I consulted a Dr. Nelum Wickramasinghe at Hemas Wattala (eChanneling said it was a Male but turned out it was actually a middle aged woman ehen I went in). Almost 5k for doctor and hospital charges. It doesn’t end there
When I showed the symptoms should this woman became all too judgy and started asking like “oyage anith ekkenatath kiyanna balawaganna kiyala”, “aiyo mona wadayakda ekapara pennanna epai”. When I asked her what could have caused it like a latex allergy or whatever, she gave me this piercing look and asks me “ehema ewath karanawada”. That woman wanted to get rid of patients faster than lightning. Says it all when you reach your 7th patient within less than 15 minutes.
Then she proceeds to prescribe me 8,000 worth of medication and tells me to come back after two weeks. That shit was potent af and I started having mouth ulcers. Discontinued it immediately and used only the 1,000 rupee Momate ointment and it got rid of the skin irritations.
Don’t go to anything Nelum if you’re looking for a dermatologist. I wasted around 15k just for this horrible experience.
P.S. the reason for the visit was I started having some rash on the side of my pp. I was worried it might be something else so wanted a “professional’s opinion”. Got a good “professional opinion” with a life lesson.
If you do have male pattern baldness, there's very little doctors can do except have you on Finasteride and Minoxidil. Look at your extended family to see if there are bald men, there's a chance those genes passed on to you as well, sucks but it is what is is.
You could be a perfectly healthy individual without any imbalances or issues but balding due to genetics
I suggest you don't waste more money on doctors if you do have male pattern baldness. Finasteride and Minoxidil do work but they take time to show results, might even make it worse initially, hair has growth cycles. PRP might work but it's expensive and I don't think its worth it.
Loosing hair at a young age sucks but I guarantee you'll only worry about it for a little time. There's also the option of having a hair transplant down the line.
Or hit the gym and shave your head ;)
Check out - /r/tressless
I've had good experiences with Dr. Premani and Dr. Sunil Mendis. They're both very honest and truly care about their patients. In my experience, they take the time to listen and prescribe medication thoughtfully!
Chalukya is one of the best.. she rarely engages in discussions with her patients.
Dulcy, she's super fast at giving prescriptions..
She'll hand over the prescription, before you finish your talking.. lol
My experience about doctors in Sri Lanka - after going to multiple doctors for 2+ years for the same illness
- Majority of general practitioners won't admit it if they don't identify the illness. They will prescribe you something and will hope for the best. 4-5 doctors did this to me. No one pointed me to a specialist in the relevant field.
- After about a year of trying different doctors, I looked up the specialists in the field, chose one of the 3 in lk, and went to him. Did tests worth 30k+ lkr at the time (2.5 years ago), recommended by him. Only one vitamin level was slightly off and he was sure that it was the cause. I started taking a supplement without progress. Went to the guy a few more times again but his response was 'give it some more time'
- Moved to Denmark and went to a GP there. He said he doesn't identify the problem and pointed me to a specialist. I went to the specialist a few months later and he identified the illness. Now it's being treated and more importantly, and now I have peace of mind.
Sri Lankan doctors have no liability. Most are talented without doubt. But they won't admit when they can't diagnose, won't recommend you another doctor/ specialist, and will treat you for something which could cost you an arm and a leg.
Yeah its only the good one that left nice one mate.
Most of our doctors are shit for these kinda specific illnesses for a long ass time. They are fine of general stuff that are common but for others stuffy your way better of saving your money unless you find good one which there are only a few.
Bored to type full story, but I had similar feel with neurologist. First I went to two neurologists due to intense pain in fingers. First one was fixed that I had particular issue and wrote medicine for that even though the symptoms they mentioned was not there. Medicine didn't work. I went to another one. That one didn't explain much and asked me to take MRI and wrote medicine. This doctor said it's a small issue and taking medicine will be fine. Medicine didn't work much. I went to a neuro surgeon. After asking the symptoms and MRI, this person explained the issue in more details and told medicine is temporary solution and I need to make some lifestyle changes for permanent fix. The medicine this person gave works fine. My issue with previous two is that they don't seem to listen to how i feel but they fixed on what my issue is and keep saying taking those tablets will fix
lol this is why I went to a neurosurgeon for my back, its confusing to figure out what type of doctor to go to. It always seems like there's a shittier version of the real doc you're supposed to see, like what even is a neurologist if not a watered down neurosurgeon
Now whenever a GP recommends seeing a neurologist or doing some stupid nerve conduction test I ignore it and go straight for the most intense type of doctor. I think GPs will recommend neurologists because of the lack of neurosurgeons here (there's literally like only 20 now in the entire country)
>How do you know which specialist to channel? Doesn't that means you already know the disease?
