H2O's Story (With Pics)

[H2O]

Hi All,

So the time has come for me to tell my tale and document what I hope will be progress...Here are the facts of the case :

Gender : Male
Age : 39
Age First Noticed Thinning : 25

Started Propecia : 6-1-05 to Present - 1 mg/day
Started Avodart : 12-1-06 to Present - .5 mg/day

Started Rogaine Foam : 11-01-06 to Present - 2x daily
Started Tricomin : 11-14-06 to Present - 1x to 2x daily
Started Nizoral 1% : 10-15-06 to Present - daily
Started Retin-A .025% : 12-9-06 (today) - 1x/week to start

So basically I noticed thinning in my early thirties more in the form of a receeding/thinning at the temples. Then around 33 the frontal hairline began diffuse thinning. Following this, around 36 I noticed accellerated diffuse thinning throughout the crown where I could see my scalp further and further back in light. I finally decided to see my General Practitioner to get on Propecia. This was approx. 1.5 years ago as noted above. Everything stablized well at that point. Then around October of '06 my diffusion at the crown and front as well as the receeding at the temples kicked in again. I began my research here on these boards and began a treatment plan as outlined above.

I have just decided to try Avodart (thanks Jayman) to maximize my synergistic regrowth potential. So I am completeing an overlap of propecia and Avodart in two days. That will bring it close to a two week overlap and then I will discontinue Propecia and stay on Avodart .5 mg/day.

I recently decided to buzz my head down to 1/8" and it's been that way for 1.5 months or so. I've buzzed it 2 other times since then. It's beginning to grow out and I am beginning to realize that it does look decent when it is VERY short but when it begins to grow out like in the pics below, The thinning becomes more apparent.

I realize now I either need to keep it real short or grow it out. It has always looked decent grown out to 2-3 inches...still short but covers fairly well.

This taking pics has been fairly brutal. When I look in the mirror it doesn't look half as bad as when I look at these pics. Kind of a wake-up call...I hope the treatments work.

The pics were taken in bright overhead lighting with dry hair.

So there you have it. I'm a bit freaked out now I see the pics like this. I guess it underscores the value of taking pics and getting a more objective view.

My questions are well...what do you guys think ? What Norwood am I (Im not good at judging this really)? And what do you think of my regimine ?

I will post updated pics at the 6 month mark. Any and all comments appreciated and thanks for checking my story out :!:

 

[UK1]

Hi there, those are good clear pics, your hairloss is similar to mine but you are 10 years older so you're not doing too badly considering. The dutasteride should keep things on the right track for you and with a bit more length to the hair it should be pretty much un-noticable.

 

[Guest]

good man

you are smart to overlap the two drugs and i think you will see decent results from your comprehensive and powerful regimen. be sure to keep us updated and post more pictures down the line. you were right in that your diffusing is quite similar to mine. any questions feel free to pm me.

as for Norwood it's hard to tell with diffusers but in between nw2 and 2.5 diffuse i'd say.

 

[H2O]

Hey UK...thanks for the encouragement !! Yeah, I'm looking forward to see what dutasteride does for me. While on Propecia the past year I never experienced any regrowth in the temple region. Possibly in the crown area but at the least I've maintained until recently. Hopefully with the dutasteride/minoxidil/nizoral/Tricom regimen I might actually get a few back beyond just maintaining. I'd definitely like to see the crown get some density back. 6 months from now after perfect adherence to the regimen we'll see. I promise to post pics then...thanks again

 

[H2O]

hey Jayman...thanks for stopping by . Your consistent posting and updates on dutasteride were what gave me the confidence to go for the switch. Thanks for keeping everyone in the loop on your progress and for mitigating some of the blanket negative conclusions others might have everyone believe is the rule not the exception for Avo.

I know you're just basically trying Avo more or less alone (with nizoral) but I decided to try the full monty and try to kick start some regrowth results. Im far enough along in my years that I think this is probably not a bad choice....I imagine your follicles haven't been as dormant as long as mine so Avo I would hope would be enough for you and it sounds like it is...

