Hairloss is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with.

[thedarkcolor]

I've had long hair for most of my life. It's just always been part of me.

Last December I cut my hair short due to my temples receding really, really badly. I'd say my hairloss probably started when I was 17? I'm 25 years old now. I could never convince my parents to allow me to see a doctor for the issue when I first noticed it and ultimately thought maybe it'd go away or get better. ****ing awful idea.

I tried finasteride 1.25mg in 2014 for about 8 days and it made my body crash with all of the typical Post Finasteride side effects. It screwed me up really, really badly for about a month. After that I recovered 100% and my hairloss accelerated...

I feel like something has been ripped from me. My personality is being torn from my head, literally. It's putting me in the worst depressive state of mind ever! It ****ing consumes me. Every day at work, I'm constantly on these forums: I'm on Reddit's /r/tressless. I'm on HairLossHelp. I'm Googling "Male Pattern Baldness." I'm Googling "finasteride." I'm looking at success stories and comparing progress of others who's bodies can handle finasteride without side effects to my own ****ing ugly *** face thinking that maybe it'll get better overnight. Maybe one day I'll wake up and my hair will stop falling out. Maybe one day I'll stop caring. Maybe I can wake up tomorrow morning and not immediately run to the mirror like I do (and have done for the past year) every morning and curse at myself because of how unhappy I am with the way that I look. Frantically look in the rear view mirror while I'm driving to see how much temple is exposed. Run to the bathroom at work, social outings, every hour or so to see if the hair of my forelock is covering my left temple enough.

Life is simply not fair. I've gone through two real bad break ups. One when I was in high-school. I dated a girl for 3 years and when she broke up with me I was convinced I was at my absolute lowest. That it was over. That I knew what true pain felt like. That happened again when I was in college at 20 years old. When the relationship was over I was once again absolutely convinced that it was this insanely awful thing had happened and that no one knew what real depression and sadness felt like.

Now I know. All of that is nothing compared to male hair loss. It pisses me off when I see NW1's walking around because they have no idea how hard it is. They have life on easy mode. I cannot stand how much this consumes me. I know how hard it'll be for me to look appealing to a woman my age with a hairline worse than my dead maternal grandfather who would have been 80 if he was still alive. I blame my parents. I've never met my father, but from the photos I've seen of him online, he has a stronger hairline than me! Both my maternal grandfather and my biological father have better hairlines. I have no siblings. Where did this awful curse come from? There are barely any males in my family and the two closely related to me have more hair! WHAT THE ****!!!?!?!

I have no wishes to have children because I don't want to procreate ****ty genetics. It's simply not fair to do so.



Here's a progression from me at 16 years old to me at 25. What the hell happened?

- - - Updated - - -



The first photo is from about two weeks ago. The second is from a roughly two days ago. The red line is where my hairline was at 18 when I began losing. I kind of don't know why I'm doing this.... Especially if I'm unable to take finasteride due to the side effects I got before.

What a load of bull.

 

[hellouser]

Hey dude,

While there's nothing I can do to revert your hair loss, because it really is a dead end that only gets worse, I do want to mention you need need to keep an eye out on a bunch of things:

1) Histogen
2) Replicel
3) Follica
4) Dr. Roland Lauster
5) Dr. Colin Jahoda
6) Dr. Alexey Terskikh
7) Tsuji Labs
8) Japan's deregulation of stem cell clinical trials
9) Pilofocus
10) CB-03-01
11) RU58841

On the topic of coping with this disease... you need to find ways to get your mind off of it, which as you know wont be easy if not impossible. Keep a close eye on the developments I listed. Of course, there are other 'breakthroughs' that have come out, particularly from Dr. Alexey Terskikh as he's already planning clinical trials. In november there will be an annual global meetup of top doctors to discuss new advancements in hair restoration and other topics. Check it out: http://hair2015.org/

If finasteride isnt working for you, I strongly recommend looking into RU58841 and CB-03-01 (both DHT inhibitors with either minimal or no side effects). These are however, experimental solutions; one went through clinical trials but got cut shot and CB-03-01 is currently undergoing clinical trials by Cosmo Pharmaceuticals.

Good luck and you'll be happy to know you've got a STRONG community here to listen to your struggles and give you feedback; we're all in this together.

