Hi Doctors,
Just wanted to say thank you to your commitment to this website — as a medical student (University of Virginia) I’m impressed daily by your not only your expertise but your willingness to provide honest advice, even when this is not advantageous to you, financially or otherwise. I see too many doctors doing otherwise on a daily basis, unfortunately.
Best
We appreciate your kind words. 🙂
Hi Dr. Rassman,
I was the 22 year old with the early balding. We met at the open house on April 9.
I just wanted to say thank you for all of the information and the prescription for finasteride that you provided. Although I don’t know how I will respond to the drug, you may have saved my fairly full head of hair in the process.
I also would like to stress to other young men my age: if your hair is important to you and you sense that something isn’t right up there, get yourself examined immediately. It is a lot easier to maintain than to regain. Up until a year ago, I thought I would have nothing to worry about until later in life (general family genes start balding in 40+). I was unlucky enough to start early.
Again, I cannot thank you enough. Although it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, the bad news is more valuable to me now that I know I can at least do something about it in the early stages.
You’re very welcome. Thank you for stopping by!
Our events are open to anyone that would like to meet patients and see what we have to offer. Our list of upcoming free monthly open house events in Los Angeles and San Jose, California can be found here.
A haircheck test should be done to:
When and if you take Finasteride, you can measure the benefits or the lack of the benefits of it every year.
2018-07-12 05:00:352018-07-19 05:40:42What Tests Should I Take If I Am Considering Taking Finasteride (from Reddit)
Hi Doctor:
Since being on Testosterone therapy for about a year now, I am suffering from serious male pattern baldness. I am 49 and realize it is natural to lose some of my hair but I know it is coming from the testosterone. If I discontinue the treatment (against my Doctor’s wishes) will the hair loss stop and perhaps even grow back as the testosterone level drops or is the damage already done?
Thanks
Once the testosterone has precipitated the hair loss, the loss is not reversible. Maybe your final hair loss pattern has not occurred, and if that is the case and you stop the testosterone and go on Propecia, maybe you can still save some of the hair that will eventually fall out. Please discuss this with your doctor more or see another doctor for a second opinion.
2008-01-09 09:36:402008-01-09 09:36:40Testosterone Therapy and Hair Loss
These are the problems that you may not be aware of. Please be cutious when asking your doctor for Testosterone replacement which many more men seem to be taking today.
1- Thromboembolisms from deep vein thrombosis can not only impact the circulation to your legs, but also kill you if a clot is dislodged into your lung.
2- Increases your risk of heart attack and stroke with a poor outcome for those men on this drug. For men over 65, the risk doubles or triples for such complications
3- Increases your hair loss in every man with genetic hair loss
4- Decreases the size of your testicles and may impact your other glands including pituitary gland (master gland for the body).
5- Possibly increases the risk for developing hypoxia and sleep apnea
The indications for use is known clinically significant low testosterone possibly caused by hypogonadism (small poorly-working testicles) and it should be done under a doctor’s management.
I’ve been taking propecia and using Rogaine for 8 months now with great results. Recently, I purchased and started to take a natural testosterone supplement. Within 4 days I witnessed an enormous amount of hair loss. I immediately stopped taking the product and since then my hair has stopped falling out. Will the hair I lost every come back? Will I recover from this stupid mistake?
While in theory what you describe is conceivable, it seems very strange a supplement can cause such rapid (in 4 days) hair loss — even if it was a testosterone supplement. I really do not have an opinion on whether your hair will grow back, since I really don’t know what caused your hair loss. You may consider seeing your doctor for his/her opinion and an in-person examination.
2008-02-11 11:32:052008-02-09 12:31:24Testosterone Supplement Caused Massive Hair Loss Within 4 Days
This email came from a transplant patient of mine from years back…
About eight or nine months ago, I had a low testosterone test result and began taking testosterone shots to respond to this. My urologist assured me that the shots would not cause hair loss, but I’d appreciate knowing from you your thoughts on the subject if possible. To my viewpoint, my hair seems to be thinner, but I am not objective (or rationale) on the subject.
If you have been taking testosterone for 9 months and have not seen an impact causing hair loss, then you should be safe with regard to this potential problem. I would assume that those hairs which are genetically impacted by the balding process are all gone by now and all you are left with is hair that will not fall out with testosterone. Your transplanted hair falls into this category.
If you were a young men and still had active balding, then you would have seen hair loss by this time from the testosterone.
Isn’t high testosterone related with a higher risk of balding? I’ve had a lot of blood tests+ urine tests these last couple of months (bone problems) and they found out I have low testosterone for my age. I’ve also been shedding for the past ~10 months. So is something weird going on with me or did I get it wrong
Testosterone at any dose can cause hair loss if you have the genes for it.
2019-03-04 05:38:522018-12-12 09:39:10If your testosterone is low, can you have hair loss?
Hello doctor William
why don’t doctors ever mention that testosterone by its self can cause hairloss as well. I know its metabolite DHT is more potent at causing hairloss but we all know testosterone on its own can cause hairloss as well.
I mentioned this before, propecia increases testosterone by about roughly 15%. A persons front region/temple/hairline is more sensitive to testosterone and has more testosterone receptors.
Doctors always fail to mention that propecia has a possibility to accelerate hairline thinning. Yes it help the crown but at the expense of the hairline. For example if a person has mild hairloss, then by simply taking propecia it will jump start his hairline thinning.
I enjoy a good conspiracy as much as the next guy, but come on…
Doctors do not mention testosterone causing hair loss, because testosterone does not cause hair loss… except by its conversion to DHT. If the body has testosterone, it automatically has DHT. Genetics cause androgenic alopecia that is precipitated by DHT, and that is why finasteride works. It is not a hormone issue, it is a genetic issue. If you do not have the gene for hair loss, you can have all the testosterone or DHT or whatever hormone you want to blame and you will still have a full head of hair.
Also Propecia does not cause hair loss. It slows down hair loss. I can see why you think this, but your logic is flawed.
2011-02-14 15:00:382011-02-01 12:17:37Testosterone By Itself Causes Hair Loss?
I have been taking Propecia for 22 months. It worked wonders for me. After 2 months my hair loss stopped. After 10 months I would estimate 40% of my hair grew back. After 20 months my estimate would be that close to 60% grew back. I had a small bald spot on my crown less a 1/2 inch in diameter that completely grew back. The front of my head was receding rapidly and looking thin. The receding stopped and I actually got regrowth mostly only on one side and overall my hair looked drastically thicker. I swore by the stuff based on the results that I saw.
About two weeks ago I got a very short hair cut, not a buzz cut but real short and about three weeks ago I started taking a training supplement that is a testosterone booster. (I purchased at GNC) In the last 4 or 5 days I have suddenly noticed shedding in the bath tub and my hair is looking much thinner in the front than it has in a long time. I am 35 and never miss taking a 1mg pill first thing in the morning.
My guess is that taking the testosterone booster has messed with my system and is dulling the effectiveness of the propecia. Can you comment?
My guess is that you are right. I do not know of a testosterone booster natural supplement, but if it indeed increases testosterone, then you will likely have more DHT production as a result and this may tip the balancing scale over to more hair loss. It seems that your Propecia (DHT blocker) regimen was working well. I would stop taking the testosterone supplement if you are noticing a direct correlation to hair loss.
I cannot comment on whether your hair will grow back; it may or it may not. If I was a betting man, I’d say that your chances of growing more hair back is slim, but stopping the offending formulaes you are taking would be wise. This is just my opinion though and I am not your doctor.
2007-12-21 14:33:292007-12-17 11:46:35Testosterone Booster vs Propecia
