diffusethinningindian
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20 yr. old's diffused thinning & confused regimen. Advice ! Anybody?
My first impression of hair loss was when I was only 17 when some of my friends could see less dense hair on my scalp & told I might be getting bald. I ignored it thinking it was just my hair's regular texture & not alopecia. My mom's father & one of father's elder brother had suffered from male pattern baldness, but since my father & mother didnt experience it, I thought I was safe. I had completely forgot about it until recently when I was 19 yrs ( August, 2011) & had heavy shedding, flaking & small bumps over my scalp etc. I went to a dermatologist & she wrongly diagonised it as seborrheic dermatitis & accordingly wrote medications for it (some of them were Livosiz tablets, multivitamin & KZ lotion). 2 months later, the tiny bumps over my scalp went away but hairfall did not stop. Everyday when I would comb my hair I would have 20-25 hairs shed my desk. I again went to her asking if I wasn't responding & may be that's when she realised I was suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia .
She then prescribed me :
Mintop Forte 5% soln.( generic version of Rogaine from Dr. Reddy's) ,
Finax (1 mg finasteride) tablets & KZ lotion (Ketoconazole 2%). Leaving the shampoo, I started using the other two for 1 month (December 2011), discontinued in the month of January & again used in February 2012 , during this two months in which I took these treatments, my scalp did not itch but hair felt greasy, odd & it still shed. I completely lost hope on her. i thought she wrongly diagnosed me again I discontinued all the medications for 1month (March) & waited for my semester exams to finish.Then decided to go to another dermatologist (a more reputed one this time) and he correctly diagnosed it as Androgenetic Alopecia (in one go) & wrote treatments for it. He prescribed me the following :
Amexidil 5 % spray (generic version of rogaine) from ranbaxy pharmacy
Finpecia (1 mg finasteride) from CIPLA
Scalpe lotion (generic version of Nizoral with ketoconazole 2 %)
Since Amexidil & Finpecia werent available in the shop from where I purchased Scalpe I decided to purchase Mintop Forte 5% & Finax( 1 mg finasteride) instead. I used them for 2 months ( April 2012 & May 2012) along with theshampoo which was very occasional, Though my hair fall reduced a bit but it did not stop & density did not improve. Everytime I combed my hair down straight I would still see some hairs on the desk. This drove me crazy. Now I had a wild idea of altering the medicine brands & switching to slightly pricier brands hoping the pricier..the better & it would yield me better results. Prior to starting treatment in April, I cut my hair really short to take my pics & see how my hair really looked like in bright light.
Below are the samples:
In June I decided to switch to Tugain foam 5% (by Cipla ) from Mintop forte 5 % solution & Nizral 2 % shampoo instead of scalpe . I liked the foam very much, its ease of application, hairfall halted, no greasiness, no itching etc. While using these I found people complaining that the foam was being absorbed into their hair shafts & not penetrating into the scalp. May be this was the reason of my hairfall getting stopped. I was again terrified. I thought perhaps the soln. was doing its job & not this.
So again in July 2012 (after a month) I switched to Amexidil 5 spray (generic version of Rogaine minoxidil 5% solution from ranbaxy pharmacy). The only thing good about this was its price( was a lot cheaper than both the tugain foam & mintop forte 5 % that had to be applied with a dropper). Rest eveything was pure hell. Consequences of this brand of minoxidil:
1. Intensely itchy scalp
2. Heavy hairfall (20-30 daily both in the day and night)
3. Confusing method of application
During this period I was using Nizral 2 % 2 times every 1-2 weeks but in more volume.Annoyed of it's sides I was desperate to finish both of them fast. During this period I used to visit this forum a lot & found many members to be using finpecia instead of Finax & OTC Nizoral 1 % against prescription nizral 2%. Again I had a new ray of hope. I thought this would work for me as well . Desperate enough to start my new treatments I quickly finished my ongoing medications. It took a bit more than one month(till Aug 10, 2012) for that minoxidil spray to complete as I was not regular.
Prior to starting this treatment in August 2012, I took a photo of only my scalp to post here and find out from you guys if my condition actually improved or not.
Did my hair improve? Does it belong to any pattern in the Norwood scale?
I need opinion of u guys here. I personally think it improved a very little bit (if at all). Sorry I could not take any more pics as I felt ashamed to ask anybody to take them but if u guys ask... for more areas like hairline,temples,verterx, I will definitely manage & post them here.
