11 Months on finasteride 1mg, situation worse than ever.

[Kirby]

Thanks for the advice, DoctorHouse. I'm sorry I've been rough on you and Quantum Cat and IrishFella recently. I really haven't taken things well.

BTW I feel things weren't good to start with. I really under-estimated how long I'd been visibly balding, and how obvious to it was on top. I found a photo from August 2009, two years and three months before I even realised that I had a hair loss problem, and I had a solar panel forming. God knows why or how I never picked it up then. I guess like most of the population, I associated male pattern baldness with receding hair lines rather than diffuse thinning. I'm still wondering why I bother fighting this TBH, what with the limited usefulness of the available treatments.

 

[WarLord]

OK, visual update, got some '90s style curtains going on, hides the horrible shape of my hairline (really, it's quite a grow-over/comb-over up front, I've been under estimating how much of a beating my hairline was taking over the years before I started finasteride).

Unfortunately, the diffuse lose 'strip' (almost like the female variant of male pattern baldness, I've realised) is still quite visible in any kind of strong light. I do look odd as my hair is basically my 'Jewfro' thickness all round the sides and back, but very wispy and see-through on top, moreso than this photo really portrays.

Literally never had any form of regrowth or thickening since starting finasteride last January. Not a jot. Perhaps the early shed has reveresed a tiny amount, but it's certainly no improvement over day one.

FWIW I saw a dermatologist privately last day of November last year, he diagnosed some stress-triggered Telogen Effluvium after a 'scope check, and said I really needed to make sure I keep an eye on my hairline - he strongly suggested minoxidil, for the hairline, to at least preserve up front there. I hven't done that yet though as 1.) my NHS GP refuses to give me a (non NHS) finasteride prescription, or acknowledge that I have male pattern baldness or any hair loss, and ignored the dermatologist's diagnosis letter ("I'm disregarding this", he said dismissively with a hand-wave) so I have no idea what to do once the finasteride i have runs out, and whether I can still fight hair loss at all, i don't want to use minoxidil without finasteride basically (I can't afford to see any private dermatologists again soon) 2.) I'm terrified of minoxidil side effects on the heart 3.) I'm terrified of using minoxidil long term - finasteride, well, we'll have CB-03-01 or a PGD2 blocker topical or something before the decade is out to replace it, but what about minoxidil? Hair gets dependent on that.

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I admit that photos may not be accurate, but I don't see any hair loss problems. Perhaps the major reason, why you haven't observed any thickening, may lie in the fact that your hair is already thick enough.

 

[Kirby]

Are you sure, WarLord? Look at my photo there from almost four years ago*, something was very amiss even back then.

* I had no idea I had male pattern baldness then, I didn't 'get' diffuse thinning.

 

[talmoode]

Are you sure, WarLord? Look at my photo there from almost four years ago*, something was very amiss even back then.

* I had no idea I had male pattern baldness then, I didn't 'get' diffuse thinning.

hi Kirby..your hair looks very thick and nice to me!! have you asked your friends/family if your are losing your hair?...I mean you know your hair better than anyone else but it really looks fine!

 

[Kirby]

Photo from exactly a year ago, five or so months into finasteride. Still very thin on top, nearly bare (the low resolution of this image disguises that). Look at my photo from now a page ago, literally no difference, other than I have a 'grow over' to hide the balding crown and midscalp.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Kirby, the photo you posted at the top of this page definitely shows loss of density more consistent with female pattern balding. Looks like you are more of a diffuse thinner and don't have the typical male pattern baldness. I have a similar pattern and I did not respond great on Propecia either. I wonder if this pattern has some different mechanism of thinning versus the tradition male pattern baldness pattern. Have you had your thyroid antibodies checked for Hashimoto's thyroiditis? Have you been screened for auto immune disease? Do you have any other symptoms in the rest of your body? Are you taking anything else besides Propecia?

 

[Kirby]

No, never been screened for those, likely to be very hard to get the tests on the NHS. I have asked about thyroid blood tests in the past, even before I realised I had male pattern baldness, but whichever GP I had at the time refused. Have had variable to very bad IBS type symptoms for 4 and a half years now as well, but have had no blood test allowed for that either. Have to plan to be relatively near a toilet facility every time I go out. A gluten free diet has helped a bit with the symptoms, but not enormously. My current GP told me I was harming myself with that diet though.

Apart from finasteride 1.25mg, literally all I take in terms of medications is a Seretide (Advair) inhaler for asthma. My GP gives me lorazepam to attempt to treat my hair loss by knocking me out so I don't care about it(!) but I don't actually take it. The side effects I have gotten off lorazepam are quite unpleasant.

BTW, I realise that finasteride can't revive all my hair, just want it to a presentable stage where male pattern baldness really isn't visible to anyone except to passing nosy dermatologists.

- - - Updated - - -

Might be something in there with the female pattern comparison, I mean the pattern of loss for me is quite diffuse. See this photo from May 2009 - again, I hadn't a clue then that I had hair loss. No idea how I didn't pick this up before, perhaps I assumed it was due to light conditions or something. Anyway, thanks as always DoctorHouse.

 

[WarLord]

Well, I looked at the photo again and it is possible that your hair thins diffusely. But I would say that your density is still within "normal" limits.

I told you even before: Check your hormonal levels!

 

[Kirby]

WL, yes, my hair is 'cosmetically acceptable' density, pretty much, although it's much less thicker in the male pattern baldness than it used to be. Not half as thick as my teenage 'Jewfro'. I'm still rather upset at myself for not catching it earlier. I didn't start with minoxidil when I first picked up Propecia as I had looked at success stories on forums and thought, these tablets alone could get me what I need.I think I was rather too optimistic or naive there.

I'm looking into private health blood tests at the moment. Still rather annoyed that I can't get what I need from the NHS which I've already paid for...

 

[resu]

I had the same pattern as you 3 years ago, now the inside of my temples started to thin and the dreadful horseshoe is already very visible in a buzz cut. I had thyroid tests, came out normal as well as iron (although ferritin was on the low side imo 22, range is Male: 12-300 ng/mL. My thinning areas started at really odd places but they expanded to form the typical male pattern baldness pattern. Middle of my head has some very visible pencil eraser bald spots, I'm tripping out not knowing what to do since I can't do finasteride or minoxidil and ru is too expensive.