20 year old hair loss sufferer - desperate for some advice

[baldnewb]

So after stopping finasteride because of early onset of gyno, symptoms seemed to have stopped a week later. My scalp is also starting to get itchy and irritated again. Could any members here give me some advice on what my next course of action should be? I have been to three doctors about the gyno and all three have said that I don't have it, and the doctor that prescribed it to me said I should start taking it again. The problem is, I'm fairly sure that I was getting gyno. I had lumpiness and bad chest pains which have subsided since stopping.

I have a six month supply of finasteride, six month supply of minoxidil and two tubs of s5 cream. What do you think my next line of treatments should be? Should I wait a few weeks and try finasteride again at a lower dose? Should I go down the minoxidil and s5 cream combo route? I'm really struggling to find answers for this. Any advice on where I should go with treatments would be appreciated.

 

[science_d]

I think you're right to stop using finasteride if you are noticing side effects. While not everyone has side effects, they are definitely there, and definitely real.

To stop the itchiness and irritation, I recommend using 2% ketoconazole shampoo, an antifungal that has been shown to reduce the activity of DHT and have positive effects on hair growth. That should not only reduce the itching, but it might also slow down the hair loss itself. See my blog article about it here: https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/helpful/.

As far as overall treatment to prevent further hair loss, if you don't want to use finasteride, here are your options:

Minoxidil (5% solution, twice daily)
2% ketoconazole shampoo (three times per week)
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) - Laser Cap, every other day for 30 minutes

Try using all three consistently in combination.

One thing you need to be aware of is that when you start to use a hair loss treatment, you will notice an initial increase of shedding, and your problem may appear to get worse. However, that is natural, as it means your hair is responding to the treatment by pushing out the dormant (telogen) hair follicles to make room for new hair growth. You must use a treatment for at least 4 - 6 months consistently before you will see any positive effects at all. Thus, you should use a regimen consistently for at least 6 months before you make a judgment about whether or not it is working.

I am not sure how effective s5 cream is. The best topical solution for reducing DHT on the scalp that I am aware of is the 2% ketoconazole shampoo.

 

[baldnewb]

I think you're right to stop using finasteride if you are noticing side effects. While not everyone has side effects, they are definitely there, and definitely real.

To stop the itchiness and irritation, I recommend using 2% ketoconazole shampoo, an antifungal that has been shown to reduce the activity of DHT and have positive effects on hair growth. That should not only reduce the itching, but it might also slow down the hair loss itself. See my blog article about it here: https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/helpful/.

As far as overall treatment to prevent further hair loss, if you don't want to use finasteride, here are your options:

Minoxidil (5% solution, twice daily)
2% ketoconazole shampoo (three times per week)
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) - Laser Cap, every other day for 30 minutes

Try using all three consistently in combination.

One thing you need to be aware of is that when you start to use a hair loss treatment, you will notice an initial increase of shedding, and your problem may appear to get worse. However, that is natural, as it means your hair is responding to the treatment by pushing out the dormant (telogen) hair follicles to make room for new hair growth. You must use a treatment for at least 4 - 6 months consistently before you will see any positive effects at all. Thus, you should use a regimen consistently for at least 6 months before you make a judgment about whether or not it is working.

I am not sure how effective s5 cream is. The best topical solution for reducing DHT on the scalp that I am aware of is the 2% ketoconazole shampoo.

Yeah it's probably safer to not use it although I'm seriously bummed out that I can't because it's the most effective treatment and I really didn't want to commit to using minoxidil twice a day for many years to come.

I'm actually using keto shampoo at the moment. Have only used it 5 or 6 times so not really sure whether or not it's helping with the itching.

I've heard s5 cream is a mixed bag. But a lot of people say it helps with the itching so I think I might use it in conjunction with minoxidil.

What would your opinion be on waiting a month and trying finasteride at a lower dose?

 

[science_d]

Yeah it's probably safer to not use it although I'm seriously bummed out that I can't because it's the most effective treatment and I really didn't want to commit to using minoxidil twice a day for many years to come.

I'm actually using keto shampoo at the moment. Have only used it 5 or 6 times so not really sure whether or not it's helping with the itching.

I've heard s5 cream is a mixed bag. But a lot of people say it helps with the itching so I think I might use it in conjunction with minoxidil.