 

[thedarkcolor]

Hey dude,

While there's nothing I can do to revert your hair loss, because it really is a dead end that only gets worse, I do want to mention you need need to keep an eye out on a bunch of things:

1) Histogen
2) Replicel
3) Follica
4) Dr. Roland Lauster
5) Dr. Colin Jahoda
6) Dr. Alexey Terskikh
7) Tsuji Labs
8) Japan's deregulation of stem cell clinical trials
9) Pilofocus
10) CB-03-01
11) RU58841

On the topic of coping with this disease... you need to find ways to get your mind off of it, which as you know wont be easy if not impossible. Keep a close eye on the developments I listed. Of course, there are other 'breakthroughs' that have come out, particularly from Dr. Alexey Terskikh as he's already planning clinical trials. In november there will be an annual global meetup of top doctors to discuss new advancements in hair restoration and other topics. Check it out: http://hair2015.org/

If finasteride isnt working for you, I strongly recommend looking into RU58841 and CB-03-01 (both DHT inhibitors with either minimal or no side effects). These are however, experimental solutions; one went through clinical trials but got cut shot and CB-03-01 is currently undergoing clinical trials by Cosmo Pharmaceuticals.

Good luck and you'll be happy to know you've got a STRONG community here to listen to your struggles and give you feedback; we're all in this together.

Hey hellouser,

Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it. Seriously. It has just gotten to the point where I'm driving myself crazy. I feel like my mental health is in jeopardy.

I have a legitimate bottle of 90 brand name Propecia pills sitting on my night stand with a pill cutter and a 1mg pill cut into fourths that I got from the local pharmacy about a month ago. I paid full price for it since I cannot afford health coverage in California with the wages that I'm making. I saw a dermatologist and told him about my crash from using generic Proscar I got from Target's pharmacy previously and he advised that sometimes people don't see side effects with brand name when they did with generics.

I'm absolutely terrified after what I went through before. This was before I even learned about side effects, before I browsed forums, before I knew the risk. That's how I know they were very real and not just psychosomatic. I just wish there was some way of knowing that if I did get side effects, that I'd recover 100% again if I stopped.... I got ball ache, breast tenderness, and once I quit cold turkey I got horrible brain fog, emotional blunting, insomnia, and anxiety to the point where I went to the hospital twice in the span of a week. I was literally bed ridden. It was absolutely terrifying.

I would do anything to have finasteride work without all of that happening. That's why I'm so tempted to "try again" so to speak. I just want to be able to finally do something about this. I'm sick of seeing how much hair I shed daily and be able to do NOTHING about it. I feel like I've exhausted my options. CB and RU are probably insanely expensive. I wouldn't even know where to begin finding them, let alone know how to brew them myself. And how can I be sure it's actually RU or CB and not some sewer water mixed with Ajax powder being mailed to me from some stranger on the internet?

It's horrifyingly depressing. Besides finasteride, minoxidil won't address the root issue and so I figure I won't even bother with that. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on all of the up and coming treatments/doctor's/research you've mentioned here. Again- thank you for the info.

Do you have any suggestions for getting your mind off of things? I realize it's hard being on a hairloss forum, but I've got to do something. It's eating me alive. How do you cope? Welcoming advice and insight from others as well.

Thanks much!!

 

[templerecess]

Hey dude, this is what you need to do, find a new girl, take her to bed, and give her the "hardest thing she's ever had to deal with." :jump:

Lol, but seriously though, maybe meeting a new girl would help take your mind off of it? It sounds like you're at your happiest when you have a significant other in your life. Frankly I just think you need to go have a little fun with some female strangers. But maybe that's not your thing. Personally, I'm an EXTREME hornball. When I first started noticing huge shedding, I was as "consumed" as you. Going out and getting laid though was enough of a boost to my confidence, and enough of a distraction, to help me cope. If you want another serious girlfriend though, go that route, and she'll help you deal.

One thing you can't do is let yourself slip into depression. You seriously have a lot going for you (from your pics you look like a decent looking guy). If you're really feeling down and out, I don't live too far at all from Pomona. If you just need someone to talk to who you can be open with, who isn't a Doctor or a family member or a friend who will judge you, I'd be down to listen to you and be there for you to vent. PM me. But above all, enjoy life for ****s sake.

 

[bornwithacurse224]

Your hair loss barely shows because of your long hair. My friends cousin was 16 and already screwed. He's now 20 put on 100 pounds has no hair and he has 2 older brothers with their hair. Try thinking of him

 

[thedarkcolor]

Hey dude, this is what you need to do, find a new girl, take her to bed, and give her the "hardest thing she's ever had to deal with." :jump:

Lol, but seriously though, maybe meeting a new girl would help take your mind off of it? It sounds like you're at your happiest when you have a significant other in your life. Frankly I just think you need to go have a little fun with some female strangers. But maybe that's not your thing. Personally, I'm an EXTREME hornball. When I first started noticing huge shedding, I was as "consumed" as you. Going out and getting laid though was enough of a boost to my confidence, and enough of a distraction, to help me cope. If you want another serious girlfriend though, go that route, and she'll help you deal.

