Alfatradiol/Pantostin

[Guest]

Just a quick question! When I was in Germany, I bought a bottle of Pantostin from the pharmacy. I used it for one month and gave it up. To be honest, I was looking for a quick fix to my hair loss problem and if i didn't see an improvement immediately, I put it in my head that it didn't work. <----------- I know, stupid.

 

Anyhow, my mother is now going through menopause and is losing hair. Actually, she WAS. She was told to take Pantostin which contains Alfatradiol and her hair loss has stopped.

 

She explained to the dermatologist that her daughter (me) suffers from androgenic alopecia due to PCOS disease. The dermatologist stated that I should try this again.

 

Anyhow, is this even available in the US? Have any of you used it with success?

 

Sandra

[thanatopsis_awry]

I beleive it is available in the U.S. as some U.S-based users on a forum I once read were talking about buying it and using it in tandem with finasteride/rogaine. I'm not sure whether a prescription is necessary, though.

 

What other treatments have you tried or are you on?

[its752]

Magnolia31, I have never used Pantostin, and I hope it can work for you, but you may also be surprised how the other members here can guide you in the best direction for the kind of hair loss you have. Good luck.

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply! Hmm, if they do have it here, they probably require a prescription. They're alot stricter here in the US.

 

In the past, I have only tried Rogaine. Used it for 3 years and was not satisfied. It stopped the hair loss but did not grow back enough for me to be able to give up my wig LOL.

 

I inquired about Propecia, but my dermatologist said NO!

 

I'm currently pregnant so I can't really take anything now, but I'm just looking around for the future. I'd like to get back on something.

 

Sandra

[Guest]

Yeah, I have spoken with Bill. I'm just still really confused though - seems it's harder for women, and less treatments available for women.

 

I know that first of all I need to see an Endocrinologist to treat the underlying cause of my problem.

 

I was diagnosed with androgenic alopecia. I have an endocrine disorder which caused it.

 

Sandra

 

Originally posted by its752:

Magnolia31, I have never used Pantostin, and I hope it can work for you, but you may also be surprised how the other members here can guide you in the best direction for the kind of hair loss you have. Good luck.

[thanatopsis_awry]

I understand how it can be frustrating to try out a "hair loss drug" that doesn't actually provide you with robust, tangible results (i.e. regrowth), especially when your options are limited, as far as I know, to one "FDA" approved treatment; at the same time, if you plan on possibly going the route of a HT, merely halting hairloss is a truly advantageous benefit.

 

Sorry of to hear of your endocrine dilemmma -- is it possible to get that resolved, and be able to reverse or stop some of your loss?

 

Also, have you considered the route of a HT? I've seen some very impressive results on female patients.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Magnolia,

 

You are right...there are fewer available effective hair loss treatments for women, however, even for men, non surgical treatments are far from a cure, unfortunately.

 

I have done a little bit of research on Alfatradiol which apparently is the active ingredient in Pantostin and seems that it might have some level of efficacy when applies topically at 0.025%.

 

Apparently is IS approved as a hair loss treatment for women in Germany however, not in the US (not sure of the reason why at this point).

 

A study in Germany seemed to reveal that Alfatradiol is pretty good at slowing down or stopping the progression of hair loss whereas minoxodil proved to increase hair density and overall shaft thickness.

 

I found this study below:

 

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BACKGROUND: Two drugs which are approved for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women in Germany were compared with regard to their influence on hair growth. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were randomized to group I (n = 52) who used 2% minoxidil solution twice daily for a period of 12 months or to group II (n = 51) who used 0.025% alfatradiol solution once daily for 6 months and were then switched to 2% minoxidil solution for months 7-12. Changes in hair growth parameters were determined using the TrichoScan. RESULTS:Topical treatment with 2% minoxidil solution for 6 months resulted in a significant increase of cumulative hair thickness (p minoxidil switch in group II a significant increase in cumulative hair thickness (p

 

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Regarding where to purchase it, there do seem to be online pharmacies (mostly in Germany from what I can see) however, I don't know how they work international shipping, nor can I verify their validity. Personally, I have my doubts about online pharmacies.

 

In my opinion, more research is needed but from the study, it seems that the majority of women responded well to the treatment.

 

Bill

[Guest]

Hi Bill!

 

Yeah, my mom was doing well with it. I mean the menopause really had her hair falling out bad. Her hair looked really thin and now it's completely full again. I'd have her ship it or something if I can't find it here.

 

I really should have given it a longer try but I was skeptical that it would work. I felt that way about Rogaine at first too.

 

I really wonder why it's not available here. I got it in Germany about 4 years ago. You'd figure that they'd have it here by now.

 

I know that some international pharmacies do work, I have used one before for stuff. Thing with the German ones is though that they are weird about what kind of payment methods they want to receive. It can be a hassle.

 

Gosh, if in the future, you hear anything about this being available in the US, please let me know!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Magnolia,

 

I'm glad I could help. After I posted this I decided to take some additional time to research this. Unfortunately, I haven't learned anything new.

 

It does appear to be approved in Germany for safety and efficacy but not by the FDA in the USA. Why? I'm not sure. More research is clearly needed.

 

Even doing a search on google for "alfatradiol for hair loss" or even "Pantostin for hair loss" doesn't lead to much beyond the study itself and a few online pharmacies selling it.

 

I'm glad to hear that it is working for your mother. Perhaps it will work for you too.

 

If I learn anymore, I'll let you know. Alternatively, in your research, if you discover anymore information about this or other treatments, please come back to share it with us.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[Guest]

Germany is so different. Over there, herbal remedies are frequently prescribed over traditional medicines. My daughter had bronchitis once and she was given a "natural" cough syrup. It actually worked. Over there herbal treatments have been approved .... over here, they are not approved by the FDA. It happens the other way around too with medications. Some things that are approved here, have not been approved there.

 

Anyway, I will let you know if I find out anything else.

[MrJobi]

With hairloss the herbal route is one which is quite exploited worldwide.. Be weary of all of the availble "treatments" for hairloss and their validity. I have tried many of them and had zero results. It can be quite challenging for women as mentioned above. If I was a female no doubt my regimine would include rogaine and Revita to start. All others would be a just gravy. EU tends to take a natural approach to many illnesses but at the end of the day, it is all about results in my world. Most of the herbal solutions just don't deliver any unfortunately.

[Guest]

Oh, this is not an herbal type anti-hair loss medication. I was only referring to herbs because I was trying to explain the difference between Germany and the US as far as having medications approved. Sorry if I confused you LOL.

 

As far as herbs go though, I lived in Germany for the past 4 years and have been treated for quite a few things with herbal based medications. They all worked. I was given cranberry tea plus a cranberry extract to take for a urinary tract infection. It worked. I drank a tea called "Lady's mantle" in order to regulate my menstrual cycle - it worked. My daughter was put on an herbal remedy for hyperactivity - that worked; thank God LOL.

 

As far as herbal supplements for hair loss are concerned - I have no idea. I have never tried them for that. I just know in Germany herbs wouldn't be regulated if they were useless.