My Treatment Recommendation From A Doctor

[FineHair]

Hello,

I saw a doctor today in regards to two things (1) Hair loss & (2) Acne on back.

He was a dermatologist, DO, who also does hair transplants. He was a very nice man and took his time in answering my questions.

For the back he prescribed me Tretinoin 0.05% Topical Cream to be applied at nighttime to dry out the left over acne that I have.

For my hair loss, he said that he thinks for a guy like me, minoxidil should be used. I asked him about "Lipogaine" and he said "I have never heard of that." I said what should I use? He said "Rogaine, liquid or foam doesn't matter, whatever your comfortable with."

I then asked him about "Regenepure DR." And he said he had no idea about that shampoo and usually recommends "DHS Shampoo" to his patients. I told him about how "Lipogaine Big 3 Shampoo contains saw palmetto and biotin" and he said "Yes, supplement with biotin and saw palmetto, it's good." I then said "Well, ketoconozole 1% is shown to treat hair loss" He said "What? No it's not, that is for dandruff." I then told him about "Azelic Acid Cream 10% Topical for hair loss" He said "What? WHere are you getting this from? That is for skin, not hair."

At the end of consultation, he also told me to apply the Tretinoin 0.05% topical cream on my front scalp at bedtime to dry out my oily skin because oily skin from face and cause oily scalp which is bad for hair loss.




What do you guys think overall? I'm about to start my treatment this week. I need some input from you guys. Thanks!

[PatientlyWaiting]

Dermatologists don't really know much about hair loss treatments.

I had to tell my doctor what finasteride and minoxidil was. She only knew the brand name of them, Rogaine and Propecia, and most of the doctors there were like that; this was a major dermatology clinic too, in a large facility. After that I never took them serious about hair loss ever again and learned a lot more about hair loss in hair loss forums. I kept going to treat my Alopecia Areta with corticosteroid injections, and my vitiligo. But MPB? Most dermatologists are clueless about it. I don't think it's taken too serious in Biology class or med school, where ever it is that they graduate from, which are all top schools like UC Berkely, Columbia University, etc.

MPB just doesn't matter, basically.

[cs2257]

Dermatologists don't really know much about hair loss treatments.

I had to tell my doctor what finasteride and minoxidil was. She only knew the brand name of them, Rogaine and Propecia, and most of the doctors there were like that; this was a major dermatology clinic too, in a large facility. After that I never took them serious about hair loss ever again and learned a lot more about hair loss in hair loss forums. I kept going to treat my Alopecia Areta with corticosteroid injections, and my vitiligo. But MPB? Most dermatologists are clueless about it. I don't think it's taken too serious in Biology class or med school, where ever it is that they graduate from, which are all top schools like UC Berkely, Columbia University, etc.

MPB just doesn't matter, basically.

Not to derail this thread, but I also have vitiligo. What treatment do you recommend for that? I have it on my face and was given a tube of Proptopic.

What treatments have you received?

Sorry, there's no way to PM on here..


On topic, it seems like no one knows anything about hairloss...It's an odd thing for sure.

[PatientlyWaiting]

Not to derail this thread, but I also have vitiligo. What treatment do you recommend for that? I have it on my face and was given a tube of Proptopic.

What treatments have you received?

Sorry, there's no way to PM on here..


On topic, it seems like no one knows anything about hairloss...It's an odd thing for sure.

Protopic for me too.

If you catch it early, it should work. I no longer have vitiligo. Use it twice a day, every day for several months.

It was pretty bad, it was noticeable and when I got a tan it was even more noticeable.

[cs2257]

Protopic for me too.

If you catch it early, it should work. I no longer have vitiligo. Use it twice a day, every day for several months.

It was pretty bad, it was noticeable and when I got a tan it was even more noticeable.

Ive had it for at least 2 years. I shouldnt have waited...Ill have to try the protopic lol.

My derm at the time told me it only worked for 30% of patients.

Is there a place to order reliably online?

[PatientlyWaiting]

2 years is nothing. I treated mine like 3 years after I saw it.

You mean how to get Protopic? I got mine from prescription from my dermatologist. I can't find it online anyway, I think the drug is too dangerous and can not be sold like that. I remember my dermatologist having to call my health insurance[ or whatever] to get permission to prescribe it for me because I think it's expensive or something. It's a really strong drug and you can not use it for a long time, you have to give your skin a break from it. It thins the skin it's what they told me. Right now i'm not using it, but when ever I see the vitiligo coming back slightly, I use it right away and the vitiligo goes away.

[Dan26]

2 years is nothing. I treated mine like 3 years after I saw it.

You mean how to get Protopic? I got mine from prescription from my dermatologist. I can't find it online anyway, I think the drug is too dangerous and can not be sold like that. I remember my dermatologist having to call my health insurance[ or whatever] to get permission to prescribe it for me because I think it's expensive or something. It's a really strong drug and you can not use it for a long time, you have to give your skin a break from it. It thins the skin it's what they told me. Right now i'm not using it, but when ever I see the vitiligo coming back slightly, I use it right away and the vitiligo goes away.

Protopic doesn't thin the skin like corticosteroids do, but the one thing about it is you shouldn't get much sun exposure while using it.

[cs2257]

2 years is nothing. I treated mine like 3 years after I saw it.

You mean how to get Protopic? I got mine from prescription from my dermatologist. I can't find it online anyway, I think the drug is too dangerous and can not be sold like that. I remember my dermatologist having to call my health insurance[ or whatever] to get permission to prescribe it for me because I think it's expensive or something. It's a really strong drug and you can not use it for a long time, you have to give your skin a break from it. It thins the skin it's what they told me. Right now i'm not using it, but when ever I see the vitiligo coming back slightly, I use it right away and the vitiligo goes away.

When i tan it is noticeable as well.

Its probably been more than 4 years...I notice it when im tan for sure...or just in shitty lighting.

Its not so bad, but my facial hair doesnt grow in those regions...and it would scare me if it traveled to the top of my head. LOL.
So i figure i should try and treat it. I have an old tube of protopic that I got 3 years ago or so.

If its expired, does it lose effectiveness? I have the whole tube left of the 1%. Worth a go or should i re-up with something not expired?

[PatientlyWaiting]

To be on the safe side, you should get a new one. But I have two tubes, both half way through and both expired January 2012. I used one of them starting from Dec 2012 all the way up last month and it suppressed and got rid of my vitiligo. I think i'm going to go get a new one, but not now. I think using one that expired 3 years ago is a little overboard, maybe it lost some potency, but you should get a new one just to be sure.

Start using it ASAP, you don't want that thing getting lighter and lighter and people start staring at your face. Luckily my skin is a bit on the whiter side, so it took for me to get tanned for people to see it.