Thanks for the offer and I will be in touch with questions along the way without a doubt. Ill also keep posting pics. I'll throw in a three month pic montage as well. Please do the same. You do sound like things are going quite well and its good to hear you're getting regrowth on the front to boot !! Thanks again for the great posts and encouragement 8) .

Thanks for the Norwood assessment as well...sounds about where I though I might land...

Oh, hey...are you still keeping it buzzed short ? I'm debating whether to grow it out or chop it back down to 1/8th" . I'm starting to lean toward growing it to 2" again because it would cover ok and I actually miss being able to style it a bit. The application of the regimen is convenient as well as all the other plus's but I think I have a bit more character in appearance with a bit of length...what are you thinking on your end for you ?

 

[H2O]

Oh and for those who are wondering....

Obviously most of my regimen is new beyond the propecia. I have been on minoxidil for 1 month now and actually my front has gotten worse. The recession has extended further back and you can see bilateral thinner diffusion in the temporal area moving back.

I am speculating this is a shed and these areas are preping to come back stronger. I've read enough to know minoxidil is not going to make you loose hair (unless you stop) and I've been using the foam religiously 2x per week the past month...making sure to hit the thin areas in the front as well as the bare areas in front of the hairline and temples to help encourage growth.

I'm also hoping the switch to Avodart and the associated increase in scalp Test. will not do something funky like work against me in the battle to thicken my front. I'm not really worried about the potential side effects because finasteride. was pretty easy on me in that regard. Here's to hoping and I'll let you all know.

I'm also concentrating on making very clear and consistent pics for this experiment. I will have the same lighting and same set-up with the same close, in focus views. I also plan on re-shaving my head even if I've grown it out. There are a lot of pics on this site that don't provide consistancy in these areas and many are out of focus making it more of a judgement call than a clearly documented change...except for the dramatic responders. I thought I could contribute by providing a well documented series of pics for others to view and judge. Good luck to all !!

 

[Guest]

Sounds great man. I think starting minoxidil is a great idea considering how long your follicles have been dormant.

As for keeping it buzzed short, I don't like how I look with a buzz, so I am not growing it out long, to at least 2-3 inches.

I will post pics probably in February-March. It is hard to compare buzzed pics to 2-3 inch hair, so im growing my hair out. I last buzzed it a month ago to 1/8th of an inch and now it's at about 5/8ths. If it keeps growing at half an inch a month it will be 1.5 inches in February and 2 inches in March and then I'll post some 6 month pics.

I can definitely tell that I'm getting a ton of crown regrowth because when I first buzzed it i could see more scalp in the crown at 1/2 inch, but when i buzzed it to 1/8th of an inch, i could barely see any scalp there at 5/8ths of an inch. so the crown is clearly filling in. the front hariline continues to grow in and get thicker and lower. the temples are looking great and the hair on top is thickening up. im very satisfied with avodart.

Good luck

 

[Letsget2thepoint-51]

Sounds great man. I think starting minoxidil is a great idea considering how long your follicles have been dormant.

As for keeping it buzzed short, I don't like how I look with a buzz, so I am not growing it out long, to at least 2-3 inches.

I will post pics probably in February-March. It is hard to compare buzzed pics to 2-3 inch hair, so im growing my hair out. I last buzzed it a month ago to 1/8th of an inch and now it's at about 5/8ths. If it keeps growing at half an inch a month it will be 1.5 inches in February and 2 inches in March and then I'll post some 6 month pics.

I can definitely tell that I'm getting a ton of crown regrowth because when I first buzzed it i could see more scalp in the crown at 1/2 inch, but when i buzzed it to 1/8th of an inch, i could barely see any scalp there at 5/8ths of an inch. so the crown is clearly filling in. the front hariline continues to grow in and get thicker and lower. the temples are looking great and the hair on top is thickening up. im very satisfied with avodart.

Good luck

your post makes me want to ditch propecia after a month and go right to duta/avodart. Maintenence will no longer do, i need regrowth if my hair loss is gonan stay NOT noticable