Minox_Baby's story - (Super thin hair at 27.)

[Minox_Baby]

Hi all.

Well I'm in a bit of a situation. My hairloss is rather bad. I suffered a reflex hyperandrogenic reaction to finasteride about 14 months ago. It was definately RH. I lost at least 50% of my hair density on my head and lost hair from the back of my head also. Its not grown back. I've ditched the finasteride for revivogen and minoxidil.

I've managed to get away with not showing people how bad it is because I have long hair. I've not told anybody about this.

Well, the top of my hairline must be at least a Norwood 3-4 and gertting worse and I can't style my long hair so it covers my temples. It just looks a mess and I hate going into work because of it. I need to get my hair cut fast. but I'm so scared how it will look. I'm thinking of just wearing a beanie hat most times if I do get it cut, but I can't go through life like this.

I really don't know how I'm going to function when I get a hair cut as it will look a mess. Has anyone been in this situation? Could a decent hairdresser make my hair look half presentable?

I'm really worried.

 

[Guest]

this is a post that really needs pics.

 

[Minox_Baby]

I know I know. I haven't really looked at the back of my head in any detail really. I've tried to ignore it, but now I need a hair cut I suppose I need to confront it. I'll try and get some pics up sooner rather than later.

 

[Guest]

Hello Minox_Baby,

sorry to hear about your hair loss, but I can´t help you. I am just trying to figure out whether I am also suffering from hyperandrogenic reflex. Could you tell me when exactly your HR occured after you started finasteride? Is it possible that HR occurse immediately after starting with finasteride? Thank you in Advance!

 

[Minox_Baby]

Hey Taugenichts, If you think your getting RH then get off the finasteride ASAP.

Heres what happended. Started finasteride early 04 as I started to receed aggressively, which slowed the receeding and was doing well for about 4 -5 months. But I kept on receeding and decided that the finasteride can't be going that well so stupidly decided to stop. Two weeks later I started to receed even worse so panicked and got back on finasteride. I believe it was this break that set me on the course to developing RH, but I don't know.

Anyway, restarted the finasteride early Nov 04. Late feb 05 I started to get really dry facial skin, didn't think much off it so I got some face cream etc. A week or two later I started shedding quite heavily, but thought it could be finasteride shed, so I rode it out. Around this time I also started to get quite a bad itch all over the body, which lasted for about a week.

I started to get worried now so I was trying to find as much info about RH from the web, but I couldn't find a definitive set of symptoms. Some web sites said oily skin (which I didn't have), others said high sex drive (which I didn't have also).

Anyway I decided to ditch the finasteride, but by this time the damage had been done. The itching on my skin was hairs growing, it had totally fooked up my hormone balance. I felt so stupid and I should have consulted my GP before going on the drug. I've since read a post on the Keratine.com forum were the original poster had the same symptoms to me and his doctor did confirm RH. I just wished I'd found that post sooner.

But if your worried, go see your doctor before its too late.

 

[HARM1]

wHAT'S RH?

 

[CCS]

reflex hyperandrogenic reaction

it is in the opening post. yeah, I never had that. my main problem is I don't feel like i ever got the 90 hairs that the average person should get, though I did not take pictures either.

I had a lot of hair grafts, which I can't tell from the rest of my hiar. Because they are thin, and cover a wide area, I feel like my hair is thinning when it is not. i look at it and think I've lost a lot of hair, but when I look at old pictures I realize that I just used to be very bald, and had a lot filled in. So I'm probably not loosing hair from finasteride. poeple have told me my hair is much darker now. I can't tell the difference.

all I have to compare myself to is my driver's license. actually i do have some old pictures of myself.

 

[HARM1]

reflex hyperandrogenic reaction

it is in the opening post. yeah, I never had that. my main problem is I don't feel like i ever got the 90 hairs that the average person should get, though I did not take pictures either.

I had a lot of hair grafts, which I can't tell from the rest of my hiar. Because they are thin, and cover a wide area, I feel like my hair is thinning when it is not. i look at it and think I've lost a lot of hair, but when I look at old pictures I realize that I just used to be very bald, and had a lot filled in. So I'm probably not loosing hair from finasteride. poeple have told me my hair is much darker now. I can't tell the difference.

all I have to compare myself to is my driver's license. actually i do have some old pictures of myself.

I got what HR STANDS FOR, BUT WHAT THE HELL IS IT?

 

[CCS]

I think he was saying that sudden changes in hormone levels cause hair loss. i think this is rare because as soon as you get on finasteride, your hormone levels change immediately, and most people don't have problems from it. dutasteride changes levels much more slowly, unless you take a loading dose, though a pill per day is as fast as finasteride. If HR actually happened, it is more likely it happend because he got off for a week and then back on again, instead of staying on. Bryan advised people to slowly reduce the dose when getting off finasteride, rather than quit cold turkey. That does not mean cutting the dose in half, but more likely a fourth every 1/3 day for a while.

 

[Guest]

Thank you very much, eventhough i am more confused than before. I have started finasteride about three weeks ago, since then my hair got worse and I am shedding more than ever before. Until now I can observe a visible deterioation. My hair has become thinner, the hairline has stayed intact. I am still Norwood 1.5.

i was searching the internet for HR and all the sources said that it goes together with oily skin and increased libido. I am not sure what means oily skin. I guess it is like you are sweating. My skin is dry and doesn´t reflect light. Libido is not increased. this is what I also found:

"Question: I had a bad reaction to Propecia, including severe shedding (especially in the front) that commenced within a few days of starting Propecia, and stopped within a few days of stopping Propecia. I'm assuming this is Reflex Hyperandrogenicity (let's call it R.H.).

Could it be that I have a particularly low tolerance to the effects of Propecia, and that if I take less (say perhaps 1/4 of a pill per day, or every couple of days) that I'll avoid the R.H.

I suppose to word it another way, is the R.H. caused by the inhibition of just too much 5ar, making it so if I inhibit less, I may avoid it while still getting the benefits of Propecia ?

Dr Proctor answers: Shedding that occurs before about 2-4 months after starting a treatment was of hair that was already in the loss phase when you started. That is, such hair shedding is just coincidental or due to early fallout of loss-phase hair as follicles come out of dormancy under the influence of a hair-growth-stimulator. This hair was about to fall out anyway.

Not that hair loss due to reflex hyperandrogenicity doesn't occasionally happen with Finasteride. However, Finasteride (Propecia) differentially "protects" hair follicles. Thus, enough reflex hyproandrogenicity to exacerbate balding is very likely to be associated with other hyperandrogenic symptoms such as increased libido, skin oiliness, etc. In the absence of these, I consider it unlikely. So you can rest reasonably easily. I hope....
Peter H Proctor, PhD, MD

"

So, it says that it takes up to 2-4 months until shedding caused by HR and also mentions oily skin etc.

But you said that your libido is normal and you don´t have oily skin. You also said that HR probably was caused by a sudden change of hormones as CCS/Bryan are also assuming. Since my libido and skin are normal and the increased shedding started since I started finasteride it might be possible that I am suffering of HR as well. This sucks, I don´t know what is causing the increased shedding. Is it the stress caused by my hair loss, is it Telogen Effluvium since I am losing hair from the sides and back as well, is it my seborrheic dermatitis which was got worse over the last week, is my MBP simply getting agressive? I don´t know what is it........I am probably gonna open another thread and ask for some support. Do you have the link and the username who has posting at keratine forum? Thank you nevertheless!

Edit: If I actually have HR caused by finasteride, will this is also happen if I am switching to dutasteride?

 

[Bismarck]

reflex hyperandrogenic reaction

it is in the opening post. yeah, I never had that. my main problem is I don't feel like i ever got the 90 hairs that the average person should get, though I did not take pictures either.

I had a lot of hair grafts, which I can't tell from the rest of my hiar. Because they are thin, and cover a wide area, I feel like my hair is thinning when it is not. i look at it and think I've lost a lot of hair, but when I look at old pictures I realize that I just used to be very bald, and had a lot filled in. So I'm probably not loosing hair from finasteride. poeple have told me my hair is much darker now. I can't tell the difference.

all I have to compare myself to is my driver's license. actually i do have some old pictures of myself.

I got what HR STANDS FOR, BUT WHAT THE HELL IS IT?

It's says that the body reacts in decreasing DHT-levels (induced by Finasteride for example) by becoming ultra-sensitive towards androgens (via receptor-upregulation). Hence, even the remaining DHT/androgens have an even stronger effect.

 

[templemonk]

damnit.. this post and replies scaring me..
im getting more scared to be on finasteride now..