Newbie saying thanks to HairlossTalk

[fallenfeather]

Hi guys,

Like alot of people I've been lurking on this forum for some months absorbing as much information as possible. My hairline started slowly receding when I was 19 and I'm now 25 and have the classic m shapped hairline. I have slight diffuse thinning on the top but no signs of any bald spots. I have been shaving my head with an electric face shaver for about 3 years now and I'm reasonably ok about this look. However, as my hairlie continues to recede the look is getting worse as my forehead slowly gets higher (it was high to begin with since i was a kid!).

I'd really really like to have hair again, with a bit of a fringe as I'm growing tired of my shaven head look but I worry that if I were to grow it out it wouldn't be thick enough to look good.

So....I decided to get on some treatments and after researching on this forum I've started onto a version of "the big 3" as you guys call it.

I've been taking 0.5mg of generic dutasteride daily, 5% minoxidil twice daily and nizorelle (1%) 2-3 times weekly.

I've been on the dutasteride for 30 days now, the minoxidil for 14 and the nizorelle for 7. Here's my experience so far:


dutasteride:
In the first 2 week of dutasteride my libido dropped considerably, but it's now returned to pretty much normal. Something else that dramatically changed was my ejaculation. For the last couple of years it used to be slightly uncomfortable to ejaculate. Nothing major, just a little pressure and sometimes slight pain. It almost felt like a slight blockage somewhere. It was the same when urinating. Since being on dutasteride this has totally stopped and everything just "flows" now! I'm really really happy about this effect. I can only assume that I had a slightly enlarged prostate but not known and now dutasteride has reduced the size and fixed the problem. This is fantastic and my sex life is much more enjoyable now.

As far as my hair goes I believe it's much too soon to see any noticable effects from dutasteride, although I have noticed that my head stubble feels a bit more prickly in the mornings before I shave and I noticed this after 2 weeks. It may or may not be dutasteride related. So far, the only other side effects I've had has been an increase in dreaming, and a better night sleep , both of which are gladly welcomed. Oh, and I seem to be putting on a little more bodyfat than usual. I'll have to increase cardio to try to keep this at bay. I'm currently in good shape and plan to keep it this way!

minoxidil:
After reading alot on the forum about minoxidil being a such pain to apply due to being greasy and hard to distribute evenly I am relieved to find that I've had no problems with this whatsoever and I quite enjoy spraying it on and gently rubbing it in. This must be due to having a shaved head If I apply it after washing my face and head first thing in the morning, the greasy appearence is pretty much gone within half an hour and totally gone by the time I get to work another 30 mins later.

After two weeks of use I'm finding my scalp has become dry and flakey in the mornings after I shave it. I've started using a moisturiser to combat this but so far it hasn't helped much. I'll look into some aloe vera deep moisturiser and see if it fixes this problem. Does anyone advise a particular type for this? The nizorelle so far isn't helpin this problem.

Since starting the minoxidil I find myself unusually tired during the day. However, this could be a side effect of dutasteride. I'm not sure.


My goal from all of this is to thicken what I still have, regrow some of my hairline back and then maintain it for as long as possible. I would be satisfied with just thickening and maintaining. My main objective is to get my hair into a state where I could grow it out longer again and have a bit of a fringe to cove rmy high forhead. If my hair hasn't recovered sufficiently for this within 3 years I will stop treatment as there is little point being on all this expensive medication just to maintain some very closely shaven stubble on my head which already has a receded hairline.

Juding from the little images around this site I'd say my hairline is at a norwood 1.5-2.

I hope this first post has been useful or at least thorough.

Any feedback would be gladly welcomed

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I've been taking 0.5mg of generic dutasteride daily, 5% minoxidil twice daily and nizorelle (1%) 2-3 times weekly.

I've been on the dutasteride for 30 days now, the minoxidil for 14 and the nizorelle for 7. Here's my experience so far:

Have you read enough??

First you should know, that you must wait at least 1 year before evaluating if it worked or not.

Second, WHY ARE YOU TAKING DUTASTERIDE??????

You should TRY Propecia first.

DUTASTERIDE IS NOT APPROVED for male pattern baldness. Propecia is.

And third, why have you lurked so much and did not ask what was better before starting treatment? Why you waited so much to register? You could have register before and ask before starting treatment.

Anyway.. It's your body.

Good luck.

 

[fallenfeather]

I've been taking 0.5mg of generic dutasteride daily, 5% minoxidil twice daily and nizorelle (1%) 2-3 times weekly.

I've been on the dutasteride for 30 days now, the minoxidil for 14 and the nizorelle for 7. Here's my experience so far:

Have you read enough??

First you should know, that you must wait at least 1 year before evaluating if it worked or not.

Second, WHY ARE YOU TAKING DUTASTERIDE??????

You should TRY Propecia first.

DUTASTERIDE IS NOT APPROVED for male pattern baldness. Propecia is.

And third, why have you lurked so much and did not ask what was better before starting treatment? Why you waited so much to register? You could have register before and ask before starting treatment.

Anyway.. It's your body.

Good luck.

Wow! Nice way to greet a new joiner! Nothing like a bit of hostility and shouting to make a first impression with a potential future valuable member of HairLossTalk.com. How dare you take that tone with me! As for your comments....Read the rest or my post you idiot! I think you'll find I said "As far as my hair goes I believe it's much too soon to see any noticable effects from dutasteride" So clearly I'm awar it takes time to see results, hence allocating myself 3 years before determining if my goals can be reached or not, as i said in my post!

As to the reason I chose dutasteride instead of finasteride...well I've actually been reseaching hairloss on and off for 3 years now. I have learned that finasteride is less effective in inhibiting dht than dutasteride and after reading many posts about dutasteride giving more regrowth I've decided to tackle my hairloss with as much weaponry as possible. True, dutasteride has not been approved by the fda for hairloss but that does not mean it does not work. I am confident that dutasteride has been proved to be effective in treating male pattern baldness.

As for why I did not join sooner.....well I tried ages ago but due to the fact that this forum won't let you register with a yahoo email address I had to get myself a new email address. And having a very busy lifestyle, it took me a while to sort that out

Anyway, I have never ever in my life been greeted on a forum in this way and your hostility has put me off participating here. I hope the moderators take notice of this thread. There is more b*tching and arguing going on in this forum than on any other I've participated in.

I'm very dissappointed. My post was simply detailing my own personal choices and experiences and I didn't realise anyone could take such offence from it.

I'm glad the forum exists as there's a wealth of information to be found here. Thanks for that HairLossTalk.com!

 

[Aplunk1]

Hi Fallenfeather,

sorry about Goodguy. He really is a stubborn ***.

I'm glad that you've found these forums. There is definitely a wealth of information here, which is SPAM-free

I, too, am using dutasteride .5mg daily, minoxidil 5%, and Nizoral, except that I've been using my regimen for longer: about 6 months.

I, too, am a Norwood 1.5-2ish, and I TOO started recession and visibly balding at 19. I'm now 21.

My results with dutasteride have been consistent, for the most part, but throughout the last few weeks I've been shedding thin and wispy hairs from the hairline, about 30+ daily. Bitter sweet, in some respects, as dutasteride has its pro's and con's.

I'm optimistic. I'd really hate to go up on the Norwood scale, but that's life.

The top and crown have thickened up much, and I'm optimistic that I'll at least maintain that for many years.

Again, I'm sorry for the poor welcome message we've sent

You'll get a few posters like that here.

Wish you the best with your regrowth.

Goodguy,

you are obviously chastisting other members for using dutasteride. It's the decision of the user, NOT you. If someone does enough research and concludes that dutasteride is a useful treatment, then what?

Dutasteride users have made the leap of faith to use an FDA-approved substance at THEIR sole discretions.

So leave them ALONE.

 

[fallenfeather]

Aplunk - That's more like the welcome I was hoping for. Thanks for that. I was starting to think this forum was the wrong place to come! I guess some people take their hairloss pretty bad and they get a little snappy.

Goodguy- Let's be chilled and forget about it yea? No harm done. I'm only here to learn from you guys and eventually help others in return.

