Category: Uncategorized

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Body Building Supplements Like Creatine or Androstenedone Increase Risk of Testicular Cancer?

Men who use muscle-building supplements (MBSs) that contain creatine or androstenedione may have up to 65% increased risk of developing testicular cancer, according to a case-control study published online March 31 in the British Journal of Cancer. So many of our readers are focus on body building and use these supplements as a way to enhance the benefits of working out. This is a disease that hits many who are just too young.


2015-05-01 12:53:43Body Building Supplements Like Creatine or Androstenedone Increase Risk of Testicular Cancer?

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MPB or General Age-Related Thinning?

How can you tell the difference between male pattern baldness and general thinning as you age? I am almost 35 and have no discernible signs of MPB other than a mature hairline (which appeared when I was about 19). However, I am convinced my hair is thinner than it used to be.

Simple answer: There is a pattern to MPB. That is why they call it male “pattern” baldness and this is the classic male genetic hair loss.

There are other diseases that cause general thinning, including diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA), senile alopecia, etc. You can have that diagnosis made for sure by comparing the bulk in different parts of your scalp. A knowledgeable doctor will add value in examining you.

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I Was Born with a Bald Spot and My Mother Told Me “God Made You Special for a Reason”

I was born in 1965 with a bald spot on my upper left scalp. It has never changed. My mother checked about hair replacement when I was a child but because I had no hair follicles they could not help. I am now almost 53, and I have dealt with it. I never looked into it further though. Have I gotten teased? Absolutely as a child. I am blessed with thick hair. Long hair is a good thing for me. I part it to the right and usually pull some back to cover it, if it is not in a ponytail or braids. At times, I do envy those who can just leave their hair without a fuss or worry about the wind separating it or my bald spot showing or having trendy haircuts and styles. I wish there was an easy way to have what’s left of my life without it, however I keep hearing my mothers words saying “God made you special for a reason.” My final thought – embrace it, learn how to fix your hair to make you feel more comfortable, and if anyone is that critical, ignorant or shallow over something you had no control over, they are not worth your time of day people.

I am not on a campaign to fix every bald spot or help every balding man or woman on the face of the earth. I just help people who want to be helped. Being bald or having a bald spot is ok!


2018-10-10 12:31:17I Was Born with a Bald Spot and My Mother Told Me “God Made You Special for a Reason”

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My 4 Year Old Has Hair Loss After She Had Chicken Pox

hi, my daughter is 4 years old. recently she had chicken pox after which she losses her hair every time with combing or sometimes without combing. the amount of loss hair is almost 30 or 35 hairs per combing. i really worry about her what should i do? thanks

The stress on the body from chicken pox could be causing your daughter’s hair loss, but you should take her to a pediatrician if you are concerned.


2012-05-16 15:16:31My 4 Year Old Has Hair Loss After She Had Chicken Pox

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Brain Fog with Finasteride Reported by Young Man

I would like to continue the medication but this feeling of “brain fog” is very unpleasant. I was wondering if anyone who has been taking finasteride/propecia has experienced this so called “brain fog” in the first couple of weeks of treatment and they went away with continued use after your body has “adjusted” to the new hormone levels. Thanks in advance!

You might give it a few weeks and then if it continues, just consider that you might not be a candidate for finasteride. If you have just a localized area, topical finasteride might work for you.


2020-04-19 09:17:00Brain Fog with Finasteride Reported by Young Man

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My Connection to Merck

Can you please make disclosures of your connections with manufacturers of Propecia?

I have no connection to Merck. I do not own any Merck stock and am not reimbursed in any way from them with regard to my medical activities. I do sell Propecia in my office, but it is sold at cost plus a handling and stocking fee of $4.32. I only sell Propecia as a service to our patients.

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My Dermatologist Stopped Prescribing Proscar for Hair Loss

I’m a male, age 27. When I began seeing a dermatologist 4-5 yrs ago, he prescribed finasteride 5 mg and had me cut it into quarters.

That went on for about a year or so, but then he said that there was some sort of regulation restricting physicians from doing this. Since then, I’ve been paying the higher cost of the daily 1 mg tablets. Was the doc telling the truth? I understand that the clinical indication calls for a 1 mg tablet, but are doctors really not allowed to prescribe the higher dosage with the understanding that the patient will do his part and cut the pill into the appropriate size?

thanks

Many doctors prescribe medicines for off label use. Proscar (finasteride 5mg) is a medication marketed for benign prostatic hypertrophy. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is a medication marketed for androgenic hair loss (male pattern hair loss). They are the exact same drug with different strength dosing. That being said, if someone (or a computer, such as your insurance company) sees that you have been prescribed Proscar, they may think you have a prostate problem even if you were prescribed it for the intention of using it for hair loss. This is a story that is told by my Propecia drug representative – so there is obviously a bias there and I am not sure how true this story is — but it is plausible.

I give a choice to all my patients and do not favor one or the other, because they are the same medication in different dosages.

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Calling men “Bald” is Sexual Harassment in UK

Calling Men ‘Bald’ Counts as Sexual Harassment, UK Tribunal Rules – Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-12/calling-men-bald-at-work-counts-as-sexual-harassment-uk-judge

Rassman Opinion: I believe that the context of the use ‘Bald” is the main issue. If it is used as part of other derogatory smears, then it may be clearly used as part of some ‘harassment’. Many men use the ‘balding’ term as part of their conversations with me and I likewise, will use it in a medical or social context as part of my work and would not consider it sexual harassment when I ask a man for his family balding history. Men use it as well, often in conversation without mal-intent.

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My Doctor Said Finasteride Makes Prostate Cancer Untreatable!

After much consideration, I finally made an appointment with my physician to discuss going on Propecia to halt further hair loss. I figured that I really couldn’t lose – a drug to stop my hair loss and help reduce my chance of getting prostate cancer. A double threat – sounded like a good idea! My doctor who is very knowledgeable informed me of something I had never heard before. He said that even though Propecia (finasteride) helps to prevent prostate cancer in most men – some men do develop prostate cancer anyway, even while on the drug. He said the prognosis for treatment of prostate cancer is very good, but if you are one of the men who develop prostate cancer WHILE ON FINASTERIDE the cancer is extremely aggressive and you will undoubtably die from the disease. He said since I do not have any of the risk factors for developing prostate cancer, he did not think it was worth chancing developing an untreatable form of prostate cancer to save my hair. Have you ever heard this…that even though Propecia helps to reduce the risk of prostate cancer that if you get the disease anyway, that it is untreatable due to it being so aggressive?

The report on the study of over 15,000 men showed that although the cancer risk on 5mg of finasteride for 7 years decreased the incidence of cancer by 25%, of those who did get cancer, the classification of aggressiveness (judged by the Gleason score) is higher in some of the prostate cancers found. This is a pathologist’s description of the tumor based on appearance under a microscope.

There is some controversy on this issue, because some doctors believe that the Gleason score may not be indicative of the reality seen in long term follow-ups of these cancers, which I believe did not show more clinical aggressiveness. One medical paper discussed the overall risk to life when one compared the decreased incidence of 25% for cancers in patients on long term finasteride, with the risks to life with a possible more aggressive tumor. The claim that one risk may offset the other was in consideration. Where ever the truth lies, this finding is what it is without any final conclusions drawn at this time.