is it finasteride, minoxidil, or stress?

[newguy2006]

My hair has been noticeably receeding since mid-October, so I began using the Big-3 around the beginning of January. Things went well for the next several weeks, and my shedding reduced to almost zero while my shafts actually seemed to thicken: things seemed to be actually improving.

Last week I left for a study abroad trip to Cyprus, however, and was unable to sleep (I can't sleep on planes) for 30+ hours. This was also a fairly stressful time due to the fact that I was alone and had to meet many new people, figure out a new land, etc. etc. etc.

Well, the first couple days my hair looked fantastic. Then on the third day all f'ing hell broke loose. Although my situation isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things, my shedding has been taken to new levels. I am losing probably 30-40 hairs showering, and find about 30 on my pillow each morning. Just running my hands through my hair I'm also able to grab several without even trying. It's scaring the crap out of me.

Now, I figured I would have a minoxidil shed, but I'm only applying minoxidil to my temples, and my hair is falling out from all over - even the top and back of my head where I used to not be able to pull hair out if I tried! Does this mean I could be having an early shed from the finasteride, or could this just be the product of male pattern baldness genes + stress? The hairs themselves don't look incredibly weak/thin either, many of them appear to be solid terminal hairs from all over my scalp.

I wish I could laugh it off and just shave my head until things get beter, but my huge dome would just look ridiculous. Any thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement would be great.

My regimen: Xandrox 5% (night), minoxidil 5% (morning), Nizoral, Nioxin, 1/4 daily Proscar, Multivitamin, Omega-3 caps

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

If hairs are not falling out from the side of your head then this is just a shed resulting from either finasteride, minoxidil and/or male pattern baldness. Countless posts on this site explain the unpredictable nature of shedding for those with male pattern baldness who are using finasteride and/or minoxidil. If you are taking care of your body and using a good regime then all you can do is hope for the best and chill out. Stress and lack of sleep is not healthy and many belive that health factors such as diet and stress can hurt not only the function of your body and mind but also your appearance which can include your hair follicles. Simply stated, get yourself healthy continue using finasteride and minoxidil and worry abut more important things then hair.

 

[Britannia]

I honestly think its none of the things you mentioned. Not from the details from your post. I dont want to sound patronizing but it may be paranoia making you imagine a shed. This isnt as silly as it sounds. You say you have been "expecting" to shed. Its probably too early to start shedding on the treatments you take, and as you say your shedding from the wrong areas for this to be true. Im unsure just what evidence there is (I mean scientific evidence, not what Dave in the Pub thinks) as to whether or not stress can cause a shed.

 

[newguy2006]

Okay, well it's been about five-six weeks now since I've started the minoxidil/finasteride treatment and things are really starting to settle down. I've lost a good amount of hair in my temples over that shedding period, however, I'm hoping that it was simply a rapid finasteride/minoxidil shed that I was experiencing.

I had been using a Nioxin follicle spray treatment since early December, so I was wondering if that could have had an effect in jump starting the minoxidil/finasteride shed.

The corners of my temples (which is the only place I've been applying minoxidil) crept back a good cm or two over this latest shed, and the the rest of my hair is so thick that the diffused loss I was experiencing all over my head is probably not even close to noticeable.

Right now my situation is kind of weird, and I don't seem to be losing my hair in the normal norwood patterns. I look like a NW2, but the corners of my temples toward the sides of my head kind of reach back (along the sides) at a sharp triangular angle. My crown/vertex is great and front hairline fully acceptable, it's just that f'ing recession down the sides of my temples that is bothering me and making it difficult to style my mop.

One major question: People always remark that finasteride/minoxidil will usually let you keep the hair you have. So if I started with my baseline hairline and lost a cm or two in the temple corners, does this notion mean that such hair will grow back? Like it shed the miniaturized hairs at that point so thicker hairs would grow in 3-6 months from now? Is that usually the case?

Regardless, because these side-temple recessions are so narrow, it gives me hope that with just a small amount of regrowth in this area it will make a world of difference. I'll try and post some pictures soon to see what you guys think. Hopefully in a few months I'll begin to start seeing some results. Thanks for the advice.