ElectricalWzard's story - (6 months on Proscar. (Age 25)

ElectricalWzard

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This could be really long but I`ll try to keep it short.
English is not my native languange so please bear with me.

I started to lose my hair in May last year after a stressful period.
I must have lost a few hundreds hairs by the end of each day, I did not lose hair in specific areas but all over the place. Alot of the hairs that I lost were really thin and white. Like my brother who is 4 years older than me I had already developed a small bald spot. But my hairline wasn`t really that bad. And I never have had any problems with hair loss prior to this, at least not of this scale. My hair also felt really dry and "dead", I also started to get more dandruff. I have always had some problems with dandruff but it has never been a major deal and my hair has always looked healthy.
The following weeks I also began to experience hair loss in other areas as well, mainly the eyebrows, facial hairs and in the groin area.

As the weeks went by I tried to make people aware of my hair loss even my GP but they told me that they couldn`t see any difference. The hairloss contiuned the following months. In October I ordered an appointment with a private GP. He told me that I had dandruff problems and that I should try a shampoo containing Ketokonazal. Some blood samples were also taken, these were vitamine, sink, iron and metabolism. The tests came back fine. The doctor told me that he could arrange an appointment with an dermathologist to do more tests.
A few weeks after I visited the dermathologist and by inspecting my hair and scalp for a few seconds he told me that I had some kind of rash (forgot the name of it) and told me to use Diprosalic. Before I left I asked him if I was balding, he assured me that I was not. This I paid 150$ for... After reading about the Diprosalic liquid I became skeptical about using it on my scalp. In December I decided to try it out anyway. I was to apply it on my scalp two times a day. This was to be done for three weeks and then at least a two week hold up.
I did this for two periods, I was to do it for three periods but by the time I was starting to apply it for the third period my scalp were getting really itchy so I quit using it.

Eventually I read on this site about Finasteride, I decided to give it a try.
So I called my regular GP to avoid the extra costs and he was more than willing to write me a subscription for Proscar. I started to take 1\3 or 1\4 of a tablet in the end of March.
I find it difficult to split the tablet evenly so I don`t get the same dosage every day. Should this make any difference?
By the third week my hair loss were getting even worse, I didn`t noticed any other major side effects.
In June I had surgery, removal of a brain tumour, I had bandage and stitches so I couldn`t wash my hair propely for about three weeks, I lost alot of hair during that time. I gently tried to pull a hairstraw one time just to see how bad it was, about 15 hair came out with one pull.

I have now been on the drug for almost 6 months and I`m still
losing hair all over the place, my hair is getting thinner and thinner.
During the last few weeks I have had days were I didn`t loose that much but on the average day I`m still loosing close to 200 hairs.
I also continue to loose hair in the other areas that I mentioned, especially the facial hairs. My beard is getting thinner and thinner with each trim. In the areas where the hair growth has decreased I can see the hair follices but either it`s not growing hair or it`s growing really thin and bright hairs. Many of the hair follices seems to be dormant. Is this the Finasteride doing? Also some of the hairs I have lost on my head has been much shorter
than normal and they are also alot darker than my usual hair color.

When I began the treatment with Propecia my hair was not that bad.
I was balding like my brother who still have has his hair, a little high temples and the starting of a bald spot around the crown but nothing too bad. I started the treatment mainly in the hope of maintaining the hair that I already had.
I find it really hard to continue the treatment with Proscar as it seems it has just made the whole situation worse. I know it can take up to two years to get good results from Proscar but from I have read the hair loss should have at least slowed down by the third month or so. The other thing that really worries me is the increased loss of facial hairs.
I`m interested in hearing your opinions, should I contiune to take Proscar or should I quit it?
 

cuebald

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Are you losing your hair in the classic male pattern baldness pattern (i.e according the the Norwood Scale) or are you randomly thinning out? (including losing hair in your "donor area" - the area that makes up the Horseshoe on classically bald men)

If you're losing your hair in the Norwood pattern, then it's male pattern baldness, but tbh, it doesn't sound like you've got male pattern baldness from reading above.
I think you might have shock induced Telogen Effluvium caused by your surgery?
If this is so then Propecia won't do anything to help your hair grow back in - Telogen Effluvium usually takes about 6 months to resolve itself. Your hair would grow back on its own. (both men and women can get Telogen Effluvium)

Care to post any pictures? we can tell a lot more from them
 

ElectricalWzard

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I don`t think it`s a case of Telogen Effluvium. My hair loss started before I had the surgery. I think the hair loss might have increased right after I had the surgery, but it`s hard to tell cause I would probably lose a great amount if I was allowed to wash my hair as well. Still 15 hairs in one pull is a bit extreme.

I actually visited the same dermathologist again, this time he told me it was a case of androgen alopecia. And yes it seems like I lose my hair in the classic male pattern baldness pattern, however I`m definetely thinning in the other areas as well especially after starting with Finasteride. But perhaps not as much there. I had a look at the Norwood scale and I`m probably somewhere between the first and second stage. By the looks of it, sooner or later I`m going into the type 3 vertex. If it counts for anything I have the same hairline as my brother who have had pretty much the same hairline for the last six years or more. Though my hair overall seems thinner than his. My father is at the type 3 vertex.

The thing that worries me the worst now is the thinning of the facial hairs. As I said, this already started before I began taking Finasteride, though it seems to have gotten worse since I started the treatment.

I`ll try to get some pictures up tomorrow.
 

ElectricalWzard

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Lost 40 hairs in the bed last night, another 20 in the shower this morning plus a lot more during the day. My eyebrows is still shedding like hell too. Big flakes of skin comes along with the hair and it itch like crazy too. Could this possibly be connected to the itch I have on the scalp?
 

Jack82

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ElectricalWzard said:
Still losing tons of hair. No improvements after six months on the drug.
Time to quit it?

give it six more months, it's too early to judge.
 
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