Let The Journey Begin (long Term Documentation)

baba_yaga

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3 months update

Nothing significant to report, aside from decreased libido. My sex drive was normally high until the 2 months mark or so. Now I no longer get aroused unintentionally, I can control it. Orgasms are sometimes sub 70%, other times 100%. A small price to pay, especially since everything else is still the same.
Got no shedding and no thinning/worsening. I may also say that (perhaps) finasteride has decreased shedding somehow.

I wont post new photos because not much time has passed and I havent felt any significant differences.
 

JohnSmith21

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you have zero thinning. you were parting your hair unevenly. your literally made a zigzag part and then said it was thinning. so stupid to take finasteride at 17 when you really don’t show signs of thinning. i’m 25 on finasteride, and am all for it. but your bugging you don’t need it
 

baba_yaga

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you have zero thinning. you were parting your hair unevenly. your literally made a zigzag part and then said it was thinning. so stupid to take finasteride at 17 when you really don’t show signs of thinning. i’m 25 on finasteride, and am all for it. but your bugging you don’t need it
My shedded hair strands are progressively getting thinner towards the roots. (check attached pic)

edit: attached two additional pics where thinning is obvious. Also deleted all the wall of text I just typed because these two pics sums it all.
 

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baba_yaga

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You can try low dose topical fina too. Maybe you'll have less sides.
Could use it if the sides get much worse. But for now, I can easily tolerate them. In fact, I prefer to have control over my sex drive rather than craving to penetrate a wall while I’m at uni or trying to sleep.
 

JohnSmith21

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My shedded hair strands are progressively getting thinner towards the roots. (check attached pic)

edit: attached two additional pics where thinning is obvious. Also deleted all the wall of text I just typed because these two pics sums it all.
i still don’t see any thinning. looks totally normal
 

TomRiddle

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If you dont see thinning, then I dont know what to say...

You can't see it in pictures whatever pictures you will post but if you say that a couple of doctors saw it with a microscope or a lens they must have saw something
 

baba_yaga

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You can't see it in pictures whatever pictures you will post but if you say that a couple of doctors saw it with a microscope or a lens they must have saw something
Yes three derms confirmed that I have diffuse pattern hair loss.
Compare the two photos here, you simply cannot say there is no difference in scalp visibility or density of hair.
 

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Lolrus

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It's difficult to say. In some photos it does look like the back of your head is thinner than the rest, and in others it looks normal. I wouldn't trust dermatologists or anyone on this forum for that matter, the best you're going to do is leave 1% doubt in your mind and that 1% is going to eat at you every time you feel paranoid and start looking in the mirror.

What I recommend is finding an actual hair transplant surgeon, not for a transplant, but for a consultation. Somebody who can check to see if you're actually balding, and if so, how much exactly you have lost and where. Dermatologists for the most part don't give a sh*t, and they don't see this as a medical problem. If you go to an actual hair clinic they have tools that measure density as well as specialized cameras they can use to map your scalp. If you're not balding, that would be amazing, you could stop taking finasteride. If you are balding, you can at least accept it for what it is and go from there. When I first started losing hair I was exactly like this, and I wish I just went sooner to confirm it because I was tormented by the whole "not knowing" thing. Once it was confirmed that I was losing my hair, it was a much easier pill to swallow.

I have been on finasteride for 9 years now and minoxidil for 6, and they saved my hair. I have only slightly less hair now than when I started. I have no idea how shitty my hair would be if I had taken no action.
 

baba_yaga

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It's difficult to say. In some photos it does look like the back of your head is thinner than the rest, and in others it looks normal. I wouldn't trust dermatologists or anyone on this forum for that matter, the best you're going to do is leave 1% doubt in your mind and that 1% is going to eat at you every time you feel paranoid and start looking in the mirror.

What I recommend is finding an actual hair transplant surgeon, not for a transplant, but for a consultation. Somebody who can check to see if you're actually balding, and if so, how much exactly you have lost and where. Dermatologists for the most part don't give a sh*t, and they don't see this as a medical problem. If you go to an actual hair clinic they have tools that measure density as well as specialized cameras they can use to map your scalp. If you're not balding, that would be amazing, you could stop taking finasteride. If you are balding, you can at least accept it for what it is and go from there. When I first started losing hair I was exactly like this, and I wish I just went sooner to confirm it because I was tormented by the whole "not knowing" thing. Once it was confirmed that I was losing my hair, it was a much easier pill to swallow.

I have been on finasteride for 9 years now and minoxidil for 6, and they saved my hair. I have only slightly less hair now than when I started. I have no idea how shitty my hair would be if I had taken no action.
Great advice. Hair transplant surgeons can definitely confirm if I have hair loss or not (although I am 99% sure I have hair loss). Guess a visit wouldnt hurt when everything gets back to normal.

