Hi,

Like a previous case, I’m a vegetarian who takes Dutasteride (Dr Reddy’s) 0.5 mg one dose daily for hair loss. I have seen better results with this medication than with finasteride (no results at all). The trouble is I’m unhappy with the fact that the capsule itself has gelatin contents.

I understand that it’s advised to have the capsule swallowed whole because of some sort of risk of irritation. However, would it be permissable to empty the contents into a full glass of water and take the medicine like this?

Any help and advise would be most appreciated.

Kindest regards.

You are asking about using a different method for taking a medication that is intended to be swallowed. I suppose you can try it, but I don’t know if that would compromise the efficacy of the medication. You can try contacting the Dr Reddy’s Laboratories here, but I’d assume they’d tell you that the capsule should be swallowed whole.

I’m not an expert on generic dutasteride and its variations, but there might be another company out there that makes a pill that isn’t a soft gel capsule.

Hello, i know that minoxidil is supposed to be used every night before bed. My question is, due to my extremely busy lifestyle and lack of routine i sometimes go a week without using minoxidil. If i use it for three days then dont use it again for a week then use it again for three days in a cycle, besides it not working well enough as it needs to be everyday is it actually making my hairloss worse in the sense that if its causing shedding (which is a sign its working) then not using the treatment again for a week, is it basically just shedding my hair and because im then not using it again for a week the hairs that ‘would have been’ stronger and healthy because of the minoxidil are just the thinning hairs that are not being protected by minoxidil. Am i just basically shedding my hair faster?

thank you

To my knowledge, minoxidil will not work on an irregular schedule, particularly one that fits into your lifestyle. Either use it regularly or forget about using it. If you’re seeing continued hair loss, it’s more likely that its just your genetics continuing the process (which was the reason you were using minoxidil in the first place).

I’m a 61 year old male and began using Provillus treatment about two years ago. The results were encouraging and after about four months, I felt lots of new hair growth all over my scalp, about 3/4″ long. Some if this fell out but enough continued to grow to make a real difference and I was happy with the result.

I continued using the product for about a year with no problems. Then I re-ordered the product gave me severe rash all over my scalp and hair in some of the really aggravated areas fell out or at least has stopped to grow. I queried the supplier about the product because of the rash and also because the viscosity of latest shipment was decidedly higher than the original. The advice was there was an improvement to the product which brought about the change in fluidity. Obviously this was the end for me using a scalp treatment (I experienced the same effect later with Rogaine)

Not wanting to take defeat just yet, I’m thinking about trying a laser comb. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you

It sounds like you have developed a skin allergy to the product. This can happen. Perhaps you’re allergic to an ingredient in the Provillus, particularly if you say they changed the product before you ordered another shipment. I really don’t have any way of knowing. You can try using regular minoxidil, which is the active ingredient in Provillus. Then again, minoxidil itself is known to cause skin irritation in some people (see side effects). It’s worth a shot, I suppose.

With respect to the LaserComb, it is our feeling that it does not work. We’ve written extensively on this subject. See those posts here.

After a year on Propecia, my hair loss has slowed to the point that its virtually noticeable. My hope is that my hair loss will incur very slowly over time, thus losing my hair on a more age appropriate time-line. Losing my hair now, at such a young age, will probably bother me more than losing hair 10 years from now.

The only side effect I experience is increased tear production. When I am having an emotional dialog, my tear ducts are more active. This has been a very strange experience! Even so, my Doctor is unsure whether or not Propecia is the cause. The problem is not nearly severe enough for me to consider stopping the medication. Overall, Propecia has been working great!

I would challenge your first paragraph, as men of all ages are impacted by hair loss… and no one likes to look older because of balding.

I am not familiar with tearing problems from Propecia. I don’t recall ever reading any report of this or having any patient mention it. I’d check with an eye doctor.