Pazzna's Story

[Pazzna]

PART ONE ____________________________________________

Dear guys

I got a list of qualified trichologists from the UK institute of trichology (see beolw for email address) and went a very reputable member of that society who advised minoxidil and propecia.

I can't take propecia because i have an intolerance to lactose; he therefore suggested saw palmetto tablets as a substitute that may get similar results.

The Minoxidil I got from him, the Saw Palmetto from a local health food shop.

I have been following the advice for a year - but have seen no results.

Just having a cursory look around here I see there are a lot of experienced hair regrowth-method users. Has anyone got any advice for me? I became a bit disillisioned after a year and haven't been back to him - but now am starting to wonder if I should have continued treatement (it's been about six weeks or so since I used up my last bottle of Minoxidil).

Any advice?

P.

PS - if this question has been asked elsewhere - please just direct me to the relevant thread.


PART TWO <posted 22 august>__________________________________

This morning I got an enquiry from another site user, and ended up writing such a long and comprehensive reply that i decided to post it here!

dear ed

if you need more info. i will get back to you with this - i can't lay my hands on all his details right now, but have found e.mail addresses fro you.

however if you are anxious to get a move on I recommend doing an internet search for the "trichelogical society"

here is there address - secretary@hairscientists.org

they can send you a list of all registered, approved trichologists in the country.

I was seeing a Mr Olding, who I was e.mailing via the clinic he works at of Dr Coxon and May at : medcent.london@dial.pipex.com



it is also only fair to tell you that while i respect Mr Olding, apart from making the examination of my scalp to determine that it was male pattern baldness and not something else (almost always the case)- he basicsally recommended the same action that you see suggested here on this site; Minoxidil lotion and Propecia.

He was very helpful, and surprisingly un-self serving in suggesting Saw Palmtetto as an alternative to Propecia when I discovered I couldn't take it due it's lactose content (i am intolerant) - surprising because he didn't stand to profit from this as it is available from local health food shops in the uk. (please read on this site about saw palmetto before going this route yourself - My dear old trichologist was criticised heavily on this site for suggesting it, although to be fair to him it was only because he has known some of his patients benefit from it).

However, he didn't suggest the Proscar cutting route - taking the original anti-prostate cancer medication from which Propecia derives, and cutting it up - the lactose percentage per tab (they add it for cosmetic and "glueing" effect i think) being so much less. This would have been helpful, albeit probably a bit unproffessional (DIY self dosing hardly sounds like the suggestions of an industry professional) but it would have been v. halpful.

He also suggested hair replacement surgery, which they can do in-house; although I personally I am not ready for that yet!

but overall he was non pushy, non aggressive and reasonably priced (£35 for inital consultation - £25 for follow ups). He did recomend using his Minoxidil - £50 a botttle lasting just about two months each. His approach was very important to me as I had just come out of a very nasty situation with a pushy, salesman type "fake" trichologist who tried to rip me off - I'm not going into the details but you have to be careful out there. (Needless to say I had to fight to get my money back off the snake oil peddling merchant)


So he's a good guy! (but i always felt the guys that run the clinic - who are hair replacement surgeons - were a bit more pushy! so don't get talked into anything)

Please feel free to get in touch if you need to - as you can see I had quite a checkered experince overall - i do respect Mr Olding - but in the end, because I couldn't take Propecia and he didn't suggest the "Proscar cutting" route, he wasn't able to help me in the end.


The reason I mentioned that he is a respected prof. in his field (he's actually one of the if not THE leading professional trichologist in the country apparently) was to back up the info. I learned from him that "propecia" is for the crown and general top scalp - and minoxidil is for the temples/frontal hair line.


Good luck ed - and keep in touch!

P.


---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr Pazzna



Mr R D Olding is a Fellow of The Society (there is no higher accolade).
I personally would consider any extra travel to see such an experienced and highly respected trichologist well worth while.

Best wishes

Claire TTS

secretary@hairscientists.org

 

[Cassin]

What does being lactose intolerant have to do with Propecia? You got some horrible advice.

Stick to Minoxidil, drop the useless saw palmetto and read read read about Finasteride.

If you find a reason as to why you can't take it due to being lactose intolerant, PLEASE post it here, I would love to read it. I have yet to ever read anything to do with this.

Sorry you got such bad advice. This is one of the thousands of stories I have read about bad advice from useless doctors when it comes to Male Pattern Baldness.

