SouthCarolina

The Saw Palmetto, Beta Sitosterol, Pumpkin, Fish Oil formula works great on my prostate ... really ... but not so much for the hair

Dr. Rose actually worked in the same office as Dr. Ron Shapiro at one time ... way back when.

I took statins for high cholesteral for 10 years and reacently determined that it has caused some major muscle damage. I finally stopped taking them cold turkey to save my ability to walk. Of course my cholesteral level spike up above 300 so I started looking to natural alternatives. In the end a combination of fish oil (for triglicerides) and Niacin (the flush kind - nonflush is not supported by test results as much) brought my cholesteral to around 200. So I have used Niacin over a year but have NOT noticed any hair benefits. IMHO it seems that some of these vitamins and even pharmaceuticals that claim or have even attained some mildly demostratable benefit in a "test tube" often do not produce what we might call a "cosmetically acceptable" result. Again, maybe it's just me but it seems to be the case. In summary, I personally have seen no cosmetic benefit on my hair. Note: I am taking 1500 mg daily. That is about the upper limit suggested before it is recommended having a monthly blood test for liver issues.

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You may want to have your doctor test for low testosterone. Hypogonadism can be the cause. Your mention of atrophied testicles is a clue to this as well as no AM erections. If T goes lower you may watch out for loss of body hair and eventually hot flashes or sweats. Insist on your doc testing for low T in the blood test. At your age they may not order T levels even though they are checking other blood levels. I had the issue and know what I am talking about. Even if it is in the low range of normal you may need treatment and many doctors realy resist doing this because of abuse by body builders and young adults just wanting to be macho. Had to go to 2 more docs before they would even address the issue. I understand the lower range of normal is a male in his 80's ... or something similar but you get the idea.

When I first started using minoxidil I felt the palpitations on a regular basis. I let it continue way too long. I just did not connect the two. Turns out I was using way too much. If you've been checked out by a doctor ... simply lower your dose to the recommended amount. If you still get palpitations then you might consider stopping. Good luck.

These days even a NW7 has a chance for improvement. Check out these NW7s helped by Dr. Beehner ... http://www.saratogahair.com/pa...s/index.asp?varCat=1 Or this NW7 helped by Hasson & Wong ... http://www.hassonandwong.com/p...ansplant_type=normal Then there are a very few docs (like Dr. Harris and Dr. Umar perhaps) that can use body hair (probably as filler) as an additional donor area in cases of last resort. Not what a NW6 would find acceptable BUT for a NW7 to have a natural appearing hair restoration that removes the harshness of a slick bald dome .... it's a welcome improvement. Just ask them!

Anyone?

Having the unfortunate experience of losing much transplanted and donor hair due to medical reasons ... FUE may be my only option to restore at least some of what I lost. Does anyone (patient or doctor) have input on Dr. Harris SAFE FUE procedure? It is supposed to increase the normally lower yield of traditional FUE results. This would very much be a positive to help address my current situation.

Having the unfortunate experience of losing much transplanted and donor hair due to medical reasons ... FUE may be my only option to restore at least some of what I lost. Does anyone (patient or doctor) have input on Dr. Harris SAFE FUE procedure? It is supposed to increase the normally lower yield of traditional FUE results. This would very much be a positive to help address my current situation.

Does anyone (patient or doctor) have input on Dr. Harris SAFE FUE procedure? It is supposed to increase the normally lower yield of traditional FUE results. It is explained in detail on his website. This would be especially helpful for those with a low donor count.

Rick055 ... do you know if testosterone pellets raise DHT levels like the gels do? I am on Androgel and thinking I might lower DHT with pellets as they have a more consistent hormone release as opposed to shots. What do you think?