One thing you can't do is let yourself slip into depression. You seriously have a lot going for you (from your pics you look like a decent looking guy). If you're really feeling down and out, I don't live too far at all from Pomona. If you just need someone to talk to who you can be open with, who isn't a Doctor or a family member or a friend who will judge you, I'd be down to listen to you and be there for you to vent. PM me. But above all, enjoy life for ****s sake.

LOL MY SIDES.

You know- that's actually never been my thing. I'm quite the square to be honest....haha. At 25 years old, I'm "straight-edge" or "teetotal" or whatever you want to call it. I don't consume alcohol or do drugs recreationally. I've never really hooked up with chicks who I wasn't in a relationship with. I don't really go to bars or do that kind of thing. Kind of just not me, but at this point giving someone "the hardest thing they've ever had to deal with" is something I would openly welcome. Before hairloss became an issue, it was alright...I never had confidence issues and I was happy with who I was and I dated. I had a huge social circle of friends who were supportive. Not much has changed besides my plummeting self-confidence and the amount of hair that goes down the drain daily.

I'll probably end up sending you a PM dude. I'm pretty down and out these days and I would love to talk to someone else about this issue. I have no friends dealing with hairloss and I literally have no family. I haven't spoken to anyone in my family in years- it's pretty lonely on this end to be honest.

Thanks for a good laugh with that opening remark. Speak soon.

 

[fullhead]

Have you tried going on brand Propecia 1MG not 1.25? Might do the trick. Or 1mg EOD.

 

[hellouser]

Have you tried going on brand Propecia 1MG not 1.25? Might do the trick. Or 1mg EOD.

Wont change anything. Finasteride is finasteride. One brand versus another doesnt change finasteride's efficacy or side effects.

 

[templerecess]

LOL MY SIDES.

You know- that's actually never been my thing. I'm quite the square to be honest....haha. At 25 years old, I'm "straight-edge" or "teetotal" or whatever you want to call it. I don't consume alcohol or do drugs recreationally. I've never really hooked up with chicks who I wasn't in a relationship with. I don't really go to bars or do that kind of thing. Kind of just not me, but at this point giving someone "the hardest thing they've ever had to deal with" is something I would openly welcome. Before hairloss became an issue, it was alright...I never had confidence issues and I was happy with who I was and I dated. I had a huge social circle of friends who were supportive. Not much has changed besides my plummeting self-confidence and the amount of hair that goes down the drain daily.

I'll probably end up sending you a PM dude. I'm pretty down and out these days and I would love to talk to someone else about this issue. I have no friends dealing with hairloss and I literally have no family. I haven't spoken to anyone in my family in years- it's pretty lonely on this end to be honest.

Thanks for a good laugh with that opening remark. Speak soon.

No doubt bro, let me know. Btw, you shouldn't be spending that much on Finasteride. If you, or a parent, or a friend has a membership to costco, have your prescription sent there. It's $13 a month for 1mg tablets (generic).

 

[thedarkcolor]

Wont change anything. Finasteride is finasteride. One brand versus another doesnt change finasteride's efficacy or side effects.

Have not tried brand Propecia yet. Tried generics (5mg split into 1.25mg pieces) that a doctor prescribed me exactly a year ago and got serious side effects. I took the medication for 8 days at this dose and it really, really screwed me up. In fact that's why I made this account in the first place. For anyone interested: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interac...-like-some-opinions-help-Side-effects-and-PFS

That's the first thread I started.

Still trying to convince myself to try this again.

- - - Updated - - -

Your hair loss barely shows because of your long hair. My friends cousin was 16 and already screwed. He's now 20 put on 100 pounds has no hair and he has 2 older brothers with their hair. Try thinking of him

To be completely honest, I almost wish my hairloss had started way earlier and I wasn't able to have long hair when I was younger. That way it would be more normal to me now. Not trying to discount anyone else's experience or downplay your friend's cousin's issues by any means... Just a rant of my own I suppose since I have no where else to turn to.

 

[hellouser]

To be completely honest, I almost wish my hairloss had started way earlier and I wasn't able to have long hair when I was younger. That way it would be more normal to me now. Not trying to discount anyone else's experience or downplay your friend's cousin's issues by any means... Just a rant of my own I suppose since I have no where else to turn to.

I think this is because your identity is being stolen from you. Had you been born bald this WOULD have been your given identity and you'd likely be content with it. Funny though, how people say baldness isnt serious... I'd love for these same people to shave their head down to an NW3 or even NW6 pattern and see how life is then.

