Category: Uncategorized

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Blood Tests to Determine if Propecia is Working?

I’m 19 and have been experiencing hair loss for about 4 months now and been on Propecia for about 2 and a half months. Since going on Propecia I feel like I’ve been shedding more (which I’ve read may be an indicator that its working, and may not). I’ve yet to get my scalp mapped for miniaturization and my hairline is not receding, just overall very noticable thinning. I’ve been told, the effects of Propecia won’t become noticable for 3 to 6 months, but its a pretty helpless feeling not knowing if its actually working. Are there any blood tests to measure your body’s DHT level to see if the Propecia is infact blocking it well enough to stop hair loss?

There are no blood tests that will tell you that it is working. At 19, I am sure that you expect everything to happen on command, but patience is a virtue and you have no choice but to wait. If you want to know for sure if it is working, you should have your hair mapped out for miniaturization and then take readings 8 months apart. If you do not establish the metrics, then just wait patiently for the 8th month and you should see the shedding slow down or the hair loss stopped (other than the normal 100 hairs or so everyone loses each and every day).

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Motorcycle Helmets, Finasteride, and Guarantees in Life

Hi, I have a few questions regarding hair loss and finasteride.

  1. Does tight motorcycle helmet causes hair loss.I’ve notice increased hair loss since i regularly started wearing full face helmet which is a bit tight on my hairline and genera crown area.
  2. Could it be possible to experience hair loss due to lack of iron mineral?
  3. Propecia is being advocated very often but how is it logical not considering the loss of 70% of your DHT as a serious issue which is in essence the maleness hormone from a young age of 23?
  4. What is your opinion about the Swedish Medical Products Agency 2008 study that supports permanent side effects from the use of finasteride?
  5. I am prone to depression and sexual problems due to antidepressants from time to time, do you still recommend finasteride in my case?
  6. Can you guarantee from your expertise that side effects subside even if you quit the drug after e.g 3 years or more of continued use?

Thanks

  1. There is one patient I have seen that had traction alopecia from wearing a very tight fitting helmet everyday for a year. The hair loss did not look like genetic male pattern balding, but the balding area was where the helmet was rubbing on the side of the head. So it is possible, but not common.
  2. A lack of iron in your diet can cause anemia (low red blood cells). Your mucosal membranes (under the eyelids and gums) will be pale, you will feel weak, and you will have other serious medical issues before hair starts to fall out. Hair should be the last of your worries.
  3. Men in their early 20’s take Propecia without adverse effects associated with lowering of their DHT levels.
  4. If you believe in the study, do not use Propecia. Many of the reports that I read are on bulletin boards which are suspicious. I’ll point out some interesting tidbits about this in my next post…
  5. This is something you’ll need to discuss with your doctor. Assuming you would be a good candidate for Propecia based on your hair loss, your doctor will need to make the decision if you’re a candidate based on your history of depression. There shouldn’t be a problem with taking the medications together though.
  6. There really is no guarantees in medicine (or in life). Actually, the only two guarantees in life are death and taxes. I do not give reassurances to someone who is afraid to use a medication. This is something you need discuss with your doctor.

#4 continued here


2010-02-15 19:19:40Motorcycle Helmets, Finasteride, and Guarantees in Life

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Body Size of Patients Used in FDA Trials on Finasteride?

Hi there,
Can I just say that you have a great site! I’m a regular reader, and think that I have a question for you that may be interesting. I’ve searched through your archives and haven’t found a similar question, but if I have missed it, please accept my apologies.

Recently I have had a look through the FDA trial reports on finasteride, but cannot find any information on the body sizes and characteristics of the patients used in the study. Are such data available? (Histograms, Mean/median, SD, etc).

Whilst I am assuming that the effective dose of finasteride for treating MPB is related to body size, and that the occurrence of side effects increases with relative dose, could there be a case for smaller dosages being suitable for people smaller than the people used in the FDA study – Asians and orientals for example? As this blog is international, I feel that we “vertically challenged” of the rest of the world need to know! 🙂

I passed your question to Merck and I just got an answer. Essentially, the only thing that was studied was the average dose that is effective and it was not related to a person’s weight. Body size was not studied.


2007-05-10 14:32:19Body Size of Patients Used in FDA Trials on Finasteride?

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Must Hair Be Miniaturized Before Falling Out?

Hi Doc, I have a buring question, I am a 29 year old Asian made with very thick black and have very good hair coverage, my question is when i comb my hair I see thick black hair that come out approx 10-15 not what you would describe as minutrized hair. Must hairs be minutrized when they fall out as mine seem very strange becase they appear to be very health ‘normal’ hair?

Thanks doc

Norwood 4AI do not believe that hair must be miniaturized to be lost hairs in the balding patterns. Miniaturization does point to a problem, though, for as the DHT attacks the hair, the impact suppresses the hair growth to normal circumference (hence “miniaturized”). As the balding process probably reflects the number of cycles of a hair in any given location, a hair will only live out the number of cycles it is destined to live (for example, hair in the front might have 10 cycles in your lifetime of 3 years each). The hairs around the head usually will outlive you, while the hairs in the front for a Norwood Class 4A (see image at right) balder may last only 7-12 cycles, on average.


2009-09-17 08:56:12Must Hair Be Miniaturized Before Falling Out?

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brain fog and depression on finasteride

Is it true that fin really does alter people’s mental state (e.g depression) and altered their brain/cognitive functioning as well?

