hairschmair's story (w/some pics)

[hairschmair]

Hi all,

Well, I don't have a story as of yet, just a beginning of a story. I guess that's not too bad as I'll probably have more input on writing the end of the story .

Anyway, I'm 27 and I starting noticing increased fallen hairs about 6 months ago. I wasn't quite sure whether this was just a seasonal shed or something, but it's kept going so I have to presume it's male pattern baldness. I went to a dermatologist a couple of months ago who just looked at my hair for my 5 minutes and then concluded "I'm not sure". A bit annoying not to get a diagnosis from a so-called expert but fair enough, I guess it's not obvious enough yet. I know myself though and I'm definitely losing hair, none on pillow yet, but 20 or so in the shower. I used to lose none.

Anyway, I'm going to go to another dermatologist this week, who is more of an expert and probably end up going on some kind of treatment. I guess I'm mainly starting this post to keep track of stuff. I will include pics below and update once in a while.

Just wanted to say that if it wasn't for this site I wouldn't even think twice about the hair loss, but it's fairly obvious from what i read that "the earlier the better". In that sense I haven't made my mind if these types of communities make people more obsessed, or give people an outlet. I guess both.

Wow, I sure can ramble on! Here are some pics.

dry back/side



dry hairline



dry top (male pattern baldness more obvious)



wet top (worst case scenario. very obvious here i think)



Good luck to everyone! Suggestions/comments welcome. Any one in the same kind of situation and who's gone ahead and starting on treatments as a preemptive measure?

 

[maintainence1]

Your hair looks pretty good, so you shouldn't be very worried (yet). It would be smart to at least buy some Nizoral shampoo from the drug store. 1% Nizoral works fine. Use it 2x a week.

 

[dan65]

I would go to another dermatologist or a hair transplant guy(not for a hair transplant obviously) but because they will look at your hair and decide whether or not to prescribe you with propecia. This is what I did. You are in a similar boat as me, yet I believe I have a little less hair, luckily we both caught it early, that is if you even have hairloss. Good luck buddy.

 

[hairschmair]

Well, I've gone to see someone else. This time it was more of a dermo/clinic so they were much faster to say "yeah, of course you have male pattern baldness, let's see what we can do for you"

In any case, I'm pretty sure myself that this is what I have, as it's been a good 8 months now, so I've gone ahead and ordered 6 months worth of propecia. Once it gets here, just a tablet a day and I can stop thinking about it (and looking into the mirror), knowing that I'm taking the one drug that works the most, and that I am starting off with a good head of hair!

One question about Minoxidil from the experts on here. I'm not prepared to use this thing twice a day on a regular basis as I intend to kind of forget about the hair 'thing' once I'm on the tablets. Is there a benefit to applying minoxidil here and there (say 5-6 times a week). I could buy a bottle for occasional use.

Thanks,

Jay

 

[dan65]

whatsup man,

I apply minoxidil prob 5 or 6 times a week myself. Only at night so nobody can see it and I don't usually do it when I go out and party. I've only been on it for like a month so no results yet. But I think if you at least apply 5 times a week you give yourself a chance for results, though they will probably not be as good as if you apply it twice a day. Others may disagree but that's what I think.

dan

 

[hairschmair]

yeah... Looks like we're in the same boat. I want to keep it low-profile so I'd only put it on at night here and there. I'll probably get a bottle then, unless someone else posts a different opinion about casual use...

 

[WithTheLidOff]

??? dude...you have a full head of hair!..MAYBE the hairline is a little high and someone told you that so you got a little freaked out..but most grown men, even the ones with full heads of hair have that.

for your own sakes..DONT start minoxidil..for you theres certainly no need for it. It loses its ability to regrow new hair after a few years because your system gets used to it. Then what happens if you actually DO need regrowth?? You wont get it. What results are you looking for anyways? Do you want the Randy Moss afro?

I hope this helps..at the very least..do some more research about the lasting effects of minoxidil.

 

[hairschmair]

Thanks for the info. That's a convincing enough argument. I'll hold off on minoxidil in case I need it later on.

Regarding my hair, yeah, it's not so bad at the moment, but everyone here started off with a full head of hair at one point, didn't they? I can def tell the top is thinning though just by running my hand through it.

I'm 27, I only need good hair for another 5 years, so I think there is no harm in stopping (hopefully) the loss now, instead of regretting it 2 years from now. So to answer your question, all I'm looking for is maintenance. No afro required!

Hope I'm making sense...

Jay

PS: Strangely enough, I'm happy with the hairline, it's the crown area that's been hit really.

 

[hairschmair]

*GLUMP*

...swallows first ever Propecia pill...

Such a small pill. I was expecting something the size of a kiwi with hairs growing out of the top.

 

[Guest]

tee heh!

lets hope you don't get nasty sides like some people did :wink:

 

[hairschmair]

I can feel the powerful juices flowing to my balls as we speak!

 

[Jaygee]

Wow. Your "top" photos look almost EXACTLY like me. You have a different hair texture, though.

I'm 22. I've been on minoxidil for almost 2 years, and generic finasteride for nearly 10 months. Unfortunately, I think I've gotten a little worse than I was. The thinnish spot in your "dry top" photo----I have that on the right side of my part, and it's almost always transparent now. I really hope I this isn't grounds yet for giving up.

You just caught my attention since we look so similar. If I am indeed not a responder, I wish you better luck. There are plenty of encouraging success stories on this site.

 

[hairschmair]

Thanks!

The top pic actually looks worse than it is in real life. Most of the time there is no transparency whatsoever up there, but as you can see in the picture, it can show up in the correct lighting/angle. It also dissapears if I buzz my hair shorter.

Anyway, I got a couple of people contacting me privately saying "I'm similar to where you are" so I might as well update once in a while.

10 day update: Got slight headaches a couple of hours after taking pill the first few days, so have switched to taking it right before I head to bed. No other sides noted so far.

Jay

 

[hairschmair]

I think I'm going to need a better digital camera + haircuts to keep track of progress...

dry top


dry back

 

[Mingebreth]

Yep you sure have aggressive male pattern baldness. I reckon you'll be bald in a year :wink: . My man you have great hair and you should not be taking any chemicals yet at a young age when your hair is full and healthy. You'd be better off spending your money getting p issed and taking lots of pussy out whilst you have that hair. How do you think i got my nickname

 

[hairschmair]

I plan on doing some of that tonight

No harm in keeping track of these things for the future though. I'm planning on doing a 6 month finasteride run to keep things in check (maybe get the numbers of hairs I'm losing in the shower down) and then stop for 6 months to a year and observe.

nice nickname

 

[hairschmair]

probably do 3 months of 1mg a day, followed by 3 months at 0.5mg and then 3 months at 0.25mg and then stop for a while and see.

 

[hairschmair]

3 week update:

I think shedding's started. If it tug on a clump of hair in a place where male pattern baldness has no effect (all the way at the back, near the top of my neck) I get 2-3 hairs that come off each time!!!

 

[hairschmair]

5 week update:

Regimen: Been on finasteride for 5 weeks (1mg/day), nizoral for 10 weeks and Tricomin for 2 weeks.

No side-effects so far, except for a change in consistency of semen. Over the last week my itch has decreased significantly (almost gone now) and my hair feels/looks healthier.

Amount of hair shed has not changed. About 30 in the shower and not much more during the day/night.