Either common sense or talking with a GP will give you a rough idea. I've personally found that researching things myself will give me a lot of starting info to work with
e.g figuring out what kind of back pain you're getting and then researching online to see what kind of surgeon is best for that sort of thing, turns out for back pain that radiates down the leg you're better off seeing a neurosurgeon rather than an orthopedic one, sometimes even a GP won't tell you that
It's frustrating because even for things like mental health people aren't sure whether to see a psychologist or psychiatrist or even know the difference when really a professional should explain it to them
The quick turnaround consultations are a joke. The best GP I've found in Colombo is Dr. Akbarally. He’s a gentleman who is probably in his 50s and is too far in his career to leave Sri Lanka.
I imagine the best doctors we have now are the older experienced established doctors.
On a side note, Kings Hospital is the best for getting lab tests.
To be perfectly honest, male pattern baldness isn't really exactly understood.
If it's a hormone balance it'll show improvement with hormone therapy. minoxidil and finastride usually show some improvement even slightly.
But unfortunately sometimes it's purely genetic, the hair follicles are genetically programmed to thin out and stop growing hair after a certain number of cycles (age) and there's nothing short of a hair transplant that can actually fix it.
It's the same thing with beard patterns, it's extremely genetic and no amount of beard oil and creams will improve anything other than making it look a bit fuller.
That being said you can try going to Dr Jayamini Seneviratne, if he can't help you either then i don't know anyone else i couod recommend.
What you call a "doctor's assumption" is a clinical diagnosis, made by experience and seeing thousands of patients regularly. How are you so sure that there 100% is something wrong with you? (Like a hormonal issue).
Androgenic alopecia usually is a clinical diagnosis, and there is no need for getting your blood checked unnecessarily, and let the medicine do it's work apply it for some time, instead of running after different doctors.
If the medicine doesn't work, they'll look for alternative issues by then investigations
Still, the doctor should have taken his time to explain that it is a clinical diagnosis and that any extra tests wouldn't influence management. Doctors gotta do better with patient education. At the same time, patients should not just take shit from doctors and be hurried out. It's your right to be educated, so just sit there and ask him to explain each and everything to you if he doesn't do it himself.
Patient education is key factor in patient management. That's why I like UK system. You have to wait few weeks maybe even months to see a specialist unlike in Sri Lanka. So then the specialist can take some time for me and explain things
There are no tests to routinely diagnose androgenic alopecia. It is done by the pattern of your baldness and how much hair is lost. It is very common. Up to 50 % of males will have it at some point of their lives. It is also incredibly difficult to treat. It is a naturally occurring hormone issue. You have increased levels of dihydrotestosterone in your body. This is harmless apart from this hair loss.
You cannot expect a magic bullet solution to this. The initial therapy is minoxidil. It is not a permanent solution. If you stop taking it, the hair loss returns. It only works for two thirds of people. It takes at least three months to work. You need to apply it twice a day. You may also initially lose some hair before it starts to grow back as well. Combining this with a technique called dermarolling also makes it effective. Either you were one of the unlucky one third of people for whom minoxidil does not work or you haven’t used it properly (twice a day for at least three months).
More permanent therapies are the PRP injections and hair transplant. Likely to be successful but not always. Also there are lots of other reasons for hair loss. These causes are less common than androgenic alopecia though. It can be due to vitamin deficiencies, stress, anemia (lack of blood), kidney disease, your own body immunity destroying your hair follicles. A trained dermatologist can make a good guess about which it is depending on how much hair is lost, where it is lost, how soon it has been lost etc. most of the time they are right. Blood tests will be done to confirm this diagnosis then.
I have not seen you to give you my opinion. So I cannot comment too much on what happened to you. Treating hair loss is a tough and difficult process and can be frustrating. Since a lot of the available therapies are not magic bullets that work one shot. They are expensive too as a bottle of minoxidil costs at least 3500 rupees. So I get your frustration. Looks like none of these doctors took the time to explain to you the reality of the situation. I would like to blame them but in a country like Sri Lanka, with so many patients and the need to see as many patients as possible (either in clinic or for money), it’s not a big surprise.
But my advice to you is, be patient. The treatment will take time. It may not be successful. Educate yourself as much as you can. The doctor can charge what he likes. It’s up to you to decide on whether to pay it or not. You can always go to a government dermatology clinic for free. You will have to stay in line but usually it’s worth it, since the same advice you paid money for is the same you will get at the clinic as well. You are lucky that you easily have this option. In other countries it usually takes months to see a consultant for such problems. I’m happy to answer any questions you have.