Go luck.

edit: One more thing....to start off with a little light reading, click on all of the highlighted words in our posts......

EX

Propecia
Nizoral
saw palmetto

etc....
The solution is around the corner for you. Educate yourself first.

 

[Pazzna]

dear cassin

thanks for taking the trouble to reply to my post.

I sent several e-mails to various different Propecia manufacturers and they all said their products contained Lactose - it is quite commonly found in tablets, and I have reacted to it quite badly before even in the small quantities foun din oral medication.

I would be very pleased to hear that there is Propecia available that does not contain lactose!

So saw palmetto's no good, eh?

But some people on this site use it.

I will find out more about Finasteride - but you say I should stick to the minoxidil even after a year of no results? Is it normal not to see more results?

Also would be good enough to recommmend a Minoxidil make to me?

Lastly - well the guy I got the advice from is one of the most respected members of hte instituite of Trichologists here in the UK - I did my research about finding a specialist. from what you say, he may not be as up to date as i would have expected.

I appreciate your feedback.

I will do some research.

Please let me know about lactose/Propecia.

Thanks

P.

 

[Deaner]

I thought there was only one Propecia manufacturer, and that was MerckFrosst?...

 

[The shedder]

minoxidil may not be giving you desired results but it may be maintaining your hair and retarding your hairloss, maybe you should stick with it. You may lose a lot of minoxidil dependent hairs.

 

[Bismarck]

minoxidil may not be giving you desired results but it may be maintaining your hair and retarding your hairloss, maybe you should stick with it. You may lose a lot of minoxidil dependent hairs.

shedder, what do you mean by "minoxidil dependent hairs"?

 

[Pazzna]

dear guys

couldn't access this page for a while so haven't been able to read/or respond. will catch up soon.

thanks to everyone for their replies -

P.

 

[asolof]

<<
I sent several e-mails to various different Propecia manufacturers and they all said their products contained Lactose - it is quite commonly found in tablets, and I have reacted to it quite badly before even in the small quantities foun din oral medication.

I would be very pleased to hear that there is Propecia available that does not contain lactose!
>>

Pazzna,

Take a dose of Lactaid with the propecia. It shouldn't take much to digest the small amount of lactose contained in the tablet.

I'm not sure, but the quantity of lactose in 1/4 of a 5mg proscar tablet may be significantly less than the amount in a whole propecia tablet. You could email the manufacturere and ask.

 

[Pazzna]

Pazzna,

Take a dose of Lactaid with the propecia. It shouldn't take much to digest the small amount of lactose contained in the tablet.

I'm not sure, but the quantity of lactose in 1/4 of a 5mg proscar tablet may be significantly less than the amount in a whole propecia tablet. You could email the manufacturere and ask.[/quote]

thanks so much for taking an interest in my predicament!

Is "proscar" the prostate medication? do i need a prescription for it?

P.

 

[asolof]

thanks so much for taking an interest in my predicament!

Is "proscar" the prostate medication? do i need a prescription for it?

Pazzna,

Both Proscar and Propecia are brand names of the medicine generically named finasteride. Proscar is taken daily in a 5mg dose to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy. Propecia is taken daily in a 1mg dose to treat male pattern baldness. Many obtain the proscar tablets and cut them with a pill cutter or razor blade to estimate a 1mg dose (1.25mg) because it is much cheaper. Additionally, many more insurance companies (prescription plans) will cover the cost of a prescription for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy, but not cover the cost of the treatment of male pattern baldness. So, for example, if your doctor writes you a prescription for 90 days (90 tablets) of proscar, and you cut the tablets into 4 approximately equal pieces, and if for arguments sake your prescription copay is $15, you could get a 1 year supply of finasteride for $15. Using proscar also eliminates any uncertainties thay might exist with using an off brand generic finasteride.

 

[Pazzna]

UK resident

thanks for your help.

i forgot to mention that i am a UK resident.

is it possible to get PROSCAR in the UK without a prescription?

is it possible to get it from the USA without a prescription?

are there any UK residents on this site who have gone the "cutting up the PROSCAR tab" route who acn advice me?

 

[foo2]

Re: UK resident

is it possible to get PROSCAR in the UK without a prescription?

no finasteride of any type is only available in the UK with a prescription, however you might have some luck importing it from abroad without a prescription.


good luck