Balding Blog – Page 1266

September 15, 2009

Minoxidil and Kidney Disease? – Balding Blog

I am recently diagnosed with ckd (kidney disease) stage 2 (mild one). i was on topical minoxidil for almost 4 years but i stopped after my knowing about my ckd. is it possible that minoxidil cause ckd within this 4 years? And can i use minoxidil 5% again or it is dangerous for progression of my kidney problem ?? does minoxidil worsen kidney problems?? I also take propecia for almost 2 years.

A precaution in the literature for minoxidil states, “Tell your doctor your medical history, especially of: heart problems, kidney problems, liver problems, other scalp conditions, allergies (especially drug allergies).” This is a question you need to discuss with the doctor treating your kidney disease.

Minoxidil is an antihypertensive medication, which means it can reduce your blood pressure when given orally or when absorbed through your skin in substantial doses. Generally, lowering high blood pressure helps to prevent kidney problems, but that connection between blood pressure and kidney function is what you need to discuss with your doctor.

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September 15, 2009

Insurance Company Pay for Hair Transplant? – Balding Blog

In your experience as a medical professional have you ever seen an insurance company pay for a hair restoration as a preventive measure to certain skin cancers & not view it as simply cosmetic? Im very fair skinned & had a small piece of skin removed from my face today & am now waiting for the biopsy results. Thank you for your time & have a great day.

Insurance companies do not pay for cosmetic hair transplants that treat genetic balding, but insurance companies have paid for hair transplants for men and women with hair loss from accidents (burns/scarring).

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September 15, 2009

Does Body Hair Transplantation Cost More? – Balding Blog

Dear Doc,

I have a burning question regarding hair transplant if hairs can be harvasted from areas of the head that are deemed to be sufficent can the same be done from other areas of the body i.e arms, legs etc. I understand the hairs are gentially different, growth rate etc but in principle could it be done and retrospectifcally will it cost more then harvesting hair from the head?

Have you ever undertaken or known dr to undertake this procedure? outcomes?

Thanks doc

Body hair transplants are not generally considered accepted treatment for balding. It is considered more on the experimental side. As for costs, it really depends on the doctor. As body hair transplantation is done with follicular unit extraction (FUE), costs are likely higher than a traditional strip surgery using scalp hair anyway. That is moot though, as I don’t believe anyone should have this done if your scalp donor hair is usable. So while technically, body hair transplantation is possible (and is done), I personally do not believe it is viable for the reasons you are familiar with. I’ve written about it before.

As for outcomes…. I’ve seen some complete failures of body hair transplantation and even more poor, unnatural looking results from using body hair to transplant to the scalp. One particular patient I recall spent about $11,000 with a doctor who claimed to be an expert. The surgery was a failure and the patient was none too pleased, as one might expect (see story here). I’ve yet to see a natural looking body hair transplant that appeared anywhere near the quality of using scalp hair from the donor area.

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September 14, 2009

Hair Loss InformationPossible to Change the Angle of Hair Grafts? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hey Dr. Rassman,

Appreciate all you do on the blog as well as answering my questions in the past. I had a less than desirable result from a HT procedure to say the least. Make a long story short, if I ever need to get one again, which I will since I have small gaps on my head still, I will be visiting your office before.

The grafts that did grow, which was on the low side, are coming in at all different angles and growing in different directions than both the other grafts and of my current hair. When I mentioned this to my doctor and the dissatisfaction of my results, he mentioned that it might be possible to change the angle of the grafts with a new tool? Is this possible to your knowledge? If not, is there anything I can do or this is just the way my grafts will grow forever? Also, do you ever have any open houses in the New York area?

Thanks so much.

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It is unfortunate that your grafts were placed at poor angles and your results are questionable. Your story of a bad procedure result illustrates the fact that hair transplant is for LIFE and you should do your research of the doctors and see their work first hand before going ahead with the surgery.

There is no tool or technique that will change the direction of your hair. I suppose you can individually excise them one by one and try to re-implant them, but that could potentially cause more damage, trauma, scarring, and failure to grow. Plus why would you place more trust and risk a poor outcome from the same doctor who already put the hairs in the wrong angle? You are a brave man!

I don’t have offices on the east coast any more, but Dr. Bernstein does have open houses in his NY office.

September 14, 2009

When I Comb My Hair, I See Thinner Hairs Falling Out – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman,

You often recommend that people get their hair mapped with a densitometer. I am still trying to find someone in my area to perform this. But here’s the question. I can see very clearly when I comb my hair that some of the hairs that fall out are shorter, thinner, and lighter in color than others. I can also see that many hairs along my front hair line and at my temples also look this way. Aren’t these hairs “miniaturized”? Is there anything other than common pattern hair loss that causes such miniaturization?