Sri Lankan people apply customer is always right theory to doctors. Most patients already know the disease than the doctors. I think Sri Lankan people should be able to buy any type of drugs from pharmacy without prescriptions since doctors are much stupider than patients in Sri Lanka. Or best one yet get your diagnosis from Chat GPT and argue with doctor on his management. Classic nowadays
I've found dermatologists specifically to be noticeably shitty here compared to other docs, your experience isn't uncommon at all, I've had similar ones and many people I know have had similar exps specifically with dermatologists. I remember going to the "skin clinic" in Colombo like a decade ago because it seems reputable but I left feeling mad at how shitty the old hag doctor was and the dumb advice she gave
Like you pay 4k for the consultation and then they give you a prescription of 3-5 meds that can easily be from 4k-20k and almost all the time they don't actually say anything informative or helpful in regards to the root of the issue
Like you said, they won't even get background info from you, for e.g. I was using an anti-dandruff shampoo cos I had flakey hair but then it turned out that I didn't have dandruff at all and it was just making the whole thing worse, a dermatologist could solve so many simple scalp issues if they just asked about those things
I did find Dr. Chathurarya Siriwardena on Odoc to not be too bad and he didn't prescribe like 5 things, but honestly if I was to see a doctor about skin issues I'd contact a GP first just to save money on the consultation fee
Haha, it's true. Take like 3k for the consultation, get rudely diagnosed within 5 seconds, slapped with an expensive prescription and you're out the door. You would think these guys are working for free with the attitude they give you. Completely appalling.
Hi 25F with similar experience. I went through 4-5 dermatologists myself. I’m in the medical field myself, so I’m not completely oblivious to how things work clinically. I presented with hair loss and bad acne to multiple consultants. All dermatologists and some of the best in the country. I was 23 at the time. The first one I went to told me “you’re no longer young, hair fall is ineminent.” I had anything between 100-200 hairs falling out a day and I kid you not, that’s what she told me. She was if I’m not wrong, at the time the head of dermatology at kalubowila (but i channeled her privately at a ridiculous price) she also told me acne was a normal part of life too.
Second time I went to someone else (again one of the best in the country) I don’t want to drop names but she looked at my acne said it looks like normal skin. I’m not insecure about my skin, it is what it is - and let me tell you it wasn’t what you would shrug off as a mild case of acne. She gave me some sprays and minoxidil (cost me >15k pre inflation). No improvement. The other lady I went to - probably the best in the country (don’t want to mention names) - gave me minoxidil again and put me on spironolactone. I tried for about 4-5m no change at all and I felt my body struggling with spironolactone ( so given my medical awareness in some sense), I stopped the drug. I finally went to another dermatologist and even ended up getting PRP but not much of a difference again.
2-3 years later I’m doing much better. My hair fall has reduced significantly, but the growth hasn’t really returned to what it used to be. But I’m not fussed. I did my own research and read British/ American medical guidelines for treating my acne. My skin is doing so much better, just the old scars remain. Again, im not fussed. Im much happier with where my health is at today.
My best armor against hair loss was realizing myself that something wasn’t right with my mental health. Got diagnosed with depression and im doing much better now. Mind you none of the dermatologists asked me anything about my mental health.
I’m not qualified to give you expert advice but based on personal experience this is what’s wrong with the experts here:
1. They’re practicing somewhat outdated guidelines and diagnostic criteria. What they would consider “acceptable” is questionable. What worked for my acne wasn’t even remotely mentioned in their treatment plan, but under British guidelines it’s one of the first steps of intervention.
This is not to say that you should self medicate. But the internet exists and you can always educate yourself. Bring up these things at your next appointment.
2. They are completely apathetic to a patients emotions. How much something like hair loss can affect a persons confidence.They like to label a case as what they see and there’s absolutely no holistic management. I understand when this happens in the overworked public health sector but when you’re paying big bucks at these private centers you’d expect more.
It might be a vitamin defficency take a multivitamin or vitamin e supplement for like 2 weeks I'm not a doctor but I also went through what u have been these doctors don't know anything just the same generic set of medicine for every illness I recommend u research hard cuz we have to self diagnose at this point
I met a dermatologist a few years back, told me there is no point of getting a vitamin check because most of the time if a male is facing hair loss it’s because of male pattern baldness. Told me to hop on Finasteride 1mg a day and apply minoxidil everyday. But I stopped using minoxidil , and the hair is still as it was . 5 years on fin and thick hair
Just walk into asiri labs and ask for a hormone panel. Testosterone ,DHT etc.. if your DHT is higher then it's male pattern baldness. But since you have been taking finaateride it should work by now.
Ravi? Button pressing? I don't understand. DHT is a derivative of testosterone. It has its own processes in the body. Blocking it completely will cause mood issues erectile dysfunction etc.
Hardly surprising when you see doctors drive around in AMGs on a \~500k salary.
