Balding At 19! - Help? Finasteride Acclerating Hair Loss? Reflux Hyperandrogenicity?

[scott999]

Hey guys so I am currently experiencing rapid hair loss at the age of 19. I first started noticing my hair thinning about a year ago when I was 18. I am currently a sophomore in college and have a pretty bad history of family hair loss. My dad went bald when he was 20. My older brother shaved his head when he was 21. I am currently 19 and would say I am about a Norwood 1.5 and have diffused thinning everywhere. The funny thing is I have a identical twin brother who is also experiencing hair loss but at a much slower rate. Here is why.

So back in Febuary of 2018, I went to my dermotologist and got a prescription for Finasteride. I took it for about a month and felt the sides immediatly so I stopped. Then I noticed my hair thin some more and decided to go back on it in May 2018 (finish my 3 month prescription). Well over the summer I noticed huge lost in hair, MAJOR SHEDDING. I started to recede in my temples and hair started to get diffused. I never ever ever ever had a probably with my crown until I took finasteride. At first, I noticed some side effects my second time around but nothing major like the first time, which I thought was good. My scalp itch went away and I noticed feeling better. Well after about three months I had a massive shed and it just kept on getting worse. So i decided to stop taking it cold turkey in late august 2018. I noticed massive shedding even after stopping and don't know what to do. Once i stopped my itch came back and many tiny hairs started falling from my scalp. I am afraid that if i stay on it i could be just making my hair worse, although it seemed to help the itch. I have read that alot of younger guys who took finasteride with very aggressive hair loss develop reflex hyperandrogenicity. I have a fear if I stay on finastride that my hair will just get worse. I feel like since hair loss is pretty bad in my family my body is probably very sensitive to DHT. I started taking 500mg of Saw Palmetto about a week ago so I will see how that goes. I also use Nizoral shampoo 4 times a week.
Another note: I feel like since I have a history of bad sleep, anxiety/panic attacks, bad acne and oily skin. I might have a thyroid problem that is contributing to my hair loss. No one in my family has ever looked into this and I feel like I should. Any suggestions on if a thyroid issue could add to my male pattern baldness?

Overall, I would say my hair loss is still not that noticeable but I would like to do my best to prevent any further hair loss. I am also ok with going bald since my dad, brother and all my uncles went bald in their early 20's. I just want to maintain what I have till I am much older, or at least till I finish college! Can someone please suggest some things I could do before It becomes noticeable!!!

 

[Derelict]

thyroid issues can speed up male pattern baldness, i doubt you had reflex hyperandrogenicity, what is the longest you were taking finasteride for? saw palmetto is useless, it's just a weaker dht blocker than finasteride. Finasteride, minoxidil and nizoral with some possible dermarolling is still your best bet to maintain and regrow. I have read stories of people experiences shed even after 9 months with finasteride, im currently losing hair on the top, looks like diffuse thinning, when i started finasteride it was just my crown that was the problem, im still going to wait it out and hope it is just a shed.

 

[Tommybommy1363]

Stopping propecia was a bad idea. Get back on it if you have no sides

 

[scott999]

thyroid issues can speed up male pattern baldness, i doubt you had reflex hyperandrogenicity, what is the longest you were taking finasteride for? saw palmetto is useless, it's just a weaker dht blocker than finasteride. Finasteride, minoxidil and nizoral with some possible dermarolling is still your best bet to maintain and regrow. I have read stories of people experiences shed even after 9 months with finasteride, im currently losing hair on the top, looks like diffuse thinning, when i started finasteride it was just my crown that was the problem, im still going to wait it out and hope it is just a shed.

I was on it for 3 months. I feel like if I stay on it though I could be one of the unlucky ones who lose most of, if not all of their hair. I feel like young people dont respond as well to finasteride because most of the clinical trials were done on grown men. I feel like DHT sensitivity plays a huge role.

 

[scott999]

Stopping propecia was a bad idea. Get back on it if you have no sides

I had a 50% decrease in hair volume and major recession at the temples in less than three months. Do you think this is a shed or something more (hyper androgencity?). I had minor sides but it was like decrease sex drive so i dont really consider it anything big. Should I go back on it right away or start at a lower dosage?

 

[Derelict]

I had a 50% decrease in hair volume and major recession at the temples in less than three months. Do you think this is a shed or something more (hyper androgencity?). I had minor sides but it was like decrease sex drive so i dont really consider it anything big. Should I go back on it right away or start at a lower dosage?

I don't think starting at a lower dosage will help, 0.25mg still inhibits roughly the same DHT as 1mg. Unless you want to save money i see no point. I would give finasteride a solid year/ 15 months. It's rough i know, i have lost alot of density at the top of my head and im on month 7/8 of finasteride, considered switching to dutasteride because my hair is so bad, but im just going to ride it out and hope it's a shed. Patience is the key when it comes to your hair. You really have no other options.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

It could be the nizoral that's causing you to shed, using it 4 times a week is waaayyyy too much. Nizoral dries out the hair and leaves it brittle which then causes the hair to shed, you're damaging your hair! I would take a break from it for a while and then use it only ONCE a week.

 

[Retinoid]

There are anecdotal reports that Finasteride causes a shed. We know Minoxidil does by essentially shorting telogen so more hair sheds. Finasteride may do the same. Finasteride does not cause hyperandrogencity. I know people throw that around a lot but it does not.