Petchsky's Story - (Age 23, 5 year update.)

[Petchsky]

Hi,

Been coming to this website and looking at the boards since i decided to do something about my dissapearing hairline, which is about 15 months ago now. This is my first post but i want to thank HairLossTalk.com and all you guys for being an invaluable resource of info and quelling my paranoia over the months, not to mention the gains i have made since starting ' Project D ' (my codeword for my regime).

Okay, a little background - i'm 23 years old and probably started the decline when i was 17, but i didn't notice at the time, i'm mean sh*t, you don't think its gonna happen to you do you?. anyway i finally noticed 4 years later! when i was 21, and we all know that moment. People use to point it out or make jokes but i always had receeding patches even as a kid and i had a double crown so i took no notice since this had been happinging for years, even when i wasn't going bald.

To keep things short and sweet i started using minoxidil probably for a about six months and i noticed no gains although, i seemed to stop losing hair, but i was not sure at the time. I decided to stop taking minoxidil and ordered some propecia - i was taking this for about four months and things got worse, i went through an amazing shed, i mean it was like i was on chemo or something, it got bad... my hair got worse... Red alert!

This is the moment where i stared into the abysis and it was critical, my balding spot got... well balder, my sides where going, leaving me with a four centremeter hairline and the rest was thinning. Norwood 5 here i come and on top of this my girl dumped me, i was in the gutter and it looked like a long way up.

One day i woke up and thought f*** this, i aint going bald - so i booked myself in a clinic for laser treatment combing this with minoxidil and proscar and thanks to this site, Nizerol. Well 15 months on and a few shed panics later my hair is looking good... regrew my sides, filling in my balding spot, hair is thicker and darker and i have still got new hair growing, so its far from over.

Well, thats pretty much my story so far. I have made some additions to my regime but thats to be expected. I wish to God i had some before photos for you, but unfortunately not. I have recently bought a digital camera so i can put some pics up if people are interested - and i think i have a few old photos but they were not taken as close ups and they will not show my hair at its worse.

Sorry about the essay, but you know - i got carried away. Hope to be posting from now on, laters

Petchsky 8)

 

[SBs4LIFE]

Post some pics man...start taking them asap so you can document your progress. Im just 19 now and im at 5 months on propecia so far and its good to hear that and its good to hear that you've had success with your treatments so i know that i will always have somthing to fall back to if finasteride isnt enuf...not to mention dutasteride.

How long did u experience sheds for and when did they occur?? Thanks.

 

[Petchsky]

Hi SBs4LIFE,

I will post some pics in a few days and leaf through a few old ones. 5 months on propecia? well you should have all the gains ahead of you. Right let me see... my first shed was about 3 months in to propecia and lasted about a month, which really tested my faith.

Next was probably about 6/7 months in. I noticed that my hair was improving and was finally feeling quite upbeat about things, but then noticed i was losing alot of this new hair i was growing - and what really freaked me out at the time was seeing this new dark hair grew but then it started to go colourless at the root like it was miniturising again. That shed lasted about 2 weeks, and a few weeks later i noticed the hair growing back along with even newer hair so back to feeling smug.

Whats your experience been like like so far?

p.s i read an article on this site laying in to procerin as a con. It may be something to look out for.

 

[Petchsky]

Petchsky's story - 18 m upd

Thought i would give an update :!:

Things are still good but when your this far down the line vellus hair takes ages to turn terminal. The majority of my hair is now thick and dark, some hair is even black despite me having brown hair?

My hair is currently at its longest for years and style wise looks a little crap and always looks better shorter. I'm unsure if i shed anymore, other than the seasonal sheds we all go through...but let me tell you this, there is nothing like the self assurdness of an 18 monther. I did notice though that when i brush my hair over the sink all the hair that comes out is of the same length and darkness., just thought i would share that with you.

My crown is better and my sides have filled out a little since my last update and i believe that i will still be getting regrowth after 2 yrs. I have been a little slack with my minoxidil applications over the last 5 weeks but after 18 months of constant 2X applications i think my scalp can handle the odd day off or 1X application every then and again.

Stay posted for my 2 yr update in March 2005!

 

[Slartibartfast]

Howdy fellow Brit.

Cheers for the update, it's always nice when they're positive, you 18 monther - though you'll never catch me, I'll soon be a 38 monther! (and it's not like conkers, so killing me wouldn't make you a 56 monther).

On the side of my Kirkland minoxidil bottle it does say that, when using this product, some people have experienced changes in hair colour and/or texture. So congratulations, you are now officially some person, give yourself a gold star.

Hope your update next Spring (when we'll have the excitement of an election to cope with) is one of yet more progress.

Best of British luck to ya,
Slarti

 

[Petchsky]

Cheers Slarti,

I didn't know that about minoxidil, i have put the Gold star on my lapel...!

I did not realise our election will be due that soon, but i am not holding out hope on any suprises, but you never know.

I think the American election is in two weeks and that is a more closly faught battle. Just reading an English journalists descriptions of Bush and Kerry during the final TV debate. He describes Bush's vacant stares resembled "a cow watching a train go by" while Kerry's often forelorn expressions "looks like a dog about to be washed" The pictures with this article back up his comments!

