shedi's story

[returnoftheshedi]

My current regimin: 1/4 proscar daily (for
the past 4 1/2 years), .5 mg dutasteride daily (started in
early August), dr. lee's 500 minoxidil 2x daily (started in march) and use nizoral 2% shampoo about twice a
week.

My hairloss started about 5 years ago and it seems to be diffuse (my hairline is perfect) in the form of an overall short-cyclying of hairs, although the average person would not look at my hair and think
i am balding (particulary since my hair is now kept very short in a buzz cut).

For as long as I have noticed hairloss (in the form of shedding), no matter what topical or internal drug I have used, I have always shed WELL over 100 hairs a day. In the beginning, this is what caused me to see a derm and get on finasteride (even though i had real thick hair). Up until last year I assumed that finasteride was working because, although I still shed
a lot of hairs, my hair looked fine.

Last year I started noticing that my hair looked and felt thinner and also that many of the hairs I shed were less pigmented and thinner. This is around the time I started using minoxidil again (before i had used it but only at night and off and on).

After 4 months of using dr. lee's minoxidil I was still shedding , so I decided to add generic dutasteride. Because I am skeptical of generic drugs, I continue to take 1/4 proscar daily as well.

It is now two months later and my shedding has only increased while on this "super" regimin. What should I do now? Do hairloss drugs not work for people who have diffuse type balding like myself?

Have these drugs done any good for me? It has been five years and
with a short hair style I look like I am not balding.
However, like i said, I continue to shed like crazy (even from the sides and back!!) and the hairs i shed are getting thinner, shorter and less
pigmented.

Please offer some advice.

I would add pics but they are useless. My hair is buzzed to a #2 and with that style it does not appear that i have any loss. This is temporary though!! In bright lighting the individual hairs look thin and if i grew it back out i am sure i would be very dissappointed.

 

[HairlossTalk]

Re: shedi's story - advice appreciated

I have always shed WELL over 100 hairs a day.

Everyone sheds over 100 hairs a day, whether or not they're losing hair. Counting hairs is a phrase used to describe obsessive compulsiveness for a reason ... and in this case its not advised either. If you want to technically be accurate and not irritate the veterans who hang around these forums, its safer just to say you saw a major increase in hair loss.

In the beginning, this is what caused me to see a derm and get on finasteride (even though i had real thick hair). Up until last year I assumed that finasteride was working because, although I still shed
a lot of hairs, my hair looked fine.

So you're saying your hair looked fine before and after being on it for 3 years. So in other words, no change.

Last year I started noticing that my hair looked and felt thinner and also that many of the hairs I shed were less pigmented and thinner. This is around the time I started using minoxidil again (before i had used it but only at night and off and on).

Minoxidil induced a shed. Normal.

After 4 months of using dr. lee's minoxidil I was still shedding , so I decided to add generic dutasteride.

The correct response to shedding is not to alter your regimen again. Your hair will suffer if you continually add or take away from your regimen. If something is working, leave it alone and let it do its thing. Evaluate your success on what you see in the mirror and compare it to baseline photos of your hair that you took months or years prior. Try not to sway like a reed in the wind at every shed you encounter, or count hairs, or evaluate the type of hairs being lost. It will drive you insane and it does not help you manage your regimen *at all*. In fact it makes you want to harm your regimen by constantly altering it, so it is basically useless.

It is now two months later and my shedding has only increased while on this "super" regimin. What should I do now? Do hairloss drugs not work for people who have diffuse type balding like myself?

Why are you asking this? Youve already stated you have a perfect hairline, thick looking full head of hair that has not changed in the 4 years on Finasteride. You're speaking as if you've had miserable results and lost 50% of your density. Try to keep grounded here. You should not be phrasing this as "My shedding has increased. Do hair loss drugs not work for people like me?" People like you should be elated that youve managed to keep basically a full head of hair for nearly 4 years longer than you originally would have, stick to what has worked for you, and don't change it.

Have these drugs done any good for me? It has been five years and with a short hair style I look like I am not balding.

You just answered your own question.

However, like i said, I continue to shed like crazy (even from the sides and back!!) and the hairs i shed are getting thinner, shorter and less
pigmented.

Its normal. The only thing that has changed is you are paying WAY more attention to it now than you were at, say, age 16.

Please offer some advice.

A lot of guys on these forums have OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, in relation to hair loss. Its normal. But your biggest struggle right now is not with your hair, but getting your brain to chill out. Its difficult, I know.

I would add pics but they are useless. My hair is buzzed to a #2 and with that style it does not appear that i have any loss.

