Sorry, need clarification regarding shedding

[Hairless Potter]

I posted this on another thread, but I think it got burried. So here goes. Does anybody know if the hair that was maintained on finasteride means, that once started on day one you should maintain this hair if you are a responder, barring any sheds (which I assume you regrow). Or does it mean that you will start to maintain the hair you have at approximately the six month mark of finasteride treatment if you are a responder. For instance, I've been on finasteride for almost 3 1/2 months, does this mean that my maintaining won't begin for 2 1/2 months from now, or if I am indeed a responder, am I maintaining what I had in November, and that I will regrow my sheds. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[x5o]

I would venture to guess that the effect is quick (within a week) and that the inhibition of the DHT will start to allow your previously ravished follicles to begin their road to health and mature to a more normal size so they can produce better hair. Balding is a process that does not occur over night, so I would imagine that you would maintain most of the hair that you had when you started the propecia. The difference between the hair you have on your head in January compared to that you have on your head in April (3 months) is probably very slight. So really for all practical purposes it really doesn't matter whether you start to maintain during month one or three.

 

[Stingray]

The visible hair is a reminder of the condition of the hair follicle 3 or 4 months ago. It takes that long just for the hair shaft to permeate the scalp...so therefore it will take that long for you to see any results... and this is a MINIMUM. It could take as long as a year.

 

[Hairless Potter]

Thanks for the responses guys. I hope your right, and since I'm about 3 1/2 months into finasteride hopefully in a few more months i'll start to see some thickening-up of the areas which fell victim to propecia attrition.

 

[shineydome]

.......fell victim to propecia attrition.

Ha...that's a good one!

 

[x5o]

Elaborate on "propecia attrition" please. Do you believe you lost hair that you will not regain (No pun intended!) while on propecia?

 

[Hairless Potter]

.......fell victim to propecia attrition.

Ha...that's a good one!

Thanks, I try.

 

[Hairless Potter]

Elaborate on "propecia attrition" please. Do you believe you lost hair that you will not regain (No pun intended!) while on propecia?

Well, it seemed that after starting propecia, I did notice an increase in my shedding. This was way before I had any idea propecia caused shedding. I was freaking out, because the effect on my hair was contrary to my understanding. In addition, my hair actually became visibly thinner. Seriously. And I'm not one to exaggerate my condition. A good friend of mine even noticed. So after a month or so gripped with fear, I stubbled across this website. Learned about shedding. Now I am banking on my accelerated thinning as syncronization of my follicles, and I am desperately hoping the hair lost in these first few months will rise like a might phoenix from the ash. Thank you.

 

[x5o]

I would caution you to be careful about allowing the shedding to continue for to long a period of time. There are some testimonials on........I think it's "The Bald Truth" website, about really bad shedding from propecia. Best of luck.

 

[reallysad]

Can I have the link please? Everyday, my thoughts waver between taking and not taking Propecia and its killing me

 

[reallysad]

Can anyone tell me what to expect if I stop propecia? I would like personal experiences. I think propecia is causing me extra hairloss.

SO can anyone who have stopped propecia due to additional hairloss please tell me what to expect?

Would there be initial extra shedding? Or would shedding just continue for a few months before stopping? Would hair lost due to propecia grow back?

 

[Guest]

Can anyone tell me what to expect if I stop propecia? I would like personal experiences. I think propecia is causing me extra hairloss.

SO can anyone who have stopped propecia due to additional hairloss please tell me what to expect?

Would there be initial extra shedding? Or would shedding just continue for a few months before stopping? Would hair lost due to propecia grow back?

It depends. Do you intend to replace this with some other form of DHT blocker??

 

[Axon]

I would still love to see a documented Fina or Minoxidil shed.

 

[Hairless Potter]

I would caution you to be careful about allowing the shedding to continue for to long a period of time. There are some testimonials on........I think it's "The Bald Truth" website, about really bad shedding from propecia. Best of luck.

Wow, I find this to be a rather cryptic statement. Can you please elaborate. For instance what period of time is too long, and how on earth do I not allow the shedding to continue while on propecia? Thanks.

