OT: most of the posters here know more than Doctors.

[sam-]

I’ve asked my doctor about the side effects of Propecia, he couldn’t answer, he told me: he will tell me in the next visit !!!!!

 

[thin=depressed]

I have to chime in here and say that doctors are to busy hopping from patient room to patient room to make money to know jack sh*t about hair loss. They are indeed clueless.

 

[BadHairDecade]

Did you go to a dermatologist? I would hope that a derm would know this information off the top of his head. A GP on the other hand would probably have to look it up. Even more so if he has a full head of hair

 

[thin=depressed]

Did you go to a dermatologist? I would hope that a derm would know this information off the top of his head. A GP on the other hand would probably have to look it up. Even more so if he has a full head of hair

I went to a derm back in 99' when I had a chance of having half a head of hair but the fool just told me to deal with it. He didn't even recommend minoxidil!!! And I actually paid for that visit.

 

[Greg1]

Well, I wouldn't go so far to say that. But I will say that there is allot of collective wisdom on this site

 

[thin=depressed]

Well, I wouldn't go so far to say that. But I will say that there is allot of collective wisdom on this site

I disagree with you. Its the scientists who may know more than us but the docs are clueless.

 

[Rage]

There is a reason GPs are called General Practitioners..

 

[ropcat]

All this stuff we talk about is just related to one particular ailment! How could a GP possibly keep track of all the info and new research about the hundreds of ailments s/he treats each month?

 

[allopeciajimmy]

I disagree with the premise I think its true that some doctors are not as informed as one might hope but almost any dermatolgist will know more than the most experienced od posters on here. Even if that poster has read every single paper on hairloss ever written. The fact of the matter is that people in the non medical profession simply don't understand the theory of medicine (the physio, patho, pharmocological) relationships that make upt he science of medicine. So simply becuause you know about one drug or its side affect doesn't mean you understand the Idea behind side affects their mechanistic detail and how they relate to everything else in the body. So i'll take my chances with a "unknowledgeable" derm over a lay person anyday.

 

[The Gardener]

Bullshit. That is like saying that someone who has a PhD in Football Science knows more about football than someone who actually plays it professionally.

Keeping with the analogy, this forum is the f*****g NFL players association of hairloss. We don't write articles about this sh*t to make money. We don't prescribe this sh*t to make money. We actually USE this sh*t, everyday, and collectively know all the ins and outs thereof.

If your dermo is bald himself and has actually dabbled in the topical sciences, then and only then will I humbly bow my head and defer to his/her knowledge. Other than that, they know jack sh*t.

I am not saying that my humble self, nor any other individual poster here knows more than a dermo... but I WOULD say that the collective knowledge discussed here every day is far more valuable and realistic knowledge than one would get from an hour visit to a dermo.

 

[Trent]

i agree, and i'm a med student. doctors know what is FDA approved, because that's all they prescribe. they probably know more about the physiologies of side effects, and can better relate potential long term effects of drugs as well as the drug pharmacokinetics (half lives, how it is absorbed and excreted, and the metabolites it produces in the body). as far as the best treatment options, what works, how it works, the hair loss treatment process, doctors don't know sh*t, unless they have hairloss and have visited sites like this. IN my opinion, this site is something comparable to an entire library of all the possible solutions/cures, NO WHERE else could you get the perspectives of so many people on the effects of these products. Try and find an article somewhere on the shedding of month 9 on propecia, nizoral and minoxidil, and how it advises to "stick with it" because this is common, and reversible with continued treatments.

 

[everysixseconds]

Bullshit. That is like saying that someone who has a PhD in Football Science knows more about football than someone who actually plays it professionally.

Keeping with the analogy, this forum is the f*****g NFL players association of hairloss. We don't write articles about this sh*t to make money. We don't prescribe this sh*t to make money. We actually USE this sh*t, everyday, and collectively know all the ins and outs thereof.

If your dermo is bald himself and has actually dabbled in the topical sciences, then and only then will I humbly bow my head and defer to his/her knowledge. Other than that, they know jack sh*t.

I am not saying that my humble self, nor any other individual poster here knows more than a dermo... but I WOULD say that the collective knowledge discussed here every day is far more valuable and realistic knowledge than one would get from an hour visit to a dermo.

I AGREE IN EVERY RESPECT. My Doctor still lives in the past, 2 months ago he told me there was categorically NO treatment for hair loss, and porudly showed off his bald spot. alright for him, he's 50 or something and only thing worng with his hair is a bald crown. he said everything was snake oil. dickhead

 

[hairschmair]

next time he turns around to proudly show you his bald spot, take out your bottle of minoxidil and spill it over his head.

Then run around the room laughing diabolically...

 

[Trent]

this is starting to sound like a gunner story.

 

[everysixseconds]

next time he turns around to proudly show you his bald spot, take out your bottle of minoxidil and spill it over his head.