Then go outside and enjoy it. Use the finasteride and make sure youre using nizoral, and be done with it. You will shed again when you take away from this regimen but with a virtually full head of hair you should NOT BE ON FINASTERIDE, ROGAINE, AND DUTASTERIDE. Overkill overkill overkill. Save it for 10 yrs down the line when finasteride really stops working.

As a side note, I have been on treatments for over 6 years now, and am maintaining a full head of hair that is a little thin in the front. For the last 3 weeks I have seen hairs falling onto my hands while i type, on my pillow, etc. I knew I was shedding again. But you start to realize after awhile that you just gotta roll with it. The world doens't end. You come out the other side of the shed looking the same as before, or better, as long as you're on something thats working.

Youve gone through 4 years of shedding. If it wasn't working you would not still look like you have a full head of hair. So its working. Let the finasteride do its thing and chill on the rest of the stuff for now.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[returnoftheshedi]

HairLossTalk,


Thank you very much for that in depth reply, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I think you might be a little confused as to my predicament and this is probably due to the fact that you are not a diffuse thinner, but rather, suffer from typical male pattern baldness.

I have been losing my hair for 5 years straight, without any cessation or lessening of the hairs I shed (despite my use of the big 3..and now the big 4). Its true that I have a "perfect hair line", but so do most diffuse thinners, that is meaningless though when the rest of your hair is gone (or in my case, thinning).

It is great that a buzz cut disguises my hairloss, but that is only temporary and that also says nothing about whether hairloss drugs work for me! How can finasteride be "doing its job" if i continue to shed a ton of hairs each day, hairs which are getting thinner and less pigmented. Hair loss does not occur overnight.

So would my hair look the same after 5 years without the finasteride, nizoral, minoxidil and dutasteride??? I believe that it would and these drugs are not working, however, like most people on this board, i will continue to take them just for the chance that they might be doing something.

I would love to hear from someone who is a diffuse thinner and has had any type of success in stalling their hairloss.

 

[HairlossTalk]

I think you might be a little confused as to my predicament and this is probably due to the fact that you are not a diffuse thinner, but rather, suffer from typical male pattern baldness.

You think im confused eh? And how did you decide what type of hair loss I have? Typical hair loss for men includes diffuse thinning, which is exactly the type of loss I have. Why did you think I had a different type?

I have been losing my hair for 5 years straight, without any cessation or lessening of the hairs I shed

It is immpossible for you to be "losing hair" for 5 years straight and still have a full head of hair, UNLESS the treatment is working or you were never losing hair in the first place. You are experiencing cyclical shedding. Hair goes dormant and comes right back 6 months later. Never losing ground.

Its true that I have a "perfect hair line", but so do most diffuse thinners, that is meaningless though when the rest of your hair is gone (or in my case, thinning).

You also said absolutely nobody but you can tell that you're thinning. You said you look the same as you did 5 years ago. This conversation is freaking me out, to be completely honest. Its not making much sense.

How can finasteride be "doing its job" if i continue to shed a ton of hairs each day

5 years is AMPLE time for you to determine if you are a responder or a non responder to Finasteride. If you look the same after 5 years on Finasteride then you are either not losing hair in the first place, or you are responding to the treatment. Be happy and accept it already.

So would my hair look the same after 5 years without the finasteride, nizoral, minoxidil and dutasteride???

The only thing youve been on for 5 years is finasteride. The other stuff is total overkill. There are guys who would KILL to have hair like yours and they are the ones who need all that stuff. You do not.

I believe that it would and these drugs are not working

You are basically the type of guy who asks for advice and ignores the answer if it isn't what you're looking to hear. If you do not think the drugs are working, then stop taking them. If you do not want advice from someone who has been at this for nearly 7 years, then don't ask.

I would love to hear from someone who is a diffuse thinner and has had any type of success in stalling their hairloss.

You are already talking to someone who is a diffuse thinner and has had success stalling his hair loss for over 7 years. The bottom line here my friend is you already know what you want to hear, and you're going to keep asking people until you find the person who says it.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[returnoftheshedi]

HairLossTalk.com,

Thank you again for the reply, but to set things straight, my hair does not look like it did 5 years ago, not even close! i said i can disguise my hairloss with a buzz cut, if i grew it out, my hair would look very thin on top, trust me. plus, i never said i "was in a shed", my hair always sheds like crazy.

i sent dr. lee an email about my situation and he believes that it is very possible that the big 3 have not been effective for me. i would love to hear from someone who was not able to stop hairloss with min, finasteride and even dutasteride, but was successful with some other method.

 

[mike_076]

Re: shedi's story - advice appreciated

I have always shed WELL over 100 hairs a day.

