dantericci
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Hey all.
I've been pretty silent since 1/2006, and I thought it was time to find out from you all if you think I continue fighting the good fight I'm not sure whether I'm seeing signs of slow success, or if it's time to pack it in, call it a loss, and stop wasting my money.
I'm 27 and I've been losing hair for the past ~6-7 years. It sucks. I wear hats all the time, which I used to do as kid anyway, so I guess it's not a new thing, but now the reason I wear them is quite different. The other medical thing I've got going on is a benign disorder that affects a detoxification enzyme in the liver. I've also found lately that I'm losing hair in my extremities, and particularly in my legs (my calves and shins have bald spots).
I've been on a steadily-evolving regimen for four years now, and I honestly can't tell whether I should keep at it or stop trying.
Here's what I'm working with now:
5% minoxidil foam (1-2x's daily)
finasteride (~1.25mg daily)
msm (1500mg ~4 times a week)
That much has been more or less consistent for the past 1.5 years. At given times I've added other things in, and so I'm also putting the following to use as of late:
retin-a cream (nightly, ~1 month in)
emu oil (weekly, ~2 months in)
soy isoflavone supplement (daily, ~1 month in)
I tried a cayenne supplement, but my stomach couldn't tolerate it (I also have stomach issues). I've briefly tried but since bailed on biotin, magnesium, and saw palmetto supplements.
I don't have pictures (since I don't have a camera that will do the trick), but I'll try to describe the situation as best I can. I'd say I'm maybe something like a NW4 now, though I keep the hair on top long enough that it looks better than that when I style it well. I initially thought after beginning treatment that the loss had stopped, but after a few years of paying really, really close attention to this, I'm think I'm just experiencing a cyclic loss pattern - I shed a bunch for a few months, it slows for a few months, repeat.
Here's the thing - for the past year or so, I've been seeing TONS of new hairs growing in, even in places where I haven't had hair for years. Most of this new growth is at the temples, and some on the top. The problem is that the hair is growing very, VERY slowly. Over the past year, they've only grown maybe 0.5", and they're too thin and short to see without looking closely. But they're there, and they're growing.
The problem is that I'm STILL losing hair. A lot. Over the past month or two I've been shedding quite a bit - that is, if it keeps up at the current pace, I'll probably be at Norwood 7 couple of years, maybe less.
It just seems to me that most people who respond well tend to see good results within six months to a year, and I've been using something or other off and on for the past 2-2.5 years, and I'm not convinced that things would look any different if I hadn't used anything at all. Let's at least say that this is no success story (yet?). Incidentally, I have considered an hair transplant, but since I've got tons of college loan debt and very little disposable income, that won't be an option for me (financially) for some time.
Here's what I'm wondering:
1. Will the short, thin regrowing hairs ever lengthen and thicken up (and is their anything I could/should be using to speed that up)? Has anyone else experienced this slow regrowth before?
2. Should I consider turning up the dial (i.e. switching to Xandrox-15 and/or dutasteride)?
3. Is it time to consider any other treatments, or should I take the continued loss and slow-as-snails regrowth as a sign of failure and think about stopping altogether?
Thanks for your input, folks. Hope all is well.
D
I've been pretty silent since 1/2006, and I thought it was time to find out from you all if you think I continue fighting the good fight I'm not sure whether I'm seeing signs of slow success, or if it's time to pack it in, call it a loss, and stop wasting my money.
I'm 27 and I've been losing hair for the past ~6-7 years. It sucks. I wear hats all the time, which I used to do as kid anyway, so I guess it's not a new thing, but now the reason I wear them is quite different. The other medical thing I've got going on is a benign disorder that affects a detoxification enzyme in the liver. I've also found lately that I'm losing hair in my extremities, and particularly in my legs (my calves and shins have bald spots).
I've been on a steadily-evolving regimen for four years now, and I honestly can't tell whether I should keep at it or stop trying.
Here's what I'm working with now:
5% minoxidil foam (1-2x's daily)
finasteride (~1.25mg daily)
msm (1500mg ~4 times a week)
That much has been more or less consistent for the past 1.5 years. At given times I've added other things in, and so I'm also putting the following to use as of late:
retin-a cream (nightly, ~1 month in)
emu oil (weekly, ~2 months in)
soy isoflavone supplement (daily, ~1 month in)
I tried a cayenne supplement, but my stomach couldn't tolerate it (I also have stomach issues). I've briefly tried but since bailed on biotin, magnesium, and saw palmetto supplements.
I don't have pictures (since I don't have a camera that will do the trick), but I'll try to describe the situation as best I can. I'd say I'm maybe something like a NW4 now, though I keep the hair on top long enough that it looks better than that when I style it well. I initially thought after beginning treatment that the loss had stopped, but after a few years of paying really, really close attention to this, I'm think I'm just experiencing a cyclic loss pattern - I shed a bunch for a few months, it slows for a few months, repeat.
Here's the thing - for the past year or so, I've been seeing TONS of new hairs growing in, even in places where I haven't had hair for years. Most of this new growth is at the temples, and some on the top. The problem is that the hair is growing very, VERY slowly. Over the past year, they've only grown maybe 0.5", and they're too thin and short to see without looking closely. But they're there, and they're growing.
The problem is that I'm STILL losing hair. A lot. Over the past month or two I've been shedding quite a bit - that is, if it keeps up at the current pace, I'll probably be at Norwood 7 couple of years, maybe less.
It just seems to me that most people who respond well tend to see good results within six months to a year, and I've been using something or other off and on for the past 2-2.5 years, and I'm not convinced that things would look any different if I hadn't used anything at all. Let's at least say that this is no success story (yet?). Incidentally, I have considered an hair transplant, but since I've got tons of college loan debt and very little disposable income, that won't be an option for me (financially) for some time.
Here's what I'm wondering:
1. Will the short, thin regrowing hairs ever lengthen and thicken up (and is their anything I could/should be using to speed that up)? Has anyone else experienced this slow regrowth before?
2. Should I consider turning up the dial (i.e. switching to Xandrox-15 and/or dutasteride)?
3. Is it time to consider any other treatments, or should I take the continued loss and slow-as-snails regrowth as a sign of failure and think about stopping altogether?
Thanks for your input, folks. Hope all is well.
D