My parents though supporting me financially for taking this treatment which they considered to be useless gave a biased answer everytime I asked them if my hair improved or not? Sometimes they told yes the vertex portion improved & sometimes no it's still visible.Sometimes I used to get severely upset over this & demotivated whether to continue my regimen or not.
And finally this august 2012..I switched to finpecia (since it was a favorite among members here) & my old personal favorite tugain foam 5% (both from Cipla) which I had used only once. I could not find nizoral 1 % as stock was empty and bought nizral 2 % instead.
After starting this treatment, I became very regular. I was applying the tugain foam 2 times (half a capful each time, keeping it 4 hrs & then washing it off) maintaining a gap of 12 hrs in between application every day, shampooing 2 times a week (rinsing once & leaving it for 5 mins each time), took 1 mg of finpecia every morning in empty stomach as I had read somewhere that since testosterone levels were higher in the morning it wont be allowed to get converted into DHT. All these correct forms of application, I had only learnt in the past month from here & applied them in my regimen this month. Everything was fine until recently when I started itching heavily in the back of my scalp near the temples. I was annoyed as this region never itched before & shed 5-10 hairs daily . Now I thought propylene gycol in Tugain Foam 5 % might be the culprit.
My future plans (which is definitely my final choice of medicines), that I will continue ever after from next month i.e Sept 2012
1. Mintop forte 5% foam (generic version of Minxidil 5 % rogaine from India's biggest pharmacy dr. reddy's)- as it's clearly stated in the cover propylene glycol free.
2. Finpecia 1 mg (from Cipla - 3rd largest Indian pharmacy)- as its very popular in this forum.
3. Nizoral 1 %- as its cheap, popular & can be used more frequently.
So basically what I have learnt about myself is that I am a diffuse thinner who has lost hair mostly from his vertex( crown region), anterior midscalp area, a little bit in the left temples & in the frontals which you might have also judged from my pics. I am still doubtful if my hairline has not receeded or not. I had my hair cut really short this month to take a scalp photo. When it grows a little bit, I will be pulling it back & taking a lot more photos from every possible , so as to have a brief analysis on it.
All I need from you is advice, tips, opinions, motivation & luck to continue my regimen. I have started treatments at the earliest possible time since such treatments aren't allowed before 18. I strongly wish my condition reverses. Thanking you in advance for taking time to read my story...
My first impression of hair loss was when I was only 17 when some of my friends could see less dense hair on my scalp & told I might be getting bald. I ignored it thinking it was just my hair's regular texture & not alopecia. My mom's father & one of father's elder brother had suffered from male pattern baldness, but since my father & mother didnt experience it, I thought I was safe. I had completely forgot about it until recently when I was 19 yrs ( August, 2011) & had heavy shedding, flaking & small bumps over my scalp etc. I went to a dermatologist & she wrongly diagonised it as seborrheic dermatitis & accordingly wrote medications for it (some of them were Livosiz tablets, multivitamin & KZ lotion). 2 months later, the tiny bumps over my scalp went away but hairfall did not stop. Everyday when I would comb my hair I would have 20-25 hairs shed my desk. I again went to her asking if I wasn't responding & may be that's when she realised I was suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia .
She then prescribed me :
Mintop Forte 5% soln.( generic version of Rogaine from Dr. Reddy's) ,
Finax (1 mg finasteride) tablets & KZ lotion (Ketoconazole 2%). Leaving the shampoo, I started using the other two for 1 month (December 2011), discontinued in the month of January & again used in February 2012 , during this two months in which I took these treatments, my scalp did not itch but hair felt greasy, odd & it still shed. I completely lost hope on her. i thought she wrongly diagnosed me again I discontinued all the medications for 1month (March) & waited for my semester exams to finish.Then decided to go to another dermatologist (a more reputed one this time) and he correctly diagnosed it as Androgenetic Alopecia (in one go) & wrote treatments for it. He prescribed me the following :
Amexidil 5 % spray (generic version of rogaine) from ranbaxy pharmacy
Finpecia (1 mg finasteride) from CIPLA
Scalpe lotion (generic version of Nizoral with ketoconazole 2 %)
Since Amexidil & Finpecia werent available in the shop from where I purchased Scalpe I decided to purchase Mintop Forte 5% & Finax( 1 mg finasteride) instead. I used them for 2 months ( April 2012 & May 2012) along with theshampoo which was very occasional, Though my hair fall reduced a bit but it did not stop & density did not improve. Everytime I combed my hair down straight I would still see some hairs on the desk. This drove me crazy. Now I had a wild idea of altering the medicine brands & switching to slightly pricier brands hoping the pricier..the better & it would yield me better results. Prior to starting treatment in April, I cut my hair really short to take my pics & see how my hair really looked like in bright light.
