Adding Avodart Once a Week to My Daily Propecia?

Doctor Rassman, I am sure you get this questioned asked alot, but in your opinion as a hair restoration expert, do you think by adding 0.5 mg avodart once a week to a every 1 mg propecia regimen can make a difference in loss of hair or even gain?

There was a study of a an individual who took one avodart pill once a week to a propecia everyday regimen and he saw substantial growth. The study was only on one person, but its not a conicidence that it happened when he added the low dose of avodart once a week? or do you think avodart and finasteride at the end of the day still produce the same outcome? I know at the 2.5mg it produces the best results, put more of a high side affect profile, and very expensive.

Both Avodart (dutasteride) and Propecia (finasteride) work in a similar mechanism by blocking the formation of DHT, but I have often stated that treating androgenic alopecia is not only about blocking DHT. I do not believe if you block DHT 100% you will stop or reverse the balding process.

I’m not sure which study you’re referring to, but if it was an anecdotal report on ONE patient, it isn’t something I would put a lot of stock into. Please note that just because there is study results available, it doesn’t necessarily make it the golden truth. Now with that said, many doctors believe Avodart is a better medication for stopping hair loss than Propecia, but I am concerned about sexual side effects and the few reports of sterility that came from Avodart.

A few patients that I treated with Avodart did get a response after Propecia stopped working as well for them. That is as much as I know. I couldn’t tell you if adding a single Avodart dose per week will make a difference, though.

Lactic Acid in the Scalp

I read the item about hair foliclle damage because of lactic acid secretions on the scalp. Well, I was told the same thing, and given a lotion to neutralize the acid. I can confirm this situation does occur when subject to unpresidented levels of stress. When i say stress, stress at such a level I was physically ill with it, for a long period of time. Halucinations etc

One day I notice that my incredibly thick hair was going fine and curly. Finasteride made no difference, and I was shown hairs from my head, that had no outer sheath on them. Also prior to seeking advice the affected area became hot, itchy and greasy- when i was stressed, and this is where the hair follicles have died.

Lactic acid is not a cause of hair loss. Whatever you read about lactic acid secretions on the scalp causing hair loss is false. I found some message board that talked about it, but I don’t think it went beyond speculation. It wasn’t mentioned in any medical journal that I could find.

Without knowing what dose or how long you took finasteride, I don’t know that I could agree that it “made no difference”. I don’t know enough information to give you anything beyond generalities, but if you’re balding in a pattern, it’s not stress. Stress could be exacerbating the loss, but it’s ultimately your genetics. I wouldn’t expect a “hot, itchy, and greasy” scalp to be normal from stress, and it’s certainly not normal to have hallucinations, no matter how much the stress. You need to seriously see a doctor.


2011-01-25 14:50:07Lactic Acid in the Scalp

African American with Donor Site Depletion

Your donor area may show some donor site depletion from the FUE. This is not unusual if you had many grafts harvested.

The average African American hair density is generally low, so it limits the FUE procedure to about 1500 FUE grafts.


2018-11-01 06:45:15African American with Donor Site Depletion

After a Year on Propecia (with Photos)

This patient came to our office a year ago showing a Norwood Class 3 pattern of hair loss. Dr Pak prescribed Propecia to this young man and after a year of taking it every day, the patient returned to our office to show off his results. He had no hair transplant surgery. The results shown (in the photo on the right) are strictly from a daily Propecia pill.

Before on the left, after on the right. Click the photos below to enlarge.

 

Age Limit for Using Rogaine?

After using regaine foam extra strength for few years, am now told at over 49 years old i cant anymore. Any problems if carry on?

I do not know of any age limit for using Rogaine (minoxidil). The packaging may include information about studies being done on people aged 18-49, which just means that it wasn’t studied as a hair loss treatment for those 50+ (not that you necessarily have to stop at that age).

Lipodrene SR and Hair Loss

Dear doctor, I started using Lipodrene Ephedra-free formula since 3 days and I’m getting scared because of the hair-loss thing. I would like to know if this problem is caused only by ephedra or there is the possibility to loose hair even with the s-r formula? Thanks for your attention, I look forward to hera from you soon.

Lipodrene SRThe pill doesn’t seem to contain anything that would cause hair loss (ingredients here), but as it is a weight loss supplement, in general it has the potential to lead to an unhealthy diet… and that could cause hair loss.

In your case though, you’ve only been taking Lipodrene SR for 3 days, and I wouldn’t expect any major reaction that quickly and I’d look into other possible causes. I’d discuss your concerns with your doctor, which you should do before starting any new diet regimen anyway.

Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye Causing Thinning in 15 Year Old?

Im am a 15 year old male and have noticed i’ve been losing my hair on a regular basis since i dyed my hair a year ago, i think i might have taken an alergic reaction but its been over a year and im still losing my hair. i do get paranoid and depressed about it as i have longish hair and that is one of my better qualitys. it is receding at the front and strangely the part above the ear doesnt grow in very well. i could really use an opinion either way just to settle my mind. thank you

There is no way to answer your question without examining you. Since there seems to be a one to one relationship between dying your hair and the hair loss, I suspect that the connection may be real and that some damage was done during the dying process. Was it done professionally? Can you go back to those that did it and ask them about it? Generally, good professionals who dye the hair usually know about mixture and concentrations that are safe. If you did it yourself, maybe it was not done safely. Tooooooo many questions that need to be answered here for this to be an ‘online’ interchange for producing value.


2006-08-22 06:30:41Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye Causing Thinning in 15 Year Old?

Long Term Benefits from Rogaine?

i know that many people have written to you about how after a few years they start to see their hair thinning even though they take propecia daily..Ur response has always been that the drug doesnt prevent hair loss but only slows it down and after a period of time genetics will win out over the drug and you will start to see hair loss.. You also say that you shouldnt stop taking propecia otherwise the hair loss will be much more..i think you refer to it as catch up hair loss..

But one thing i havent seen here is people writing in to say that after using rogaine for several years they are now seeing hair loss..I get the impression that the long term effects from rogaine are much much better then the long term results from propecia. Of those people who are no longer benefiting from propecia how many of them are also using rogaine? I bet not many!

I myself use both rogaine and propecia and things are pretty stable..It may very well be that the propecia isnt working but the slack has been picked up by the rogaine..I would never know. The one basic difference between the 2 is one is something you take internally and the other is something you use externally. Could you tell me ur thoughts about this? I would imagine another reason that rogaine is probably doing a better job long term is that phizer switched from a liquid to a foam for better penetration into the scalp as well..

Yes, there’s no medication that will stop hair loss forever. And yes, if you take both Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) at the same time you may never know which medication is doing the trick, though perhaps both are doing their own unique thing to treat your hair loss. Many of my patients do use both medications together, though some only use one or the other. I don’t have any polling data that shows what percentage of Propecia users also use Rogaine, so your guess is as good as mine. Just as with Propecia though, if you stop using Rogaine you’d also be subject to the catch-up hair loss.

I suspect there’s not a wide discussion about long-term Rogaine use, because it is available without a doctor’s prescription and it is not a hot topic like Propecia. I also don’t have data on long term benefits of Rogaine compared to those of Propecia, as it either isn’t available or just isn’t something that’s been presented to me (if anyone has it, please feel free to send it my way). The drugs have more differences than just oral vs topical, as Propecia actually blocks DHT (one of the causes of hair loss), whereas the reason for Rogaine’s hair growth isn’t known.


2009-08-24 15:39:39Long Term Benefits from Rogaine?