Can Hair Loss be STOPPED for YEARS????

[Cornholio]

Studies of hair loss treatments (when they exist at all) are generally short term and single agent... However, most of us realize that no one treatment by itself for long. Studies show both minoxidil and propecia have a peak effect on hair regrowth at around 2 years, with gradual loss of hair towards baseline over the next few years. The question is, with multiple treatments available today can hair loss be stopped for most people with medical management? If so, it is the first decade in the history of the world that that could be true... however there have been significant new developments within the last decade which make me wonder if it is possible. Specifically, the possibility of combining oral and topical DHT blockers for more complete blockade than previously possible is an significant development that has not been completely studied in combination with other available treatments (to say nothing of dutasteride, which hasnt been adequately studied on its own).

What is your impression of the "state of the science?"
?Any long term (more than a few years) success stories?

PS> It is difficult to know how to interpret individual results, since that person's hair loss might have stopped at that point with or without treatment.... Still, a few long term success stories would be encouraging.

PPS> Im about Norwood 2-2.5 and plan to stay that way : ) Lord willing, knock on wood, ..

 

[Trent]

over the last year, i have heard of many long term success stories, i think the longest was seven years. As for the state of science, my plan is to let propecia give me just a little more regrowth and maintain for five more years. By this time, I am pretty confident that HM will be out and successful (i know there are a lot of people who may disagree with this, but read a little bit on the intercytex website and you might change your mind http://www.intercytex.com/icx/news/rele ... 004-05-06/ ). Intercytex is really moving this baby along, as they are already in phase II of their clinical trials. they plan on having it available by 2009.

so keep your chin up, rock the propecia and milk it for all its worth, in my opinion, help is on the way.

 

[Cornholio]

Hope

Actually I have been on Propecia 4 years with reasonable maintenence, but am having a bad hair year and realizing that diffuse thinning and that 1cm of hairline I lost is a bad trend. So, Ive read a lot of boards like these and settled on a new multi-drug treatment. Its the best I can do for now (other than add retin-a and inflamil) without spending my entire day dabbing on formulas and transfering my entire paycheck to hairloss treatment sites. I feel better (that good feeling is HOPE) but in the back of my mind im wondering if I am delaying the inevitable by 5, 10 or 20 years. And, of course, Im wondering if Im doing enough...

At age 37, Norwood 2- 2.5, I guess I would really like 30 years efficacy. By then I should be mature enough to deal with this hair loss, or blind : )

Im not putting much confidence in HM, though it will be a gift if it is developed in my lifetime... And, Id like to avoid hair transplant forever if possible, even if it places me on some costly meds... As long as they can be taken with reasonable convenience i would trade the cost of Surgery for costly pills/lotions anyday.


DR. Evil.

Dutasteride .5mg , 4 each day
Xanadrox twice a day
Tricomin once each am
nizoral/ head and shoulders

 

[Full Head of Hair]

Doctor Evil, what leads you to believe that HM may not be available in your lifetime? I have read many of those sites and its sounds very promising.

 

[Cornholio]

23 y/o

Sorry, I didnt mean to say I didnt think that HM would or wouldnt be available,... I havent really read much about that, but have seen some promising posts. It's just that I would like to use meds/pills/topicals available to the max for my personal treatment now... I have just gotten to the point of understanding a little about them and want to give them their best shot this summer. If/when they fail me, I hope and pray that there are options like HM available as that would certainly be better than hair transplant. But, I think its wise to give the available meds their best chance. When that's not working I guess I'll have to read those boards too : )

Dr. Evil

 

[hotrod]

Docror Evil, at the bottom of one of your posts it says you take 4 duts per day, how long have you been doing this for?

 

[Guest]

Try to remember that male pattern baldness effects most men at some point in there lives.

Some are lucky and only recede a little later on in life. It can happen at any age and generally happens in spikes of thinning or recession.

If you are lucky and catch your male pattern baldness right at the start and maintain a NW1 for 5 years, you may find that once the finasteride starts to lose its effect slightly you may take another few years to recede to a NW2 and may possibly stay that way for the rest of your life.

The finasteride will still be working but not as well - don't stop taking it just because you lose some hair.

 

[Cornholio]

"Docror Evil, at the bottom of one of your posts it says you take 4 duts per day, how long have you been doing this for?"

Ummm... For 2 weeks : ) . Within the last month I did a lot of reading (still am) and switched from Proscar to Dutas (generic dutasteride .5mg) and topicals. I am still sorting out what my final program will be for the next 6 months (then re-evaluate) but it will be close to that listed below.

