Propecia Has Been Working Great for Me for Nearly 10 Years!

/by William Rassman, M.D./3 /

great site, love it… have seen a few posts that propecia quits working after a few years. well i’ve been on it for almost 10 yrs treating mpb and it’s still working great. both my brothers are long bald, but i’m hanging in there with it. But reading that makes me kind of nervous, that it will stop working. i know you always have to reiterate that sooner or later mpb will break through, but is there a ghost of a chance it wont?

Also, having said that my crown has been about the same since i started taking propecia but it still looks thin to me and if it’s wet, forget about it. I would like to get an FUE to “fix it up”. I know your feelings on this matter but i’ll only be 30 once and it’s not me just overreacting. I don’t want to wait till i’m bald and have everyone in town know. I’d like to fix it as I go. I have a ton of really really thick donor and judging by my grandpa I don’t think I’ll be sean luke picard style.

It’s frustrating to see all this talk about hairloss and how “found” the gene that causes it. I remember thinking 10 years ago, I’d just go on propecia for a bit until something better came along… And well… here I am…. Even if they do find a drug to treat it, it will probably be 5 years before it hits the market here anyway.

Thanks, I love this site and I hope my letter isn’t too long, I just think it might be how alot of other readers are feeling too.

Many people find that Propecia (finasteride 1mg) has been holding off their hair loss for the entire time it has been on the market (now about 10 years). It really does not stop working, but sometimes the genetic balding is stronger than the drug… like a tug of war where both sides keep pulling. If you want to know if Propecia will continue winning the tug of war for the next 20-30 years, I am afraid I am not a fortune teller, but alas hope springs eternal.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Minoxidil Didn’t Work and Finasteride Had Bad Side Effects — I Want to Try Something Non-Approved

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /

Hi Doctors,

I am a 22 year old male, and I have been dealing with hair loss for over a year now. My question is regarding non-approved FDA hair loss products. I have tried using Minoxidil and
Finasteride, but with Finasteride I had terrible side effects, and I’m one of the unlucky few who doesn’t respond to Minoxidil. I was wondering what your thoughts on Revivogen are? It
seems like the most likely to work from the non fda approved bunch.

I can not tell you if Revivogen will solve your problem. The evidence is more on testimonials than on good scientific data. I’ve written about this before in various posts over the years — search Revivogen.

As for finasteride, I am not sure why you are having side effects, which side effects, or what you have done to deal with them. This is something you need to discuss with your prescribing doctor, or you can simply send me the information and I will see if you are doing enough to counter the side effects.

Tags: revivogen, propecia, finasteride, minoxidil, rogaine, hairloss, hair loss

Bio-Fen Plus

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

has anyone used BIO-FEN PlUS? It’s a all natural veggie capsule? Any side effects?

From their website, Bio Fen Plus contains:

  • Fenugreek seed extract
  • Saw palmetto berry extract
  • Flax lignans
  • Vitamins B5, B3, B6, and B2
  • Folic acid
  • Biotin

None of these ingredients have been proven to treat male pattern baldness. It is a supplement, but even supplement can have side effects. See the recent post — The Harm of Dietary Supplements.

Tags: biofen, bio-fen, hairloss, hair loss, supplement, bioten, folic acid, saw palmetto

If 1/2mg Finasteride is 80% Effective, Does that Mean 80% of the Side Effects?

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /

If Finasteride (Proscar, Propecia, etc.) is 80% as effective at half the often prescribed 1mg dosage, it seems unlikely to me that reducing a patient’s dosage to 0.5mg would significantly reduce the likelihood or severity of the side-effects associated with the drug. In your practice, have you seen any evidence that suggests that reducing the dosage of Finasteride also reduces the potential for experiencing its side effects?

I have seen men who have had negative sexual side effects (decreased libido), who then took 1/2 dose (0.5mg) of finasteride and the side effects went away. I also have seen many of those with side effects, have them go away in a month or two without reducing the dose.

Tags: proscar, propecia, finasteride, side effects, hair loss, hairloss

In the News – Onion Juice to Treat Alopecia Areata?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Snippet from the article:

Onion juice could help some people with patchy hair loss resulting from the disease alopecia areata, an Australian researcher says.

“Although there is no proven treatment, some people might choose to try a ‘safe’ treatment — such as a topical steroid — even in the absence of good evidence of the treatment’s benefit,” said Dr. Mike Sladden of the University of Tasmania.

One small, unpublished study found hair regrew in almost half of 60 subjects with mild cases who applied onion juice — an alternative medicine used for infections, Sladden said.

Full text at United Press International — Onion juice may help patchy hair loss

Interesting reading.

Tags: onion, onion juice, hairloss, hair loss, alopecia areata, alopecia

Dr Rassman, Your Hairline Looks Too Perfect

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Dr Rassman I can’t help but notice you appear to have a very straight almost juvenile like hairline. Especially in the picture on the right hand side of the webpage under “about me.” Is this your original hairline? Or did you have grafts placed there? If it is indeed the result of a transplant, why do you warn/detract others from getting the same kind of straight hairline which you so proudly display in your picture?

