losing faith.

[Trent]

i know all the facts and stuff about waiting a year on propecia, i am just so down right now. propecia seemed to be working really really great for me for the first three months. hair looked thicker, new hairs seemed to be coming in everyday, hairloss was down to a huge minimum. but over the last week, things are terrible. i'm shedding like there's no tomorrow, my hair looks absolutely terrible when i try and spike it up at all, and i feel like all i'm reading on this site are shed stories without regrowth, people that gave up on it, or are having little to no success. i was feeling so good a month ago, and now this. i feel like i'm back to feeling as bad as when i did when i first noticed hairloss, or maybe worse.

does propecia even work? i mean seriously. you have badhairdecade, socks, and hairlosstalk. they are the only ones i've really heard of that have had any luck. tough to look forward to the future.

 

[Cassin]

It has done wonders for me an many many others. The vast majority of people do fantastic on it.

The problem with these forums is that people ignor the positive posts and they drop down the forum. People like train wrecks so they drool over the negative posts.

Read this.

Cassin's Story<----click me!

 

[Trent]

the vast majority? where are they man? i'm glad you had some success. did you have any relapses. like you were doing great, then sh*t, then great again? i really need some help man. thanks for the reply

 

[BadHairDecade]

Trent...welcome to your first encounter of "the shedding shits". Dude it sucks, I know. I've been there.
I saw excellent results for the first 3-4 months....Then things started to slowly get worse (I won't even go into the gyno battle I had)...Then I started to shed like crazy (this could have been from having to temporarily cut back on Propecia intake). Things looked so grim and I was really depressed about it but I stuck it out. Honestly from month 5 to month 9 it was hell. Then things started to turn around very slowly.. Things are still at a slow pace for me now...somtimes it feels like 1 step forward 2 steps back but then realize this is normal when fighting male pattern baldness.
Did you take any before treatment pictures?
I feel these are very important. It's impossible to gauge success by looking in the mirror every day, but pictures don't lie(as long as they're consistant with each other in terms of angle and lighting). If you haven't taken any, take some today or asap. One of the strange things I noticed was that while I was going through what seemed to be a crazy shed was when I took some pictures they didn't look much differnt from my result photos.
You'll get through it

BTW there are many more success stories out there. The few that you mentioned are the only ones that try to consistantly post about it.

Hope this helps you out a bit.....BHD

 

[Trent]

thanks man, you have no idea how much that helps, especially with you since you've had such success. the shed shits suck ***. right before thanksgiving too wheni have to see everyone i haven't seen in forever. i'll definitely stick it out, as there is nothing else i can do really. i haven't taken pictures yet, mostly because i am scared to see what it really looks like (that probably sounds crazy), but i mostly base my success/failture based on feelings that i felt. like a month a go remember looking in the mirror and saying damn, that looks good, and now i look and say, holy sh*t i'm gonna be bald in a week. congrats on the promotion to "moderator" take her easy, if she's easy take her twice.
lata

 

[templerecession]

Trent,

Keep up with the propecia. I has work wonders on me.

Also, add minoxidil and nizoral if you had not done so already.

Does your scalp itch more, or you find it oilier now than before the shed?

 

[Cassin]

the vast majority? where are they man? i'm glad you had some success. did you have any relapses. like you were doing great, then sh*t, then great again? i really need some help man. thanks for the reply

They are out there not posting on forums. How many people that take propecia are going to read about it? They see an ad in Sports Illistrated and thats that.

Did I have any relapses? Read the story my man. This is why most people can't find any success stories..pleople just gloss over the posts without reading them. They just read the one sentance replies to the stories.

I have noticed that success stories are longer posts.

 

[BadHairDecade]

Trent,
Also, add minoxidil and nizoral if you had not done so already.

I respectfully disagree.
Right now would be a horrible time to add minoxidil. It's too early into his regimen.
The way I feel about minoxidil is, you either add it at the start of a finasteride regimen, or after a year on finasteride.
Try to keep a stable regimen without making too many changes.

Nizoral once every three days is ok to add at any time.

BHD

 

[KevinW]

Trent8- Keep your head up buddy. Remember that people don't see you the way you see yourself. They don't look at you and focus on the hair, they see the essence of the person. The holidays can be rough, but you'll get through it. Fake confidence (isn't that what everyone does anyway) and be your best. Try to keep the faith and things will get better.

 

[Trent]

to answer some of the questions, yes, my hair does feel oiler now that i'm shedding, my hair was really soft the first three months, like movie star looking healthy. now its seems oily, and thats making the strands stick together and sometimes show scalp, even when its dry!! i was taking a saw palmetto supplement but realized it was the wrong dosage, so switched about two weeks ago, i'm wondering if that has something to do with it too. i dont' know what to do, if i should stop the saw palmetto or what.. i'm definiitely going to add nizoral here shortly. i haven't added minoxidil yet, mostly because with my schedule it woudl be hard to do, and i really don't know if i could live adding that stuff twice a day as it makes my hair look terrible. i'm glad to hear some of you have have success that helps out a ton, i need that confidence. i miss my spiky bed head style of hair, i pulled it off pretty well, now its just down and it looks almost like i'm trying to cover up receeding hairloss with the way i have to comb it now even though i don't have that much recession. i would kill for just the regular old slow temporal recession with thick hair everywhere that it wasn't receeding. at least that still looks "healthy" this diffuse thinning sh*t just makes me feel like i look unhealthy.

