Category: Drugs

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Hair Loss InformationPropecia Slowed My Body Hair Growth, But That’s a Good Thing for Me! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Last week I asked readers to share their stories about body hair growth (increased or decreased) while taking Propecia…

Hi Dr. Rassman,

About the body hair thing..

Background on me….I am a 25 year old male, started finasteride about a year ago. Thanks to YOU and YOUR blog I decided to walk into Dr Bernstein’s office one day and do something about my early hair loss. Without your blog I would have gone into further denial, waiting until I was a NW3 or NW4 to finally accept the fact I had MPB. Thanks to the information you provide, I started early. Dr. Bernstein classified me as a NW2.5 and prescribed 1/3 of a 5mg pill daily (normally he said he gives 1/4 but I am a pretty big guy). Now, a year later, I have not missed a dose my hair definitely has not gotten any worse. I think it has gotten slightly better actually. Either way, I am content with what I have. Would I like to have hair like Reagan or Clinton? Of course. However, I am pretty darn happy that I have what I have and started early. I have hair like a Bush or Carter and thats good enough for me! So thank YOU Dr Rassman for being so informative and helpful.

About the body hair. I have always had a lot of body hair – arms, legs, thighs, chest, back and shoulders. This is hair I keep groomed. The finasteride has DEFINITELY slowed the body hair growth. It is definitely not in my imagination, I am positive. I have always been conscious of my back hair and kept it shaven. I also trim my chest, armpit, and pubic hair. However, I now do it every 2 months instead of every 2 weeks. So it has been a good thing for me.

If you are still reading this you should also note that Dr Bernstein suggested Rogaine along with the finasteride. I decided to do a year of finasteride BY ITSELF first. Now a year later, things are looking fine with finasteride alone. I made this decision based on information you have provided about the two drugs in the past. So thank you again for the knowledge you provide. If I had used the Rogaine, I’d now be wondering which drug was doing the work. I might try it some day, but for now finasteride is doing the trick.

I should also note that other side effects are not present :)

Thank you again

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This is not an atypical story. Most men who do their research and keep a level head about the hair loss problem will tackle it with logic. The logical steps are clearly defined in this and other good websites. I’m glad it has worked out for you thus far and thanks for sharing your story.

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Hair Loss InformationFinasteride Has Thickened The Top of My Head But Not the Crown – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hey dr, let me start by saying that this site has given me a lot of information about hairloss. I give it an A+.

My question is – I have been on finasteride for about 5 months and a half and I am thickening on the very top of my head, even slightly at the hairline. I have been checking the crown, but it seems to be taking longer to show results. Is this normal? Will my crown fill in eventually as treatment goes on?

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A+Thank you for the favorable grade!

Everyone responds differently to drug treatments. Finasteride (Propecia) works best for the top/crown area, so if you’re seeing good results elsewhere I’d hope you’d eventually see positive results in the crown. I would give it 6 to 12 months before you assess its efficacy. It takes up to one full year before you can judge what it is or is not doing.

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Hair Loss InformationDoctor Prescribed Topical Propecia for My Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

My doctor prescribed the use of topical propecia once a day, and 5% minoxidil that has retin-A in it (to be used twice a week). I’ve been on this treatment for about 3.5 weeks. In the last week my hair has been falling out in droves…pretty freaky. Anyways, is this normal or should I stop this regiment? I’ve also been directed to take Omega-3, biotin, follic acid, and iron. Anyways, I’ve read that minoxidil and increase hair shedding, but at the same time, being that I’m only directed to use it twice a week, should I be experiencing this much increased hair loss?

By the way, I’m a 26 year old Latina female, if that’s of any help.

Thanks

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If there’s a topical finasteride (Propecia), I’d assume it was the doctor’s own formulation. Propecia is an oral pill made by Merck, and they don’t make a topical. Plus, there’s little evidence that topical finasteride works for treating hair loss in men, let alone women. Male hair loss is different from female hair loss (see here).

Finasteride is not recommended or FDA approved to treat hair loss in women, and it can cause serious health risks for those that are pregnant or can become pregnant.

Any hair loss you’re seeing could be from temporary shedding from the minoxidil, but I have no way to know for sure. I’d follow up with your doctor (call him/her to ask about this if you can’t make an appointment).

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Hair Loss InformationIncreased Heart Rate from Minoxidil? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr,

I took minoxidil topical and that too I have used it for 2 days. One sudden day I had pain in the heart and my heart beats 116 bpm when I checked.

I am wondering how long will it take the body to completely wash off all the topical that it absorbed?

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Please go see your physician! Irregular or increased heart rate can be life threatening and although it is a known side effect of minoxidil, it might not be related (I don’t know your medical history). If you washed the medication off then you should be fine after one day.

I must repeat though… your heart issues may be unrelated to the medication and you should be evaluated by a physician.

