
3. I realize supplements are a big thing in our society, but it really does not impact the hair in my opinion.

Sorry for the negativity, but it is how I see it. Everyone is free to try their own remedies in hopes of stumbling on the cure.

I have been using generic rogaine for over 6 years. Recently, I have noticed the benefits taper off considerably within the last 2 or so years. In recent weeks, I have just begun treating the my thinning hair with propecia, but I never stopped using the minoxidil.

I know how the saying goes “you have to use minoxidil twice a day for life or all that is gained will be lost”. IS this still true once someone has begun a propecia treatment?

I looked online for an answer, but all of the literature relating the two products together only say “give propecia 8 mos to a year before adding minoxidil”. My problem is, I had already been using it, and there was no scenerio for that.

Thanks in advance!

You shouldn’t replace Rogaine with Propecia and expect it to maintain your Rogaine benefits. You’ll need to keep up with the Rogaine to see those benefits remain, even if they’ve tapered off.

In general, we recommend adding Rogaine about a year after starting Propecia so that the individual patient can make an educated assessment of which medication is working without having two variables. Neither medication is guaranteed to work your lifetime. In fact, they usually decrease their effectiveness over time. Stopping them completely will likely result in catch-up hair loss, though.