 

[templerecession]

BHD,

I understand your point that keeping a consistent/stable regimen is key to success. However, Trent has never started minoxidil, hence it can be a consistent/stable treatment as long as he use it consistently after he starts it.

Frankly, minoxidil isn't this magic bullet that will definitely grow hair, hence I am not in full agreement with the "lets wait and see if it gets worse" theory. Or "let me try just propecia for 2 years, and when tolerance set in I will add minoxidil". I think most ppl in the forum agree that using both treatments yield a much higher and better success rate compared to just using either one of them. I think recruiting as many miniaturized follicles as early as possible is key to holding on to what you have.

Dr. Proctor in one of his responses to tolerance, claims that by applying a mixture of both a hair stimulator and dht inhibitor it is possible to offset tolerance of either. Again this is not proven but it is his gut feeling. Dr. Lee disregards Minoxidil tolerance. Knowing this, if one can afford why not use both.

Also like you, I have been suffering from hairloss for 10 years. I just rather not wait and see if it gets better just with propecia, when I know using both propecia and minoxidil definitely works better. I want Trent to know that his hair can definitely get better if he uses both.

Trent, you're right, using minoxidil twice/day can be a hassle especially if your living in a dorm, or anywhere else that makes it inconvenient ( I still remember 7 years back during my college years, I was so worried about my hair, and how stupid it would look if someone walks in and caught me applying Fabao on my head. Yeah I understand). I on one hand must admit that I am now happily married, and am living in a beautiful condominium, and I can hog the bathroom as long as I want applying minoxidil on my head and no one will laugh. So if I do not spend time applying minoxidil on my head everyday, I feel its my fault I lose my hair.

Good luck guys.

 

[HairlossTalk]

I shed for the entire first four months on Propecia and was literally not only ready to throw the stuff in the trash but start a class action lawsuit against merck for false advertising.

Thanks to Bryan Shelton for being there to tell me to trust the studies, trust the data, and ride it out. It worked.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[BadHairDecade]

TR,
good argument..Valid points. BUT......(ya knew that was comin )The reason I suggest he waits with minoxidil is because he said he had good results the first 3-4 months and more importantly seemed happy with it.

propecia seemed to be working really really great for me for the first three months. hair looked thicker, new hairs seemed to be coming in everyday, hairloss was down to a huge minimum.

my hair was really soft the first three months, like movie star looking healthy.

To me that's a indication that he's a good responder to finasteride alone. If he adds minoxidil now it could result in a few problems like a longer shed or irritation which may lead to poor results and more panic and a longer time to see results. There's also the chance he won't experience any kind of shed and may benefit from it...It's up to him if he wishes to roll the dice this early in his treatment. To me it doesn't sound like he needs to take the chance.

BHD

 

[geo]

bhd

bhd,


i apologize because im sure you have posted this..but how did you get past the gyno? whats the trick?

thx

g

 

[templerecession]

BHD,

Your points are valid too...

 

[BadHairDecade]

Geo.... If your having a problem with gyno PM me as it's off-topic in the thread. OR do a search for gyno or gynecomastia and I'm sure you'll find me talking about it.

 

[Trent]

thanks HairLossTalk.com, i know we had a small argument about doctors and opinions on their influence on the world of medicine,l but nonetheless, i appreciate your input and its nice to hear. i feel like that too, about ready to tell merck that they are just making money on some scam to take advantage of desperate people. but i'm gonna ride it out, why because people like you tell me too, i trust your opinions, and i know you have been where i am right now, i hope i caught it early and can just maintain, even if it's only for ten years or so (hey i don't want miracles just reality) anyway, i would love like five years of not worrying about this till i'm thirty, gimme six more years!!! good luck tooi all, i wish all us "researchers" would get rewarded with some full hair.

 

[Temples]

Frankly, minoxidil isn't this magic bullet that will definitely grow hair, hence I am not in full agreement with the "lets wait and see if it gets worse" theory. Or "let me try just propecia for 2 years, and when tolerance set in I will add minoxidil". I think most ppl in the forum agree that using both treatments yield a much higher and better success rate compared to just using either one of them. I think recruiting as many miniaturized follicles as early as possible is key to holding on to what you have.

Dr. Proctor in one of his responses to tolerance, claims that by applying a mixture of both a hair stimulator and dht inhibitor it is possible to offset tolerance of either. Again this is not proven but it is his gut feeling. Dr. Lee disregards Minoxidil tolerance. Knowing this, if one can afford why not use both.

That's the point I was trying to make in this thread:

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions/viewtopic.php?t=12185