Richs Story

[Rich78]

Okay I'm a bit nervous, this is really the first time I'm talking about this with anyone other than my girlfriend.

I'm going to be 32 next week and I have been noticing my hair thinning for years. I have always just had thin hair and pretty much just sucked it up. Recently during a bad haircut my barber pushed my hair forward and showed me the halo of where my hair is thinning and it really brought me to reality of just how my hair is thinning.

It also really sent me into a terrible terrible depression....

I'm doing my best to get it together and see just what I can do now to fight this or if its even possible.

I have read so many reviews on just about every supplement and prescription you can think of. Its an obsession and I need to get my life back on track and learn to accept this as it is now.

I was on nioxin system 1 for some years and liked it, but after what my barber showed me I switched to system 2 and all that did was make my head feel like it was on fire and itchy. Needless to say I stopped both right away. I also tried saw palmetto, that was terrible and I had never felt so bad so I stopped that as well.

Right now I'm using Nizarol 1% and started using Samys Fat Head hair products as I like that it contains no SLS is natural and makes my hair feel great and calmed. Other than that just plain ol exercise and good multi vitamins

I don't usually feel any irritation on my scalp and never and itching. So I think its in a good state to start a regimen.

I went and saw both my doctor and a dermatologist. I was okayed to try Propecia and was given the script but in all honesty after seeing the negative reviews I don't know if I want to try it.

Is Propecia worth trying and are many of the reviews just hate mongering ?

I'm so lost and and I'm in a terrible depression and don't have anyone else who is suffering from this that I can talk to.

Any help or words of advise would be appreciated.

Rich

 

[Constantine]

you should post some pics. i'm really curious how bad your hairloss really is.

 

[Rich78]

Okay well I finally have the nerve to post some pics. I'm finally starting to accept that I have male pattern baldness and although I hate it I know I have to accept it and either do something or do nothing. I figure in the end if I'm going to be bald than thats it. Either I try the drugs now succeed of fail and shed off what will be or don't do anything a shed permanently.

I have been thinning for a good 6 years but it has gotten worse over the last 2 and kicked into overtime with a very stressful job which I lost 6 months ago ( then the loss made it even worse with almost having to live on the streets) . I think the extreme stress is what really pushed me over the edge as before this I knew I was thinning but it wasn't an issue.

I was gonna block out my face but why bother, if anyone knows me and and also has male pattern baldness at least we can talk about it openly. I need to accept this and get a grip on the situation.

I've been doing as much research as I can here but its way too vast and varied to get any solid sort of regimen. It is very true we are all different and what works for some is no good for others.

So I suppose its gonna be a trial and error of what others have tried here. I will just keep this updated as a diary I suppose....

As of today 9/7/10 this is what I'm doing.

Regimen :

-Every other day I shampoo with Nizrol 1%
-Every other day I shampoo with Nioxin system 1 ( took 2 months off and now that I started I'm back to the shedding phase bahhhh)

I like to shampoo daily as I use hair gel and spray so I need to get that out daily. I'm looking into the Aveda pure abundance like Cassin uses. Once I get it in hand I will test and review. Hopefully I can add this in to the rotation.

Supplements :
- Zinc
- Omega complex
- Branch chain amino acids.
-PLENTY of exercising( if I'm gonna be bald I will at least be in shape ! )



Plan on adding soon :
-.5 MG of Brand name Propecia daily to start and if all goes well 1 MG
-S5 spironolactone cream
-Tricomin spray

Next step :
Either Dr. Lees brand minoxidil or Xandrox


What I have tried and did not like "

-Saw Pawmetto 500 MG daily = I experienced bad sides, shedding, anxiety, depression and lowered Testosteone levels ( although the lowered test could be from extreme stress)

After I stopped in days I felt better and test is back up to 357 last time it was checked. I still get depression but I just think thats from the reality of hairloss. Not to mention my family as well as myself has a history of it so its nothing new.

Wish me luck and if you have any suggestion PLEASE PM me !

 

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

Stick to your meds, hope the best and reevaluate in a year. You have a decent head of hair for you age. Theres no denying you have some thinning but atleast you have the ability to style it still. If I were you I'd switch hair product though. Gel seems to give the wet look that makes thinning hair look its worse. I'd go for the more dry and messy look. Good luck man

 

[vikings1234]

that's not that bad at all

hop on finasteride and just move on see how you respond

 

[nickypoos]

Your hairline is better than mine at 32, im 19.

 

[skelll]

Make sure you stay on the Finasterdine, I have been on it for almost 2 months and experienced some side effects such as weaker erections and tenderness in the testicles but I think I am over them now. It probably wouldnt hurt to get on the minoxidil ASAP also. Best of luck to ya!

 

[mpbsux20]

To be honest you look good inspite of the considerable thinning that you have.The buzz cut looks good on you and even if you were to shave it all down,I feel you have what it takes to pull off the bald look well.

