Some advice would be appreciated

[marcusv]

Hey dudes,

Just looking for some insight. Here's my situation;

I first noticed my hairloss about a decade ago (I'm 31 now).... in hindsight I definitely panicked over nothing. At a solid norwood 1.5 with some very modest thinning at the temples and hairline I was still looking pretty awesome and if I could go back in time and tell myself to chill the hell out I would. At the time though I thought it was the end of the world and I undertook a finasteride, healthy eating, and scalp massage regime which yielded great results in about 9 months. Eventually, some 6 months later, I decided to end my experiment with propecia and over the years I lost a little ground but maintained enough hair to keep me happy.

Last year I noticed that my creeping hairloss was starting to get more serious so I decided to get back on finasteride. For the first 3 months I tried a reduced dosage (after reading multiple threads on this topic) both as a cost reducing tactic and from a health pov. Frankly I've never liked the idea of using a drug long-term, especially for cosmetic reasons. Had to travel in December and stupidly forgot to pack my prescription so I missed a month and a half . Dumb right? Haha. Anyways picked up again where I left off mid January but upped the dosage to 1mg since my hair was starting to look like crap. Last week I had a weird experience that I've never had with this drug. I had a painful orgasm. If that wasn't bad enough I had the dreaded numb-dick as well. I backed off completely and after a few terrifying days of side effects including; no sensation of orgasm, no libido, limited erection quality things seem to back to normal. I would say I'm at about 90% now. Very relieved!! You read stories on propeciahelp and it's like "ZOMG PROPECIA ATE MY DREAMS AND DESTROYED MY BALLS!!!" so I'm over the moon that I'm gonna be ok.

However.... my hair is not doing so hot right now. Luckily I can still style it so that I look OK and I'm thankful for that but if I don't take serious action NOW I'm in trouble. I've ordered Rogaine 5% (a hassle in Canada booo) and I'm seriously considering going back on a reduced dosage of finasteride (maybe .25? :dunno: ). I feel like a goddamn maniac for even considering going back on this drug given my experience last week but that's what hairloss can do to a dude.

Has anyone gone through these sides? Have you had them subside with a reduced dosage? Am I crazy? lol

Please share your thoughts.... thanks for listening.

 

[FCÂ]

I have used Propecia and Avodart in the past, but over time (and a lot of it was due to poorness, although I think I may have experienced some minor side effects) I came to realize that Revita shampoo is enough to keep my hair, if used liberally.

I'm looking to transition to some/all of these products:

Superoxide dismutase
GHK copper peptides
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (possibly with MSM)
Lithium in DMSO
Adenosine
Curcumin
Zinc PCA
Keratinocyte Growth Factor
Tea Tree Oil
Cedarwood Essential Oil
Lavender Essential Oil
Thyme Essential Oil
Peppermint Oil
Soy isoflavones
Some or all of the ingredients in Revivogen (so maybe just Revivogen)
Corosolic acid


If these did not work by themselves I would use a ketoconazole shampoo and/or a coal tar extract topical.

If that didn't work I would try RU or some other novel anti-androgen topical drug before using an internal. Look at finfighter's thread in his signature for these types of drugs.

 

[marcusv]

I have used Propecia and Avodart in the past, but over time (and a lot of it was due to poorness, although I think I may have experienced some minor side effects) I came to realize that Revita shampoo is enough to keep my hair, if used liberally.

I'm looking to transition to some/all of these products:

Superoxide dismutase
GHK copper peptides
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (possibly with MSM)
Lithium in DMSO
Adenosine
Curcumin
Zinc PCA
Keratinocyte Growth Factor
Tea Tree Oil
Cedarwood Essential Oil
Lavender Essential Oil
Thyme Essential Oil
Peppermint Oil
Soy isoflavones
Some or all of the ingredients in Revivogen (so maybe just Revivogen)
Corosolic acid


If these did not work by themselves I would use a ketoconazole shampoo and/or a coal tar extract topical.

If that didn't work I would try RU or some other novel anti-androgen topical drug before using an internal. Look at finfighter's thread in his signature for these types of drugs.

Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. I've done some limited reading on most of the things in that list and I like the idea of going as natural as possible. Not too familiar with Revita though (glad it worked for you!)... will look into this right away. I currently use Nizoral twice a week but that annoying male pattern baldness itch persists and I have a weird-yet-impossible-to-substantiate suspicion that it thins my hair out worse. Will be dropping it for a while.

I did want to try a mixture of emu oil and green tea extract to deal with some of the inflammation as well as addressing inflammation internally through a careful diet, exercise and supplementation. Ultimately though I know that finasteride works which is why I'm even thinking of using it again in spite of it's side effects. Have looked through finfighter's very helpful list in the past (thx for the heads up though) and RU seems like an intelligent topical to add to a regimen but I'm not crazy about the price+hassle. I might look into spironolactone or Revivogen as an antiandrogen but the x factor worries me: Will it work? I don't know...... and that's the dillema. Time is of the essence too.... my hair is looking worst almost daily over the last couple of weeks (i realize this may be a propecia shed).

 

[marcusv]

Hey FC... can you elaborate on the idea of using Revita liberally? It's a shampoo right? Are you using it twice a day or something? Just curious.

 

[marcusv]

Sorry for all the posts but if anyone else has had any lasting success with topical antiandrogens (spironolactone in particular since it's not crazy expensive)?

Success for me would + keeping the hair I have. Though I'd be ecstatic if I could dial the clock back two months and reverse some loss.

 

[FCÂ]

Hey FC... can you elaborate on the idea of using Revita liberally? It's a shampoo right? Are you using it twice a day or something? Just curious.

You can use just a small dab with short hair and get it clean, that's what I did at first and made a bottle last half a year or more, although I was doing the instructions of leaving it on for 1-2 minutes, rinsing, then leaving it on 3-5 minutes. I found using a minimal amount did not help in combating my hair loss.

Now I use four-five dabs, 1 on each temple, 1 at the front of the hairline, 1 at the crown and 1 sometimes on the top of the head, and I try to get them on before there is too much of a lather for optimal absorption. With the foam I get the sides and back. I like to rub it in well for about half the time and let it sit the other half for both the first and second application. I find with this method I maintain, and even obtain regrowth when I have been too poor to afford it for a month or two and later re-upped.

FWIW, this was my original handle...I was not always seemingly a Revita shill: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12504

 

[marcusv]

Hey FC... can you elaborate on the idea of using Revita liberally? It's a shampoo right? Are you using it twice a day or something? Just curious.

You can use just a small dab with short hair and get it clean, that's what I did at first and made a bottle last half a year or more, although I was doing the instructions of leaving it on for 1-2 minutes, rinsing, then leaving it on 3-5 minutes. I found using a minimal amount did not help in combating my hair loss.

Now I use four-five dabs, 1 on each temple, 1 at the front of the hairline, 1 at the crown and 1 sometimes on the top of the head, and I try to get them on before there is too much of a lather for optimal absorption. With the foam I get the sides and back. I like to rub it in well for about half the time and let it sit the other half for both the first and second application. I find with this method I maintain, and even obtain regrowth when I have been too poor to afford it for a month or two and later re-upped.

FWIW, this was my original handle...I was not always seemingly a Revita shill: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12504

Thanks dude.... appreciate the info!