Should I start finasteride?

[Mountain_Commando]

Hi Guys,

New to the forum, but I've lurked around for many months on this and other hair forums. Here's my story:

27 years old male. Started experiencing mild shedding around 3 years ago. I'm pretty sure I first noticed it right after I finished a bottle of Novedex testosterone booster/estrogen inhibitor (for muscle training). Following that, I took another bottle of test booster (forgot the name), and my hair loss accelerated. Since then, I haven't taken another test booster, but the shedding has continued.

After not doing anything for a whole year, I could tell that my hair had thinned noticeably, so I saw a dermatologist. I told him about the test booster, and also told him that not a single male in my family (dad, gramps, uncles on dad's or mom's side) has even the slightest thinning of hair. Doctor told me that Alopecia can develop even without a genetic cause, and told me to start Minoxi.

I started 5% generic Minoxi, and experienced the inital shedding. Around a month later, all shedding stopped. So I became complacent and discontinued the Minoxi. Sure enough, shedding restarted within a couple of months. After just ignoring it for a few months, I decided I had to be aggressive about my hair loss...by now my scalp can easily be seen if my hair is wet, and the hairline has recessed at least half an inch along the forehead and temples. So I desperately went back to 5% Minoxi, but this time round it hasn't been that effective. Shedding continues, albeit slowly. But what's worse is that I think I've developed an allergy to Propylene Glycol. My scalp gets incredibly itchy and flaky and I even get pimples everytime I use Minoxi. I must have lost hundreds of hairs just due to all the scratching I've done.

So here's my latest plan of attack. I ordered 5% Xandrox without propylene glycol from Dr. Lee, am going to purchase over the counter Nizoral, and have ordered 1 mg finasteride. My big question is....considering that my hair loss appeared to have started after taking the test boosters, and the fact that I don't have a single relative of has any male pattern baldness (and I do mean NONE), is it likely that I have Androgenetic Alopecia, or might it be something else? Because, I'm really wary about starting finasteride, and would like to avoid taking it (or any medication) if I can. What do you guys suggest?


Oh and I apologize in advance if I unintentionally broke any forum rules or many any noob mistakes. I welcome all your suggestions. Thanks!

 

[BodyDysmorphic]

ok.......

any supplement that boasts testosterone
that excess testosterone will eventually become DHT
which is the leading cause of male pattern baldness

my suggestion is to no longer use any steroids
or anything that is a legal similar to steroid

you say you have absolutely no male pattern baldness in your family
i would get a better assessment of that for comparison

what Norwood is your dad? im sure he is not a NW1
the same goes with all the males in your immediate family

my suggestion is to stick to a regiment and give it 8 months to a year
to see losses or improvements

posting pics of your "predicament" would help others to assess your dilemma

 

[Mountain_Commando]

Hi Body,

Thanks for the reply. I haven't used any more test boosters of anything else anabolic for the last two years. It seems that the first 2 bottles I took tuned on the ignition to the hair loss, and it has continued ever since.

I looked at the Norwood scale, and I can honestly say that my Dad is Norwood 1.5ish at best. To the best of my memory, I can't think of a single male in the family with any hair recession. I'm Indian so maybe that has something to do with it.

I'm wondering if I have anything to lose by trying finasteride? If there are side effects, I'll stop of course. But aside from that, is it possible that my body may develop a dependency on finasteride so that if I do stop in the future, all hair falls out? Are there any long term risks? What if my hair loss is due to something OTHER than androgenetic alopecia, how would finasteride bode with that?

Here are some pics (taken right under a bright light so it makes it look a little worse than usual).

 

[Jack82]

If you don't have male pattern baldness, finasteride will do nothing for your case. It looks like early male pattern baldness though. Probably anabolics tackled it and started much earlier than it would normally start. Your hairline is not receeded but there is some thinning. Treatments will help you, but you have to be consistent with applications and taking pills.

Your hair cannot get dependent on finasteride, because finasteride just blocks a mechanism that "attacks" the hairs that are sensitive to androgens. If you have male pattern baldness you will lose these hair and reach the pattern you are destined to. The medications will help you stop it for some years and as long as you use them. If you stop finasteride, this mechanism will continue in full effect. It's not a dependancy thing...

 

[Mountain_Commando]

Thanks for the reply jack. I think I'll start finasteride and give it 6-12 months and see how it goes. Hopefully there aren't too many side effects.

I'm still totally dumbfounded on seemingly being the first male in the family to start 'losing it' . Guess we'll see if my self-diagnosis of my male pattern baldness set off by those anabolics is correct.

One last thing, my thinning has always been associated with small pimples on my head. When I first saw a derm around 1.5 years ago, he told me he didn't think that the pimples were the cause of the thinning. For the pimples, he suggested T-Sal. That helped it somewhat, but they've never quite gone away. I don't get too many, maybe 4-5 at any given time, and they can appear anywhere on the scalp. They're usually pretty small, and itch a little but not much. But, they're there. Could they in anyway be contributing to my hair loss? Or as they more of a by-product associated with the hair loss? And, will OTC Nizoral help to curb these?