Dinosaur_Sr's Story (22, NW2-2.5, Thinning)

[dinosaur_sr]

Hi all, thought I'd track my progress on this forum. Feel free to comment if/however you wish, feedback and questions are appreciated unk: This will be pretty thorough so bear with me..

Family History: Dad's still NW1, hair like a thick paintbrush at age 50. Brother annoyingly seems to be going the same way. Uncle only slightly worse off than me in his late 40s. Grandad full head of hair most of his life, only started receding in his 70s-80s, not really worth considering in my book.

Not much to go on on my mum's side. Her dad died at 51 when she was still a baby, apparently with a full head of hair, couldn't tell you more than that. I have a Great Uncle on that side NW5 plus, not sure how quickly he got their, but maybe that's where I got it from :bravo:

One of the main reasons I'm attempting to keep my hair, besides the standard reasons of looking older/less attractive, having the wrong head shape, being teased, etc, is that I don't want to be the bald one of my family.

My Hair I've always had blonde, soft, fine hair (now a light brown), but until recently it was reasonably thick. Here's a picture of me at 17, before I started losing it.[attachment=3:395z6kiz]DSC01295.jpg[/attachment:395z6kiz]

Am around an NW1 there. That lasted until I was about 19, where over 9 months my hairline crept back to where it is now, about an NW2-2.5 (or whatever, idc really). Didn't notice it for a long time, as my family history had prevented me from noticing my or anybody else's hairline, as I assumed I wouldn't go bald.

About a year ago a friend jokingly commented on it, first time I really noticed the recession. Wasn't too worried about it until June this year, when (out of the blue, it seemed, although not the case of course) I noticed my hair had become too thin and whispy at the front to pull off the longer look I occasionally went for. I got serious, put in the research and found this site, amongst others!

Here's a few pictures taken a few days ago. Apologies if they're a bit big. Hair pulled back -
[attachment=2:395z6kiz]IMG-20110928-00077.jpg[/attachment:395z6kiz]

This one highlights exactly where the loss is, and what it looks like forward - I tend to move it to one side to even out the hairline. Not the greatest picture I know, but it does the job. [attachment=1:395z6kiz]IMG-20110929-00124.jpg[/attachment:395z6kiz]

Here it is from the top -
[attachment=0:395z6kiz]hair 3 washed.jpg[/attachment:395z6kiz]

My goals Mainly to attempt to maintain what I currently have with finasteride (Propecia or Proscar), and Nizoral as long as it continues to work for me (had a brief bad patch, but since then it's continued to make my hair look good). I'm pretty happy with what I have, so spending a fair bit of money on all of the big three seems unnecessary.

I may add Regaine foam later, if I'm certain finasteride is working for me and it seems like a good option. I'm trying to look at this pessimistically to ensure as little disappointment as possible. If I can maintain on finasteride without sides, that's great news, as not everyone does. If I can thicken up with finasteride or regaine, that's even better, and if I can regrow in the temples and get a better frame on my face, that'd be ideal. I'll probably never be NW1 again, but I can dream.

Am also looking to lose weight, may intermittently track my progress on here - no photos or excessive details. Found out I'm 13 stone (180 pounds), and at 5'9" that's quite hefty (and fairly overweight on bmi). I have broad shoulders and somewhat of an endomorphic body shape, so I carry it pretty well, but I'd love to slim down for my looks/health.

 

[dinosaur_sr]

I saw my doctor today regarding finasteride prescription. As I feared, he seemed fairly clueless, only asking about my family history, examining my hair and commenting 'I'm surprised you noticed' 'you should be proud' etc. Nice to hear, but not very helpful! He organized a blood test for next Tuesday to ensure my hair loss wasn't caused by something besides male pattern baldness, and said he may have to refer me to a dermatologist. Bit frustrating, but at least I'm getting there, if slowly.

 

[KnowHair]

Good luck, mate!

I would recommend that when your Doctor does send you to derm, tell the derm right off that you are there because you have "male pattern baldness" and want him/her to give you a prescription of Finasteride and specifically Proscar (or a 5mg generic of Proscar) that you intend to cut into fourths and take daily. That way he/she'll see that you've done your research - no more run around, blood tests and other such crap.