 

[TD500]

Sucks man, especially since your hesitant to get on finasteride again and experience the sides. Least you can grow a beard man, beard + bald is usually a good combo. I can't grow a beard so if I do go bald I'm pretty much screwed.

 

[bilboswaggins]

Good luck and you'll be happy to know you've got a STRONG community here to listen to your struggles and give you feedback; we're all in this together.

what happened to your usual response of "get married asap or say goodbye to women"

 

[jksl]

I can relate with you OP. My hairline is slightly worse than yours and more diffuse. Started losing hair very slowly in early 20s then accelerated mid 20s after going through a crazy breakdown. In my early 30s now. I'm scared to take finasteride as I've had a terrible experience with saw palmetto which is supposedly a benign herb. 5% minoxidil didn't do much. 10% and 15% minoxidil has noticeably slowed down the loss though.

Like you, I've had long hair for most of my life. Like you, I went through that denial stage. It's really tough I know. One thing you have going for you is that you can grow a bad *** beard (I can't). It'll be tough but maybe grow it out a bit and cut your hair. Have your hairdresser or barber to blend the sides.

I'll suggest some things that really helped/helps me emotionally, mentally, physically, and maybe even spiritually if you believe in that sort of thing:

-Exercise
Strength training, plyometrics, stretching/yoga/resistance stretching. I think it's important to have a well rounded exercise regimen. Maybe give p90x a shot and start a 5x5 program.

-Good diet
Just common sense works here really. No need to be too neurotic about this or it will be tough to keep up with. Avoid greasy and fried foods because they're bad for the skin and hair. Eat more veggies and fruits because they're good for your skin.

-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
If you can't afford a therapist or psychologist for CBT, get the book "The Feeling Good Handbook" by David Burns. It will help you with any kind of depression.

-Meditation
This should be an adjunct to CBT. If you're new to meditation, get the book "Meditation for Beginners" by Jack Kornfield. Don't get the Kindle fire edition because then you won't get the cd with it. I highly recommend meditation to alleviate anxiety and to control your mood.

There are a lot of different kinds, forms, and types of meditation and meditative states out there. You know when you're doing something and you're getting things done and you're in the "zone"? That zone is a meditative state.

 

[lkm370]

Just do what I did man: quit society and roam around like a bum. F.u.c.k this piece of s.h.i.t world where you have no worth without hair.

 

[hellouser]

what happened to your usual response of "get married asap or say goodbye to women"

Oh that? It still applies. What, you think you're going to be rolling in pussy as an NW6? Let's not kid ourselves, we all know baldness is a sexual death sentence.

 

[MercMan]

Let's not kid ourselves, we all know baldness is a sexual death sentence.

Just in case someone impressionable is roaming these forums, I have news for you.

No it's not.

 

[hellouser]

I hope this won't apply to me in my 30's once I will have had my second hair transplant coupled with beard hair and maybe SMP.

I might never have a full head of hair again, but at least I'll never be the bald dude again.

It's funny because people could still believe I'm currently going bald with my NW2.5 hair line while in fact no, it will stay that way.

I've heard that silly comment before, even from my best friends "You should marry before you go bald otherwise you'll die alone!"

Well fvck! I guess I should have married at 17 then! Other people just love to shoot us down with those stupid advices.

And I'd rather die alone than living to satisfy the whims of these hypergamous wenches. We all die in our own arms anyway.

Dude, don't you know that the only way to live a meaningful life is to have it validated by others?!

 

[scorpiolove]

^^Your right in your thinking Fred, and I'd like to add something.Hope this makes sense. Working hard works for some of us,but not for most of us, you can work a third to half of your life 8 to twelve hours a day within a twenty four hour period and still feel incomplete and under appreciated, I worked my Azz off for 16 years and had nothing but bills to show for it(yes, it can happen to you too people!) I'm not even known by name most places I go, like most people. If your disposable, you'll get disposed of, who really gives a @@@@ how many things are made these days and who they're made by, as long as they work! that's all we care about.
We have our cars, houses and properties made by complete strangers. Life has become so impersonal and it never used to be this way. Our higher purpose in life should be to grow as people and become successful in our own eyes instead of working and sleeping more than half of our lives away just to be unhappy for other people who dont even know you by your first name, life is too short.

 

[shookwun]

Rugs, plugs, and drugs.
It's what we got. Maximize your potential, and stack at all costs.


Side effects of being bald outweigh any potential reversible side you can get off rugs, plugs, and drugs. 100%