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Dr Chu has agreed to see me earlier than my next appointment in january. I will be trying to push for a scalp biopsy, and some sort of treatement under his recomendation. If however he feels i should still wait it out... I think i will begin using xandrox but only the 5% version!!
With xandrox even if the minoxidil doesn't stop the shedding the azelic acid should atleast help reduce any miniturization. I do genuinly believe azelic acid reduces DHT levels, if you read about studys using it to reduce facial hair in women with excess adrogens you can see why i believe in it..
Obviously it won't reduce it as much as propecia but i'm still not willing to take anything like that and although far safer the tane, it does have nasty possible side effects no matter how low the risk is...
I may be tempted by the stuff under blazed's link, i will try and find what it contains... So cheers for that blazed!!
Sorry for not replying for so long. I feel like it's my duty to keep everyone updated since we're in this together. Anyways my shedding has stopped for a while and my hair does not look any thinner or anything. I'm 90% sure I'm done with this ordeal and that my regular hair is back. I think it's just a matter of time proportional to how long you were on accutance. I was on for less than two months so that can explain why my hair loss hasn't lasted as long as others. I hope you all get through this.
Congratulations, Dolph!
Dolph - thanks for such a great update! Congrats!!!
Also - just noticed that Blaze updated his info from Dr. Shah - i, too, received an email from them this morning saying: "Accutane has a rare side effect of hairfall and hair thinning. It can be treated with homeopathy. Homeopathy can also treat acne by stabilising hormonal imbalance."
Once you pay for the stuff, they actually send you this ridiculously long survey to fill out so that they can come up with the best formula for you - i'm glad i'm trying this. My hair can't get any worse so I have nothing to lose.
thank gracie, keep us posted when you get the products and what they are so we can know. also gdwright what kind of minox is it? brandname..? rogaine?
also this is to everyone.. do you think eating greasy foods might help? cause our sheddig is due to more or less low production of sebum das why our acne went away, but what if we eat greasy foods, since greasy foods always made me more oily ?
Hey Everyone,
So I went to see a hair loss specialist today (Dr. Roy Stoller in Chadds Ford PA). He specializes in hair restoration surgery and other cosmetic procedures but he's also one of the roughly 800 or so dermatologists who specialize in hair loss. I told him my story and after taking a look at my scalp he noted the following:
1) He counted roughly 75% more follicles on the back of my head per square cm than on top, which may be indicative of MPB
2) He also noted that I had virtually no miniturization of hair (kind of like Andy's case), which is NOT indicative of MPB
Therefore Dr. Stoller told me I was an "interesting case." The lower number of follicles on top of my head clearly is the reason for why my hair loss from accutane is more obvious in those regions, however he told me he doesn't think I have MPB and continued use of propecia was a good safeguard against any miniturization of newly growing hair. I've been on propecia for two months now and haven't had any side effects, and I believe that the average thickness of my hairs have increased a bit because of it. Every now and then I'll lose a really really short hair thats incredibly thick looking- I think these are hairs which are still falling out from the effects of accutane but are thick because of the propecia. Unfortunately the increased thickness doesn't make up for the overall loss of hair which I continue to experience 
Anyway.... the doctor told me I do indeed have telogen effluvium most likely caused by accutane (no surprise) and that the best thing I could do for it now was using rogaine and continuing the propecia. I asked about alopecia areata and he said he sincerely doubted that was the case, even when I told him about how my scalp sometimes itches and hairs fall out when I scratch it. When I asked about a biopsy he told me it was way too early for that, so i'm going to follow his directions once I get a third opinion (i'm going to see another derm Monday) and start the rogaine then see this guy again in a month or so. As far as rogaine goes, the doctor explained that I won't need to continue using it once my hair grows back in order to maintain it because i'm probably not being affected by MPB. Rogaine would sort of be like the fertilizer to help the hair grow more quickly (as he put it)
I asked the doctor about his experiences with accutane-induced hair loss and he told me that he's had some patients with the problem and that most ended up "okay" (his words). When I asked him to clarify, he explained that they got their hair back, but many of them thought 2-3 years later that their hair still wasn't the same as it was pre-accutane. He also added the caveat that some of this was psychological (ie because their hair doesn't look super thick after it recovers that it must have not recovered completely) and some of it may simply be changes in hair that would have natually happened over that time period.