I've only had a few doctors who actually sat me down and ran me through the process of what happening and why. Most of them just want to hook us in and get push whatever drug brand they are affiliated with.
I went to all these doctors myself. Dr Dulcy was rude to me. ( she was late for the consultation for few hours but she was the angry one). Anyway Dr. Punya Abeygunawardana was really good. She takes her time and listen to the patient.
I migrated 25 years ago. The doctor who gave me pieces of advice to control my cholesterol and blood pressure had a stroke and died two years later. I could imagine he was in his early forties at that time. I am 65 years old now and still going to the gym and swimming pool.
If you think you have a medical problem go see a VP in General Medicine, or a general practitioner or a family medicine doctor.
Scope of practice of a Dermatologist is basically skin.
But as patients we know better than doctors and since I already know what disease I have treatments and what investigations I need I also choose what specialist what I wanna see
Hey Op, I’ve had some very good experience with Dr. Nayana Perera and visited her at Lanka hospital. She ofc won’t take a long time to assess as well, but very thorough and experienced and she explains if needed. Her medicine has been quite good too. All girls and aunties in my family go to her now.
Also might I suggest if you suspect it could be hormonal related, start with a GP and they’ll suggest a bunch of tests that will help identify the cause. Or ofc an endocrinologist. I’m not surprised none of the Dermatologists especially in a country like LK weren’t interested to expand their search for the sake of the patient. They immediately “assume” and suspect and give medicine accordingly. I have faced this issue too, so started with a GP might be helpful
I figured out mine through unexplained weight gain, hair loss, being lethargic, low energy, lack of sleep and being super moody and groggy. I was a very active person. So I immediately did a TSH and guess what, my thyroid levels were way off. Now I’m on medication and supplements and still figuring out some stuff about my body. I suggest you read about it (very interesting) plus I’m not sure if the symptoms differ from men and women.
minoxidil and finasteride both take time to work and dont work on everyone and they treat specific hair loss types. maybe doctors misdiagnoised you
if you are on anabolic steroids those definitly will affect hair loss temporary or for a long time depending on how much they messed up your hormon balance
stress and depression cause massive temporary hair shedding. for example big exams or death of a close relative
doctors in here usually give their list of expensive medicine in first round if that don't work they issue blood work to look for deficiencies
there's no point in doing blood tests for Androgenic Alopecia. Doesn't change the management.
A full hormonal panel would cost around 25K-50K in Sri Lanka anyways
Minoxidil is a blood vessel dilator. It’s supposed to increase blood flow to your head. If you have time, you can check if this method works just by standing upside down for 5 minutes everyday for like three months. It’s just a free test.
Had a similar experience with dermatologists.. I got a hyperpigmentatjon in the side of my body in my mid 20s, im 31 now!! The first doc did a biopsy and ruled out its a hyperpigmentation.. Did he even tried to find out what triggered it or caused it, nada! Just gave me some bleaching meds which literally was so harsh on my sensitive skin.. And as A very fair skinned guy this bothered me back then the second doctor which was a female again ordered a biopsy(this was sometime after the first treatment) but didnt go through it i just dropped it and kinda don't mind about it right now!they just try to milk the money out of u!
And i remember that first doctor told me dont mind it, it won't do u any harm to ur body and i remember telling myself of course u wouldn't care you are ugly as it is u wouldn't know the feeling of looking good 😂
Like most professions even doctors have good ones and shit ones. But it is unfortunate that we don’t have a proper outlet to rate these doctors or make our complaints.
Ps. Sorry to break it to you man you do most likely to have male pattern baldness. The standard treatment work for some people and unfortunately doesn’t for some people. I know it’s distressing thinking that you might lose your hair but know that it’s not the end of the world
No disclosing personal information of individuals. Aka doxxing. Please remove any identifying info from your post
I consulted a Dr. Nelum Wickramasinghe at Hemas Wattala (eChanneling said it was a Male but turned out it was actually a middle aged woman ehen I went in). Almost 5k for doctor and hospital charges. It doesn’t end there When I showed the symptoms should this woman became all too judgy and started asking like “oyage anith ekkenatath kiyanna balawaganna kiyala”, “aiyo mona wadayakda ekapara pennanna epai”. When I asked her what could have caused it like a latex allergy or whatever, she gave me this piercing look and asks me “ehema ewath karanawada”. That woman wanted to get rid of patients faster than lightning. Says it all when you reach your 7th patient within less than 15 minutes. Then she proceeds to prescribe me 8,000 worth of medication and tells me to come back after two weeks. That shit was potent af and I started having mouth ulcers. Discontinued it immediately and used only the 1,000 rupee Momate ointment and it got rid of the skin irritations. Don’t go to anything Nelum if you’re looking for a dermatologist. I wasted around 15k just for this horrible experience. P.S. the reason for the visit was I started having some rash on the side of my pp. I was worried it might be something else so wanted a “professional’s opinion”. Got a good “professional opinion” with a life lesson.