9 years on finasteride? What would say in regards to your sex drive/libido?

Thank you for your time.
 
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Lolrus

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Great advice. Hair transplant surgeons can definitely confirm if I have hair loss or not. Guess a visit wouldnt hurt when everything gets back to normal.

9 years on finasteride? What would say in regards to your sex drive/libido?

Thank you for your time.

Yeah, I've been taking it since April 2011, every day. No known side effects, I felt the same after taking it. I never believed the hype about it making your dick not work anymore, and what do you know, I never had a problem with that. Just saying.
 

Confused111

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I’m gonna be real with you,
I am considerably young (22) and used to be in a terrible,dark place much like you are. Don’t let this get under your skin.
I’m gonna be completely real with you and I am not gonna tell you this because it is what you want to hear.

You are not losing your hair.
Alopecia occurs when testosterone is converted into a more potent hormone called dihydrotestosterone. DHT is most often responsible for facial hair growth etc. Do you have facial hair? If not, it’s unlikely that your DHT levels are high (there are exceptions as some are very sensitive to it). In order for your hair to thin to a point where it’s visible to the naked eye you would need to suffer 50% loss of your hair.

You still have that childish looking sort of hairline, you are in no shape or form exposed to any kind of hairloss or «matureness», if you will.

The ones that are telling you that you are thinning have gone through actual hairloss and they are completely consumed and obsessed by it.

Like I said, I have been there aswell until I realized I am wasting my time worrying for something that is likely not even a real threat to me at this point of time. Also, thickness varies from each region of your scalp, there is nothing going on with your scalp, most often temples are the first to go and your hairline is still what is considered juvenile. My two cents is, if this really bothers you go see your GP but rest assured you are not a victim of any hairloss (yet).
 

db135

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I’m gonna be real with you,
I am considerably young (22) and used to be in a terrible,dark place much like you are. Don’t let this get under your skin.
I’m gonna be completely real with you and I am not gonna tell you this because it is what you want to hear.

You are not losing your hair.
Alopecia occurs when testosterone is converted into a more potent hormone called dihydrotestosterone. DHT is most often responsible for facial hair growth etc. Do you have facial hair? If not, it’s unlikely that your DHT levels are high (there are exceptions as some are very sensitive to it). In order for your hair to thin to a point where it’s visible to the naked eye you would need to suffer 50% loss of your hair.

You still have that childish looking sort of hairline, you are in no shape or form exposed to any kind of hairloss or «matureness», if you will.

The ones that are telling you that you are thinning have gone through actual hairloss and they are completely consumed and obsessed by it.

Like I said, I have been there aswell until I realized I am wasting my time worrying for something that is likely not even a real threat to me at this point of time. Also, thickness varies from each region of your scalp, there is nothing going on with your scalp, most often temples are the first to go and your hairline is still what is considered juvenile. My two cents is, if this really bothers you go see your GP but rest assured you are not a victim of any hairloss (yet).

If the op is balding its in very early stages. However he has posted close ups of his scalp and thin hairs are visible. Also a long hair that get thin towards the root. Is this not a definitive sign of miniaturization ?

My own hair is much shorter that op's but i shed thick hairs as well as thin crappy ones. Again is this not the definitive sign of balding?

If not what are the reasons for thinner diameter hairs?
 

Confused111

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If the op is balding its in very early stages. However he has posted close ups of his scalp and thin hairs are visible. Also a long hair that get thin towards the root. Is this not a definitive sign of miniaturization ?

My own hair is much shorter that op's but i shed thick hairs as well as thin crappy ones. Again is this not the definitive sign of balding?

If not what are the reasons for thinner diameter hairs?
Are you even taking into consideration hes a minor, and that his scalp and hair is a work in progress?
Diet, puberty, anxiety along with countless of different factors can all contribute to this.
Anxiety is known to be a driven factor in alopecia. When I was 16 I had thicker hair and curls. Now it’s straight and a tad «thinner» (same hairline still at 22, no hairloss yet).
His body is undeniably going through changes, and you can’t hold DHT accountable for that without knowing so for certain.
Also, shedding over and over again will thin your hair regardless of DHT levels, and theres also a million factors to why you could be shedding (anxiety, diet etc).
 

db135

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Are you even taking into consideration hes a minor, and that his scalp and hair is a work in progress?
Diet, puberty, anxiety along with countless of different factors can all contribute to this.
Anxiety is known to be a driven factor in alopecia. When I was 16 I had thicker hair and curls. Now it’s straight and a tad «thinner» (same hairline still at 22, no hairloss yet).
His body is undeniably going through changes, and you can’t hold DHT accountable for that without knowing so for certain.
Also, shedding over and over again will thin your hair regardless of DHT levels, and theres also a million factors to why you could be shedding (anxiety, diet etc).

