Someone convince me not to stop!

[Dario]

Really, for 7 months I see no results...none! I event think that it got worst...so should I still hope to see some improvement?
*I've been using finasteride for almost 8 months now...not sure for the first 6 months, could be some fake med. from India...so I switched 2 motnhs ago to using Proscar from local pharmacy.
*Minoxidil 5% - 6 months 2x a day and 2 motns 1x a day.
*Revivogen - 2.5 months.

Maybe I'm one of those lucky ppl who don't respond to this treatments or, as I heard, treatments like Finasteride actually kills my hair...
I feel like I'm loosing the battle, time and money...and mostly making my self less confident by focusing all the time on my hairloss...

Anyway here is the picture that I took this morning when I realized that I look like crap(that brownish thing in the middle is Revivogen):

Any hope for these guys? :dunno:

 

[rusty_y2k2]

What brand were you using before switching?

Do you have any before photo's from same angle and same lighting?

You're 8 months in now, why quit until you've at least given it a good year... it's fair to say that if it hasn't helped in a year it's reasonable to assume you aren't going to respond. Without a before pic though it's incredibly hard to judge, the mind's eye can often see whatever it wants.

 

[optimus prime]

Stick with it and evaluate in 4-6 months time. That’s my opinion. I am in the same boat as you. 7 months and defuse. Results are hard to tell but I am shedding a lot.

 

[rusty_y2k2]

optimus - 7 months here also, and diffuse...

I just went through a huuuuuuuge shed for pretty much the whole 7th month. Seems to have slowed down now though so waiting for it to thicken up... and waiting.... and waiting... lol.

 

[Dario]

Since I buzzed my hair I can't tell if I had any massive shedding. I just see more scalp and more thin hair...
Always thinking maybe all this is just a faze before some serious results...but nothing so far...It looks I'll be completely bald in a year or two.

These photo was taken on 08 July...so exactly month ago:

When compared to this picture which I took this morning it looks better...

 

[Dario]

What brand were you using before switching?

Do you have any before photo's from same angle and same lighting?

You're 8 months in now, why quit until you've at least given it a good year... it's fair to say that if it hasn't helped in a year it's reasonable to assume you aren't going to respond. Without a before pic though it's incredibly hard to judge, the mind's eye can often see whatever it wants.

Uff....I don't know...I'll tell you when I get back home from the work.

 

[Dario]

What brand were you using before switching?

"Aurofina-5" :dunno:

 

[Dario]

Stick with it and evaluate in 4-6 months time. That’s my opinion. I am in the same boat as you. 7 months and defuse. Results are hard to tell but I am shedding a lot.

I will stick to it till the end of the year...after that...I don't know...it really pisses me off...dropping all these topical stuff all the time, worrying about it every day,washing hair twice a day, waiting for results....

...so far...as I see things...either you have some results in first 6 months or you don't and the treatments are completely useless.

 

[treeshrew]

i'd stick with it, unless you're truly ready to throw in the towel and accept being bald.

you've only been on the "real stuff" for 2 months - which is right around the time you'd notice a shed.

i vote give proscar at least another 4 months then re-evaluate, at the very least it's slowing down the loss.

p.s. doesn't look half bad, do you use any concealers like nanogen? if not, would help a lot for your hair type.

 

[vipergts]

Sorry to hear that Dario.....I am in the same boat as you. I was on finasteride , Foam, nizoral 2percent, Tricomin and spironolactone for 1 year, but thanks to finasteride my hair got significantly worse. Now that I quit finasteride I am loosing at a much slower rate. finasteride does not work for everyone. Some swear by it and others loath it. I certainly loath it. Am still thinning but at a much slower rate than when I used finasteride. I suggest you quit finasteride ASAP ( more than 6 months is enough time), and come up with a simple routine you could stick to.

 

[medmax84]

Sorry to hear that Dario.....I am in the same boat as you. I was on finasteride , Foam, nizoral 2percent, Tricomin and spironolactone for 1 year, but thanks to finasteride my hair got significantly worse. Now that I quit finasteride I am loosing at a much slower rate. finasteride does not work for everyone. Some swear by it and others loath it. I certainly loath it. Am still thinning but at a much slower rate than when I used finasteride. I suggest you quit finasteride ASAP ( more than 6 months is enough time), and come up with a simple routine you could stick to.

