Accutane induced male pattern baldness.
- Thread starter g31
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I took accutane 1 year ago, i had excessively thick hair now I have lost a significant amount and have minaturization at the crown and temples. No one who looks at the basic written info on the net will believe you however the is a clear association, it by some mechanism that unfortunately is unlikely to brought to light, (educated guess) turns the genes on at the hair follicle a lot sooner than nature would of intended.
Their numerous accounts of males experiencing male pattern hairloss soon after taking this drug. yes the drug causes telogen effluvium , what people fail to realize is that Telogen Effluvium is as an umbrella term I.E it mearly describes an increased number of follicles in telogen it is not a specific pathology. All types of hairloss involve an increased number follicles in telogen phase so it tells us very little about anything. The environment needed to allow normal hair growth is delicate, accutane allows for a catagen state (cell death) within certain cells and severely reduces sebum bathing them and has the ability to alter gene expression at androgen receptors.
Saying accutane hairloss will grow back simply isn't true (so much so they have changed the packaging to state as such), the sad truth is that even the manufacture or people prescribing the drug don't know the direct mechanism of action let alone its effects on other bodily cells. Unfortunately a side effect like hairloss will receive little investigation, as it doesn't carry the weight of side effects like serve depression or irritable bowel disease.
Everyones biology is different so not all will be affected, and hairloss like most other pathologies is multi-factory so other factors will be at play. But much like the permanent effect retanoids can have on cells that regulate sebum production and celll turn over its likely impact on hair cells can be permanent also in certain individuals
So you are not in 'denial' however your unlikely to get a clear scientific answer from a doctor let alone some random bloke on a forum. propecia may help as their is scientific evidence of its role in androgenic hairloss if it has developed with you, but again it's mechanism on other cells is not clear either.
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Their numerous accounts of males experiencing male pattern hairloss soon after taking this drug. yes the drug causes telogen effluvium , what people fail to realize is that Telogen Effluvium is as an umbrella term I.E it mearly describes an increased number of follicles in telogen it is not a specific pathology. All types of hairloss involve an increased number follicles in telogen phase so it tells us very little about anything. The environment needed to allow normal hair growth is delicate, accutane allows for a catagen state (cell death) within certain cells and severely reduces sebum bathing them and has the ability to alter gene expression at androgen receptors.
Saying accutane hairloss will grow back simply isn't true (so much so they have changed the packaging to state as such), the sad truth is that even the manufacture or people prescribing the drug don't know the direct mechanism of action let alone its effects on other bodily cells. Unfortunately a side effect like hairloss will receive little investigation, as it doesn't carry the weight of side effects like serve depression or irritable bowel disease.
Everyones biology is different so not all will be affected, and hairloss like most other pathologies is multi-factory so other factors will be at play. But much like the permanent effect retanoids can have on cells that regulate sebum production and celll turn over its likely impact on hair cells can be permanent also in certain individuals
So you are not in 'denial' however your unlikely to get a clear scientific answer from a doctor let alone some random bloke on a forum. propecia may help as their is scientific evidence of its role in androgenic hairloss if it has developed with you, but again it's mechanism on other cells is not clear either.
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Interesting.....
My hairline isn't receding anymore... It just receded with Accutane and since then, it stays the same. If I wouldn't have taken Accutane, my hairline would be perfect now. Of course you can say what you want, but this is the absolute truth.
Is propecia a good choice to attemp to restore the hairline?... I don't like minoxidil at all.....
My hairline isn't receding anymore... It just receded with Accutane and since then, it stays the same. If I wouldn't have taken Accutane, my hairline would be perfect now. Of course you can say what you want, but this is the absolute truth.
Is propecia a good choice to attemp to restore the hairline?... I don't like minoxidil at all.....
First of all, understand that I have nothing to prove to you. And I'm not the first person with Accutane induced male pattern baldness. I just come here to share my experience.
