I can completely understand what you're going through Jeffsss. You were probably like me where you had hair so thick from hairline to back that you had to use a women's hair brush to comb it. Now the front is thinning out and the back doesnt have the same "thickeness" to it. You cant wear old hairstyles anymore and in certain light you can now see scalp where you *NEVER* saw scalp before.
Hair is coming out left and right and what do you do? You get on Finasteride and come to a hairloss forum for help & support. Just like *any* other guy here you're dealing with a devastating affliction and it is not only scaring the hell out of you it is threatening your very self-idenity.
What do you get when you finally post pics? Flack from guys who either never had a real thick head of hair or who have been thinning so long they dont remember what the beginning stages of thinning/recession was like... Hell, some guys never even percieve the beginning stages with their *own* hair let alone another man's hair!
Plus, understandable, guys who have lost serious hair will always look at a guy who still has a lot of hair with a little contempt and hostility. I get it all the time.
Look Jeffsss, I understand what is going on but I wouldnt expect too many other posters here to sympathize too much when you post the pics you have. Bottom line, dont waste your time trying to convince others. Some guys just wont *EVER* get it until they have a huge bald spot on their head.
I understanding that you're freaking out man. It is freaking hard to go from super thick hair you can style *any* way you want to having to put effort into making your hair look acceptable. However, you made the best decision you could by starting on Finasteride; Early!
I'm not going to bull-$#iT with ya man. My experience has been Finasteride does *not* stop thinning 100%. I honestly dont know if anything can. I would give up the hope of getting your old hair back and save yourself the heartache I went through.
Be happy for what you have today as *today* is the best your hair is going to look. That might sound pessimistic but it isnt. With treatments you can drastically slow down the hair you do lose and you might even be able to prevent yourself from losing all the hair you otherwise would have... You may not keep everything you still have today but you might not end up at the far end of the Norwood scale.
Give it a full year bud and, if at that time you're still losing too fast, consider either accepting it or decide on how you want to super-size your routine. There are more options at your disposal but they increase cost and/or risk.
Anyhow, best advice I can give you now (aside from hairloss treatments) is to take *real* good care of your skin (always wear sunscreen when in the sun), your teeth, and get into decent shape (not a muscle head just get yourself in reasonable shape). Ignore my advice at your own peril :wink:
