You are right. We can only hold it off for so long. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are bald, which proves that no amount of money or any kind of action can stop it. It can only delay the inevitable. But then again 50 years ago they taught that tuberculosis was irreversible, then medicine advanced and now it's curable. So maybe male pattern baldness will find a cure, or at least some other form of a transplant.
If you are asking this question the answer is "fight".
By the way, if you are a good responder to the main 3 medications, you will realize it isn't much of a "fight".
Taking finasteride, which in your case could be enough to keep your hair well into your 40s, consists of swallowing one pill every day. Not exactly much of a fight.
FIGHT. But with the right mindset- try not to let it consume you. Use proven treatments and leave it at that. Take pictures a few times a year to assess progress. Even if you lose the battle, in the future you will never regret at least trying to save your hair.
I can honestly say that out of all my friends, the happiest believe it or not are bald. They just accepted baldness and got on with enjoying their lives. Unlike me.....
A little bit of both for me. I use minoxidil but have stopped using finasteride after getting soft erections. I can slowly see my hairline thinning every 2 months. It sucks and I don't think I will ever come to terms with it but it is what it is. Every time I look in the mirror it reminds me to take as many photos as possible with my family while I have a head of hair so I can look back and remember what it looked like.
depends how bad it is honestly, some guys are probably better off just shaving it instead of holding onto whatever strands they have left on top of their head. Slow receders (for example sam worthington, hugh jackman, johnny depp, leo dicaprio,the guy from madmen) only need to pop a finasteride pill each day and they will be fine for a very long time.