Also, I would recommend that you don't touch Rogain. If Finasteride alone will do it for you, why bother with anything else, especially a messy topical that is a pain to apply and makes your hair look like crap? Also, with Rogain, I've read many reports of people's skin aging quicker, getting premature wrinkles, getting larger pores, facial hair growth in the wrong places (like on a forehead), etc., in other words visible and clearly non-psychosomatic side effects.

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Good luck, mate!

I would recommend that when your Doctor does send you to derm, tell the derm right off that you are there because you have "male pattern baldness" and want him/her to give you a prescription of Finasteride and specifically Proscar (or a 5mg generic of Proscar) that you intend to cut into fourths and take daily. That way he/she'll see that you've done your research - no more run around, blood tests and other such crap.

Also, I would recommend that you don't touch Rogain. If Finasteride alone will do it for you, why bother with anything else, especially a messy topical that is a pain to apply and makes your hair look like crap? Also, with Rogain, I've read many reports of people's skin aging quicker, getting premature wrinkles, getting larger pores, facial hair growth in the wrong places (like on a forehead), etc., in other words visible and clearly non-psychosomatic side effects.

Thanks dude! My blood test is tomorrow and I'm definitely planning on being more assertive. Surprised you're so anti-rogaine, it doesn't seem to be nearly as controversial as finasteride. If I can avoid it I will though.

I've signed up for a consultation with PrivateMeds in the meantime. Would prefer to go through my doctor, but if it can get me started a little quicker I might use it.

Got my hair cut to a short four back and sides today, it's a much better look and actually makes my hairline and thickness look better oddly. Bad thing is I can see some of the miniaturized hair at the front more clearly!

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Took my first Propecia yesterday - been on Nizoral for 6-8 weeks now. Will update with any news or changes unk:

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Well it's been just under 2 months now and I've already seen results!

My temples have grown in quite a lot. At first I saw a couple of small hairs on the right side, about a week in, and since then more and more have come in and grown thicker. Compared to the above picture I took it's a big improvement, and it's improved my hairline a ton.

I don't think the top has changed much, still a bit thin and weak, but not overly so. Hopefully that'll change as it's still very early in the game, but it's not a big deal as the temples growing in have improved things considerably and I think it looks good.

I'll put up some pictures soon, I'm holding out to see if things improve even more

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Not much has changed, thankfully - my temples have really thickened up and improved my hairline no end. I'd probably place it at NW1.5, although opinions will vary, naturally - that sounds like an exaggeration but it's not, I've been very lucky.

Top's still relatively thin, nothing drastic. The front's fairly miniatiurized, but I'm not too worried as I'm still only four months into treatment. Haven't used nizoral in over a week so I've ordered some more just in case.

It's far more than I was expecting from just propecia and nizoral. It's improved my confidence too, and drastically cut down the amount I think about or worry about my hair, which is a weight off my shoulders. No side effects either, big relief.

Weight loss is going ok too, lost 6 pounds in three weeks, about 10 overall, which isn't bad. I'm trying to take it easy and improve my general lifestyle rather than binge diet. It's easy to get caught up in day to day struggles, but writing about it I realise what positive steps I've taken

 

[Kirby]

Temple and frontal improvement with finasteride + nix alone, at four months? You're lucky; and may the improvement continue.

 

[mrfifs]

hey bro it would be great if you post your updated pictures.

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Temple and frontal improvement with finasteride + nix alone, at four months? You're lucky; and may the improvement continue.

hey bro it would be great if you post your updated pictures.

Thanks! No frontal improvement I'm afraid, may be a little worse actually, but I don't think that's anything to worry about this far in based on the studies.

[attachment=1:25zxrnfi]hair.jpg[/attachment:25zxrnfi]

Kept the hair forward and took this under light so you can see it's still kind of thin, but I think it's pretty apparent how much the temples have improved.

[attachment=0:25zxrnfi]hair2.jpg[/attachment:25zxrnfi]

And here's one from the side. I think I'm going to cut it shorter as the top tends to look a bit wispy.

As you may have guessed I'm pretty chuffed with the results

 

[Baker1986]

Looks good From the pictures, thinning/recession doesen't look obvious.