Male, age 28

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The thinner, lighter hairs you likely see at the frontal hairline and temples are called vellus hairs in normal non-balding men and they could be miniaturized hairs as well in the balding male. Vellus hairs are normal and help to create the visual transition from hair to no hair (from scalp to face). The hairs that you see coming out when you comb could be miniaturized hairs which are weaker hairs being pulled out by the brushing or they could be coming out as part of the natural hair cycling process. I’m not sure that what you’re seeing indicates genetic hair loss. That being said, I’m just going off of what you wrote and haven’t seen you to be able to form any kind of opinion on your state of balding.

If you can’t find someone in your area, you can map it yourself with the right tools (and by watching a video tutorial).

September 14, 2009

In the News – Hair Loss Increases As Women Age – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

You’ve heard of male pattern baldness, but did you know that 50% of all women experience significant hair loss by the time they reach 50? According to one study, major hair loss increased to 75% for women over age 65.

While harsh chemical treatments like bleaching and perms can contribute to hair loss in women, factors such as stress, poor nutrition, heredity, medical conditions, and chemotherapy are more common factors that cause the hair to fall out, and in some cases, permanently.

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Read the full article: Hair loss in women increases with age

Interesting reading and some good information throughout!

September 14, 2009

Female Hair Loss After Scalp Infection – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello, 2 weeks ago a little cyst i had on my scalp got infected. My Doctor gave me antibiotics and 2 days later i had a lot of pus coming out for a few days. now the infection is gone and the little cyst is there, back to its original dime size, but i lost a lot of hair (about a quarter size in diameter if not larger) on top and around the cyst. Will it grow back? How long, if ever, should i start noticing hair growth? If not, before considering a hair transplant are there any natural remedies product that could activate the hair growth? thanks

It may grow back. I generally tell people to wait up to a year for growth the return. There are no special remedies or products that would grow back that hair. If you still have a cyst I would make sure there isn’t an infection brewing underneath. Follow up with your doctor.

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September 14, 2009

Could Cutting the 5mg Finasteride Pill Result in Poor Absorption? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Doctor Rassman!

Huge Balding Blog fan here! Have you considered selling official ‘Balding Blog’ T-shirts? Regardless, my wife thinks it’s nuts I have this site bookmarked, but it’s an invaluable resource!

My question is this:

I’ve switched from Merck Propecia (1mg) to generic Teva Finasteride (5mg). When I cut the pill into 1/4 (1.25mg), I get a fair amount of powder that comes out of the pill. Undoubtedly, when I put the pill into my mouth, my saliva would break down some finasteride. I guess my worry is that by splitting the pill, exposing the white powder, and swallowing is resulting in poor absorption.

A picture of the pill is here: photo

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Thank you for following the site. We played with the idea of selling BaldingBlog shirts, but the idea never took off simply because we really didn’t think anyone would buy them.

Splitting the 5mg finasteride pill in quarters should not have any clinical significance on absorption or effectiveness. My Propecia drug representative from Merck has raised this question before, but there are conflict of interests there as you may guess.

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September 11, 2009

If Castration Stops MPB, How is Female Hair Loss Possible? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’ve read many times that castration will stop male pattern baldness, in that case how are there forms of female hairloss?

Male pattern baldness occurs in MEN (as the term implies). Female hair loss has nothing to do with men or for that matter androgens (males type hormones made by women, including low doses of testosterone). It is considered genetic, but it is not cause by the male hormones women produce.

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September 11, 2009

I Started Losing Hair at 46 Years Old, But My Twin Has No Loss! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 50 year old male… There’s no history of baldness in family. At around 46 years of age I started noticing thinning hair around the right front side of my hair. There was no noticeable thinning elsewhere on my head. Then at around 48 years of age I noticed the left front side and top front of my hair thinning. And around the upper back of my head I noticed thinning hair. It stayed about the same – no extra thinning until 2 weeks ago and now I’ve experienced more thinning than ever on both front sides and on upper back of my head.

I have a twin brother who has not experienced any hair loss at all. Could the hair products (waxes, putty’s, pastes, and pomades) be causing this? I wash my hair once to twice a week. Sometimes with just water. My hair is very dry. I’m not experiencing any scalp itching or pain.

You may have genetic balding. If you have an identical twin brother it should affect him as well. If your twin brother is a fraternal twin, you are like any other person in the family with regard to balding risks. It’s unclear what you have with just a description. I would follow up with your doctor to get a good diagnosis. I doubt hair products caused such hair loss.

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