I wish I would know the reason. That's why I come here in the first please.
That's what happened in my case. Accutane triggered male pattern baldness for me. I just don't care if you believe or not. That's up to you.
That's exactly why I can't understand how the hell happened. though if you look in internet, there are other cases similar to mine. The only two times that my hairline has receded, has been the two times that I took Accutane! and it was something abrupt. I will say this only one time; I swear it's true! I didn't had any hair loss before Accutane, and no hair loss after Accutane either. It just happened very fast! That's it
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Again, I have nothing to prove to you.
The only two times I've lost hair, has been when I took Accutane. So, yes, there is a way I could know it. It's called probability.
mikey mike
Member
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I actually do think Accutane may have triggered my male pattern baldness.
I tried everything to get rid of my acne through my teenage years and had pretty decent success with trentinoin cream, antibiotics, etc. I always figured my acne would stop when I was an adult and done with puberty but by 20 it hadn't. When I was 20 I gave proactive a shot and it just kept making it worse. I know a lot of people say "that's what it does when you first start using it" but I used it for months and it just wasn't working for me. After that (still age 20) I finally decided to try Accutane. I was on it for 6 months, so by the time I was off it I was 21. I noticed at 21 I was losing hair and mentioned it to my derm who I saw every month while on Accutane (the reason for the monthly visits is that the suicide risk while on accutane is high, she was always asking me how I was feeling). She told me that some noticed hair loss as a temporary side effect but that it would grow back when I was off of it. It didn't, and I actually have one of the most aggressive cases of male pattern baldness out of anyone my age that I've met personally. My grandfather on my fathers side told me he did not begin losing hair until he was in his mid 30s, my father told me he began losing hair at around 37, my grandfather on my mother's side died somewhat young when my mother was very young, so I have no idea what his pattern would have been. I have never met anyone in my family who began losing hair in their 20s other than myself. I can't prove Accutane triggered it, but it is quite a coincidence.
A quick google search will show hundreds of cases of guys whos male pattern baldness was triggered full force by Accutane (again, they can't prove it but it is a hell of a coincidence). The drug is very powerful and is now very hard to obtain due to many side effects (digestive problems, depression, suicide, birth defects, etc). I don't believe that we are allowed to post links to other sites here but if you google "accutane ask a patient" the first link is a site with many claims of androgenic alopecia triggered by this drug, including a young woman who was forced to wear a wig because of it. The drug itself even comes with a list of side effects which include hair loss. They actually warned you about this one.
I don't know why all of you are so quick to attack this guy for saying this, and it really doesn't matter. I just figured I would share my experience with this since it was brought up already.
By the way the woman who I was referring to is on page 5 of comments on that page I mentioned. She was 22 when she posted:
"TERRIBLE HAIR LOSS, now forced to wear a wig, completely destroyed self confidence. disagnosed with CROHNS DISEASE. did not even have that sever of acne, wish i would have never taken it and would have read these warnings. DO. NOT. TAKE. THIS MEDICINE. unless you want to be bald!!!"
I tried everything to get rid of my acne through my teenage years and had pretty decent success with trentinoin cream, antibiotics, etc. I always figured my acne would stop when I was an adult and done with puberty but by 20 it hadn't. When I was 20 I gave proactive a shot and it just kept making it worse. I know a lot of people say "that's what it does when you first start using it" but I used it for months and it just wasn't working for me. After that (still age 20) I finally decided to try Accutane. I was on it for 6 months, so by the time I was off it I was 21. I noticed at 21 I was losing hair and mentioned it to my derm who I saw every month while on Accutane (the reason for the monthly visits is that the suicide risk while on accutane is high, she was always asking me how I was feeling). She told me that some noticed hair loss as a temporary side effect but that it would grow back when I was off of it. It didn't, and I actually have one of the most aggressive cases of male pattern baldness out of anyone my age that I've met personally. My grandfather on my fathers side told me he did not begin losing hair until he was in his mid 30s, my father told me he began losing hair at around 37, my grandfather on my mother's side died somewhat young when my mother was very young, so I have no idea what his pattern would have been. I have never met anyone in my family who began losing hair in their 20s other than myself. I can't prove Accutane triggered it, but it is quite a coincidence.