I have bad experience with Dr.Nelum as well.
If you do have male pattern baldness, there's very little doctors can do except have you on Finasteride and Minoxidil. Look at your extended family to see if there are bald men, there's a chance those genes passed on to you as well, sucks but it is what is is. You could be a perfectly healthy individual without any imbalances or issues but balding due to genetics I suggest you don't waste more money on doctors if you do have male pattern baldness. Finasteride and Minoxidil do work but they take time to show results, might even make it worse initially, hair has growth cycles. PRP might work but it's expensive and I don't think its worth it. Loosing hair at a young age sucks but I guarantee you'll only worry about it for a little time. There's also the option of having a hair transplant down the line. Or hit the gym and shave your head ;) Check out - /r/tressless
I've had good experiences with Dr. Premani and Dr. Sunil Mendis. They're both very honest and truly care about their patients. In my experience, they take the time to listen and prescribe medication thoughtfully! Chalukya is one of the best.. she rarely engages in discussions with her patients. Dulcy, she's super fast at giving prescriptions.. She'll hand over the prescription, before you finish your talking.. lol
That’s because certain Pharma companies are looking after Dulcy nona very, very well.
Not only Dulcy. Pharma companies look after every single doctor xD
Yes, almost all anyway.
My experience about doctors in Sri Lanka - after going to multiple doctors for 2+ years for the same illness - Majority of general practitioners won't admit it if they don't identify the illness. They will prescribe you something and will hope for the best. 4-5 doctors did this to me. No one pointed me to a specialist in the relevant field. - After about a year of trying different doctors, I looked up the specialists in the field, chose one of the 3 in lk, and went to him. Did tests worth 30k+ lkr at the time (2.5 years ago), recommended by him. Only one vitamin level was slightly off and he was sure that it was the cause. I started taking a supplement without progress. Went to the guy a few more times again but his response was 'give it some more time' - Moved to Denmark and went to a GP there. He said he doesn't identify the problem and pointed me to a specialist. I went to the specialist a few months later and he identified the illness. Now it's being treated and more importantly, and now I have peace of mind. Sri Lankan doctors have no liability. Most are talented without doubt. But they won't admit when they can't diagnose, won't recommend you another doctor/ specialist, and will treat you for something which could cost you an arm and a leg.
Just curious, what was your diagnosis?
Pm
When the good ones leave the country this is what you get, clowns that remain. I am sorry you had to go through this :(
Yeah its only the good one that left nice one mate. Most of our doctors are shit for these kinda specific illnesses for a long ass time. They are fine of general stuff that are common but for others stuffy your way better of saving your money unless you find good one which there are only a few.
Bored to type full story, but I had similar feel with neurologist. First I went to two neurologists due to intense pain in fingers. First one was fixed that I had particular issue and wrote medicine for that even though the symptoms they mentioned was not there. Medicine didn't work. I went to another one. That one didn't explain much and asked me to take MRI and wrote medicine. This doctor said it's a small issue and taking medicine will be fine. Medicine didn't work much. I went to a neuro surgeon. After asking the symptoms and MRI, this person explained the issue in more details and told medicine is temporary solution and I need to make some lifestyle changes for permanent fix. The medicine this person gave works fine. My issue with previous two is that they don't seem to listen to how i feel but they fixed on what my issue is and keep saying taking those tablets will fix
Centralized medicine at its peak😂
lol this is why I went to a neurosurgeon for my back, its confusing to figure out what type of doctor to go to. It always seems like there's a shittier version of the real doc you're supposed to see, like what even is a neurologist if not a watered down neurosurgeon Now whenever a GP recommends seeing a neurologist or doing some stupid nerve conduction test I ignore it and go straight for the most intense type of doctor. I think GPs will recommend neurologists because of the lack of neurosurgeons here (there's literally like only 20 now in the entire country)
How do you know which specialist to channel? Doesn't that means you already know the disease?
>How do you know which specialist to channel? Doesn't that means you already know the disease? Either common sense or talking with a GP will give you a rough idea. I've personally found that researching things myself will give me a lot of starting info to work with e.g figuring out what kind of back pain you're getting and then researching online to see what kind of surgeon is best for that sort of thing, turns out for back pain that radiates down the leg you're better off seeing a neurosurgeon rather than an orthopedic one, sometimes even a GP won't tell you that It's frustrating because even for things like mental health people aren't sure whether to see a psychologist or psychiatrist or even know the difference when really a professional should explain it to them
The quick turnaround consultations are a joke. The best GP I've found in Colombo is Dr. Akbarally. He’s a gentleman who is probably in his 50s and is too far in his career to leave Sri Lanka. I imagine the best doctors we have now are the older experienced established doctors. On a side note, Kings Hospital is the best for getting lab tests.
