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.

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.

Also applying it to a wet scalp as opposed to a dry one will cause more absorption. Be sure your hair/scalp is dry before application.

Doctors have told me it takes 9 months to a year before you start to see results from fin. Also, I don't think taking more will help your hair loss. In fact some docs are recommending a dose of 1 mg every other day to achieve about the same level of DHT prohibition. You can check around but I've seen reports stating that the study results Merc did not publish indicates that a 20% of the 1 mg dose gives almost the same protection as the full 1 mg dose. Others chime in please.

The big news on TV last week was the creation of stem cells from skin cells. Anybody know if this could be used for hair loss research also? Any concrete possibilities?

Any comments from doctors who have had patients stop propecia and lose hair the restart propecia? Do you think I can stop the loss and regain hair lost after stopping propecia for 2 or 3 months?

Bill Yes I did experience some general thinning in the donor and maybe a little more on the sides. Since I am a NW7, it appears like a natural progression that would have taken place if I had not been on propecia. I was holding up very well up until I stopped (as explained above) for a few months. I got some Nizoral 1% and started on that. I am going to call my dermatologist to get a script for the 2% next week. I appreciate the post Bill! Has anyone been on propecia and stopped ... experienced some hair loss and started back? If so ... did your hair return and how long did it take?

Thanks for the advice. BTW, I do not plan to stop taking the propecia. I hope by taking it I will stop the loss and regain my hair I had only months ago.

I am a NW7 and have had 3 transplants. I started taking propecia about 5 yrs ago. Although a 7 I had very good coverage and looking back - very satisfied. Recently I started losing testosterone. I suspected this and stopped propecia for a month because I read on the net that it could cause low T (a mistake). This didn't help so I started back taking it. I then noticed my hair started to thin in the transplanted area. Back on propecia for a month and a doctor finally diagnosed low T. He thought propecia may be causing this so i got off again for 2 motnhs. The T levels dropped badly so concluded propecia not the cause. I restarted propecia and by now I have kept losing hair and it is very noticeable and still losing. Have been back on propecia 6 weeks (as well and testosterone replacement for 6 weeks) and still losing hair. My fringe (back/sides)hair also thinned as might be expected for a NW7. I think some of the transplanted hair came from the donor that would have thinned if I had not been on propecia for years. (Apparently propecia was working well for me.)I also started rogain foam in crown area for 6 weeks. Any ideas if the hair I lost will come back by keeping the propecia going? Any suggestions to further block DHT in scalp? Comments, opinions, and suggestions are most appreciated.

I am a NW7 and have had 3 transplants. I started taking propecia about 5 yrs ago. Although a 7 I had very good coverage and looking back - very satisfied. Recently I started losing testosterone. I suspected this and stopped propecia for a month because I read on the net that it could cause low T (a mistake). This didn't help so I started back taking it. I then noticed my hair started to thin in the transplanted area. Back on propecia for a month and a doctor finally diagnosed low T. He thought propecia may be causing this so i got off again for 2 motnhs. The T levels dropped badly so concluded propecia not the cause. I restarted propecia and by now I have kept losing hair and it is very noticeable and still losing. Have been back on propecia 6 weeks (as well and testosterone replacement for 6 weeks) and still losing hair. My fringe (back/sides)hair also thinned as might be expected for a NW7. I think some of the transplanted hair came from the donor that would have thinned if I had not been on propecia for years. (Apparently propecia was working well for me.)I also started rogain foam in crown area for 6 weeks. Any ideas if the hair I lost will come back by keeping the propecia going? Any suggestions to further block DHT in scalp? Comments, opinions, and suggestions are most appreciated.

Thanks for all the kind words! Knowing my third was probably my last HT (at least major one) and it had had a year to grow in ... what else could I do? If I had not then it would mean my 3 HTs were in vain and a waste of my time and money. Also, I had grown so much hair on top that my system no longer fit correcly and I was having to comb the hair down to cover where the base where it would detach along the hairline and raise up. Hard to make it look real that way! Thanks again y'all!