I'm going to see another derm Monday and plan to ask the same set of questions Andy asked his derm to compare answers. Also if she agrees that I should try rogaine I'm going to do it.
I asked about alopecia areata and he said he sincerely doubted that was the case, even when I told him about how my scalp sometimes itches and hairs fall out when I scratch it.
See that is the reason why the hairloss continues in many cases.... Even though he is a hairloss specialist and a dermatologist he doesn't recignise the little know fact that accutane can quite easily induce diffuse alopecia areata.....
Blaze - Let me know if you hear from the girl. I would be curious to what she has to say.
She responded back
It's difficult to say whether the treatment from Dr Shah reversed my hair falling out, or if it was just time. I don't use any more hair loss products, and feel that my hair is back to about 95% of what it was before it started falling out (the other 5% may be due to my hair being longer, the water in the area I currently live, age, etc.).
Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to help in anyway I can if you or someone you know is experiencing hair loss due to Accutane.
lamar, I agree that diffuse alopecia areata could be an explanation for why a lot of people seem to continue experiencing hair loss. I'll bring it up again with the derm I see this monday and see what she has to say about it. If the hair loss doesnt stop in another couple of months I'm probably going to insist on on biopsy and that they take it into further consideration. The guy I saw yesterday didnt want to do more than the standard recommendation of rogaine since it was my first time seeing him. When considering that accutane has caused lupus and other autoimmune disorders in patients though, it seems completely plausible that it could induce an immune response against the hair.
Something else the hair loss specialist i saw yesterday told me that the hair loss on my left side was worse than on my right.
I also forgot to mention that hair has been falling from other parts of my body as well as my scalp- my arms and legs have been shedding too.
As for the homeopathic therapy, I doubt it will work. That doesn't mean I didn't spend $150 on it though!... yeah pretty impulsive lol but I'm willing to try anything at this point. If anything, at least I'll be able to say "yeah I tried that too." They better tell me what's in it though...
Same with me JNT, i loose hair from all over my upper body, but including my pubic region... I have lost about 50% from those areas including eye lashes/eyebrows. I was so so hairy on my arms, eyebrows and eyelashs to begin wtih it is still very hard to tell... Same with my hair, but i still shed ridiculus amounts. Anyone who knows me though will tell you i had the thickest hair ever!!
Yes accutane does seem to induce many auto immune dissorders and you listed only a few!! so the hairloss even though mostly overlooked is often alopecia areata. I think in most cases the hairloss will still resolve itself even if it is AA....
P.s. No haven't began the xandrox i'm waiting on a appointment with Chu!!
Remember hairloss takes time, even if the treatement is going to work with you blazed i doubt you will see any benefit for atleast a month, maybe up to three months as this is the standard telogen length...
Hey Everyone,
So I went to see a hair loss specialist today (Dr. Roy Stoller in Chadds Ford PA). He specializes in hair restoration surgery and other cosmetic procedures but he's also one of the roughly 800 or so dermatologists who specialize in hair loss. I told him my story and after taking a look at my scalp he noted the following:
1) He counted roughly 75% more follicles on the back of my head per square cm than on top, which may be indicative of MPB
2) He also noted that I had virtually no miniturization of hair (kind of like Andy's case), which is NOT indicative of MPB
Therefore Dr. Stoller told me I was an "interesting case." The lower number of follicles on top of my head clearly is the reason for why my hair loss from accutane is more obvious in those regions, however he told me he doesn't think I have MPB and continued use of propecia was a good safeguard against any miniturization of newly growing hair. I've been on propecia for two months now and haven't had any side effects, and I believe that the average thickness of my hairs have increased a bit because of it. Every now and then I'll lose a really really short hair thats incredibly thick looking- I think these are hairs which are still falling out from the effects of accutane but are thick because of the propecia. Unfortunately the increased thickness doesn't make up for the overall loss of hair which I continue to experience
Anyway.... the doctor told me I do indeed have telogen effluvium most likely caused by accutane (no surprise) and that the best thing I could do for it now was using rogaine and continuing the propecia. I asked about alopecia areata and he said he sincerely doubted that was the case, even when I told him about how my scalp sometimes itches and hairs fall out when I scratch it. When I asked about a biopsy he told me it was way too early for that, so i'm going to follow his directions once I get a third opinion (i'm going to see another derm Monday) and start the rogaine then see this guy again in a month or so. As far as rogaine goes, the doctor explained that I won't need to continue using it once my hair grows back in order to maintain it because i'm probably not being affected by MPB. Rogaine would sort of be like the fertilizer to help the hair grow more quickly (as he put it)
I asked the doctor about his experiences with accutane-induced hair loss and he told me that he's had some patients with the problem and that most ended up "okay" (his words). When I asked him to clarify, he explained that they got their hair back, but many of them thought 2-3 years later that their hair still wasn't the same as it was pre-accutane. He also added the caveat that some of this was psychological (ie because their hair doesn't look super thick after it recovers that it must have not recovered completely) and some of it may simply be changes in hair that would have natually happened over that time period.