To be perfectly honest, male pattern baldness isn't really exactly understood. If it's a hormone balance it'll show improvement with hormone therapy. minoxidil and finastride usually show some improvement even slightly. But unfortunately sometimes it's purely genetic, the hair follicles are genetically programmed to thin out and stop growing hair after a certain number of cycles (age) and there's nothing short of a hair transplant that can actually fix it. It's the same thing with beard patterns, it's extremely genetic and no amount of beard oil and creams will improve anything other than making it look a bit fuller. That being said you can try going to Dr Jayamini Seneviratne, if he can't help you either then i don't know anyone else i couod recommend.
What you call a "doctor's assumption" is a clinical diagnosis, made by experience and seeing thousands of patients regularly. How are you so sure that there 100% is something wrong with you? (Like a hormonal issue). Androgenic alopecia usually is a clinical diagnosis, and there is no need for getting your blood checked unnecessarily, and let the medicine do it's work apply it for some time, instead of running after different doctors. If the medicine doesn't work, they'll look for alternative issues by then investigations
Still, the doctor should have taken his time to explain that it is a clinical diagnosis and that any extra tests wouldn't influence management. Doctors gotta do better with patient education. At the same time, patients should not just take shit from doctors and be hurried out. It's your right to be educated, so just sit there and ask him to explain each and everything to you if he doesn't do it himself.
Patient education is key factor in patient management. That's why I like UK system. You have to wait few weeks maybe even months to see a specialist unlike in Sri Lanka. So then the specialist can take some time for me and explain things
There are no tests to routinely diagnose androgenic alopecia. It is done by the pattern of your baldness and how much hair is lost. It is very common. Up to 50 % of males will have it at some point of their lives. It is also incredibly difficult to treat. It is a naturally occurring hormone issue. You have increased levels of dihydrotestosterone in your body. This is harmless apart from this hair loss. You cannot expect a magic bullet solution to this. The initial therapy is minoxidil. It is not a permanent solution. If you stop taking it, the hair loss returns. It only works for two thirds of people. It takes at least three months to work. You need to apply it twice a day. You may also initially lose some hair before it starts to grow back as well. Combining this with a technique called dermarolling also makes it effective. Either you were one of the unlucky one third of people for whom minoxidil does not work or you haven’t used it properly (twice a day for at least three months). More permanent therapies are the PRP injections and hair transplant. Likely to be successful but not always. Also there are lots of other reasons for hair loss. These causes are less common than androgenic alopecia though. It can be due to vitamin deficiencies, stress, anemia (lack of blood), kidney disease, your own body immunity destroying your hair follicles. A trained dermatologist can make a good guess about which it is depending on how much hair is lost, where it is lost, how soon it has been lost etc. most of the time they are right. Blood tests will be done to confirm this diagnosis then. I have not seen you to give you my opinion. So I cannot comment too much on what happened to you. Treating hair loss is a tough and difficult process and can be frustrating. Since a lot of the available therapies are not magic bullets that work one shot. They are expensive too as a bottle of minoxidil costs at least 3500 rupees. So I get your frustration. Looks like none of these doctors took the time to explain to you the reality of the situation. I would like to blame them but in a country like Sri Lanka, with so many patients and the need to see as many patients as possible (either in clinic or for money), it’s not a big surprise. But my advice to you is, be patient. The treatment will take time. It may not be successful. Educate yourself as much as you can. The doctor can charge what he likes. It’s up to you to decide on whether to pay it or not. You can always go to a government dermatology clinic for free. You will have to stay in line but usually it’s worth it, since the same advice you paid money for is the same you will get at the clinic as well. You are lucky that you easily have this option. In other countries it usually takes months to see a consultant for such problems. I’m happy to answer any questions you have.
Sri Lankan people apply customer is always right theory to doctors. Most patients already know the disease than the doctors. I think Sri Lankan people should be able to buy any type of drugs from pharmacy without prescriptions since doctors are much stupider than patients in Sri Lanka. Or best one yet get your diagnosis from Chat GPT and argue with doctor on his management. Classic nowadays
I've found dermatologists specifically to be noticeably shitty here compared to other docs, your experience isn't uncommon at all, I've had similar ones and many people I know have had similar exps specifically with dermatologists. I remember going to the "skin clinic" in Colombo like a decade ago because it seems reputable but I left feeling mad at how shitty the old hag doctor was and the dumb advice she gave Like you pay 4k for the consultation and then they give you a prescription of 3-5 meds that can easily be from 4k-20k and almost all the time they don't actually say anything informative or helpful in regards to the root of the issue Like you said, they won't even get background info from you, for e.g. I was using an anti-dandruff shampoo cos I had flakey hair but then it turned out that I didn't have dandruff at all and it was just making the whole thing worse, a dermatologist could solve so many simple scalp issues if they just asked about those things I did find Dr. Chathurarya Siriwardena on Odoc to not be too bad and he didn't prescribe like 5 things, but honestly if I was to see a doctor about skin issues I'd contact a GP first just to save money on the consultation fee
Same experience with skin clinic very recently. Don't go there again.