Guys My primary focus lately was the sexual sides of low T. A year ago I started Androgel at 5g then quickly to 7g to get low T back up. My T had gotten down to 125 with some major symptoms before docs would hardly even test for low T. My hair started to slowly fall out then but my main concern was health issues. Since the hair loss had gotten bad I focused on both but still the sex sides for low T was main issue. About 3 months ago I stopped propecia to see if the sides were attributed to it. Stopping didn't help much. So the last month the hair has really gone and even more so in the donor area. Now Rick and Bill tripped the switch and it seems like most probably the main driver in all this is the high DHT (though I've never been tested for it) brought on by the Androgel. I've had the dose possibly a notch higher than most at 7g trying to address sides assumed to be attributed by low T. Now thinking Androgel really drives up the DHT more than normal then I have in fact been doing the most damage to my hair this way. So this week I started on propecia again and I am dropping my Androgel to 5g (the minimum) and see what happens. Hopefully it will stop the shedding. (In Feb they had me switch brands to Testim and 5g but had major symptoms such as continuous sweating. After a month of suffering I went back to Androgel and 7g. 3 months later I had major effluviun in the form of body hair loss as well as some noticeable thinness on sides. I hope just going to 5g in Androgel will not trigger this again.) Does anyone know if lowering the DHT at this point with the propecia could help or even possibly grow some hair back? Or (speak truthfully please) is this probably a lost cause at this point. I am almost resigned at this point that all is lost and really depressed and just waiting for the inevitable ... a really really bad NW7 possibly even showing my scar. Any input appreciated.

I appreciate the support and empathy. My hair docs are some of the best and you would know them if I named them (I didn't ask their permission so I won't) so I think I've had some excellent input. It's just that medicine can't handle everything. I am hoping some of this is effluvium as I still have not grown back all the body hair I lost due to the low hormones I experienced. I have no choice but to wait and see. Thanks ...

I've had a very successful HT story and been a part of this community (mostly learning and replying every now and then)for many years. Recently however I've had a major reversal which most of you will probably NOT have but I would like to share this for those who may be interested and for my own "therapy". I am 51 and have had 3 successful HTs from one of the very best doctors around starting at age 40. Although I had a large area of loss, I had sufficient supply to allow me to come out of a hair system and have a very normal but recessed look. AT 45 I started propecia to regrow more hair and maintain although I did not notice further loss. It was great! Almost 2 years ago I started losing body hair very slowly as well a experience other symptoms that demanded attention and many tests. Over 7 months it turned out that I did not have many of the suspected diseases but they finally took some blood tests to find I had low testosterone and hypogonadism. The doctor as an attempt help took me off propecia for a month to see how if affected the low T. At this point I started to slowly lose my transplanted hair. I went back on propecia and they put me on hormone therapy. I had been on propecia again for over a year but did not stop the hair loss. So all this hair loss would have started after I was 45. To make it short ... I have now lost (it seems) over 1/2 the thickness on the sides (thus the hairloss on top) and now the top is about fully "see thru" and the back is no longer covered at all when combing my hair back as it used to be. It is still getting so thin on the sides that if it goes much further you might be able to see the scar back behind the ears. I am also losing hair at the nape or bottom of the back. The transplants were done so well however that the top looks like it is just losing hair without any indication at all of a HT. I fear however that while most of the hair may fall out there will be scattered hair that has stayed to make the pattern look unnatural. So now it looks like I will not only be losing transplanted top hair but I will also be one of those rarer individuals with very thin sides. It's like going from a very acceptable recessed look to a bad NW7+ inside a year. I am on minoxidil and nizarol and doing everything I know to do. I am also being seen by another great HT doctor who is a dermatologist also but just about all we can do is wait. Some of this may be telogen efluvium and thus temporary but nothing has started to grow back. This is just so depressing. I wish I was one of those guys who just doesn't care if he loses his hair ... but I am not. I am still fully behind the excellent transplants being done these days. I know what a difference it can make to the self esteem and confidence of individuals. Many of you know how differently you are treated, especially by women since you've regained your hair. I know this too from the opposite direction. My situation is no ones fault. I did my research, used one of the best doctors in the world but it was just my dumb luck. Thanks for listening guys. Hoping like you are for the next real breakthrough.