GeorgeCantStandya's story

GeorgeCantStandya · Jan 24, 2005

Hello. I am 23 (just turned) and I have male pattern baldness.
Noticed last january (1 year ago this month) that my hair seemed to be thin, and in the bathroom light I could see much more of my scalp. This came as somewhat of an alarm to me.

See, Ive never "adored" my hair like say a woman might, so dont think I am obsessed with it....its just that losing my hair at 21/22 felt and still feels devastating as you all should know. In my huge family, my one uncle is bald....

In highschool I was voted "Best Hair" 2 years in a row (against my wishes)... Nothing special, it just looked real thick dark and healthy. (Girls used to LOVE it!).......how ironic is that sh*t.

I thought stress could be a factor, since I was involved in a bad car accident (rolled sideways 120 feet down a mountain in a convertible, top up) my girlfriend of 2 years suddenly got up, left and hooked up with a man WAY older than either of us who lives with his mom... my parents divorced, and a close family member passed away along with a friend from school who was only 20. This all happened in about 2 months time. So, I stopped eating, went almost insane, and started to get panic attacks for no reason. I wanted to feel fine, but I felt so depressed and sh*t, that my whole life was flipped totally upside down. Then I started getting things back together, and 3 months later,....Im losing my hair. But its been over a year, and everything has been cool and my diet changed, and the hair hasnt grown back, so I have dismissed the notion of stress playing a factor.

I came to this board seeking advice and knowledge. Also to try and get an understanding on how to keep my hair and possibly try my best to regrow some hair that I have lost.
I seriously do feel bad for the bunch of you that started losing their hair at 17-18. I cant imagine that.

Anyway's....I bought Rogaine extra strength, used it for 2 weeks and sold the rest. It made my scalp burn, dry up, turn beet red, and my hair seemed to just want to fall all out on top.
Went on Propecia....been on it now for about 5 months now. Cant really tell if its working, but the shedding has slowed down a good deal.
I have not so great vision, so i cant pick out any new hairs.
The only effect I get is some stomach cramps. I get no feeling of impotence at all....In fact its almost quite the opposite!

Started really going well on my diet and exercise in the past 8 months.
bought some vive thickening shampoo, and Pantene Pro V thickening with conditioner....Vive is better.
Recently I have let my hair grow longer and havent cut it in many months...to see if I can look more thicker. Suddenly my hair feels VERY oliy. If I go one day without washing it gets very oily. So, I bought some H + S Dry Scalp today, maybe that will work with some flaking I started getting after rogaine. and I will just wash my hair more often.

But, does anyone else suggest anything else I could try???
Mainly the balding is on top of the head.
Using Propecia, and I have bought Dermatch.. havent recieved it yet. My hair is very dark.like black, so i hope it will blend well.
Thanks for reading everyone. Hope I get to meet you all.

socks · Jan 24, 2005

Finasteride and Nizoral 2% are the "big 2" for hair maintenance. You must give them both plenty of time (6 months MINIMUM to 1- 2 YEARS) and the main result is likely maintenance not regrowth.

Minoxidil is the only FDA approved product to regrow hair... It will take around 6 months to see any real results... Optimal results are usually seen after a year. Moderate or better regrowth only occurs in 48% or less of men using minoxidil.

I strongly urge you to resist doing too much at once. Look at hairloss as a science and not an act of voodoo magic!

To give you a basic understanding of male pattern baldness:

The main known factor that causes Androgenetic Alopecia is DHT. Free roaming testosterone infuses into hair follicles cells from the bloodstream. The 5ar enzyme then converts the testosterone into DHT. The DHT (along with any other androgen) binds to the androgen receptor which then signals the cell nucleus of the presents of androgens. The cell nucleus then "expresses" certain genetic code that has a negative effect on the growth of the hair follicle; The hair follicle atrophies and, eventually, dies permanently.

As far as treatments:

With the Finasteride, you want to see if you can get a doctor to write you a prescription for Proscar instead of Propecia. Both Proscar and Propecia are EXACTLY the same drug (Finasteride). The difference is Propecia is a 1mg tab FDA approved for Androgenetic Alopecia and Proscar is a 5mg tab FDA approved for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH). What you then do is cut the Proscar into 1/4ths or 1/5ths. This way you get 4months or more out of a bottle rather then just one month.

Nizoral 2% is prescription in the USA. You will either need to get a doctor to write you a prescription for the nizoral, buy the 1% OTC version, or buy the 2% on the Internet from Canada where the 2% in non-prescription.

Good luck bud and if you have any questions feel free to post em here or PM me