I'm going to see another derm Monday and plan to ask the same set of questions Andy asked his derm to compare answers. Also if she agrees that I should try rogaine I'm going to do it.
This was an excellent post. Keep us posted on what the third doctor says.
Blaze - any way you can PM me? I would love to get that girl's email address since I really want to talk to her directly.
JNT - glad you ordered from Dr. Shah as well (so did I). Did you hear back from them? They are putting me on something called Nat Mur 200c. I googled it and it seems to be a pretty standard homeopathic remedy. Fingers crossed....
thank gracie, keep us posted when you get the products and what they are so we can know. also gdwright what kind of minox is it? brandname..? rogaine?also this is to everyone.. do you think eating greasy foods might help? cause our sheddig is due to more or less low production of sebum das why our acne went away, but what if we eat greasy foods, since greasy foods always made me more oily ?
I think it is important to eat foods that contain fat but eating fatty foods will do nothing for your hair but make you get an unhealthy amount of saturated fat in your diet. You need to make sure that you are getting your essential fatty acids, which are key for hair growth. I have been trying to incorporate crushed flax seed into my diet to get my omega-3's. If you want to try and increase sebum production try eating foods like nuts and olive oil. Stick to the unsaturated fats, saturated fats are not good for you.
Hey everyone,
I'm sorry to report that the dermatologist I went to see this morning was mostly a waste of time... she told me that since 1995 she's had only one patient lose hair from accutane. The girl also had a bunch of other bad side effects (psychological issues, etc) so she stopped taking the drug. Her hair did grow back though. She told me she doesn't think I have MPB, and she also told me that losing hair off of my arms, legs, etc was "pretty weird." When I asked her about alopecia areata she told me definately not and that it would be really really rare, etc. She said rogaine might help, but that I'd have to "taper off" of it or else I'd lose the hair that grows back (in contrast to what the hair loss specialist told me). The bottom line she said was to just not stress over it and wait until I'm off the medicine for at least six months before starting to worry. This is a fair point I suppose, because I've only been off the accutane for two months now.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the visit was that she offered to put me back on topical retinoids for my acne. I was like..... really? Yes lets take more retinoids after they made my hair fall out! lol...
I didn't bother asking most of Andy's original questions because this lady seemed mostly clueless... I'll be paying a return visit to the hairloss specialist in December because he seemed the most knowledgable out of anybody I've talked to so far. Sorry I don't have any better info. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey everyone,
I'm sorry to report that the dermatologist I went to see this morning was mostly a waste of time... she told me that since 1995 she's had only one patient lose hair from accutane. The girl also had a bunch of other bad side effects (psychological issues, etc) so she stopped taking the drug. Her hair did grow back though. She told me she doesn't think I have MPB, and she also told me that losing hair off of my arms, legs, etc was "pretty weird." When I asked her about alopecia areata she told me definately not and that it would be really really rare, etc. She said rogaine might help, but that I'd have to "taper off" of it or else I'd lose the hair that grows back (in contrast to what the hair loss specialist told me). The bottom line she said was to just not stress over it and wait until I'm off the medicine for at least six months before starting to worry. This is a fair point I suppose, because I've only been off the accutane for two months now.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the visit was that she offered to put me back on topical retinoids for my acne. I was like..... really? Yes lets take more retinoids after they made my hair fall out! lol...