Everyone sheds over 100 hairs a day, whether or not they're losing hair. Counting hairs is a phrase used to describe obsessive compulsiveness for a reason ... and in this case its not advised either.

returnoftheshedi, our regiments are exactly alike except that I use 5% rogaine. HairlossTalk, I completely disagree with you on these two points. One does not just loose 100 hairs a day. I can't believe I'm seeing this statement appear all over the hairloss forums as something that is ok and should be accepted. Unless you're going through a shed, you do not loose over 100 hairs a day period that is an absolutely false statement. I've been loosing my hair for over 6 years now... I have a long history of sheds and I know exactly how much hair I loose when I go through them, and how detrimental they can be on one's overall well being. My worst shed took place when I started using rogaine. I would loose 35-45 hairs over the sink in the morning comb through, 50-60 hairs in the shower, and 15-25 hairs during the application of a thickening serum after the shower. This went on for 2 months and 1 and ½ weeks… I know, because I counted each one of them every single day, and I kept track of it through the entire duration of the shed on an excel spreadsheet. It had nothing to do with me obsessing over it, but only out of curiosity of finding out exactly how much hair I would loose in the shed and how long, exactly, it would last. Most people are simply just that, curious. Because of my experimental approach, my curiosity was satisfied… I lost at least 8000 hairs in the course of just over 2 months – at least, because those were the hairs I was able to count. Most would not care to take such meticulous approach; yet, everyone always wonders “how much will I loose, and how long will it last?†During the course of the shed, at the slightest blow of wind, I could feel individual hairs fall out as they would tickle my nose or my cheeks as they would drop down my face. Following the shed, I would loose no more than 5 hairs in the sink, 3-5 in the shower, and absolutely none as I would apply the thickening serum through my hair. Also, I would, over and over, as a sanity check, run my hand through my hair throughout the day, and none would come out. So where these people get “over 100 hairs lost daily is a normal thing†I do not understand and I refuse to believe it.


Returnoftheshedi, my advice to you would be to stop using avodart, continue on proscar and rogaine. Once the shed is over, add avodart again. The reason is that avodart has the longest half-life out of all three medications – 6 months! So in order for you to isolate the reason for the shed, you can safely stop using avo for 2-4 weeks and find out if the shed is from avo. I doubt, you would be shedding this heavily due to proscar since you’ve been on it for so long. So put avo aside, and see if you’re still shedding. If you are, its probably due to minoxidil. Get through the shed on minoxidil and proscar alone – it can take as long as 2months as it did in my case, and then add back avo to your regimen. If you notice you’re no longer shedding after not using avodart, then add it back and just stick it out.

 

[Airhed]

I've decided I'm going to never visit this site again and just keep taking my meds and come back in six months. This place is enough to drive anyone crazy.

.....And i'm not going to count every f*****g hair that falls off my head either...wow. No wonder everyone has "side effects." I think we've got some major anxiety issues on our hands at this forum....'nuff said.

 

[Axon]

I've decided I'm going to never visit this site again and just keep taking my meds and come back in six months. This place is enough to drive anyone crazy.

.....And i'm not going to count every f****ing hair that falls off my head either...wow. No wonder everyone has "side effects." I think we've got some major anxiety issues on our hands at this forum....'nuff said.

Well said. We will welcome you back shortly.

 

[Axon]

Everyone sheds 100-150 hairs a day. How do you think your hair grows?

Further, hair fallout is not, under any circumstances, male pattern baldness. male pattern baldness is a miniturization process of the root follicle. The follicle gets smaller and smaller each cycle until it cannot be seen by the human eye. It does not fall out for all time.

Please do not spread misinformation on this critical topic.

 

[mike_076]

I understand what male pattern baldness is... one does not loose 150 hairs a day!!!!!!!! That is absolutely a ridiculous statement and you are the one thats misinforming people. Give someone w/o a male pattern baldness a hat to wear, or in fact, do it yourself, for the entire day and then take it off, and see if you'll count 150 hairs in it. You don't just loose that much unless you're shedding. Use common sense, or better yet run this simple experiment. Another way to test this is to lightly hair spray your hair, just enough so it holds the hair in place. Then, at the end of the day comb through it, and count it. you will not count 150 hairs, or anything close it.

 

[petemitchell]

I'm a little confused and just wondering if anyone can clear this up? Why doesn't a person without male pattern baldness (thus not treating it) not go through any sheds whereas it's very common for a person treating male pattern baldness to periodically go through sheds? Once the the propecia inhibits the dht thus the hairs in the resting phase fall out to pave the way for the new stronger hairs, why are there subsequent sheds?

Plus, surely most if not all of us have more hair falling out than those who aren't losing their hair? I'm pretty certain that before male pattern baldness if I ran my fingers through my hair I'd find it VERY hard for a hair to fall out, yet at the minute 7 times out of ten if I ran my fingers through my hair I'd have at least one hair in my hand.