Someone's Mom
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Has anyone noticed how many very young men have receding hairlines? I 'd guess if you asked some of them they'd say they took Accutane. I've read of many young women suffering the same.
My 18 year old son took Accutane for 8 months. His dermatologist called it a "miracle drug" and so I sent him off to college with his Accutane. His doctor increased the amount of Accutane every couple of months over the course of the 8 months and then when the Dr deemed he is face was clear enough, he stopped taking it.
Over the year FOLLOWING THE END OF HIS TREATMENT, my son would often mention that he felt like his hair was thinning. I told him he was too young for that and didn't really worry about it. I thought it was just a young man's vanity speaking. But, when he came home for the summer I was shocked at how thin and "sick" his hair looked. The individual hairs had become fine and weak and were prone to breaking. The hair at his temples to the top of his head was thinning out/receding and I noticed a lot of hairs in the bathroom sink. I was as upset as he was and immediately began researching the reasons for hair loss in younger men and the same answer kept coming up, Accutane.
I wrote to Roche and they confirmed that Accutane caused hair loss and said in some cases it is PERMANENT. The nurse who answer me from Roche said:
"The complete prescribing information for Accutane lists alopecia (absence or loss of hair), which in some cases persists- as a possible adverse reaction to Accutane treatment. I am sorry, but although we are the pharmaceutical manufacturer of Accutane, we cannot provide treatment recommendations or healthcare advice to patients or consumers on the management of side effects."
They also sent me a long questionaire to fill out and one to send to his doctor to fill out asking for dates and dosage amounts. So, Roche is very aware of the problem, which is basically a Vitamin A overdose. Do a search on Vitamin A and hair loss and you will see the correlation. Vitamin A stays in your liver and for a long time and that's the reason why the hair loss does not always stop when you stop the drug.
My son is 20 now and has been on Rogaine and Propecia per his dermatologist for the past 5 months. He shampoos with Loprox twice a week, twice a week with Nizoral, and Nixoin the other days. I've also put him on a combination of supplements that I feel are all working to strenthen his hair. Most important in his regimen to me is that he's taking 5000 mg of Biotin (strengthens hair) and 5000 mg of MSM (faster hair growth)
We have limited his intake of Vitamin A. He does not take a multi-vitamin that contains A. His hairs are now thicker (each individual hair) and darker, and the best news is I barely see any hair in the sink, and he's regrowing hair at his hair line and the front top is thickening also. I'll see if he'll let me post a few pictures.
I'm sure most of this success is attributed to Rogaine/Propecia/Nizoral combo, but I'm confident that the actual better condition of his hair is due to the supplement regimen he's on (I'll add that to my profile). I believe if you attack this problem as soon as possible you can succeed. Maybe the hair was going to come back eventually and the combination of all of the above kick started the process. Regardless, although it takes a little dedication to stick with the program, it's working.
Do not let your doctor or anyone tell you it's not the Accutane or that the hair loss isn’t permanent. In some cases it is. His Dr. tried to say these things until I told him I'd been in touch with Roche. Then he changed his tune.
I’d be very interested in hearing from anyone who has hair loss and has taken Accutane at anytime in their life.
My 18 year old son took Accutane for 8 months. His dermatologist called it a "miracle drug" and so I sent him off to college with his Accutane. His doctor increased the amount of Accutane every couple of months over the course of the 8 months and then when the Dr deemed he is face was clear enough, he stopped taking it.
Over the year FOLLOWING THE END OF HIS TREATMENT, my son would often mention that he felt like his hair was thinning. I told him he was too young for that and didn't really worry about it. I thought it was just a young man's vanity speaking. But, when he came home for the summer I was shocked at how thin and "sick" his hair looked. The individual hairs had become fine and weak and were prone to breaking. The hair at his temples to the top of his head was thinning out/receding and I noticed a lot of hairs in the bathroom sink. I was as upset as he was and immediately began researching the reasons for hair loss in younger men and the same answer kept coming up, Accutane.
I wrote to Roche and they confirmed that Accutane caused hair loss and said in some cases it is PERMANENT. The nurse who answer me from Roche said:
"The complete prescribing information for Accutane lists alopecia (absence or loss of hair), which in some cases persists- as a possible adverse reaction to Accutane treatment. I am sorry, but although we are the pharmaceutical manufacturer of Accutane, we cannot provide treatment recommendations or healthcare advice to patients or consumers on the management of side effects."
They also sent me a long questionaire to fill out and one to send to his doctor to fill out asking for dates and dosage amounts. So, Roche is very aware of the problem, which is basically a Vitamin A overdose. Do a search on Vitamin A and hair loss and you will see the correlation. Vitamin A stays in your liver and for a long time and that's the reason why the hair loss does not always stop when you stop the drug.
My son is 20 now and has been on Rogaine and Propecia per his dermatologist for the past 5 months. He shampoos with Loprox twice a week, twice a week with Nizoral, and Nixoin the other days. I've also put him on a combination of supplements that I feel are all working to strenthen his hair. Most important in his regimen to me is that he's taking 5000 mg of Biotin (strengthens hair) and 5000 mg of MSM (faster hair growth)
We have limited his intake of Vitamin A. He does not take a multi-vitamin that contains A. His hairs are now thicker (each individual hair) and darker, and the best news is I barely see any hair in the sink, and he's regrowing hair at his hair line and the front top is thickening also. I'll see if he'll let me post a few pictures.
I'm sure most of this success is attributed to Rogaine/Propecia/Nizoral combo, but I'm confident that the actual better condition of his hair is due to the supplement regimen he's on (I'll add that to my profile). I believe if you attack this problem as soon as possible you can succeed. Maybe the hair was going to come back eventually and the combination of all of the above kick started the process. Regardless, although it takes a little dedication to stick with the program, it's working.
Do not let your doctor or anyone tell you it's not the Accutane or that the hair loss isn’t permanent. In some cases it is. His Dr. tried to say these things until I told him I'd been in touch with Roche. Then he changed his tune.
I’d be very interested in hearing from anyone who has hair loss and has taken Accutane at anytime in their life.