I suppose I should thank you for complimenting my hairline in a roundabout way. I have a classic mature hairline, just as I showed in the post Juvenile vs Mature Hairline — Am I Going Bald?. I have never had hair transplants in the front of my head, so I thank my 102 year old grandfather for passing on his frontal hairline. I am, however, completely transplanted in the crown where my balding spot was — and for that I look to my father.

I’ve posted both of these before, here’s a photo of my hairline and of my crown. Click to enlarge.

 

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, hairline, photos, hairloss, hair loss

Microscopic Exam of My Hair Showed Lack of Nutrients?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

(female) Dear Dr Rassman,
I saw a trichologist who examined my hair with a microscope and told me I am not getting nutrients to the follicles and there was some minaturization. I was told this could be corrected with minoxidil and oral supplements. I would be grateful for your opinion on whether it’s possible to make this diagnosis with this kind of examination?
With Thanks

I do not believe that you can determine nutrients by looking at the hair under the microscope, but you can see miniaturization that way, particularly if the exam is done on your scalp (as opposed to examining the lost hairs under a microscope) and you map it out by area. This will give you a sense of what type of pattern balding you may develop, assuming that you are balding.

If you are not getting proper nutrients in your diet, certain supplements can be helpful (depending on what you’re lacking), and minoxidil is the only FDA approved medication for treating female hair loss. I’m just not sure what your trichologist was looking at to determine a lack of nutrition based on your follicles under a microscope.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, nutrients, minoxidil, female, women, woman, trichologist

I Was Prescribed Propecia After the Doctor Just Glanced At My Head

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

I am a bit of a hypochondriac, I admit it, and every once in a while I really fear losing my hair. I am a 26 year old male and haven’t experienced shedding, hair in the drain, etc, but I recently looked in the mirror and worried that more scalp may be showing than before. Of course this could be my imagination, because I don’t look at the back of my head very often. No history of hair loss on my father’s side. On my mother side, I have one cousin with hair loss, but neither his father (my uncle) nor my grandfather had hair loss. I have always had very thin/fine hair.

I recently went to a dermatologist, who after looking at my hair for about a half a second, said I had early signs of MPB and prescribed me propecia. He didn’t ask about my history or symptoms at all.

I don’t want to take the propecia unless I am certain that I am losing my hair. I’m not convinced that I am, but I also don’t want to delude myself either. I was wondering what advice you could give me. I am sending a couple pictures, if that can help you give me a recommendation. Many thanks.

I discuss all of the time that the diagnosis is made in the early stages before hair loss is evident by mapping out the scalp hair for miniaturization and establishing a metric for it. If you don’t do it this way, then the next step is recession and frank balding, not something you want to find all of a sudden. The early miniaturization will show the beginning process very clearly so that if you take appropriate medications, you might stem the problem before it gets to frank balding. If you do not have miniaturization, then you probably do not have early balding and do not need medications. A simple glance of the head is not going to cut it for a case like yours.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Chlamydia and Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

i have been taking propecia for 4 years now and i am now 25. i contracted an std (clamidia)over the summer and treated it the folowing week. about a month after i started to get rapid hair loss. up until then the propecia had been working great, with plenty of new hairs being grown. i was woundering if the std or medication i took to get rid of the std effected the effectiveness of the propecia? if so will my hair continue falling out or will it eventually stop? (there are plenty of new hairs growing in, but it seems like it cant keep up with the rapid hair loss)

Chlamydia does not cause hair loss. The common treatment for chlamydia is azithromycin (marketed as Zithromax) — and that also has no hair loss side effects that I’ve read about.

You have hair loss and therefore you should approach it with a miniaturization study to see if the hair loss has a genetic pattern to it. Alternatively, if your developed a telogen effluvium from a drug, there should be no miniaturization present. See a good doctor about it, one who knows how to tell the difference.

Tags: chlamdyia, clap, zithromax, azithromycin, hairloss, hair loss, std

Increased Libido, The Unpublished Propecia Side Effect

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Hi ,
I have read in some of your post that 10 % of your patients have reported an increased sex drive with the use of propecia. My two questions are: Why wasn’t this side effect reported by merck? , and Do your patients report this to be a lasting side effect or only temporary at the beginning of treatment, similar to people who report a decrease in sex drive?

I don’t know why this side effect was not reported by Merck. I suspect that they did not get it revealed in their questionnaires. Some men reported that the side effect stayed with them and others reported that they went back to their normal sex drive. Maybe there is a psychological component here. I don’t have the answer to that.

Tags: libido, sex, side effect, propecia, finasteride, merck, hairloss, hair loss

Worried About Propecia Shedding — Should I Wait to Start Until After a Public Appearance?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

Dr., I have two questions about proscar. First, I,i have a wedding in early June and am concerned about starting proscar right now and the effects shedding will have on my appearance at the wedding. Should I wait until after the wedding to start to avoid this problem. Also, I wanted to know if fitness supplements such as effedrine and nitric oxide boosters are known to aggravate or speed up MPB. Thanks for your help.