Anyway you would still look a lot better with hair just like anyone else would and like others have said,I would recommend you to try finasteride and you certainly will have a good chance of retaining every strand of hair you have now for a long time.

Good luck.

 

[Rich78]

Alright well I started taking propecia and I'm not liking it. For starters though I already have low testosterone which I'm about to see a specialist for next week, so I don't know if that is making it worse....

Basically I took 1mg pill and waited to see if I had any side. Well my libido went away fully. It did however come back in 2 days. On the 3rd day when I was feeling pretty good I decided to try .50 mg and the exact same thing happened. Again it's 3 days later and I'm feeling back to normal and possibly even better. I may try .25 soon to see how that goes but I may just wait until I see the doctor and take some more tests to see where my levels are.

I have started taking 100 mg of zinc and I have been feeling better from that alone. My work out have been much stronger and I have been lifting weights I haven't been able to lift in years.


I was wondering if not Propecia then what do I do ??

I'm usuong just nizoral and the tricomin spray and my scalp feels fantastic. I suppose it's time to experiment with growth stimulants ??

Any advise on where to start with though while I wait on the finasteride, not to mention I may not even be able to use it which sucks.

 

[mpbsux20]

If you dont like taking Finasteride then you should try to take your focus away from hair loss as there isn't anything at the moment that can guarantee you the same results without side effects.

If you are ready to spend a fortune for the rest of your life,try RU58841 which is highly effective.Some here have had some form of success with Topical spironolactone and Fluridil.Just consider these if your hair is important to you before throwing in the towel.

 

[Rich78]

After taking a break for 2 weeks I start back with .25 and so far so good. Keeping an eye on things though.

 

[Rich78]

No matter the dose it seems finasteride just isn't for me. I took another .25 dose and last night I was awoken from sleep with a serious anxiety attack. I have never experienced anything like this before, it totally freaked me the f*** out.

Well I guess it's on the either RU of flur

I'm totally bummed as the .25 wa not bothering me at all for the first few days.

 

[mpbsux20]

The anxiety attack could be because of something else...

 

[bd44]

I wake up every night/morning with anxiety attacks. Bad ones. I'm not taking propecia. It's because all my hair is falling out and can't deal with it. So it's not neccessarily the propecia. I'd keep taking it, just monitor it closely and remember that not everything that goes wrong with your body is a side effect.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm 7 years younger than you and your hair is only a little worse than mine. And yours looks significantly healthier. And at least you can grow cool facial hair. I can't. I know that doesn't help you feel any better. But I've found that reminding myself that things could always be worse is what keeps me from going over the edge.

 

[Maelstrom]

Alright well I started taking propecia and I'm not liking it. For starters though I already have low testosterone which I'm about to see a specialist for next week, so I don't know if that is making it worse....

Basically I took 1mg pill and waited to see if I had any side. Well my libido went away fully. It did however come back in 2 days. On the 3rd day when I was feeling pretty good I decided to try .50 mg and the exact same thing happened. Again it's 3 days later and I'm feeling back to normal and possibly even better. I may try .25 soon to see how that goes but I may just wait until I see the doctor and take some more tests to see where my levels are.

I have started taking 100 mg of zinc and I have been feeling better from that alone. My work out have been much stronger and I have been lifting weights I haven't been able to lift in years.


I was wondering if not Propecia then what do I do ??

I'm usuong just nizoral and the tricomin spray and my scalp feels fantastic. I suppose it's time to experiment with growth stimulants ??

Any advise on where to start with though while I wait on the finasteride, not to mention I may not even be able to use it which sucks.

100mg of Zinc a day is a lot. I think it's recommended not to go over 40mg a day. You might want to look into that a bit more.

As for the Propecia, you could stick it out and see if any side-effects wear off over time. I don't doubt your word but I do find it hard to believe you could get such side-effects so very early on after starting finasteride.

I know you didn't get on with SP but you could try beta-Sitosterol instead. Topically, Revivogen is supposed to be a DHT inhibitor or whatever. Maybe Fluridil?

 

[mike_b]

Ride the sides out, man. Look at my thread. My system adjusted very quickly and now I have an increased libido.

Common word is to ride the sides out. You have to give it more than a couple days. Consider how many people out there are stopping their hair loss with this stuff that never bother to go online and talk about it because it works.

I'm not a doctor so this isn't official advice, but I'm a month in - hit some sides early and then I adjusted.

I'm prone to anxiety attacks and I will admit that I had a small one shortly after taking my first pill. (I keep medication on hand for attacks, so no BS here - I actually have real panic attacks).

I simply told myself that it was all on my head and that it wasn't the medication. For what it's worth, I haven't had another one since.

Either mind over matter or adjustment, either way - I'm so far so good. Except for the bald spot.

Good luck dude.