I didn't bother asking most of Andy's original questions because this lady seemed mostly clueless... I'll be paying a return visit to the hairloss specialist in December because he seemed the most knowledgable out of anybody I've talked to so far. Sorry I don't have any better info. Happy Thanksgiving!
I am 7 months post accutane and many of the other posters here are past 6 months so I don't necessarily think that 6 months is the point where you really need to worry, hairloss from accutane seems to endure longer than standard bouts of temporary hairloss.
Hey everyone,
I'm sorry to report that the dermatologist I went to see this morning was mostly a waste of time... she told me that since 1995 she's had only one patient lose hair from accutane. The girl also had a bunch of other bad side effects (psychological issues, etc) so she stopped taking the drug. Her hair did grow back though. She told me she doesn't think I have MPB, and she also told me that losing hair off of my arms, legs, etc was "pretty weird." When I asked her about alopecia areata she told me definately not and that it would be really really rare, etc. She said rogaine might help, but that I'd have to "taper off" of it or else I'd lose the hair that grows back (in contrast to what the hair loss specialist told me). The bottom line she said was to just not stress over it and wait until I'm off the medicine for at least six months before starting to worry. This is a fair point I suppose, because I've only been off the accutane for two months now.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the visit was that she offered to put me back on topical retinoids for my acne. I was like..... really? Yes lets take more retinoids after they made my hair fall out! lol...
I didn't bother asking most of Andy's original questions because this lady seemed mostly clueless... I'll be paying a return visit to the hairloss specialist in December because he seemed the most knowledgable out of anybody I've talked to so far. Sorry I don't have any better info. Happy Thanksgiving!
Some of these hair specialists seem totaly clueless.. I think they need to do more homework on the drugs they dish out... I am fully confident in what Dr Chu says, he is the best imo and wouldn't tell me about accutane induceing diffuse alopecia areata unless he had witnessed it himself... he is quite frankly the best derm out there... I will let you all know how my appointment goes with him...
P.s. i just read one of your posts JNT, you mentioned your scalp began to itch... and then you developed a bald spot... that is imo a definate case of alopecia areata, not in a typical sense but it fits perfectly with the diffuse form...
Hey everyone,
I'm sorry to report that the dermatologist I went to see this morning was mostly a waste of time... she told me that since 1995 she's had only one patient lose hair from accutane. The girl also had a bunch of other bad side effects (psychological issues, etc) so she stopped taking the drug. Her hair did grow back though. She told me she doesn't think I have MPB, and she also told me that losing hair off of my arms, legs, etc was "pretty weird." When I asked her about alopecia areata she told me definately not and that it would be really really rare, etc. She said rogaine might help, but that I'd have to "taper off" of it or else I'd lose the hair that grows back (in contrast to what the hair loss specialist told me). The bottom line she said was to just not stress over it and wait until I'm off the medicine for at least six months before starting to worry. This is a fair point I suppose, because I've only been off the accutane for two months now.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the visit was that she offered to put me back on topical retinoids for my acne. I was like..... really? Yes lets take more retinoids after they made my hair fall out! lol...
I didn't bother asking most of Andy's original questions because this lady seemed mostly clueless... I'll be paying a return visit to the hairloss specialist in December because he seemed the most knowledgable out of anybody I've talked to so far. Sorry I don't have any better info. Happy Thanksgiving!
Some of these hair specialists seem totaly clueless.. I think they need to do more homework on the drugs they dish out... I am fully confident in what Dr Chu says, he is the best imo and wouldn't tell me about accutane induceing diffuse alopecia areata unless he had witnessed it himself... he is quite frankly the best derm out there... I will let you all know how my appointment goes with him...
P.s. i just read one of your posts JNT, you mentioned your scalp began to itch... and then you developed a bald spot... that is imo a definate case of alopecia areata, not in a typical sense but it fits perfectly with the diffuse form...
where is this Dr Chu's practice located?