Shedding from Propecia (finasteride 1mg), in my practice, is very rare. I would not wait to start it just for fear of something so rare. Some of these boosters (like the ephedrine) may speed up MPB.

Tags: finasteride, propecia, hairloss, hair loss, ephedrine, nitric oxide

In the News – Retired Teacher Sues to Make Baldness a Disability

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Snippet from the article:

Mr Campbell, 61, a former teacher at Denny High School, Stirlingshire, endured repeated taunts from pupils over his hair loss. Such was the extent of the harassment that it affected his day-to-day activities, he said.

The now retired teacher took his local authority employer to a tribunal, claiming he was a victim of disability discrimination because he was bald.

But yesterday his case was thrown out, after the tribunal judge ruled that baldness was not a disability.

Full text — Scotsman.com – Baldness is no disability, judge tells teacher who left job after pupil taunts

I try to offer general information and sometimes a bit of entertainment. Hope you all enjoy this one.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, baldness, teacher, lawsuit, disability, law, discrimination

How Can I Sort Through the Crap Reviews and Products?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

With all of the different reviews, products, and people claiming it does or it doesn’t work, how in this world can I really know what to try or what to believe? I’ve tried reading about each product and their reviews, but again how do you know if the people are not from that company? In simple words my dad once told me were “Are you pissing on my back and telling me it’s raining?” What and how can I find a truthful and honest answer for a product that will help me? I Thank You and hope you can help me with this.

SnakeI get a lot of questions about various products that claim hair loss treatment, and some of my employees have told me that many of my responses to those questions about vitamins, herbals, snake oils, lotions, and potions, all seem to have the same answer (which is basically “these products are crap and don’t work”). That shows that no matter where I look, I too have the same problem you are referring to. There are so many frauds out there that fulfil the wishes of the balding public and so many people that are ready to believe anything, that if I posted something on this site that said rubbing urine in your eyes caused your scalp to sprout hair within days, there would probably be at least one person that would try it. Of course, I’m not trying to take advantage of anyone and the urine thing is a joke.

So how does one find truthful and honest answers? They’re out there, but you just need to use common sense. If these products really worked as claimed, wouldn’t it be front page news? Baldness treatments are a billion dollar business and if the magic cure arrived, you’d hear about it from more reliable news sources… and you’d see far less balding men in public.

Remember, the only two medications approved by the FDA to treat hair loss are minoxidil and finasteride. And as I always say, “Let the Buyer Beware”.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss

Propecia Success Rates

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /

Hello Dr. Rassman,

Just wanted to start out by thanking you for this site. It seems like every time I get concerned about hairs falling out in the shower or sink, I check out your responses. LOL! Anyway, I am a 20 year old male who started taking Propecia 23 days ago (yes, I know, very precise). I noticed that the success rates of the medication are about 80% for preventing further loss and about 60% for actually growing back missing hair. Would these percentages increase for me since I am so young and just recently starting losing hair (1-2 years)? I am just so worried all the time that I might be in that 20% who gets the rotten end of the deal. I don’t want to be that 21 year old with a ring of hair around the sides and back. Just me worrying the weeks before Propecia is supposed to “kick in”…

Thanks!

Without seeing you or at least your photos, it would be impossible to address your concerns. It is true that young men (your age) will more likely get a reversal of some or most of the miniaturization, but that depends upon your balding pattern. You should get your hair mapped and from that, we can make the types of judgments you are asking about. What I can tell you is that in someone of your age, the success rate for reducing the rate of hair loss (or reducing miniaturization) is very high.

I don’t know if your numbers are correct, and though I’m sure I’ve seen actual percentages before, I can’t seem to find them at the moment. Where did your statistics come from? If anyone has a link, I’d love to see it.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Can I Will Myself into Balding?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

I have recently gone under a great deal of hair loss. I had a very thick head of hair and thought i would never go bald. My Father and his brother went bald in the mid to late 20’s. My father’s father is almost 90 and still has a head of hair. My mothers side of the family had a good head of hair. My brother had thin hair his whole life, but at this rate i feel i will be bald before him. I noticed that i had a receeding hairline, and thought i was going bald. For two months I thought i was going bald and almost convinced myself of it. Is it possible to make yourself go bald? I am taking propecia now and am curious if it is at all possible to regrow my hair and if this hair loss was just a phase.

Seriously… you are asking me if you can “will” yourself to go bald? Do you believe in the paranormal or psychic powers? I personally do not. No, you can’t make yourself go bald by just thinking you’re going to go bald.

If you are male and losing hair, it is most likely due to male pattern (genetic) balding and to confirm this, you should get your hair mapped out for miniaturization. This mapping will tell you if you have genetic balding. Before taking Propecia (a prescription medication) you should see a qualified doctor who can correctly diagnose you with male pattern baldness. Otherwise you really don’t know what you are treating. As such, I cannot tell you if you will regrow your hair since we haven’t even established a firm fact that you are balding!

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, psychic, paranormal