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Xanax and Female Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have been taking one mg. of Xanax with my first dose of Xyrem, to put me to sleep since May or June of 2009. I have fibromyalgia due to severe insomnia, and need these drugs to sleep. I have been experiencing hair loss since June of 2009. I started on Xyrem in March or April of 2009. My doctor is now in the process of weaning me off Xyrem, which he routinely does with his patients once they have been on it for a period of time. The hair loss continues unabated, so Xyrem is not the culprit. Could Xanax be?

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XanaxProbably not. While many drugs do have hair loss as associated side effects, Xanax (alprazolam) isn’t one of them. It’s possible in rare cases, I suppose, but generally speaking, medications are usually one of the last things to consider as a cause for your hair loss.

As I mentioned before in an earlier blog post, “We hear from our patients who just got started on Xanax that they lose hair, but it is hard to prove that their hair loss is really associated with Xanax or if it has to do with anxiety itself.”

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How Long Can Propecia Realistically Maintain My Hair? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman

It is clear from many of your posts that you believe that although Propecia slows down hair loss in most men with male pattern baldness, it does not stop it and the balding will continue, albeit at a slower rate. I understand that no published data is available which would elucidate this matter and confirm that this is indeed the case. As you will appreciate, many young men with male pattern baldness (in their early twenties, say) would obviously like to know how long they can expect to retain/regrow hair in practice.

Since Propecia hasn’t been available for long enough it seems clear that this question cannot be answered conclusively (the same is, of course, true of any long-term side effects that may be associated with Propecia), but I was wondering if you had access to any figures or data of your own which would support the idea that Propecia only slows down the hair loss rather than stops it for as long as the drug is taken.

Yours sincerely

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Your question is like asking how long you will live. Everyone is different. Some die young, some die old. So does hair.

I am a physician, not a fortune teller. Male pattern hair loss is a genetic issue and there is only so much medications can do for each and every individual. I don’t have actual statistical numbers of my own patients, but I have seen some patients hold on to their hair since the drug was introduced over a dozen years ago.

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Hair Loss InformationAsking the Readers – Body Hair Loss and Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Body hairAs I’ve mentioned before, I’m part of an email group of hair doctors where we share patient experiences, share medical knowledge, and discuss various advances in hair loss treatments. Recently a doctor in the email group reported that one of his patients lost all of his body hair on Propecia.

For whatever reason, I’ve received a few emails via BaldingBlog lately about body hair growth or body hair loss where the writer assumes it is related to Propecia, so I was particularly interested in what other physicians in the email group had to say.

Medical literature and even Merck (the maker of Propecia) did not validate that body hair loss is a known side effect, and many doctors responded to the email with the opinion that this finding seemed isolated with the one patient who reported it. I have seen this side effect once in my own practice, so as unusual as it seems, I am posting this here to ask the readers out there if they’ve experienced body hair loss with Propecia or finasteride. If you have had this experience, please send me a note privately or leave a public comment.

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Would Minoxidil Be Helpful for the Frontal Hairline? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am in the very early phases of hair-loss i.e. slight recession at the temples and general shedding. I was wondering whether topical minoxidil may help me.

Regards

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Many people confuse the term “temples” with what is actually the corners of the frontal hairline, so I’m going to assume that is what you mean since you said it was an early phase of hair loss.

Minoxidil most likely will not impact the receding hairline, but finasteride (Propecia) can halt the progressive loss in young men and in rare instances show benefits to the hairline. Talk to your doctor about a prescription.

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Rogaine Liquid vs Foam – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, Does using Rogaine 5% liquid has a better absorption into the scalp than Rogaine 5% foam ? which one do you recommend?
thanks

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It has generally been said that the 5% Rogaine Foam absorbs better than the liquid. I suspect a possible reason for this is that it stays on your scalp better as a foam rather than a liquid that could run off.

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Why Didn’t Dr Rassman Have Catch-Up Loss When Stopping Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi doctor,

you said before that you took propecia but when you stopped you did not have catch up loss. Why is that? shouldn’t the hairs propecia was keeping be lost when you stopped?

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Dr RassmanI previously wrote about why I stopped taking Propecia, and for those curious about my own hair loss I explain here and here.

When I (Dr. Rassman) started my hair transplant process for my thinning crown, Propecia was not available. As the medication made it to market, I took it with hopes that I’d grow back some hair, even though I wasn’t actively losing any hair at that point. My hair loss had been negligible at the time and it still is… and I doubt I will lose more hair in the future. So I stopped taking the medication, as it really didn’t add or regrow hair for me. In the end, there was really nothing to “catch-up” with.

For those who are actively losing hair, Propecia should slow it down and in some instances regrow some hairs. Over the course of time, the hair loss will continue at a slower rate. This does not mean Propecia has stopped or will stop working, and for those men that decide to stop the medication, the “catch-up” hair loss will bring their hair loss to a state as if they never took the medication in the first place.