finasteride/minoxidil not working, what's next?

dralex

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Hey everyone,
I am a 22 yr old male, and have been on propecia - 1mg and topical minoxidil for about 1.5-2 years. I first got on it because I was a NW2 with temple recession. I also was experience slight thinning all over, but had no crown thinning. I am not using nizoral as it greatly irritated my scalp. Over these past 2 years my hairline has gotten much worse, and my hairline has continued to recede and the center of my hairline is pretty messed up now, looking extremely thin. Also my hair all over the male pattern baldness areas of my head has thinned, but the crown is no thinner than the rest of my hair. My main issue is my hairline which continues to get worse. I would shave my head, but my skull shape is pretty unusual and kind of cone shaped so want to do what I can to keep my hair. I am going to continue taking both minoxidil and finasteride as it is possible it prevented crown thinning, but I am fairly confident they are doing nothing. I have been to 2 dermatologists who both have said there is nothing else that I can do, and that I am a pretty poor responder to the treatments. I am wondering if there is anything else I should be trying, or if anyone else has had similar experiences and found something that worked fairly well for them. Thanks for any responses.
 

davesmith420

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I'm sorry to hear that you didn't respond well man. Would you say that you saw any decrease in shedding or basically just shed pretty heavy the whole time? I would look into dutasteride as a last resort.
 

buckthorn

Banned
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Hey everyone,
I am a 22 yr old male, and have been on propecia - 1mg and topical minoxidil for about 1.5-2 years. I first got on it because I was a NW2 with temple recession. I also was experience slight thinning all over, but had no crown thinning. I am not using nizoral as it greatly irritated my scalp. Over these past 2 years my hairline has gotten much worse, and my hairline has continued to recede and the center of my hairline is pretty messed up now, looking extremely thin. Also my hair all over the male pattern baldness areas of my head has thinned, but the crown is no thinner than the rest of my hair. My main issue is my hairline which continues to get worse. I would shave my head, but my skull shape is pretty unusual and kind of cone shaped so want to do what I can to keep my hair. I am going to continue taking both minoxidil and finasteride as it is possible it prevented crown thinning, but I am fairly confident they are doing nothing. I have been to 2 dermatologists who both have said there is nothing else that I can do, and that I am a pretty poor responder to the treatments. I am wondering if there is anything else I should be trying, or if anyone else has had similar experiences and found something that worked fairly well for them. Thanks for any responses.

Really, the only way you can be certain would be to analyze before and after pictures, and don't let unrealistic expectations skew your perception of "working". If you've maintained your hair, it's working. You can always look into adding RU. Then you would be tackling androgens from both angles.
 

dralex

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I am certain it has not stopped my hair loss. I cannot be certain that it is not doing anything though. I do have pictures from before and after and am certain that my hair has continued to get worse, and I would say at around the same rate as it had been. I will look into RU, don't really go on these boards much so not exactly sure what that is. Thanks for the response though.
 

dralex

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dutasteride/RU are the next set of options.

I am just sketched out using either of those. I heard RU is hard to get, and often get some sketchy stuff from some of these sites, and I've heard dutasteride is much more likely to cause sides, and also unlikely to work if a non-responder to finasteride.
 

dralex

Senior Member
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That does suck, and I feel bad about your head shape. I have the exact same problem. Having a bumpy head makes it impossible
to have really short hair. Also getting game with a bumpy head is about the same probability of hitting the lottery. Won't happen.

Try concentrated Minoxidil and liquid Finasteride. I believe that would be a step in the right direction. If I were you, I would try
a fifteen percent Minoxidil concentrated dose.

Where do you get 15% minoxidil and liquid finasteride?
 

shookwun

Senior Member
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a wig
 
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