I'm going to keep the forum updated with my progress (or lack of) as time goes by. I plan to stick to my current routine for a year before I make any decisions on adjusting it.

I've read posts talking about how expensive dutasteride is but my generic dutasteride worked out at around £60 for a 3 month supply, which wasn't as bad as I thought. the minoxidil is less than £60 per year And of course the nizorelle is only £4.99 in boots and having a shaved head means I don't need quite as much as people with longer hair so I expect it to last a few weeks

Thanks again Aplunk.

 

[Guest]

Wow! Nice way to greet a new joiner! Nothing like a bit of hostility and shouting to make a first impression with a potential future valuable member of HairLossTalk.com. How dare you take that tone with me! As for your comments....Read the rest or my post you idiot!

What are you talking about?

I am trying to help you out and you say that i am using "that tone" with you? you call me an idiot?? I did not insult you..

I am warning you of the possible WEIRD long term EFFECTS YOU could GET with dutasterdie and you tell me this?

You know what? do what you want... i won't waste more time with a**h** lurkers like you... that are SHY to register because they had a bad childhood and are shy to do anything in life. but you have balls to get on dutasteride and f*** your body..

Do what you want.. I don't give a f***.. And I don't know why i am wasting my time wiht you.

You have not even an advanced male pattern baldness and you start with Dutas, great.. You know what? now get on oral spironolactone too. and on oral minoxidil. Your body will thank you that.
[/quote]

 

[Guest]

And Aplunk.. Why you start talking from your *** everytime I point another user about the danger of Dutas?

Don't mix your personal problem with me in each post.

You really sound like a troll.

You spend 5 hours a day in this forum. I think you have no real life. Very sad.

 

[Felk]

Let's put the useless personal attacks aside and get back to the original topic - someone saying thanks to HairLossTalk.com.

I'd also like to say thanks, because in comparison to similar sites, this one is a real worthwhile find. Not just hairloss - i've looked for information on acne sites on occasion in the past, and god damn, all people want is anecdotal evidence and bizarre new diets for help, and there are never any studies or anything scientific posted.

Thanks to this site, and people here directing me to pubmed.com for evidence, i knew more than a leading dermatologist about hairloss treatment who i saw. He knew everything about hairloss, but not much about treatment. I guess it's because from the point of view of a derm me going bald is an acceptable medical outcome - me dying from some bizarre drug i take is not.

This site is a real gem.

 

[Guest]

fallenfeather.. there is a SOME really structured minds in this board that have made they conclusion on whats the RIGHT thing to do and the right route to follow and it is as easy *** recommend the big 3.. And ask the EXPERT first which hairs fall out BIG!! So don't care about them.. They are just here because they think they do any usefull job or something..

I know as from my own experience, I've read this board for 1 year before i write my first post and I would say that am quite educated now about hairloss and what treatments is out there.. And it really sucks!! it does.. That's why I choose not to recommend any of the products as it has side-effects and no real proof of what is working and what works for some might have the opposite effect on others.. So am more into research end experimenting now.. WISHING, HOPING, BELIEVING AND TRY TO THINK POSITIVE ABOUT FUTURE!! The truth is we might go 1-2 more decades before actually finding some good and safe treatment for hairloss.
So all we should actually do is help the the community and research by educate ourself about hairloss, think for ourself, research and experiment..
Only this way we reach our goal faster..
By just go for the big 3 we will getting nowhere!!

 

[fallenfeather]

Goodguy - I think you have some serious issues. I find it interesting that from my two posts you have determined that I have childhood problems and that I'm shy. I explained why I was unable to register when I first found this site. I also did not have any questions to ask until now so there was little point in registering in a hurry. Almost all my questions were answered by reading through the forum over the space of a few weeks.

I think it's a bit silly throwing out personal attacks because I have chosen to start with dutasteride. I tried other treatments over the last few years before finding this forum. I see there are plenty of people on this forum using dutasteride along with minoxidil to treat hairloss. If dutasteride causes me to suffer serious health damage I'll let you know, and I'll discontinue treatment, but somehow I can't see you caring, so why the extreme hostility towards me and my personal choices?

