Hello,
I am a 26 year old male suffering from receding hairline. My father is almost bald, but not quite there yet (in his 50's) and my mother lost tons of hair after experiencing menopause. Two of my uncles and aunts are suffering from hair loss as well (in their 40's). Also, my younger brother is suffering from minor hair loss at the crown area (barely noticeable when he grows his hair out).
My story is a lot more complicated than most people. My hair was very thick in my teenage years, but after going on a severe diet for ten months to shed over 100 pounds, my hair got brittle and weak. Through my college life, many people asked me if I was going bald, but for some reason, that never bothered me at that time.
After I got my graduate degree, my hair was almost full, from using Revivogen and minoxidil. I am not sure if Revivogen helped much. All I cared about was that my hair looked full for the first time since the weight loss. I was losing ~20 hairs per shower, but minoxidil was able to grow my hair at a faster rate than a hair loss rate. My hair stayed quite full until May of 2013 with help of minoxidil.
Unfortunately, I had a major surgery in June of 2013 (general anesthesia) and my hair started falling out like crazy. So much hair fell out from June to October and made me severely depressed/stressful, leading to more hair loss. Part of it was also because I stopped using minoxidil after the surgery. I knew that I had "hair loss genetics" according to family history and severe weight loss in the past, so this incidence made me panic. As a result, I got on finasteride+minoxidil (Lipogaine) starting in October. While I was on both treatments, my hair fell out at an accelerated rate, and the pattern was diffuse. My room was full of my hair. I also went through a serious emotional distress (relationship issue). By December, I felt devastated and could not handle initial shedding anymore. As a result, I dropped finasteride, but continued using minoxidil.
About a month after I dropped finasteride, shedding stopped completely. My hair was strong and thick. With help of minoxidil, hair grew super fast. I was losing 5 strands of hair at max per shower. I finally reached the winning formula everybody dreams of: No hair loss + super fast growth. I took a picture every week and saw tremendous progress every week. Also, I did dermaroller religiously every week with a little bit of bleeding.
However, this perfect phase did not last too long. After 3 months, my hair started falling out more. Then in March, I had another major surgery with general anesthesia :woot:. This time around, hair loss does not seem as severe as last time, but I definitely see a lot of hairs fall out during a shower and after sleeping. Also, my scalp feels so itchy and tingling sensation is driving me nuts. FYI, I had similar experience when I had the first surgery last year.
I have talked to a dermatologist, but she's not sure what is the winning formula. I want to go back to "perfect phase," but I am not sure what the ingredient is. It could have been due to residual effect of finasteride or because I was no longer suffering from Telogen Effluvium from the first surgery.
I am about 10 weeks post op at the moment, and the shedding has been getting worse and worse. My dermatologist gave me a choice to start using finasteride again this time and stick with it or wait for 3-4 months in case this whole shedding is caused by Telogen Effluvium. To be honest, I do not think it is only caused by Telogen Effluvium since some hairs that fall out are very short or thin. Maybe Telogen Effluvium caused male pattern baldness to kick in, turning this into an ultimate nightmare.
I am not asking for a definitive answer. All I want is your honest opinion. Do you think this is Telogen Effluvium, male pattern baldness, or both?
Should I start finasteride right now or wait at least 2-3 months then decide? I will put a summary of what happened to my hair below.
2007 - 2012: hair loss from severe weight loss, hair thinned out gradually
2012 - June 2013: hair loss conquered from minoxidil + hair supplements (mainly biotin) + Revivogen (fishy about this one)
June 2013 - Oct 2013: shedding from first surgery that occurred in June.
Oct 2013 - Dec 2013: worst shedding from finasteride + minoxidil
Dec 2013 - Feb 2014: stopped finasteride, no more shedding, continued minoxidil, great growth! (perfect phase)
Feb 2014 - Mar 2014: hair loss returned, very slowly
Mar 2014 - another surgery
Apr 2014 - Now: hair loss worsened, major shedding happening at the moment....
I would sincerely appreciate your input.
