Should I just give up at this point?

SimpsonKnight

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Ok, so here is my epic story of hair loss, hormones and hair loss solutions. You be the judge if I should cut my losses and move on at this point.

First of all I am only 19 and yet have been experiencing hair loss for over a year now. At first I decided to have a wait-and-see approach, or, more accurately, I decided to ignore the problem and hoped that it would it just go away. It didn't. So last December I decided to take the plunge and take Propecia. I took it every two days for literally about three weeks, which means 11 pills in total. Even so the infamous side effects became pretty notable pretty fast which is why I stopped so soon. Luckily, over the course of the next few months these side effects slowly but surely receded and I felt pretty much like I did before taking Propecia at all.

Then in April I decided to look into other treatments and eventually settled on a combination of Rogaine and Revivogen. I also used Nizoral shampoo here and there. For a while this worked pretty well. I noticed a drastic decrease in the amount of hairs I would loose every time I took a shower. Things were good.

Then in August or September I decided to stop Rogaine. I've been using it exclusively in my temple area and there was definitely a lot more hair loss there than pretty much everywhere else which I attributed to the shedding side effect of Rogaine. So at this point I was using Revivogen by itself.

In September I had a complete change of heart. Spurred on by the fact that Rogaine actually has scientific studies to back up its claims while Revivogen basically goes on word of mouth I decided to stop wasting money on the latter and switched back to Rogaine. Then a few weeks ago I've had yet another change of heart because I noticed an increase in shedding (probably caused by the Rogaine). So as it stands I am using Revivogen daily as well as something called "Divine Herbal Hair Oil," which I've heard about on these forums actually, every two or three days.

Now, this is where things take another turn for the worse. I can accurately say that over the past few weeks I've noticed a decrease in libido and everything that goes along with that. At this point its not nearly as severe as what happened when I took Propecia but its still noticeable and somewhat concerning. This can probably be attributed to the Saw plametto which is present in Revivogen and likely present in the Divine Hair Oil, right? I realize that both are topical treatments but I've read that that doesn't completely rule out the possibility of systematic absorption and maybe I am just particularly susceptible to such things. As a result I am obviously very tempted to quit both but where does that leave me? I suppose I could go back on Rogaine but who is to say that it won't do more harm to my hair than good? Of course if I was in my 40s and already bald, going on Rogaine wouldn't require any thought whatsoever since the shedding thing wouldn't be a problem. But since I am only 19 and still have hair I am hesitant on taking that risk.

In all honesty there is that little voice in my head which tells me that I should just let my hair fall out since there isn't much else to do at this point and I should just accept a future of wigs and Rogaine. Each day this voice gets a little louder which is incredibly depressing.

Anyways, any and all thoughts or advice on my situation are greatly appreciated. What would you guys do in my place? Admittedly I am the furthest thing from an expert on hair loss so please share any thoughts you may have. I need to learn!! :D
 

antman

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if you can say for a certainty that you have 'good' health and have no underlying physical or mental health issues that affects your hair loss or response to drugs and you are unable to take Finasteride or use minoxidil - there is nothing clinically significant that can help you.

given that certainty - all that you can do is stick with the amount of nizoral / hair oil / Revivogen that you are willing take and learn to live and enjoy life with what you have.

if you cannot give that certainty - either your 'gut' feeling or a visit to the doctor is your best bet - if you think there has been change after that then give finasteride/min another go.
 

Dullahan

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SimpsonKnight,

It sounds to me like you're just jumping from one chemical to another, seeking the perfect remedy for your hair loss, but it's nowhere to be found. I've read this story time and time again on this forum as well as others. There comes a certain point where I believe the best solution is to man up and embrace your baldness. There are many reasons to. Why not listen to my story real quick:

Through my own experimentation, I've found that a diet excluding white flour halts my hairloss completely without the use of any drugs. But unfortunately, I discovered this diet too late. My hairline was already receded badly and my crown was thinned. My girlfriend at the time (now fiance) asked if I plan on shaving my head in the future. I told her I'd actually been contemplating it for a couple years but was hesitant. She suggested I buzz it with a hair clipper down to an 8th inch or so, that way it's not down to the skin. After a couple months working hard in the gym, I decided to take the plunge and buzz my head. It took a little getting used to, but now I love it. I honestly don't miss my hair at all. And my fiance says it's an extremely sexy and masculine look. She loves my look with a buzz cut a lot more than my 2/3 head of hair look. And I've even been getting more looks from women at work, which tells me that women in general prefer a buzzed head over a partial head of hair. The buzzed head displays confidence and masculinity.

My advice is to take care of the rest of your body - eat healthy, lift weights, go running, get some sun - and then take the plunge and buzz your hair off. Two months later, you'll laugh at how much your hair loss was bothering you in the first place. Walk proud. Have confidence in yourself. Your baldness is not a disease. It's nothing to be ashamed of. And trust me, the situation with the ladies won't be as bad as you think.
 

abcdefg

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Use the rogaine and try to deal with the sides of propecia I dont know what else you really use. There are endless topicals that claim to work like propecia but I dont know how much evidence any of them have.
 
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