A quick google search will show hundreds of cases of guys whos male pattern baldness was triggered full force by Accutane (again, they can't prove it but it is a hell of a coincidence). The drug is very powerful and is now very hard to obtain due to many side effects (digestive problems, depression, suicide, birth defects, etc). I don't believe that we are allowed to post links to other sites here but if you google "accutane ask a patient" the first link is a site with many claims of androgenic alopecia triggered by this drug, including a young woman who was forced to wear a wig because of it. The drug itself even comes with a list of side effects which include hair loss. They actually warned you about this one.
I don't know why all of you are so quick to attack this guy for saying this, and it really doesn't matter. I just figured I would share my experience with this since it was brought up already.
By the way the woman who I was referring to is on page 5 of comments on that page I mentioned. She was 22 when she posted:
"TERRIBLE HAIR LOSS, now forced to wear a wig, completely destroyed self confidence. disagnosed with CROHNS DISEASE. did not even have that sever of acne, wish i would have never taken it and would have read these warnings. DO. NOT. TAKE. THIS MEDICINE. unless you want to be bald!!!"
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mikey mike
Member
- Reaction score
- 9
That's not what I'm saying. I know I would have gotten male pattern baldness and so would the op I'm just saying Accutane could have triggered it sooner. I understand I would have it regardless due to genetics, just that I wouldn't necessarily be losing hair aggressively right now. Again, I can't prove it, but it is quite a coincidence as to when it started for me and many others.
You are so stupid and narrow-minded. Something must trigger those imunoreactive mast cells. You may have predisposition to male pattern baldness, but still.. something must trigger it.
In about 2 years you'll find yourself deleting all these posts and again your excuse will be delusion and naivety. Whats the point posting?
2bald2young
Experienced Member
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I quickly checked the leaflet or in dutch de bijsluiter of accutane and yes it can cause hair loss. This is however only temporary and so not permanent, your hair should grow and if not it is mbp. NO IT DOESN'T TRIGGER MBP!!!
mikey mike
Member
- Reaction score
- 9
Yes, it should grow back. At least thats what my derm who prescribed Accutane told me, but it didn't. And it didn't for many other people as well apparently.
FredTheBelgian I don't even going to waste my time answering you. I can't deal with this kind of closed minded nonsense. :doh:
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This is what a doctor says:
"As you said it is known that Accutane can cause hair loss in some patients. In most cases the hair loss should be temporary if the patient does not have the gene for Androgenetic Alopecia. In patients who have a strong predisposition for male pattern baldness, the Accutane could speed up the process of the hair loss and may be permanant"
https://www.*********talk.com/threads/1831-20-year-old-looking-for-Doctor-s-opinion
I've seen many doctor admitting this in internet...
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This is what a doctor says:
"As you said it is known that Accutane can cause hair loss in some patients. In most cases the hair loss should be temporary if the patient does not have the gene for Androgenetic Alopecia. In patients who have a strong predisposition for male pattern baldness, the Accutane could speed up the process of the hair loss and may be permanant"
https://www.*********talk.com/threads/1831-20-year-old-looking-for-Doctor-s-opinion
I've seen many doctor admitting this in internet...
mikey mike
Member
- Reaction score
- 9
Fred, I'm not saying I don't have 'real' male pattern baldness. There's way more than 12 random ppl saying this happened on the internet. There are literally hundreds. The doctor the op is quoting is probably right. Just because it was triggered earlier than it would have been without Accutane doesn't make it any less 'real' male pattern baldness.
mikey mike
Member
- Reaction score
- 9
I don't know if you can still get it or not I took it 4 years ago.