I am a 26 year old male suffering from receding hairline. My father is almost bald, but not quite there yet (in his 50's) and my mother lost tons of hair after experiencing menopause. Two of my uncles and aunts are suffering from hair loss as well (in their 40's). Also, my younger brother is suffering from minor hair loss at the crown area (barely noticeable when he grows his hair out).
My story is a lot more complicated than most people. My hair was very thick in my teenage years, but after going on a severe diet for ten months to shed over 100 pounds, my hair got brittle and weak. Through my college life, many people asked me if I was going bald, but for some reason, that never bothered me at that time.
After I got my graduate degree, my hair was almost full, from using Revivogen and minoxidil. I am not sure if Revivogen helped much. All I cared about was that my hair looked full for the first time since the weight loss. I was losing ~20 hairs per shower, but minoxidil was able to grow my hair at a faster rate than a hair loss rate. My hair stayed quite full until May of 2013 with help of minoxidil.
Unfortunately, I had a major surgery in June of 2013 (general anesthesia) and my hair started falling out like crazy. So much hair fell out from June to October and made me severely depressed/stressful, leading to more hair loss. Part of it was also because I stopped using minoxidil after the surgery. I knew that I had "hair loss genetics" according to family history and severe weight loss in the past, so this incidence made me panic. As a result, I got on finasteride+minoxidil (Lipogaine) starting in October. While I was on both treatments, my hair fell out at an accelerated rate, and the pattern was diffuse. My room was full of my hair. I also went through a serious emotional distress (relationship issue). By December, I felt devastated and could not handle initial shedding anymore. As a result, I dropped finasteride, but continued using minoxidil.
About a month after I dropped finasteride, shedding stopped completely. My hair was strong and thick. With help of minoxidil, hair grew super fast. I was losing 5 strands of hair at max per shower. I finally reached the winning formula everybody dreams of: No hair loss + super fast growth. I took a picture every week and saw tremendous progress every week. Also, I did dermaroller religiously every week with a little bit of bleeding.
However, this perfect phase did not last too long. After 3 months, my hair started falling out more. Then in March, I had another major surgery with general anesthesia :woot:. This time around, hair loss does not seem as severe as last time, but I definitely see a lot of hairs fall out during a shower and after sleeping. Also, my scalp feels so itchy and tingling sensation is driving me nuts. FYI, I had similar experience when I had the first surgery last year.
I have talked to a dermatologist, but she's not sure what is the winning formula. I want to go back to "perfect phase," but I am not sure what the ingredient is. It could have been due to residual effect of finasteride or because I was no longer suffering from Telogen Effluvium from the first surgery.
I am about 10 weeks post op at the moment, and the shedding has been getting worse and worse. My dermatologist gave me a choice to start using finasteride again this time and stick with it or wait for 3-4 months in case this whole shedding is caused by Telogen Effluvium. To be honest, I do not think it is only caused by Telogen Effluvium since some hairs that fall out are very short or thin. Maybe Telogen Effluvium caused male pattern baldness to kick in, turning this into an ultimate nightmare.
I am not asking for a definitive answer. All I want is your honest opinion. Do you think this is Telogen Effluvium, male pattern baldness, or both?
Should I start finasteride right now or wait at least 2-3 months then decide? I will put a summary of what happened to my hair below.
2007 - 2012: hair loss from severe weight loss, hair thinned out gradually
2012 - June 2013: hair loss conquered from minoxidil + hair supplements (mainly biotin) + Revivogen (fishy about this one)
June 2013 - Oct 2013: shedding from first surgery that occurred in June.
Oct 2013 - Dec 2013: worst shedding from finasteride + minoxidil
Dec 2013 - Feb 2014: stopped finasteride, no more shedding, continued minoxidil, great growth! (perfect phase)
Feb 2014 - Mar 2014: hair loss returned, very slowly
Mar 2014 - another surgery
Apr 2014 - Now: hair loss worsened, major shedding happening at the moment....
I would sincerely appreciate your input.