Consider dropping revivogen if anything. The only treatments PROVEN TO WORK are minoxidil AND FINASTERIDE. Trust science more than bullshit internet websites. If you think, "at worst, revivogen won't do any damage", that is more likely to be incorrect than finasteride not working. I digress.

http://www.baldingblog.com/2008/06/...ter-realizing-that-stopping-it-was-a-mistake/

may eventually become:

http://www.baldingblog.com/2008/03/06/starting-and-stopping-propecia-multiple-times/

Remember fighting hairloss is an uphill battle... one that I, for one, am currently losing.

 

[casperz]

Dario if I had no results after 8 months it would be hard for me to keep going but I think you
should stick it out for a few more months.

Has anyone compiled a list of ages of people that finasteride works on? It seems to me that a
lot of young guys get little or no results from finasteride. I think I got excellent results based on
how far gone my hair was and I'm in my forties. I do know that around 30 I had some blood
work done and I had significantly higher testosterone than normal. That is about the same
time I tried minoxidil with no results. Maybe young guys just have too much DHT to overcome...
I have no idea what I'm talking about and have no medical training so that may just be
all crap.

 

[medmax84]

Dario if I had no results after 8 months it would be hard for me to keep going but I think you
should stick it out for a few more months.

Has anyone compiled a list of ages of people that finasteride works on? It seems to me that a
lot of young guys get little or no results from finasteride. I think I got excellent results based on
how far gone my hair was and I'm in my forties. I do know that around 30 I had some blood
work done and I had significantly higher testosterone than normal. That is about the same
time I tried minoxidil with no results. Maybe young guys just have too much DHT to overcome...
I have no idea what I'm talking about and have no medical training so that may just be
all crap.

That could prob be it, plus chronic inflammation can't stop on a dime... as usual, it's prob multifactorial. I hope I can at least halt my thinning for a few years. The thought of being a 25-y/o with a bald spot makes me really sad.

 

[Dario]

So it's just a gossip that Finasteride can ruin your hair???

 

[Dario]

Consider dropping revivogen if anything.

Why?
I though to give it a try for 6 months and see how it works....

 

[Dario]

p.s. doesn't look half bad, do you use any concealers like nanogen? if not, would help a lot for your hair type.

No and I don't like using concealers....I would feel like heaving a wig.

 

[treeshrew]

No and I don't like using concealers....I would feel like heaving a wig.

then you've obviously never used concealer before. good luck.

 

[medmax84]

Consider dropping revivogen if anything.

Why?
I though to give it a try for 6 months and see how it works....

No I don't mean you shoudl quit it... I'm saying it would make more sense if you're quitting something to quit that. It has promising results, but is not FDA approved for hair loss. Bottom line: Propecia may be working for you, and if you go off of it you may see disastrous results.

I can understand your frustration. If I stay on finasteride for a year and spend upwards of 60*12 (lowball) = 720 dollars and I don't see any regrowth or continued loss, I'll be in the same situation. I think if you stick out the regimen, you'll be happy you did though. I am in med school and I have less than 25k to spend per year after tuition, over 8k of that goes directly to rent (it's a tiny apt in a large city). Propecia is a tremendous expenditure for me.

I'm sure in the next 5-10 years avodart or something similar, safer, and more effective for male pattern baldness will come down the pipeline. It's almost a certainty seeing as this industry has been so profitable for Merck. When that happens, won't you be glad if it turns out propecia has slowed your hair loss, even just by a 50% reduction of hair loss rate? Do you think the rate has at least decreased?

 

[Dario]

Do you think the rate has at least decreased?

I'm really not sure...there is no way to tell...
...if it has...how would I know that anyway?
But if it keeps thinning at this rate...I could be bald very soon.

 

[medmax84]

Do you think the rate has at least decreased?

I'm really not sure...there is no way to tell...
...if it has...how would I know that anyway?
But if it keeps thinning at this rate...I could be bald very soon.

Could be a late shed. Best to wait the full year and evaluate pictures. I think balding men tend to get a dysmorphic image of their head. Best to have someone else look at the pics with you.