Then run around the room laughing diabolically...

LOL! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Guest]

i agree, and i'm a med student. doctors know what is FDA approved, because that's all they prescribe. they probably know more about the physiologies of side effects, and can better relate potential long term effects of drugs as well as the drug pharmacokinetics (half lives, how it is absorbed and excreted, and the metabolites it produces in the body). as far as the best treatment options, what works, how it works, the hair loss treatment process, doctors don't know sh*t, unless they have hairloss and have visited sites like this. IN my opinion, this site is something comparable to an entire library of all the possible solutions/cures, NO WHERE else could you get the perspectives of so many people on the effects of these products. Try and find an article somewhere on the shedding of month 9 on propecia, nizoral and minoxidil, and how it advises to "stick with it" because this is common, and reversible with continued treatments.

I've got to chime in and say word to the Gardener, everything you said was true. Actually, Trent, I went to a derm (and two GP's) about a year ago, maybe 9 months, and I brought a long list of questions to ask him about the various effects of Propecia (this was back when I took it). First thing he did was make some subtly insulting comments about my hair, and then he proceeded to answer "I don't know" to EVERY question I asked him. This was a board-certified dermatologist. He did not have an answer to ONE of my questions. None of these questions were about how effective is propecia--he didn't know that either--they were all about what effects propecia can have on the nervous system, brain, etc., etc. They basically covered the gamut of scary and non-scary side-effects I've read about here and other forums. Then, after this $87 un-enlightening experience neared its end, he said, "You should be teaching a class on this," so greater was my knowledge of hairloss than him. Keep in mind, I'm probably one of the least-informed "experienced posters" about hairloss on this site--people are throwing around terms like 5-AR II and other such chemical jargon like they were discussing sports statistics. I felt like telling him he was supposed to be teaching stuff, what with his medical degree and all....

Doctors. Are. Stupid. They know what they know about, and not a damn thing more. You meet a derm who knows anything about hairloss? Good. Because it's apparent that there's nothing they're REQUIRED to know. "Don't prescribe anthrax," is what they learn in med school. Everything else is a bonus.

 

[Trent]

you can't base your opinion of doctors on one derm- i'm not saying you are because i don't honestly know how many you have seen and how many have given you a bad impression. there are good docs out there. This derm sounds like an idiot. the truth is, as far as the brain and nervous system go, we (being the human race) know dick about the receptors / interactions of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain. my neuroscience class in medschool (and that includes neuroanatomy) was nine weeks. so there just isn't much to learn. for example, we treat depression at a very simplistic level (by saying dopamine, serotonin = happy in the brain), i even asked one of my professors to explain how this even works, and she said we don't know. so many of those type of questions probably couldn't be answered thoroughly by anyone. but, i would like to think these four years of studying my balls off are at least useful to society, and i believe they are. to tell you the truth, I'm a little embarrassed by some of the reactions/responses that people get from doctors. They really seem to be apathetic to a lot of our hair loss sufferers, including me; but i assure you, there are a lot of very smart and dedicated people in my class that are working very hard to try and do some good. so, i hope that you won't generalize your opinions of docs based on some idiot derm.

 

[thin=depressed]

I disagree with the premise I think its true that some doctors are not as informed as one might hope but almost any dermatolgist will know more than the most experienced od posters on here. Even if that poster has read every single paper on hairloss ever written. The fact of the matter is that people in the non medical profession simply don't understand the theory of medicine (the physio, patho, pharmocological) relationships that make upt he science of medicine. So simply becuause you know about one drug or its side affect doesn't mean you understand the Idea behind side affects their mechanistic detail and how they relate to everything else in the body. So i'll take my chances with a "unknowledgeable" derm over a lay person anyday.

Bullshit...Getting advice from a couple of senior posters is like gold.

 

[Trent]

Getting advice from a couple of senior posters is like gold.

no argument here.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I agree with you, Trent. I guess what I really meant to say was that I'm extremely underwhelmed/disappointed in dermatologists--yes, I've seen more than one. That being said, I've come across some very good general practitioners. It definitely seems, though, that hairloss is treated--by the doctors--as a joke. Oh, you're 24? You're not dying/rotting/sick? Well, let's have a little chuckle about this. The callousness of doctors regarding this subject is staggering. It's bad enough the world treats bald people as if they made a reckless decision to go bald, like it would be an awesome party trick, and they henceforth deserve scorn and disdain for their carefree, unhealthy ways. But to receive this treatment from docs...

Anyway, blah, blah, blah. I'll not extrapolate my criticism of knowledgeless dermatologists to all doctors on the face of the planet. The GP I've gone to most of my life is one of the best doctors I've ever met. It seems like pediatricians are the only doctors adequately trained in bedside manner. Then you become an adult and meet doctors who basically not only don't give a sh*t, but they don't feel it's their responsibility to act like they do. Once again, not all doctors are like this. Just most of the ones I've come across.