Do you take male pattern baldness progression into consideration when deciding on treatment

[ProscarRules]

My pic is else where on this forum. 39 yrs old with some thinnning on the crown and on the sides of the head. Whenever I go to any doctor, they ask me, how long has this been going on? My honest answer, which doesn't seem to matter to what doctors recommend, is that I am not sure as the 1st time it looked like I'm balding was when I was 17, but back then my parents talked me out of it insisting there's nothing wrong with my head (and they still do at my age of 39). However, at 39, it is my choice as to what to do about this kind of a problem.

The topic that I would like to get you all's opinion is that if your thinning doesn't seem to be progressing, and you are not sure if you can risk going through the expected shedding phase (I'm sure you'll understand that this will be hard to take), would you still go on finasteride and/or minoxidil? Currently, I am on neither, and monitoring my hairs very carefully. There are some men who began to thin, but thinning seem to have locked in for a very long time.

Bottom line is, unless I clearly notice male pattern baldness progression, I don't want to risk experimenting with my hairs with meds like finasteride or minoxidil and risk possibly massive shedding which some patients claim never recover from. Anyone else feel this way or could this be that I'm in a denial stage?

 

[Night]

Just take propecia. Seriously, it works wonders on the crown. Why risk it getting worse all of a sudden? If you shed too much and it looks terrible, add a sprinkle of a concealer and no one would know ****. Concealers are cheap, X-fusion on Amazon is 15 for a bottle and that will last you like 6 months with just the crown.

I think most people DO recover from the sheds. I think most people either give up and quit then don't recover or they post they are shedding, then when things get better they move on with their lives. Propecia doesn't make you balder unless you are a very small percentage that doesn't take well to the drug. How small is the percentage? I think .5%, I have only seen 2-3 posters while researching that their hair 'got worse'. Everyone else just says they got worse, but the mind's eye is a powerful thing. Sometimes I think my hair looks awesome and it actually looks the same as it did a week ago, when I thought I was 'nearly bald'.

I say, take propecia for a whole year, take photos every 3 months and post them here.

 

[ProscarRules]

Well, Night, have you recovered from your own shedding (from earlier this month) from propecia?

Also, if your balding is not aggressive and doesn't seem to be progressing, is taking finasteride 1.25mg (from quartered Proscar or Fincar) every other day, or taking small dose of finasteride like 0.5 or 0.25mg every day more likely give you less risk of side effects and initial shedding in anyone's experience or opinion?

 

[Night]

Nope, still on the shed. Though I find it positive. I mean, 95% of the hair that sheds is 'weak' so I hope its a good sign in the upcoming months.

 

[abcdefg]

How do you predict anything with male pattern baldness other then looking at family members and guessing?

 

[Kirby]

Night, are you undergoing your first or second shed on finasteride?