What would your opinion be on waiting a month and trying finasteride at a lower dose?

I definitely understand where you're coming from about the minoxidil. What you could do is try the other treatments first, and if there is no effect after 6 months, then add minoxidil and see if it helps.

As far as the ketoconazole shampoo, make sure you are using 2% concentration, not the 1% concentration that is used in non-prescription Nizoral shampoo. While the 1% has been shown to reduce shedding, it has not been shown to increase hair density, so is not as effective.

I recommend that you continue using ketoconzole consistently for a few months to see if that reduces the itching.

It's definitely up to you about the s5 cream. I don't think it could hurt anything.

Trying finasteride at a lower dose is definitely a good idea to try. I did that myself. I took a half dose (1/2 mg) daily by cutting the pills with a knife. One doctor even suggested taking the full 1 mg dosage, but doing it once every other day instead of every day. It's worth a shot.

 

[kmm179]

I mean if you have been to 3 docs who all said you don't have gyno, you probably don't. Its honestly all in your head. I even thought I was but then I realized it was winter I stopped going to the gym and gained 10 pounds. I sware I could feel soreness too, but it was all in my head.

 

[baldnewb]

I definitely understand where you're coming from about the minoxidil. What you could do is try the other treatments first, and if there is no effect after 6 months, then add minoxidil and see if it helps.

As far as the ketoconazole shampoo, make sure you are using 2% concentration, not the 1% concentration that is used in non-prescription Nizoral shampoo. While the 1% has been shown to reduce shedding, it has not been shown to increase hair density, so is not as effective.

I recommend that you continue using ketoconzole consistently for a few months to see if that reduces the itching.

It's definitely up to you about the s5 cream. I don't think it could hurt anything.

Trying finasteride at a lower dose is definitely a good idea to try. I did that myself. I took a half dose (1/2 mg) daily by cutting the pills with a knife. One doctor even suggested taking the full 1 mg dosage, but doing it once every other day instead of every day. It's worth a shot.

I have been using 1% keto shampoo, that may be the problem.

I think I'm going to try use s5 cream and keto shampoo together and see how my gyno symptoms feel over the next month or two and assess whether i should try finasteride at a lower dose.

Why did you reduce the dose of finasteride and how did it work out for you?

- - - Updated - - -

I mean if you have been to 3 docs who all said you don't have gyno, you probably don't. Its honestly all in your head. I even thought I was but then I realized it was winter I stopped going to the gym and gained 10 pounds. I sware I could feel soreness too, but it was all in my head.

I wish it was just all in my head. The three doctors confirmed that I had breast tissue present but they said it's a normal amount of breast tissue and all men have it. Strangely enough, that 'normal' amount of breast tissue has pretty much halved in size since I stopped taking finasteride last week

 

[Illusions]

There's plenty other options out there other than finasteride, natural dht blockers may help, also theres something similar to finasteride called RU something if I'm not mistaken. Btw did finasteride stop your itching and scalp irritation?

 

[baldnewb]

There's plenty other options out there other than finasteride, natural dht blockers may help, also theres something similar to finasteride called R0 something if I'm not mistaken. Btw did finasteride stop your itching and scalp irritation?

Yeah I think I'm gonna go with s5 cream and maybe add minoxidil for now and see how that works out.

Yeah after a week on finasteride my scalp felt better than it's felt in years. No itching, no irritation. I was actually pulling at my hair in work just because I could lol. About 5 days after stopping finasteride that old dreaded itch started to return

 

[Illusions]

Yeah I think I'm gonna go with s5 cream and maybe add minoxidil for now and see how that works out.

Yeah after a week on finasteride my scalp felt better than it's felt in years. No itching, no irritation. I was actually pulling at my hair in work just because I could lol. About 5 days after stopping finasteride that old dreaded itch started to return

Thinking of trying finasteride soon to see if it helps, thanks!

 

[science_d]

I have been using 1% keto shampoo, that may be the problem.

I think I'm going to try use s5 cream and keto shampoo together and see how my gyno symptoms feel over the next month or two and assess whether i should try finasteride at a lower dose.

Why did you reduce the dose of finasteride and how did it work out for you?

