Been on this site for almost a year, I need advice.

[slowburn]

I have 3 months worth of Rogaine foam and I am planning to start it in October. I am a diffuse thinner, I would say between a Norwood 2 and a Norwood 3 vertex.
http://www.williamcollierdesign.com/ima ... dchart.gif
Now my question is, is the Rogaine on it's own enough? I have read people saying they use the Rogaine and take either propecia or finasteride to maintain. Is this necessary? Can I get away with just using the Rogaine foam? I have concerns with HairLossTalk.com that I have to ingest. Namely related to the penis and or heart.

 

[ali777]

Well, you could try minoxidil for 3-6 months and see how that goes. You really have to give it around 6 months before you decide if it's working for you.

I've been on minoxidil for 3 months now, I have marginal regrowth but nothing significant. I'll wait another 3 months and then I'll evaluate my situation.

 

[Petchsky]

The problem lies with the fact that you are doing nothing to counter the DHT in your system, the biggest cause of hairloss.

 

[Norsk]

Finasteride will probably be more effective at stopping/slowing hair loss than anything else. If rogaine was all that good at stopping hair loss, we would have seen better results with it in the 80's/90's before finasteride was available. If you are ever going to try finasteride, I'd recommend starting as early as possible. (Given that you aren't too young.)

If you are worried about side effects, I suggest getting your hormones checked before taking your first pill. And quit within a few weeks if you get non-negligible side effects early on.

If you don't want to risk taking internals, I'd rather try Revivogen or Proxiphen than using Rogaine as a stand-alone treatment.

 

[slowburn]

What if I use a shampoo like Nizoral with the Rogaine? Or some sort of thickening shampoo.

 

[slowburn]

Well guys? Any help?

 

[Petchsky]

The nizoral can only help slowburn.

 

[Devender]

What if I use a shampoo like Nizoral with the Rogaine? Or some sort of thickening shampoo.

All meds dont work the same for all.
Remember, all these hairloss medicines were never made to combat hairloss. They were made for other diseases and a side/ancillary effect noticed in some people was hair regrowth.
So, if something works for you, stick to it. If you want, try the other things too. maybe, they'll work too. Its trial and error mostly.

 

[SE-freak]

The nizoral can only help slowburn.

In fact ketoconazole can do much more, but by no means can one rely on it to counter DHT damage by itself.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Ketoconazole Shampoo: Effect of Long-Term Use in Androgenic Alopecia", Pierard-Franchimont et al, Dermatology 1998;196:474-477.

"...Left untreated, androgen-dependent alopecia progressively deteriorates. This was found in the Androgenetic Alopecia subgroup using the nonmedicated shampoo alone. In contrast, both present studies concur to show an unequivocable effect of a 2% KCZ shampoo on hair variables affected by Androgenetic Alopecia. Hair density and size, and proportion of anagen follicles were all improved. Although the number of subjects was limited in the second study, results obtained compare with minoxidil. It has been stated that medications capable of maintaining the existing hair population should be regarded as effective treatments for Androgenetic Alopecia. The present data suggest that KCZ should enter this group of drugs".

"Ketocazole as an adjunct to finasteride in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in men".

Hugo Perez BS.

California College of Podiatric Medicine, 371 Columbus Avenue, 94133, San Francisco, CA, USA

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding to androgen receptors (AR) in hair follicles is commonly accepted as the first step leading to the miniaturizing of follicles associated with androgenetic alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia). Testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme 5alpha-reductase. Finasateride a 5alpha-reducase inhibitor blocks the production of DHT and is currently used to treat Androgenetic Alopecia. The inhibition is not complete but a reduction of DHT systemically and in the scalp is accomplished. Ketoconazole has been clinically shown to be effective in the treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia. In this paper, evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that ketoconazole 2% shampoo has a local disruption of the DHT pathway. It is proposed that using ketoconazole 2% shampoo as an adjunct to finasteride treatment could lead to a more complete inhibition of DHT and thus better treat Androgenetic Alopecia.

PMID: 14729013 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

***********************************************************************************************
Hair Loss Study Abstract: Ketoconazole binds to the human androgen receptor.

Title
Ketoconazole binds to the human androgen receptor.
Author
Eil C
Address
Department of Internal Medicine, Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland.
Source
Horm Metab Res, 24: 8, 1992 Aug, 367-70
Abstract
Ketoconazole, an imidazole anti-fungal agent, has often produced features of androgen deficiency including decreased libido, gynecomastia, impotence, oligospermia, and decreased testosterone levels, in men being treated for chronic mycotic infections. Based on these potent effects on gonadal function in vivo as well as previous work in vitro demonstrating affinity of ketoconazole for receptor proteins for glucocorticoids and 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 and for sex steroid binding globulin (SSBG), the binding of ketoconazole to human androgen receptors (AR) in vitro was also examined. Ketoconazole competition with [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881) for androgen binding sites in dispersed, intact cultured human skin fibroblasts was determined at 22 degrees C. Fifty percent displacement of [3H]R1881 binding to AR was achieved by 6.4 +/- 1.8 (SE) x 10(-5) M ketoconazole. Additional binding studies performed with ketoconazole in the presence of increasing amounts of [3H]R1881 showed that the interaction of ketoconazole with AR was competitive when the data were analyzed by the Scatchard method. It should be noted, however, that the dose of ketoconazole required for 50% occupancy of the androgen receptor is not likely to be achieved in vivo, at least in plasma. Finally, androgen binding studies performed with other imidazoles, such as clotrimazole, miconazole, and fluconozole, revealed that in this class of compounds only ketoconazole appears to interact with the androgen receptor. Ketoconazole appears to be the first example of a non-steroidal compound which binds competitively to both SSBG and multiple steroid hormone receptors, suggesting that the ligand binding sites of these proteins share some features in common.
Language of Publication
English
Unique Identifier
92406209

 

[MonarchyB]

i would advice using a topical DHT suppressor. Nizoral can be effective if you are suffering from increased scalp fungal production but you would be more likely to achieve more effective results if you inhibit 5AR (anti-DHT)