|
 Dr. Alan J. Bauman is the Founder, Medical Director and Chief Surgeon of the Bauman Medical Group, P.A. located in Wharfside at Boca Pointe in Boca Raton, Florida. His practice is dedicated exclusively to treating male and female pattern hair loss. Dr. Bauman uses state-of-the-art medical and surgical techniques to help his patients maintain and/or restore their scalp hair.
Chis
2005-11-16
Propecia not working
Dear Dr Bauman,
I am 22 years old and have been experiencing hair loss for just over a year now. I saw a dermatologist last year who took blood tests and performed a scalp biopsy (which showed an increased catagen-telogen ration and a few miniaturized hairs) to diagnose my condition. Two pathologists analysed the scalp biopsy: one leant towards androgenectic alopecia, that other thought catagen-telogen was the dominant phenomenon.
As a result, the dermatologist prescribed propecia. I have been taking it for over a year now and my hair is still thinning. I do not have any bald spots as such but the overall thickness of my hair on the top of my head and around the hairline has be reduced - it is really obvious inthe mornings when I get out of bed - I no longer have 'bed head' but instead, just some thin weedy hair clinging to my scalp.
I was wondering if you would recommend a generic form of dutasteride try and arrest my hair loss? I am hesitant to try topical solutions because I know that I will not persist with them for very long. Dutasteride seems to me to be the best solution but being in Australia, I will have to order a generic form from an off-shore pharmacy and I am some what sceptical. Also, I have read warnings about re. pregnant women having contact with the drug and blood. Are there any adverse effects if a girl were to get pregnant from a man who has been taking dutasteride?
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Chris
Chris,
It sounds like you have a pretty severe hair loss issue. It is impossible to diagnose your condition over the internet. However, IF your hair loss is due to male pattern, hereditary causes, Propecia is the standard for this kind of treatment. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) works in 90% of patients to stop future hair loss. Have you had a density measurement performed in several areas of your scalp? What is the quality of hair around the sides and the back of the scalp? Propecia should not be taken or handled by women of child-bearing age. There is no problem if a women were to get pregnant from a man taking finasteride (Propecia). I am not sure what the results are of the safety studies on DUTASTERIDE---that is one of the reasons we don't typically recommend dutasteride.
If you can send photos to my email address, I might be able to make more accurate suggestions for you. Have you considered minoxidil as an adjunctive treatment?
Sincerely,
doctorb@baumanmedical.com
Click here to return to Dr. Alan J. Bauman, MD's Q&A page.
|