To the other posters: thanks for the input guys. And I agree with Felk about how valuable this forum is. Thanks HairLossTalk.

 

[powersam]

i would advise that you ignore fight4hairs posts to some extent. by all means educate yourself as much as possible about the mechanics of hairloss, but also make sure you are using the treatments which have been proven to stop hairloss and often regrow. finasteride, dutasteride and minoxidil have all shown that they can regrow hair. so use these until HM or Curis comes out. Simple as that, try hold onto the hair you have until a better solution comes along.


Fight4Hairs - i would like you to outline for me your understanding of hairloss and the processes which underly it. give me your summary of the mechanics of hairloss please. as you have " read this board for 1 year before i write my first post and I would say that am quite educated now about hairloss" i'd love to hear the ideas of one so educated.

 

[Guest]

Goodguy - I think you have some serious issues. I find it interesting that from my two posts you have determined that I have childhood problems and that I'm shy. I explained why I was unable to register when I first found this site. I also did not have any questions to ask until now so there was little point in registering in a hurry. Almost all my questions were answered by reading through the forum over the space of a few weeks.

I think it's a bit silly throwing out personal attacks because I have chosen to start with dutasteride. I tried other treatments over the last few years before finding this forum. I see there are plenty of people on this forum using dutasteride along with minoxidil to treat hairloss. If dutasteride causes me to suffer serious health damage I'll let you know, and I'll discontinue treatment, but somehow I can't see you caring, so why the extreme hostility towards me and my personal choices?

To the other posters: thanks for the input guys. And I agree with Felk about how valuable this forum is. Thanks HairLossTalk.

I think you are weird.

I tried to help you out and you started the personal attacks.

It's useless to try to help dumb newbies. I think it's better to use that time for something else. Someone try to help others and gets not only insulted but also start a discussion.

You can go f*** yourself with your drugs. I don't care.

 

[fallenfeather]

So...moving swiftly on.

It looks like I'm coming into my first shed. My shaved haed is starting to look a bit patchy. The stubble is less even on the top of my head. When it's freshly shaved it's not noticable but by the end of the night when it's grown out a little more I can see the slight "patchyness". I'm taking this as a good indication that the treatments are starting to have an effect. I have also noticed my body hair is increasing.

The hairs on my arms are longer than they were before starting dutasteride 5 weeks ago, especially around my wrists. I also have 2 or 3 thick black hairs sprouting up in unusual places - one on my finger and a couple on my shoulder. My libido is remaining at around 80% of what is was before, but I do tend to fluctuate depending on my stress levels and the amount of sleep I get so this could be nothing to do with the treatments.

The minoxidil is having no negative effects at this stage so far and I've managed to resolve the dry scalp problem by occasionally rubbing in some AloeFresh moisturiser. The grease factor is still not a problem for me as it dries up by the time I get to work.

I just received a 12 month supply of kirkland 5% minoxidil to move onto when my initial bottle of Regaine runs out in a week or so. I'm going to reuse the regaine applicator as it seems very user friendly. I'm not expecting to notice any major differences with the kirkland minoxidil.

I'm feeling very positive

I'll keep up dating as and when I feel I should. I hope this will eventually become an accurate journal of my experiences.

Please, can we keep any flaming or personal attacks off this thread from now on. If anyone has a problem with me or my choice of treatments please try to be constructive and respect other peoples opinions. If anyone has anything nasty to say to me, please address it by pm.

Thanks!

 

[Aplunk1]

I'm in my sixth months of dutasteride, and my hairline and temples are shedding.

I'm a bit worried, but will continue to use Avodart and minoxidil religiously.

I've noticed some similar effects with my body hair... I wasn't going to mention this until my 1-year update, but what the hell.

I've noticed that my arm hair and leg hair is becoming blonde and vellous- my girlfriend noticed this... It looks like the hair you have before puberty-- the blonde vellous hair that don't grow long.

I've always had burly arms, legs, and chest...

The chest and belly hair are still thick, but the arm and leg hair is becoming very thin and blonde... whatever.

I've noticed that there seems to be an increase in body hair in my upper arms, although they are also very blonde and vellous.

That's just my two cents.

Goodluck, and please update us.