I had no side effects from proscar and am therefore comfortable with switching to dutasteride. Additionally I suspect that, based on the phase II trials, had avodart been marketed for hair loss it would have been at the 2.5mg dose rather than .5mg. dutasteride .5mg was similar or slightly superior to Finasteride in effect, but 2.5mg had a slightly (significantly?) superior hair count, and lowered scalp dht levels better. The phase III trials were roumored to have been 2.5mg for 6 months then .5mg... Dont know why, or what they would have learned had they done that but I believe the 2.5 mg dose had a somewhat superior effect regarding DHT supression and hair counts. The cost is the main downside for me, but generic takes it from impossible to do-able (though not without pain). It is the cost that makes me go a little low (4x .5 = 2.0mg) for now. After 6 months I dont know what I will do without studies to guide me, but I guess everybody is making it up as they go along.

The difficulty is judging success. If my hairline is "maintained" at 6 months, that is good, but I will not know if that would have happened anyway or if my combined treatment plan worked. If I assumed it worked then I dont know if each part of the regime was needed or helpful. But, at this point, I am of a mood to throw the kitchen sink at it and sort it out later.

 

[Greg1]

I've seen my hairloss stop using LLLT and this June will mark my third year on it

 

[oni]

Doctor Evil the 2.5mg dutasteride over 6mths I think is a loading dose.

 

[unluckystat]

Although I'm in a pretty shitty situation, 19 years old and losing hair, I am grateful to be living in a day and age where we at least have some options to maintain or possibly regrow our hair. Although it kind of sucks that American society is much more superficial today than they were decades ago.

 

[Cornholio]

I've seen my hairloss stop using LLLT and this June will mark my third year on it

I love hearing people say things like that : ), but, what is "LLLT"? Does it involve "lazers" (Im dr. evil so i use my fingers to make quote signs when I say that and say it like in the movie, very funny, you should see me). I have figured out "the big 3", HM and hair transplant but that is a new one.

Oni, Im not so sure. This link shows a graph that shows it really does take about 4 months to reach "steady state" with the .5mg dutasteride... but much less time with a loading dose of 1.5mg (pink line) http://www.hairsite2.com/images/dutas_analysis.jpg

Though the 2.5mg dose isnt shown you could guesstimate (guess + estimate) that the 2.5mg dose would reach steady state in less than 6 months, BUT i would also suspect that if dose was switched from 2.5 to 0.5mg (as the phase III trials would have)the "steady state" would have gradually fallen to that of the 0.5mg group over the second six month period. Why this would have been the plan is a mystery to me, unless they believe that the lower DHT levels obtainable at the 2.5mg dose arent necessary for maintenence, or if they planned to cycle like this (2.5mg then .5mg), or if they just wanted to see what happened... We really need the study results to know which worked out to be the optimal dose. A final possibility is that the researchers couldnt afford the 2.5mg dose for a full year either : ) . Im sure this dosing issue has been discussed elsewhere in the archives.. I just need to look for it.

thankyou

 

[Cornholio]

"unluckystat"I am grateful to be living in a day and age where we at least have some options to maintain or possibly regrow our hair. >>>>

Thats what im saying ! Until propecia and minoxidil, which were no proven treatments (treatments not cures), just snake oil. Now transplants are using micro techniques (still very expensive, but not punching holes in the scalp) with HM on the way. If it works out, I think I will be able to say that, had I been born 10 years earlier things would been much different.

"Although it kind of sucks that American society is much more superficial today than they were decades ago">>>>

Ive already accepted the fact that Im a "metrosexual", largely based on the spritzes, lotions and pills in my medicine cabinet dedicated to keeping hair on my head. I think it is a luxury to be able to fixate on hair like I do, recognize it as an unessential and vain activity and keep doing it... Because the cost of addressing it is inevitable, as Ill pay through therapy, midlife crisis shopping binges or lost income related to hairloss. While hairloss was probably always traumatic, I think constant media exposure and our growing belief that we should all have perfect flawless movie-star lives makes it more difficult to bear. The belief that there is a medical cure for every problem also plays into this. Women have been a half step ahead of men in this department for years (makeup, breast implants, wigs) but I will guess that men will catch up in our generation...

 

[Greg1]

Dr. Evil (sounds like something from Austin Powers) LLLT is Low Level Laser Treatment. I am currently using the Laser Comb for treatment and I guess if you want to include it, a generic multi-vitamin as well.