There does seem to be a small number of men who take finasteride and get depressed if they have a history of depression and there are reports of brain fog which has never been successfully explained. Brain fog or depression is a good reason not to be one finasteride.


2021-10-25 17:26:11brain fog and depression on finasteride

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My Boyfriend Is Concerned About His Hair

My boyfriend is 25 years old and has already started to go bald, he won’t leave the house without a hat. I can tell that it is really effecting his self-esteem. What can he do?

Your boyfriend has what appears to be early hair loss, an indication of male pattern hair loss. He should see a doctor who specializes in hair. He should meet with a doctor experienced in this field, get a HAIRCHECK test (invested capital for me ) to find out just how much hair loss he had and where it is, both what he can see and what he don’t see. Then with proper treatment, maybe he can stop the loss, possibly reverse it before he becomes bald


2020-01-24 14:47:49My Boyfriend Is Concerned About His Hair

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Broccoli and Hair Loss

Is it true that broccoli causes hairloss?

BushNo, there is no connection between broccoli and hair loss.

Broccoli causes a great deal of gas that seemed to bother even former US President George Herbert Walker Bush (aka Bush Sr.), who waged a war of sorts on the vegetable, famously saying “No more broccoli on the White House menu” after he took office. He’s also been quoted as saying, “I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.”

But no, broccoli doesn’t cause hair loss. In looking at this photo (at right), I see that his corners are reflective of some genetic hair loss, which according to his many photographs was present for many years. I wonder if his hair loss reflected a deficiency of broccoli in his daily diet?

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My Dermatologist Said He Can’t Tell If I Have MPB (with Photos)

Doc

I’m 19 year old and I’m afraid I’m losing hair, even though my father has a head full of hair, because of the irregularity of my hairline and recession at the temple.

I’ve consulted a dermatologist that said I have seborrhoeic dermatitis and that he can’t tell whether I’ve male pattern baldness, thinning or receding hairline before my dermatitis is cured but even using the foam, nizoral and pills he prescribed I still have dermatitis and I’m afraid I’m wasting time when I could be curing my hairloss.

I really want to know what do you think? Do I have a receding hairline and hairloss?

I took these pictures this morning, feel free to publish them. Thanks

Click the photos to enlarge:

 

I will post your photos for the readers that may like to comment, but if a doctor examined you in person and couldn’t diagnose genetic male pattern baldness, I don’t know how we could be expected to provide a diagnosis just based on photos. It does appear that you may have some hairline recession, but you’d need your hair bulk analyzed and scalp mapped for miniaturization in order for me to be able to know if you’re thinning in various areas of the scalp. The photos don’t show me that.

I am not sure why you would not want to follow the recommendation from your doctor, who gave you a treatment plan. Did you use the medications he recommended for the length of time he prescribed? If you feel your doctor is wrong with the diagnosis, then you should seek another doctor for a second opinion. Treating seborrhoeic dermatitis wouldn’t be a waste of time, though.

And just to be clear, there isn’t a cure for hair loss.

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By what age will I know my balding pattern?

This is a difficult question so i will try to guess relying on my 30 years in this business. Using a 70% probability (my opinion), by the age of 26 and using the HAIRCHECK instrument and trichoscopy you will know your final balding pattern, a 80% probability (my opinion), by the age of 30 and using the HAIRCHECK instrument and trichoscopy, you will know your final balding pattern, a 90-95% probability (my opinion), by the age of 35 and using the HAIRCHECK instrument and trichoscopy you will know your final balding pattern. A few men may be normal past 35 and still develop balding, but that may reflect less than 5% of men.


2020-04-02 18:13:29By what age will I know my balding pattern?

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My Doctor Prescribed Me Avodart and I Don’t Care About Side Effects

Good afternoon Doctor. To make a long story short just want to say I am a 28 year old male with early hair loss, and my derma gave me an rx for the drug avodart to stop hair loss. He didn’t give finasteride as he said its weak, and avodart is better. he told me about all the side affects of both drugs such as erection problems, gyno, low sperm count with avodart, etc. and basically said its my decision to pick which one, propecia or avodart so I choose the more effective one. I honestly do not care about the side affects, I’m single and I could care less if I have erection problems from avodart. My hair is more important than sex lol.

But anyways my question is that does avodart from clinical experience and studies does it work on hair loss better, or its about the same as propecia? The reason I’m asking is because avodart is more expensive, so if it the same as propecia might as well take the cheaper one. My dermatologist said it blocks type 2 5AR way better than propecia, and that the type 1 blocking ability of it will do nothing for hair loss as type is negligible and not proven to cause hair loss. From your practice, are the patients that take this drug doing better than the ones on propecia?

My first choice for a drug treatment is always finasteride (Propecia) and in the generic form it costs about $3/month. So yes, while Propecia is probably the cheaper option, it is also the only oral drug approved at this time by the FDA for the treating genetic hair loss (the other is topical minoxidil).

There haven’t been a ton of studies comparing the two for treating hair loss, but the one study that stands out in my mind is from late 2006, where 416 men were studied over 24 weeks. The results showed dutasteride was more potent and resulted in a superior hair growth count based on photos. But that is just one study over six months time, published nearly seven years ago.

One does not have to give up their sex life, nor does one have to take crazy risks with this decision. The incidence of sexual side effects from finasteride is 1 to 2%. Avodart (dutasteride) might work better in some men, but the side effect risk is much higher. I would criticize your doctor’s view on these two drug choices, and will point out that you are welcome to get another doctor’s opinion. Some doctors who do not specialize in these areas may not have all the information.