Primex's Story - (Updated pics)

[Primex]

Ok, well my story is pretty typical of a lot of people on here. I'm 28 now and I first noticed my hairline receding slightly back when I was 20. I was pretty uneducated and I basically just sucked it up and decided not to do much and just live with it. I kept my hair a little longer and just covered it up while I tried Rogaine for about 3 months and then quit because it seemed like I was losing more hair than before. Fast forward 8 years and now in the past couple of months, my hair is starting to really shed like crazy. My hairline has receded back further and now I'm wishing that I tried something more back 8 years ago when I first noticed what was going on. My hair is a little longer than it should be and it hides my receding and thinning hair a little, but it's getting worse. I hope I don't have to start shaving my head because my skull is shaped in a weird way that looks awful. I tried shaving it once and it was so oblonged and looked hideous. I wanted to start the big three but now all I'm back on is Minoxidil and now I added Nizoral 1% just a week ago. I tried to start Propecia but my doctor laughed and basically said to accept it because the side effects weren't worth me keeping my hair. So I'm trying to find another specialized doctor that would at least consider this. I can't afford the surgery, I don't care how much it's financed, I'm in way too much debt and I'm just a counselor for substance abuse users that's paid by the state so money is tight enough as it is. I'm hoping to hold on to my current level of hair but I'm not too hopeful right now, especially since my doctor won't prescribe any type of Propecia. Sorry this is so long, I didn't think that I would type this much, but once I start babbling it just keeps pouring out. Below is what my hairline currently is...damn it's hard to get a decent pic of yourself.

 

[Hawaii male]

Your hair is still in good shape. I would go with Propecia.. the sides arnt as bad as people make them to be.

 

[Follically Challenged]

Two and a half words:

Walk-in clinic

 

[Primex]

Do walkin clinics give prescriptions for Proprecia? I'd never even thought about that.

Hawaii male- Thanks, but I think the pics make it look a little better than it actually is. I'm trying to get on Propecia, I'm thinking of being referred to a dermotologist instead. That may be better in the long run being that a lot of people complain about the acne too and I'm sure that I'll have something to that effect being that I had awful acne as a teen and actually went to a dermotologist when I was a in high school.

 

[Rob_x_22]

i'm 28 and got the pretty much same hairline ....expept my hair is about twice and thin urs is still pretty thick ...i'd get on nizoral and finpecia thats what i started about 2 months ago and my hair hasn't really thinned anymore ...don't ya wish you could have ur old hairline back i know i do ! maybe a miracle will come along some day ...

 

[Primex]

Rob_x_22- Oh hell's yeah I wish I had the hairline of my high school years. Shoot, back then I never even thought about have a receding hairline because my hair was so damn thick that it was unmanageable. In fact I remember thinking that I wished I had thinner hair so it wouldn't be in the way as much. If my hair doesn't stop shedding now it will be a whole thinner real soon. Doesn't life work out funny?

 

[Primex]

I start Propecia tomorrow. I'm really scared... I really don't want the side effects to effect me. I guess I have no choice about the shedding, but the other sides I really don't wanna happen. The whole man-tits thing is really freaking me out.

 

[StoptheMadness]

don't worry too much of the b**ch-tits thing. If you use propecia as your only med that messes with dht, then the worst case scenario is (pending you are not a fatty now) is you develop a little fat base in your pecs. If you work out regularly then it will be even less noticeable, even with your shirt off (although your mind will play tricks with you thinking you have gyno). Propecia doesn't stop 100% of dht, which is probably a good thing in terms of having a healthy androgen to estrogen ratio. Dht is quite potent androgen and is instrumental in mainting a nice physique, so propecia won't totally kill that balance. Just don't use any other products that effect dht (maybe nizoral, once or at most 2x a week, because that has ketocanazole (sp) which impairs dht)

 

[Primex]

Just don't use any other products that effect dht (maybe nizoral, once or at most 2x a week, because that has ketocanazole (sp) which impairs dht)

Is nizoral bad? I've been using it so for about a month so far, but I thought it was just to keep the scalp healthy...does it hurt the hair at the same time? Also, i was considering using topical spironolactone on the hairline to help maintain it, but is that a bad idea?