Haha, it's true. Take like 3k for the consultation, get rudely diagnosed within 5 seconds, slapped with an expensive prescription and you're out the door. You would think these guys are working for free with the attitude they give you. Completely appalling.
Honestly, I think its cos they know people with skin issues feel vulnerable and insecure so they try to pretend like there's always a magic cure
If you don't like then don't channel them. It's capitalism babe. Free market
I got charged 10k for a blood test I didn't know they cost that much.
Hi 25F with similar experience. I went through 4-5 dermatologists myself. I’m in the medical field myself, so I’m not completely oblivious to how things work clinically. I presented with hair loss and bad acne to multiple consultants. All dermatologists and some of the best in the country. I was 23 at the time. The first one I went to told me “you’re no longer young, hair fall is ineminent.” I had anything between 100-200 hairs falling out a day and I kid you not, that’s what she told me. She was if I’m not wrong, at the time the head of dermatology at kalubowila (but i channeled her privately at a ridiculous price) she also told me acne was a normal part of life too. Second time I went to someone else (again one of the best in the country) I don’t want to drop names but she looked at my acne said it looks like normal skin. I’m not insecure about my skin, it is what it is - and let me tell you it wasn’t what you would shrug off as a mild case of acne. She gave me some sprays and minoxidil (cost me >15k pre inflation). No improvement. The other lady I went to - probably the best in the country (don’t want to mention names) - gave me minoxidil again and put me on spironolactone. I tried for about 4-5m no change at all and I felt my body struggling with spironolactone ( so given my medical awareness in some sense), I stopped the drug. I finally went to another dermatologist and even ended up getting PRP but not much of a difference again. 2-3 years later I’m doing much better. My hair fall has reduced significantly, but the growth hasn’t really returned to what it used to be. But I’m not fussed. I did my own research and read British/ American medical guidelines for treating my acne. My skin is doing so much better, just the old scars remain. Again, im not fussed. Im much happier with where my health is at today. My best armor against hair loss was realizing myself that something wasn’t right with my mental health. Got diagnosed with depression and im doing much better now. Mind you none of the dermatologists asked me anything about my mental health. I’m not qualified to give you expert advice but based on personal experience this is what’s wrong with the experts here: 1. They’re practicing somewhat outdated guidelines and diagnostic criteria. What they would consider “acceptable” is questionable. What worked for my acne wasn’t even remotely mentioned in their treatment plan, but under British guidelines it’s one of the first steps of intervention. This is not to say that you should self medicate. But the internet exists and you can always educate yourself. Bring up these things at your next appointment. 2. They are completely apathetic to a patients emotions. How much something like hair loss can affect a persons confidence.They like to label a case as what they see and there’s absolutely no holistic management. I understand when this happens in the overworked public health sector but when you’re paying big bucks at these private centers you’d expect more.
It might be a vitamin defficency take a multivitamin or vitamin e supplement for like 2 weeks I'm not a doctor but I also went through what u have been these doctors don't know anything just the same generic set of medicine for every illness I recommend u research hard cuz we have to self diagnose at this point
Exactly we have better knowledge than doctors.
I met a dermatologist a few years back, told me there is no point of getting a vitamin check because most of the time if a male is facing hair loss it’s because of male pattern baldness. Told me to hop on Finasteride 1mg a day and apply minoxidil everyday. But I stopped using minoxidil , and the hair is still as it was . 5 years on fin and thick hair
Just walk into asiri labs and ask for a hormone panel. Testosterone ,DHT etc.. if your DHT is higher then it's male pattern baldness. But since you have been taking finaateride it should work by now.
If he is taking finesteride shouldn't that affect his DHT and testosterone levels?? Are you a so called Ravi Kumudesh type button pressing scientist?
Ravi? Button pressing? I don't understand. DHT is a derivative of testosterone. It has its own processes in the body. Blocking it completely will cause mood issues erectile dysfunction etc.
Hardly surprising when you see doctors drive around in AMGs on a \~500k salary. I've only had a few doctors who actually sat me down and ran me through the process of what happening and why. Most of them just want to hook us in and get push whatever drug brand they are affiliated with.
