Hi all, I am your typical long term reader and first time poster but I am at the stage where I am about to start treatments to help with my hair loss and I wanted to ask a few questions to anyone who is happy to help.
I am 32 and it was 2 years ago I only started to notice my hair is thinning/balding - it’s never nice to know this is happening but I do realize I am one of the lucky ones, as many guys can start balding a lot earlier on in life. With the way I style my hair a lot of people do not know I am balding but under certain lights and when my hair is wet the balding is definitely visible.
I had some blood test done and everything has come back normal. I have seen a few "expects" / doctors who have confirmed that I do have male pattern baldness and one said that I would probably be bald by the time I am 40 – is this fast/aggressive or slow/non-aggressive balding?
I know that the 2 main treatments are Propecia (finasteride) and Regaine (minoxidil) but after hours/days/months of ready I always end up going round in circles. With any type of medication I know treatments can work differently and not everyone will have the same success story but sometimes when you think you know what to do, you read another article/ opinion and you feel like you are back to square one - it’s a real minefield out there.
I was going to start with Regaine as there are less side effects than Propecia but I read on this forum (Is It Possible That Rogaine Will Make Me Bald Faster?) A user named “DoctorHouse” who seemed to give a good description gave me the impression that Regaine is more of an illusion of thicker hair and does not stop balding (removing DHT) it just makes all your hairs grow at once making them seem thicker.
My questions on Regaine (minoxidil) is:
- Regain doesn’t stop with DHT and if it does its only minimal – is this true?
- Does a lot of hair fall out before it starts to grow back? Apparently this happens in the first month(s).
- I read that every 6 months the cycle starts again and you lose a lot of hair, but it will grow back - is this true? does Regaine make you have a hair loss cycle every 6 months or so?
- If I started taking Regaine does my hair become dependent on it and there for if I stopped taking it I would lose my hair faster than before?
- When / If I do want to stop using Regain I lose more hair again because it will go back to its natural cycle – is this true?
After reading up on Regaine I then thought it might be best to go straight for Propecia (finasteride) as I want a treatment that will help not hide my hair loss and although it has more side effect (which I am happy to go through) there was only one permanent side effect that worried me and that was infertility.
My Questions on Propecia (finasteride) is:
- I know Propecia has side effects but does anyone know of any permanent side effect like infertility? A lot of doctors in the field have said none of their patients have had any permanent side effects and any side effects they did have are gone once they stopped taking the treatment.
- If I started taking Propecia does my hair become dependent on it and there for if I stopped taking it I would lose my hair faster than before?
Apologies for the long message, if anyone has any feedback that would be much appreciated.
I am 32 and it was 2 years ago I only started to notice my hair is thinning/balding - it’s never nice to know this is happening but I do realize I am one of the lucky ones, as many guys can start balding a lot earlier on in life. With the way I style my hair a lot of people do not know I am balding but under certain lights and when my hair is wet the balding is definitely visible.
I had some blood test done and everything has come back normal. I have seen a few "expects" / doctors who have confirmed that I do have male pattern baldness and one said that I would probably be bald by the time I am 40 – is this fast/aggressive or slow/non-aggressive balding?
I know that the 2 main treatments are Propecia (finasteride) and Regaine (minoxidil) but after hours/days/months of ready I always end up going round in circles. With any type of medication I know treatments can work differently and not everyone will have the same success story but sometimes when you think you know what to do, you read another article/ opinion and you feel like you are back to square one - it’s a real minefield out there.
I was going to start with Regaine as there are less side effects than Propecia but I read on this forum (Is It Possible That Rogaine Will Make Me Bald Faster?) A user named “DoctorHouse” who seemed to give a good description gave me the impression that Regaine is more of an illusion of thicker hair and does not stop balding (removing DHT) it just makes all your hairs grow at once making them seem thicker.
My questions on Regaine (minoxidil) is:
- Regain doesn’t stop with DHT and if it does its only minimal – is this true?
- Does a lot of hair fall out before it starts to grow back? Apparently this happens in the first month(s).
- I read that every 6 months the cycle starts again and you lose a lot of hair, but it will grow back - is this true? does Regaine make you have a hair loss cycle every 6 months or so?
- If I started taking Regaine does my hair become dependent on it and there for if I stopped taking it I would lose my hair faster than before?
- When / If I do want to stop using Regain I lose more hair again because it will go back to its natural cycle – is this true?
After reading up on Regaine I then thought it might be best to go straight for Propecia (finasteride) as I want a treatment that will help not hide my hair loss and although it has more side effect (which I am happy to go through) there was only one permanent side effect that worried me and that was infertility.
My Questions on Propecia (finasteride) is:
- I know Propecia has side effects but does anyone know of any permanent side effect like infertility? A lot of doctors in the field have said none of their patients have had any permanent side effects and any side effects they did have are gone once they stopped taking the treatment.
- If I started taking Propecia does my hair become dependent on it and there for if I stopped taking it I would lose my hair faster than before?
Apologies for the long message, if anyone has any feedback that would be much appreciated.