Hello guys, I am new to this forum, and I am glad you guys are here. I find forums to be an excellent way of gaining knowledge that is generally unbiased and real. I recently started thinning, and it has kind of taken me by surprise. I am 33, and long hair (past shoulders) and notice the top of my hair thin, my temples more exposed, my crown more visible, esc. Its obviously more noticeable to me, but people close to me have pocked fun, as I have always been known for long hair. So, I wanted to be very proactive about it, so I just saw a dermatologist the other day. I have never been to a dermatologist, however it did not go as expected, and id like to hear what you guys think. Basically, I entered the examination room with the doctors assistant, and even before seeing the doctor or getting an examination, he was writing prescriptions to Propecia. I told him about my irritated scalp, its super oily, itches a day after washing, its flaky, and pink/red at times. After telling him that, he started to write another prescription for a scalp cleansing product. This all in 5 minutes, no examination, and no doctor yet. Then the doctor comes in, never touches my head, and basically says Propecia is the only way to go, and that he has never had a patient with side affects. I asked, " am I in the beginning stages of balding?", He said he wasnt sure, as he didnt know what my hair line looked like before, and that it cant hurt to take Propecia to be proactive. I was in and out of there with 2 prescriptions in 10 minutes, is that normal? Even cruising this forum for 2 minutes, I have heard many more treatment and suggestions, however he didnt mention anything. I know, ill be asked to post a picture, but right now, is that the general experience of a dermatologist? Are there other specialists or places to go that are more thorough and modern with treatment options?
New To The Forum, Need Advice Guys, Seen Dermatologist
- Thread starter Renishaw
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That’s dermatologists for you... But, taking finasteride (Propecia) is probably the best option since it most likely is androgenic alopecia.
Yeah, it was quite discouraging to say the least. I felt like the 200th person he has said that to that day. He is probably right about Finasteride, as it seems to be the most widely accepted treatment, however he didnt even take the time to talk about the side affects or other options, or even additional steps. What is the real story with Finasteride? I hear it can kill libido, and once you start taking it, you have to take it forever or you lose your hair. Is this generally the first step?
It depends on the person. Some people have no side effects, whilst others may experience an increase / decrease in libido or other sexual issues.
Aside from the possible sexual side affects, are there other reasons one would avoid taking it? I hear that you must take it forever once you start, or you will lose your hair when you stop. I just dont want to jump into taking medication for something prematurely without knowing about other options. However, I also dont want to waste time with snake oils when in the end ill just end up taking it anyway, and have lost more hair in that time.
You must take it forever, but why wouldn't you? Just think of it as your 'daily beauty routine', similar to how women or men have a daily skincare routine. There isn't many options, finasteride / dutasteride are the better options for you. Please don't do what I did and use natural remedies, or products which claim to thicken hair.
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Going to a dermatologist often ends in disappointment. In my case I went to the dermatologist and he did the "test" of pulling my hair and then he sent me to do some blood tests, until here everything normal would say.
I went back a few weeks later with the results and I was inside for about 10 minutes at most (the blood test results were perfect, red globules, etc, everything was normal.), he seemed to be in a hurry to leave, he didn't even look at my hair to see what kind of loss I have, what kind of alopecia or whatever, didn't ask me almost anything, didn't talk to me about the available drugs and their possible effects, nothing.
He just prescribed me minoxidil and some vitamins, nothing more...oh and I should be back in 3 months. I was like "What? That's it?". Then he got up in a clear indication that the appointment was over, I could hurry to ask him about finasteride and his literal answer was: "It's a female hormone, you're going to get hair but you're going to get tits" That was it. The appointment with him is over. Fortunately I don't need his prescription to get finasteride.
Unfortunately, there are not many options and as Ikarus said... Why wouldn't you take them permanently if you had to?
I went back a few weeks later with the results and I was inside for about 10 minutes at most (the blood test results were perfect, red globules, etc, everything was normal.), he seemed to be in a hurry to leave, he didn't even look at my hair to see what kind of loss I have, what kind of alopecia or whatever, didn't ask me almost anything, didn't talk to me about the available drugs and their possible effects, nothing.
He just prescribed me minoxidil and some vitamins, nothing more...oh and I should be back in 3 months. I was like "What? That's it?". Then he got up in a clear indication that the appointment was over, I could hurry to ask him about finasteride and his literal answer was: "It's a female hormone, you're going to get hair but you're going to get tits" That was it. The appointment with him is over. Fortunately I don't need his prescription to get finasteride.
Unfortunately, there are not many options and as Ikarus said... Why wouldn't you take them permanently if you had to?
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I am quite lucky with my dermatologist, she is willing to put me on anything I want to try. She is currently trying to get me Androcur, but has currently prescribed me spironolactone. She has also referred me to an endocrinologist so I can get Estrofem on prescription. And she has referred me to a hair specialist who can prescribe me Avodart.
I guess this is not a unique scenario. I thought I chose a good doctor, 150 5 star google reviews, I guess not. Maybe his specialty was not hair loss, I could have done what he did on my couch. I'd love to see a specialist who would send me to an endocrinologist, identify what the issue is, discuss the treatment options, weigh the risks of each, then choose. I feel like I went into his office, he ignored every word, aside from thinning, and got a script to the most common treatment available without even touching my head. Is there any risk in taking Finasteride and then stopping to try something else? Does it actually make you lose hair if you stop, or do just lose everything you would have if you were not taking it?
How did you go about looking for a hair specialist? Is there another name for this field, or are they generally dermatologists? Are blood tests for underlying issues a more through approach to this?
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There's no risk in doing that. What you need to know is that finasteride requires patience on your part and giving it at least a year, maybe a little more to see if it's working or not. If you decide to give it up early you won't know for sure if it was working. And if finasteride was working and you stop taking it it's likely that you'll eventually start losing hair again and what you've gained if you did.
If you go to another dermatologist you might get a little more information, listen to what you want to say, clear your doubts, etc but in the end the treatments are always the same, except that you do not have androgenic alopecia but another type of loss.
Where I live, you have to get referred to see one so my dermatologist referred me to one. A hair specialist is someone who specialises in trichology. There’s no point looking for underlying issues because with men, most of the time it’s going to be some sort of androgenic alopecia.