And i still have my eye on you dutasteride takers.

Laters

 

[Hairball]

Question for you...

Hey, that's really inspiring for me. I have a question for you - I'm doing almost
the exact same regimen you are (minus the herbal pills, just a multivitamin, and
using proscar split instead of propecia), and a year and a quarter into it, I'm just
getting worse. From months 4-8 I definitely stopped losing hair and started some regrowth, but since month 8 I seem to be stuck in - not a shed really - but a rapid thinning of the hair - and it's not shedding, just hanging on very, very thin. It's weird, my hair, which is naturally thick and dark, has become light and think almost all over. And some of the worst thinning seems to be from the sides and neck, which just doesn't make sense. When do you notice you were getting results?? How?? Does your hair feel like it's getting thicker?

I'm going to stick with my regimen regardless, but I'm thinking of adding Revivogen...but have yet to hear of an honest-to-life success story with it.

 

[gonna_win]

up with the pics!

 

[Petchsky]

I have some recent pics but none from when i started...

Hairball: I did have a bad shed around 8 months in but things got better again over the next month or two. I am hitting that stage now where my hair is starting to stabilise aside from some vellus hair slowly getting darker. All i can say is hang in there and not to be to rash about changing your regimen.

Also, the sides was the place where i shed worse. Everybodys hair responds in differrent ways on these drugs. There is no set reaction or shedding periods and it seems possible that your are shedding. I don't know about the neck shedding either, but i shed hair just under my ear...weird .

 

[Petchsky]

Petchsky's Story - 2yr update.

f*** me sweet Jesus, 2 years...it's been quite a journey down the yellow brick road.

My hair is pretty much the same as when i last updated, although some vellus hair has turned darker and i still have some vellus hair i'm working on turning terminal. Things are good but i don't think my hair is going to improve much more now I would say i am a norwood 2 but i have one or two little gaps at the sides and my crown is still thinner than the rest but i do have a double crown and its always looked like i have a bald patch even when i was a kid.

I know have photographs but none from when i started, thing is i have no idea how to post them :roll: .

AS my hairloss is now stable i have been giving serious thought to a hair transplant, FUE to be precise...thinking of 250 grafts, which generally works out 2 per graft.

I hear Dr Rogers has a good reputation in England. The transplant will only set me back £1000 ($800) which is nothing really.

Not sure whether too or not though, as hair multiplication is not that far away and all i need to do is use a little sprinkle of Toppik and it looks like a have a thick norwood 2. :ideias: decisions decisions

 

[Petchsky]

Just to add to the above, i am happy with my hair...in fact it's better now than when i was 20, i'm now 24. Although my hair is pretty good, i want to grow it long again, like the ol' days.

 

[Bismarck]

Petch,
if you can really maintan and you still want to improve then go for the hair transplant. But take in mind that you need a top surgeon to produce a natural result and there are only very few who obtain a natural density. But FUE is certainly to best thing for you.

 

[too bald too furious]

nice to read petch..I am finally ready to take the plunge into Finasteride.

 

[ropcat]

But FUE is certainly to best thing for you.

This is because of concerns about a strip scar, right? Am I right in thinking that a thin scar from a traditional hair transplant should be of no concern to someone who's sure he'll never shave his head completely bald? (I've heard that you can go as low as a #1 guard razor with a hair transplant scar, and no one can see it. Misconception?)

 

[jbrown]

This is good news for me to hear, I started propecia a month and a half ago, and Ive noticed my hairs are falling out everytime I brush my hair, but after reading all this, im hoping this just normal. Im still in a very young stage of using propecia, so I hope by 6 months I notice some great improvments.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

I would not get the hair transplant, Nor 2 is fine and yu should be happy that you have been able to fight a winning male pattern baldness battle. Is it really worth the $$, scaring and dealing with the recovery for a few extra hairs?

 

[Petchsky]

Johnny24601 - Yeah good point man...been wrestling with it for a while now and hopefully HM will be available in 5-10 years and i'm confident i can hold out till then.

Jbrown - It generally gets worse before it gets better, though even if, at 6 months you ain't seeing what you expect carry on...for quite a few posters didn't notice improvements till month 8-9. Good luck my hairloss brother.

 

[Petchsky]

2.8 year update. 3 years on propecia though.

Decided against a transplant in the end, for now. I use Nanogen most the time now and it gives me a good head of hair.

My hair has not really changed since my last update and has not got any worse. In fact the sides look a little stronger. I now only apply minoxidil 1x a day and have been for the last six months to no ill effect.

My hairloss does not play on my mind and torture me like it used to. I don't really think about it to much but i like to stick around to help/annoy people.

 

[Slartibartfast]

I now only apply minoxidil 1x a day and have been for the last six months to no ill effect.

I did the same damn thing about six months back, no ill effect here either. I'd like to think it was a case of great minds think alike...

Glad your hair's holding up, cheers for the update and your posts in general (well, the funny ones anyway)

Slarti

 

[Petchsky]

Yes i'm still around and still holding on strong. I still have the occasional fear that my hair is getting worse, but the truth is, it's not!

I don't feel it's improving anymore though either, maintenance is dish of the day. So all in all, a pretty boring update but i'm not complaining.