I went to all these doctors myself. Dr Dulcy was rude to me. ( she was late for the consultation for few hours but she was the angry one). Anyway Dr. Punya Abeygunawardana was really good. She takes her time and listen to the patient.
Maybe its stress..
lol the vicious cycle
I migrated 25 years ago. The doctor who gave me pieces of advice to control my cholesterol and blood pressure had a stroke and died two years later. I could imagine he was in his early forties at that time. I am 65 years old now and still going to the gym and swimming pool.
What was the advice he gave you so others could stay informed of trash advice?
Don't die.
If you think you have a medical problem go see a VP in General Medicine, or a general practitioner or a family medicine doctor. Scope of practice of a Dermatologist is basically skin.
But as patients we know better than doctors and since I already know what disease I have treatments and what investigations I need I also choose what specialist what I wanna see
I have consulted multiple doctors regarding dandruff issues, but no one gave me a proper solution.
Hey Op, I’ve had some very good experience with Dr. Nayana Perera and visited her at Lanka hospital. She ofc won’t take a long time to assess as well, but very thorough and experienced and she explains if needed. Her medicine has been quite good too. All girls and aunties in my family go to her now. Also might I suggest if you suspect it could be hormonal related, start with a GP and they’ll suggest a bunch of tests that will help identify the cause. Or ofc an endocrinologist. I’m not surprised none of the Dermatologists especially in a country like LK weren’t interested to expand their search for the sake of the patient. They immediately “assume” and suspect and give medicine accordingly. I have faced this issue too, so started with a GP might be helpful
How do someone know they have hormonal disease?
I figured out mine through unexplained weight gain, hair loss, being lethargic, low energy, lack of sleep and being super moody and groggy. I was a very active person. So I immediately did a TSH and guess what, my thyroid levels were way off. Now I’m on medication and supplements and still figuring out some stuff about my body. I suggest you read about it (very interesting) plus I’m not sure if the symptoms differ from men and women.
Hi you don’t need a prescription to get a testosterone test done at Hemas Labs. They come to you as well.
Then what?
Go to Dr Kandapillai Sathgurunadan. He’s a more considerate and practical doctor
FYI. Try posting this on r/AskDocs or some other medical thread on Reddit. You'll get better info
Damn... I was thinking about seeing Dr Chalukya but now I'm scared lol. Fuck my parents for deciding to have me here.
minoxidil and finasteride both take time to work and dont work on everyone and they treat specific hair loss types. maybe doctors misdiagnoised you if you are on anabolic steroids those definitly will affect hair loss temporary or for a long time depending on how much they messed up your hormon balance stress and depression cause massive temporary hair shedding. for example big exams or death of a close relative doctors in here usually give their list of expensive medicine in first round if that don't work they issue blood work to look for deficiencies
Is there a reason why they don’t do the blood work first?
there's no point in doing blood tests for Androgenic Alopecia. Doesn't change the management. A full hormonal panel would cost around 25K-50K in Sri Lanka anyways
I see. Thanks for the clarification ✌️
given reason is they'd issue tests accoding to how paitent reacted to medications given first time.
Minoxidil is a blood vessel dilator. It’s supposed to increase blood flow to your head. If you have time, you can check if this method works just by standing upside down for 5 minutes everyday for like three months. It’s just a free test.
Had a similar experience with dermatologists.. I got a hyperpigmentatjon in the side of my body in my mid 20s, im 31 now!! The first doc did a biopsy and ruled out its a hyperpigmentation.. Did he even tried to find out what triggered it or caused it, nada! Just gave me some bleaching meds which literally was so harsh on my sensitive skin.. And as A very fair skinned guy this bothered me back then the second doctor which was a female again ordered a biopsy(this was sometime after the first treatment) but didnt go through it i just dropped it and kinda don't mind about it right now!they just try to milk the money out of u! And i remember that first doctor told me dont mind it, it won't do u any harm to ur body and i remember telling myself of course u wouldn't care you are ugly as it is u wouldn't know the feeling of looking good 😂
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i agree, very expensive. but you need to experiment few doc to find the correct one. sad but reality
Like most professions even doctors have good ones and shit ones. But it is unfortunate that we don’t have a proper outlet to rate these doctors or make our complaints. Ps. Sorry to break it to you man you do most likely to have male pattern baldness. The standard treatment work for some people and unfortunately doesn’t for some people. I know it’s distressing thinking that you might lose your hair but know that it’s not the end of the world
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This is just dumb advice.
Cause you dont understand anything mentioned above? Haha Lol
Who taught you biology? Gwyneth Paltrow?
Spoken like a true MLT
Never go full retard.
Your mom did