If you are using the 1% ketoconazole shampoo, that makes sense. Here is the study showing that the 1% helps with shedding, but does not increase hair density (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1467-2494.2002.00145.x/abstract).

I reduced the dose of finasteride for myself because I was experiencing some side effects. As far as how it worked out, I think I still felt the side effects, but not as strongly. Also, I wasn't on it long enough to see any effects either way on my hair. I decided to stop soon afterward, and try other treatments and see how they would work.

 

[Austin:316]

Minoxidil (5% solution, twice daily)
2% ketoconazole shampoo (three times per week)
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) - Laser Cap, every other day for 30 minutes

Science_d you keep advising people to use the Laser Cap but why? How can lasers regrow hair? What's the science behind it? What official study has shown its effectiveness? I had 20 minutes to pass so I skimmed down through around 200 amazon reviews about it and nearly everyone basically said it was utterly useless. There were 5 or 6 who said the quality of their hair seemed to slightly improve but those 5 or 6 were probably using other methods to improve their hair. I think the only thing it does effectively is pry money from desperate people and leave them disappointed.

 

[science_d]

Science_d you keep advising people to use the Laser Cap but why? How can lasers regrow hair? What's the science behind it? What official study has shown its effectiveness? I had 20 minutes to pass so I skimmed down through around 200 amazon reviews about it and nearly everyone basically said it was utterly useless. There were 5 or 6 who said the quality of their hair seemed to slightly improve but those 5 or 6 were probably using other methods to improve their hair. I think the only thing it does effectively is pry money from desperate people and leave them disappointed.

I am only reporting what the scientific studies I have seen have demonstrated. The following peer-reviewed studies have shown that low-level lasers seem to have an effect on hair growth:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dsu.12200/abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23970445
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/153082003769591209

From a review of the literature, one paper concluded that LLLT devices do have some effectiveness (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26690359).

Thus, I am only reporting what those scientific studies have reported. If you are aware of studies showing that low-level lasers had no measurable effect on hair growth, or problems with the methodology of the above studies, I would definitely be interested in seeing them.

In my experience, the 80-laser Theradome device was not effective for me, at least as far as affecting hair density. So I would probably not recommend it to anyone experiencing aggressive hair loss. However, when I used a 272-diode laser cap plus minoxidil for about 4 - 6 months, I definitely experienced positive effects. Does this mean it was due to the low-level laser? I don't know. It is possible that was the minoxidil. However, it is also possible that it was the combined effect of the laser and the minoxidil. Once again, I don't know. I am interested in testing the 272-diode laser cap alone on myself to see if has positive effects.

As far as the reviews you looked at, you might have been looking at an 80-diode device such as the Theradome. Once again, that is consistent with my experience. I had no significant positive benefit from that device, so I would agree with the negative reviews of that device. However, it is inconclusive whether or not the more powerful, 272-diode laser was effective for me or not.

Again, I am only advising the Laser Cap as a possible treatment based on the studies that have been done, and the fact that I may have benefited from it myself (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/category/my-personal-experience/). Some hair restoration doctors, such as Dr. Alan Bauman, recommend it for their patients. Does that mean it is valid? Not necessarily, but it is worth noting that some board-certified hair restoration doctors do recommend it.

I am a firm believer of not wasting money on questionable treatments, which is why on my blog I encourage people to only use treatments whose effectiveness have been established by research (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/skeptical/). If you read all of my posts on this forum, you will see that I discourage or downplay any treatment if there is no peer-reviewed paper supporting its effectiveness for male pattern baldness. And I will certainly not promote laser therapy if someone shows me evidence that it isn't effective.

Is low-level laser therapy effective? Some scientific studies seem to suggest that, and my personal experience may confirm that. However, I am definitely open to changing my mind if I don't see evidence for it. Also, if someone tries a laser device for 6 months with no positive benefits, I would certainly not recommend they continue using it.

As I state on my blog:

"If there are no studies showing [a treatment's] effectiveness, it is probably a waste of money. I discuss many of these products on my website here, along with links to various studies, so you can decide for yourself what might be worth using or not" (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/skeptical/).

 

[Suswang]

First step...

Figure out what's causing your scalp issues. It's likely at least part of the reason for your hair loss.

Are you following a healthy diet? What other skin issues do you have? You should be using 2pct Nizoral and a zinc pyrithione shampoo.