souldoctor
Member
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Hi, just thought I'd post here because although I'm not sure what counts as a "success" for different people here, I think at the very least, the past 2 years have definitely not been a failure.
Essentially, the experience with propecia has been up and down, with some real rough sheds almost every month or so..but my hair has always grown back, usually as thick as before, sometimes thicker, so for me I'd say it's been a success..I'm no longer scared of the sheds because literally every single time I shed, it does grow back. So, this far it's a success..until that day comes when it sheds and it doesn't come back as nice as before.
Overall though I guess what defines the 'success' or not is whether you're happy with what's going on on top of your head (and inside it), and I'd have to say hair's not a real issue for me any more. I find put dryish clay-type hair products work well on a shortish style for me, and i can spike it up, mess around with it, make it look cool etc. It doesn't stand up to the wind as well as it used to admittedly, but for a night out clubbing or in a bar, or for every day work purposes, it usually looks fine and is not a worry for me. It is annoying when I have the sheds and it thins out and I can't do anything with it, and that looks worse when it's long, but normally a short hair cut at that point when it starts to look bad conceals the thinning, and by a couple of weeks it's usually all grown back in anyway and looking cool again.
Just have to say having access to this forum has been great, it's an excellent source of information and support, even though I haven't been as involved on here as other members. I think it's true sadly that people don't post as much when they're doing well, when they really should make an effort to let people know when the treatments do work. Obviously I'm guilty of this too, which is why I made this post. I tended only to post when I was having probs with my hair.
I've had no side-effects from Propecia, except maybe slight dribbling after urination very occasionally, most likely due to finasterides effects on the prostate. But it's not even an issue really, I can't complain.
Also, getting on with this whole thing has been a decent experience I'd say overall; hair loss was a problem, it required tackling and that's what I hope I'm doing. It hasn't interfered with my life in a major way; at the most, it's interfered in the sense that there have been times when I've declined a night out because I'm going through a shed/thin period and I know my hair won't look decent. Or I've decided to wear a cap instead of styling my hair sometimes on a casual day, that's all, nothing that's interfered majorly. When I began posting here I was a medical student, and now I've completed my degree and am a doctor, and am going to try and find out more about hairloss, and maybe even specialise in dermatology..have to see how it goes.
Good luck everyone, feel free to PM if any questions etc...I will get some photos up if I can find any, to show how well I think I've maintained and possibly even regrown overall.
EDIT
ec 2007
OK so the pics aren't necessarily always taken under the exact same conditions, but you should get the general idea from these of how my hairloss has at least not got significantly worse since late 2004/early 2005 until now. I actually noticed my hair probs in december 2004, and started taking propecia May 2005, so it's beem about 2 and a half years.
These pics are taken when my hair's wet mostly; for styling purposes I find that when it's well towel-dried and I use matt clay type styling products my hair can look pretty good. If I happen to be a bit paranoid or think I'm going through a shed, then very occasionally I might use dermmatch (used it once in the past year), but other than that I'm reasonably satisfied I guess for now. Still miss my old hair though..sigh lol.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22145436@N06/
Essentially, the experience with propecia has been up and down, with some real rough sheds almost every month or so..but my hair has always grown back, usually as thick as before, sometimes thicker, so for me I'd say it's been a success..I'm no longer scared of the sheds because literally every single time I shed, it does grow back. So, this far it's a success..until that day comes when it sheds and it doesn't come back as nice as before.
Overall though I guess what defines the 'success' or not is whether you're happy with what's going on on top of your head (and inside it), and I'd have to say hair's not a real issue for me any more. I find put dryish clay-type hair products work well on a shortish style for me, and i can spike it up, mess around with it, make it look cool etc. It doesn't stand up to the wind as well as it used to admittedly, but for a night out clubbing or in a bar, or for every day work purposes, it usually looks fine and is not a worry for me. It is annoying when I have the sheds and it thins out and I can't do anything with it, and that looks worse when it's long, but normally a short hair cut at that point when it starts to look bad conceals the thinning, and by a couple of weeks it's usually all grown back in anyway and looking cool again.
Just have to say having access to this forum has been great, it's an excellent source of information and support, even though I haven't been as involved on here as other members. I think it's true sadly that people don't post as much when they're doing well, when they really should make an effort to let people know when the treatments do work. Obviously I'm guilty of this too, which is why I made this post. I tended only to post when I was having probs with my hair.
I've had no side-effects from Propecia, except maybe slight dribbling after urination very occasionally, most likely due to finasterides effects on the prostate. But it's not even an issue really, I can't complain.
Also, getting on with this whole thing has been a decent experience I'd say overall; hair loss was a problem, it required tackling and that's what I hope I'm doing. It hasn't interfered with my life in a major way; at the most, it's interfered in the sense that there have been times when I've declined a night out because I'm going through a shed/thin period and I know my hair won't look decent. Or I've decided to wear a cap instead of styling my hair sometimes on a casual day, that's all, nothing that's interfered majorly. When I began posting here I was a medical student, and now I've completed my degree and am a doctor, and am going to try and find out more about hairloss, and maybe even specialise in dermatology..have to see how it goes.
Good luck everyone, feel free to PM if any questions etc...I will get some photos up if I can find any, to show how well I think I've maintained and possibly even regrown overall.
EDIT
ec 2007OK so the pics aren't necessarily always taken under the exact same conditions, but you should get the general idea from these of how my hairloss has at least not got significantly worse since late 2004/early 2005 until now. I actually noticed my hair probs in december 2004, and started taking propecia May 2005, so it's beem about 2 and a half years.
These pics are taken when my hair's wet mostly; for styling purposes I find that when it's well towel-dried and I use matt clay type styling products my hair can look pretty good. If I happen to be a bit paranoid or think I'm going through a shed, then very occasionally I might use dermmatch (used it once in the past year), but other than that I'm reasonably satisfied I guess for now. Still miss my old hair though..sigh lol.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22145436@N06/