Below are the samples:
In June I decided to switch to Tugain foam 5% (by Cipla ) from Mintop forte 5 % solution & Nizral 2 % shampoo instead of scalpe . I liked the foam very much, its ease of application, hairfall halted, no greasiness, no itching etc. While using these I found people complaining that the foam was being absorbed into their hair shafts & not penetrating into the scalp. May be this was the reason of my hairfall getting stopped. I was again terrified. I thought perhaps the soln. was doing its job & not this.
So again in July 2012 (after a month) I switched to Amexidil 5 spray (generic version of Rogaine minoxidil 5% solution from ranbaxy pharmacy). The only thing good about this was its price( was a lot cheaper than both the tugain foam & mintop forte 5 % that had to be applied with a dropper). Rest eveything was pure hell. Consequences of this brand of minoxidil:
1. Intensely itchy scalp
2. Heavy hairfall (20-30 daily both in the day and night)
3. Confusing method of application
During this period I was using Nizral 2 % 2 times every 1-2 weeks but in more volume.Annoyed of it's sides I was desperate to finish both of them fast. During this period I used to visit this forum a lot & found many members to be using finpecia instead of Finax & OTC Nizoral 1 % against prescription nizral 2%. Again I had a new ray of hope. I thought this would work for me as well . Desperate enough to start my new treatments I quickly finished my ongoing medications. It took a bit more than one month(till Aug 10, 2012) for that minoxidil spray to complete as I was not regular.
Prior to starting this treatment in August 2012, I took a photo of only my scalp to post here and find out from you guys if my condition actually improved or not.
Did my hair improve? Does it belong to any pattern in the Norwood scale?
I need opinion of u guys here. I personally think it improved a very little bit (if at all). Sorry I could not take any more pics as I felt ashamed to ask anybody to take them but if u guys ask... for more areas like hairline,temples,verterx, I will definitely manage & post them here.
My parents though supporting me financially for taking this treatment which they considered to be useless gave a biased answer everytime I asked them if my hair improved or not? Sometimes they told yes the vertex portion improved & sometimes no it's still visible.Sometimes I used to get severely upset over this & demotivated whether to continue my regimen or not.
And finally this august 2012..I switched to finpecia (since it was a favorite among members here) & my old personal favorite tugain foam 5% (both from Cipla) which I had used only once. I could not find nizoral 1 % as stock was empty and bought nizral 2 % instead.
After starting this treatment, I became very regular. I was applying the tugain foam 2 times (half a capful each time, keeping it 4 hrs & then washing it off) maintaining a gap of 12 hrs in between application every day, shampooing 2 times a week (rinsing once & leaving it for 5 mins each time), took 1 mg of finpecia every morning in empty stomach as I had read somewhere that since testosterone levels were higher in the morning it wont be allowed to get converted into DHT. All these correct forms of application, I had only learnt in the past month from here & applied them in my regimen this month. Everything was fine until recently when I started itching heavily in the back of my scalp near the temples. I was annoyed as this region never itched before & shed 5-10 hairs daily . Now I thought propylene gycol in Tugain Foam 5 % might be the culprit.
My future plans (which is definitely my final choice of medicines), that I will continue ever after from next month i.e Sept 2012
1. Mintop forte 5% foam (generic version of Minxidil 5 % rogaine from India's biggest pharmacy dr. reddy's)- as it's clearly stated in the cover propylene glycol free.
2. Finpecia 1 mg (from Cipla - 3rd largest Indian pharmacy)- as its very popular in this forum.
3. Nizoral 1 %- as its cheap, popular & can be used more frequently.
So basically what I have learnt about myself is that I am a diffuse thinner who has lost hair mostly from his vertex( crown region), anterior midscalp area, a little bit in the left temples & in the frontals which you might have also judged from my pics. I am still doubtful if my hairline has not receeded or not. I had my hair cut really short this month to take a scalp photo. When it grows a little bit, I will be pulling it back & taking a lot more photos from every possible , so as to have a brief analysis on it.
All I need from you is advice, tips, opinions, motivation & luck to continue my regimen. I have started treatments at the earliest possible time since such treatments aren't allowed before 18. I strongly wish my condition reverses. Thanking you in advance for taking time to read my story...
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