 

[dinosaur_sr]

thanks man, hoping it continues!

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Hi everybody, thought I'd post an update as it's apparently been a year now! Time flies. The Propecia is still working it's magic, my hair has stabilized and the temples have grown in a little as I've mentioned. The first few months my hair was pretty thin, possibly due to shedding, but since then it's got a little thicker and now generally looks pretty good with a short to medium length style, although not as thick as it once was. I'm considering using Rogaine for this, although it'd be more of a vanity thing than out of necessity.

I've never had any side effects. I generally use Nizoral about once a week and haven't noticed any changes from once every three days. So glad I chose to get on finasteride, it's really helped me and I'd recommend it to anybody! Looking back at my old pictures, my hair has improved even more than I've realized! Thinking about posting this in Success Stories as it may inspire others losing their hair to do the same.

I also mentioned I've been looking to lose weight. Since then I've lost about 10-15 pounds! Mainly through p90x lean program and changing my diet to a more 'paleo' based diet. This is a low grain and processed food diet I'd highly recommend, although I'm still a sucker for desserts sadly. I'm looking to get into cycling more (bit tired of the videos) and cut down on the bad stuff to continue this.

Here's a couple of pictures, I'll try and remember to put up some later that show the hairline!

 

[talmoode]

looks awesome! Good on you, mate!

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Quick update! Things are still going well here. My hair might be in a slightly better place than it was actually - hard to say. I'll post some pictures soon. I'd also like to try and find some pictures to post from before I started propecia that give a better idea of where my hair was headed. I'm pretty lax on my Nizoral use and it hasn't really affected things too much, it doesn't seem like a necessity, although I do still use it when I remember. 90% of the time I'd say I'm happy with how my hair is today!

Weight loss is going well too, I don't weigh myself but I've lost a bit more since the last update. I've joined my local rowing club, which I'm enjoying and should be good for my fitness. I reckon if I can lose about 1 stone more (14lbs) I'll be about where I've always wanted to be!

 

[Trax13]

Looking forward to your future updates. Congrats on your success!

 

[temp600]

Quick update! Things are still going well here. My hair might be in a slightly better place than it was actually - hard to say. I'll post some pictures soon. I'd also like to try and find some pictures to post from before I started propecia that give a better idea of where my hair was headed. I'm pretty lax on my Nizoral use and it hasn't really affected things too much, it doesn't seem like a necessity, although I do still use it when I remember. 90% of the time I'd say I'm happy with how my hair is today!

Weight loss is going well too, I don't weigh myself but I've lost a bit more since the last update. I've joined my local rowing club, which I'm enjoying and should be good for my fitness. I reckon if I can lose about 1 stone more (14lbs) I'll be about where I've always wanted to be!

Just read through the thread and it really motivated me to get on finasteride. My dad is a nw1 at 50, both grandpas pretty much bald at 70-75. Im turning 21 soon and over the last year I've gone from almost perfect hairline(judging by pictures) to nw1.5-2 and i can see my temples thinning. Started on minoxidil, biotin and vitamins 2 weeks ago. I'll try to get on finasteride as soon as possible. Great results and keep us updated.

 

[headless]

Very good of you to join the rowing club, I love that sport, have been doing it for years. Sit up straight and you'll get a killer body

I just started my regimen and I would love to have similar results like you, looking great! Keep it up!

 

[dinosaur_sr]

Thank you for the positive responses people - best of luck! : )

Right, here are some pictures, taken this evening.







It's not perfect but I'm happy with it! Might add Rogaine if I think it's worth it/can afford it in future. My hair doesn't look great longer as it doesn't have the thickness it once did, but it doesn't look terrible either and it's manageable.

Thought I'd post a picture of my hair pre-meds. It's not the most flattering! But hopefully you can see how my hairline has improved a small amount since then, and the overall quality as well. It was very fine and stringy before I started, since then it has a little more life to it. This is about 6 months before I started Propecia.



Let me know what you think of the pictures! I'm considering posting this to success stories seeing as it's nearly two years since I started.

 

[temp600]

Great results man! I'm a Norwood 2 and have been using minoxidil and nizoral for 6 weeks and have had some decent result already. I have finasteride being shipped to me as we speak and your progress makes me feel optimistic.