 

[StoptheMadness]

It's fairly simple really, if you are worried about gyno, then limiit your medication to only 1 type of dht inhibitor (I don't think it's stressed enought on these boards how important dht is to keeping a healthy androgen level for males). Specifically one that stops, or claims to stop, 100% of dht.

nizoral claims to kill off dht (or something to that effect) at the scalp. It's not known, and NO ONE can say for sure if this med (or any topical) enters into the body beyond the scalp. So why take a chance when you at least know that nizoral has the effect of stopping or destroying (I forget the actual mechanism) even more dht than the finasteride you already are taking.

nizoral is not "bad" for your hair per se, but make sure you alternate with a good shampoo and conditioner. Too much nizoral might cause your hair to become course or limp or not manageable.

If you look at the causes for gyno, spironolactone makes the list 100% of time as one of the drugs that can possibly cause it. Stay very far away if you are at all concerned with possible getting gyno. Again, not enough is known whether topically applying spironolactone causes a systemic effect in the body. finasteride + spironolactone is a recipe for gyno. I don't have a phd in endocronology (or whatever its called) and hormones. But not a good idea to mess with dht where it losses its ratio to estrogen produced.

 

[Nizzer]

Man Tits and no help

Hahaha...

Ahhh.. i was wondering untill i read this article. Im 7 months into propecia..... and well i have one man tit. Nothing notice able but it is just like when i was going throiugh puberty at 16. Nipple have a small sensitive hard thing in it... err my left nip... not right. Its not visable but must be the Propecia.

Its too bad the nip thing happens but no help with the hair yet... 7months is a long time... gahhhh

 

[Primex]

Holy sh*t dude, you actually have a man tit? That's not encouraging news. That's like my biggest fear right there. Everything else can pretty much be fixed after stopping the treatment.

 

[Lessofarockstar]

Holy $#iT dude, you actually have a man tit? That's not encouraging news. That's like my biggest fear right there. Everything else can pretty much be fixed after stopping the treatment.

And still he's laughing :shock:

 

[hairhaircomeagain]

Primex...your hairloss is kindaa like mine....Recession but things look OK at the top. I think I may be more thinning on the top. You look great there. I have been considering Propecia for a month now but still not started on it, afraid of the sides. Good Luck with your treatment

 

[Nizzer]

NIP

Ok.... ahhh is the nipple thing really permanent..... i dont think so.. err at least it wasnt before

 

[Primex]

hairhaircomeagain- I'm over the fear of the sides. I know it's only been 2 weeks, but I don't even think about it anymore. I just needed to get over that initial fear. I just really hope that I'm a good canditate and that I can keep what hair I have left.

Nizzer- What do you mean it wasn't before? Has this happened in the past?

 

[Nizzer]

before

yeah .. when i was 16 going through puberty

 

[Primex]

Well I'm past the one month mark now. No results, but at least I don't have any side effects either. I'll take some pics later tomorrow to compare, but I didn't really think anything would happen in 1 month anyway.

 

[hairhaircomeagain]

Good to see you are having no sides. In a month or two I am guessing you will be starting to see some results..Great..Good Luck

 

[Primex]

Hmm... I don't wanna get too excited because I know this is too early on in treatment (just 2 months now), but does Propecia work this fast? Everyone says that it takes a year to start effecting people, but I've notice that I've stopped shedding a lot. I mean, seriously, A LOT! Before I started taking Propecia, I would run my hand through my hair and have 5-10 hairs almost everytime. I would guess that I would lose 100-200 hairs a day at least. However, now I rarely have any hair come out. I've run my hand through my hair 3 times just typing this and I've not had any hair come out at all. I still notice a few here and there, but I think its more like 20-50 hairs a day now. I noticed this on Saturday when I took a shower and dried my hair and I noticed that I didn't have 50 hairs in the tub like I usually do. (I usually run the water to wash down all the loose hair down the drain) But this time it was more like only 5 strands left in the tub. At first I freaked thinking that I've lost so much hair, that I don't have much to lose now, but it doesn't look thinner.

I hope I'm not getting too excited about this and that my hair is just going through some cycle that stops shedding right before the big slam and then I just lose everything. I need to take pics, but honestly I think it looks almost like what it did last time I took pics. I'm not expecting regrowth, I just wanna keep what I have now. Has this happened to anyone else?