I know one or 2 men who were heavily balding by the age of 20 so i imagine their balding commenced in their teens.

Im not having a go by the way. I am just trying to understand what can cause an individual hair strand to thin if not dht.
 

baba_yaga

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I’m gonna be real with you,
I am considerably young (22) and used to be in a terrible,dark place much like you are. Don’t let this get under your skin.
I’m gonna be completely real with you and I am not gonna tell you this because it is what you want to hear.

You are not losing your hair.
Alopecia occurs when testosterone is converted into a more potent hormone called dihydrotestosterone. DHT is most often responsible for facial hair growth etc. Do you have facial hair? If not, it’s unlikely that your DHT levels are high (there are exceptions as some are very sensitive to it). In order for your hair to thin to a point where it’s visible to the naked eye you would need to suffer 50% loss of your hair.

You still have that childish looking sort of hairline, you are in no shape or form exposed to any kind of hairloss or «matureness», if you will.

The ones that are telling you that you are thinning have gone through actual hairloss and they are completely consumed and obsessed by it.

Like I said, I have been there aswell until I realized I am wasting my time worrying for something that is likely not even a real threat to me at this point of time. Also, thickness varies from each region of your scalp, there is nothing going on with your scalp, most often temples are the first to go and your hairline is still what is considered juvenile. My two cents is, if this really bothers you go see your GP but rest assured you are not a victim of any hairloss (yet).
I am surely not a victim of hair loss as of yet. No one can even tell that there is some hair loss, even you guys are finding it hard to say if there is hair loss or not.

I know my hair seems very thick from the photos, but they are decieving in portraying that nothing is happening. I do have a juvenile hair line, apart from a bit of thinning in the left temple. However I am diffuse thinning (check my last two photos posted in this thread, thinning is obvious).
In my case, I'm either going to be slick bald or have a full head of hair as my father's side all have thick NW1 all their lives, while my mom's side are all slick bald. And all lost their hair in diffuse pattern, hence why you wont see me loosing my temples as of yet.
I started taking photos and compared my vertex and middle region of the top of my head to my hair line, and there is great difference in density. Even my dad, who is against everything related to treating hair loss "iT iS nOrMaL", could not deny it. (He had a hard time believing that I am loosing my hair just like you, so I asked him to touch my hair and compare the feel of thickness, and he admitted there is a difference but said it is nOrMaL). Differences in density exists, but not between hair line and top of head. This density difference is a definite sign of diffuse pattern alopecia. (Check the last two photos, the thicker one is directly from the area behind the hairline, while the other thinner one is from the middle of my head)

As for facial hair, I have had a FULL beard since 16, started shaving in 8th grade. I am hairy (apart from my back lol) and stoppped growing in height at ~16. So ~70%DHT suppression wont be as bad.

In front of ample evidence and my terrible fear of being bald, finasteride is the correct step for me especially since it is a preventative treatment and I can tolerate the current sides.

Thank you for your time and consideration
 

baba_yaga

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Also a long hair that get thin towards the root. Is this not a definitive sign of miniaturization ?
As far as I know, it is most likely miniaturization. Stress causes Telogen Effluvium, not miniaturization. Upon removing the inducer, hair lost to stress can and will grow back to its earlier condition, no damage whatsoever.

It is better to assume miniaturization until it is confirmed otherwise by multiple docs/tests.
 

Confused111

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I had pals from highschool whom went bald by early 20s. Some of them had a thick full beard by 17 aswell, they did however have significant hairloss by the age of 18. So if you are losing your hair, even without treatment I assume you would be «fine» even in ur mid 20s.
Look, there’s a chance you will have a NW1 at the age of 40, and theres a chance you won’t, nobody knows. Don’t let your image of yourself evolve around other people’s opinion.

Just remember that there could be various triggers to what you are describing, but you could also be correct. If taking finasteride gives you peace of mind that’s great, you have already (according to yourself) got a full beard, so finasteride won’t ruin your shot to grow one if you wish to.

Atleast you’ve got a course of action, in which either of us are right you are likely to keep a full head of hair for many years to come.

I happened to stumble across this account of mine here scrolling through some old emails and I decided to check in. Ever since I dismissed the idea that I am losing hair (when I likely am not), + started taking finasteride as a precaution I’ve been completely at peace with this stressfull situation you find yourself in.

Move on, take your finasteride if you wish, and just let it be. Stop looking in the mirror every time you feel insecure or anxious about it and this will pass :)
I wish you the best of luck, and for the record your hair looks great.
 
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