 

[x5o]

Well, I don't believe that if you continue to use the product that is responsible for the shed you can stop the shed from occuring unless it stops on it's own. I personally found that DHT blockers do not cause increased shedding for me. Minoxidil, on the other hand, does. Whenever I have tried Min., I shed. Whenever I stopped it, the shedding stopped very quickly. Because my shed was so bad with my last Min. try (I stayed on it longer than I ever had before.......10 weeks) I tryed a copper peptide sol. as suggested by Bruce Lee. Seems to be working great so far. Shedding appears to have completely stopped.

How long is to long? you ask............................don't know. For me, I relied on common sense and some advice from the makers of Rogaine. When I started to look noticably thin (as in people could tell), and was scooping out handfulls of hair from my sink I decided enough was enough. The makers of Rogaine responded to an e-mail I sent them and stated that 4 weeks of "some" shedding is common. They expressed concern if the shedding continued for more than two weeks beyond that point. I personally think it is ridiculous to allow a significant shed to continue for months on end, hoping it will all grow back. I think common sense dictates that a shed of that magnitude is counter productive and can only lead to mental distress and a bigger hair loss problem.

NOTE: I have been off the Min. for some time now. I have to update my regimen.

 

[HairlossTalk]

I would still love to see a documented Fina or Minoxidil shed.

There's one mentioned in the Shedding article. Kevin of Keratin.com and his dermatology team in Germany ran it. Check out the article

HairLossTalk.com

 

[HairlossTalk]

Well, I don't believe that if you continue to use the product that is responsible for the shed you can stop the shed from occuring unless it stops on it's own.

If you continue, you can stop the shed from occuring? Not sure what you mean. Shedding happens in cycles. If it happens once, it very likely may happen again, but its still advisable that you stick with the treatment, despite the big first shed.

Bottom line? Everyone is different. People can only comment and give advice on the majority of cases, and thats typically what they do.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[x5o]

Granted, HairLossTalk.com, that first sentence of mine was not all that clear. What I was trying to relate was this....................From what others have stated, usually the first "big" shed stops at some point, and better healthier hair returns.

I still believe though, that for some, the initial shed lasts to long and may not stop. I have experienced it and others who I have corresponded with have also. True, we seem to be the minority, but nonetheless, it does occur.

 

[HairlossTalk]

Granted, HairLossTalk.com, that first sentence of mine was not all that clear. What I was trying to relate was this....................From what others have stated, usually the first "big" shed stops at some point, and better healthier hair returns.

I still believe though, that for some, the initial shed lasts to long and may not stop. I have experienced it and others who I have corresponded with have also. True, we seem to be the minority, but nonetheless, it does occur.

That's great, but there are a *BILLION* variables here. How do you know they didnt add something halfway through the shed? Take something away from the regimen? Miss a couple days? Etc. Have you literally sat down and documented all of the information for each and every person who claims their first propecia shed never stopped? There are a ton of things you'd need to know. Exactly how long was the shed? Were they on standard US Made 1mg Propecia or, were they splitting proscar and taking more than recommended, or slightly less than recommended? Were they on a generic form we're not sure is legit? Exactly how did they determine they were shedding rather than just experiencing the normal ebb and flow of shed hair that hair loss sufferers experience?

How do *you* know they weren't completely imagining things? Guys post their photos here all the time with full heads of hair saying they've lost "50% of their density". This is why we no longer listen to subjective opinions.

Was it at least 1 full year before they got concerned and dropped treatment? Did they actually see shedding, nonstop, for 12 full months? Propecia plainly states on the insert that you may see continued hair loss for 12 full months before the treatment begins to work.

Unless you have solid answers to every single one of these for every single one of the guys you correspond with, you can't make any assessments. This is why doctors require you to come in for evaluation. To see and document everything with their own eyes. No reputable doctor on this planet would diagnose something via a discussion forum, yet guys spend all day on here making global assessments about the effectiveness of a product, based entirely on anonymous posts about unverifiable experiences. These same guys (surprise?) scoff at the clinical data and many times admit they feel there are conspiracy theories about the FDA trying to trick people, and all kinds of other craziness.

It seems everyone except hair loss sufferers thinks scientifically these days...

You may shed for up to 12 months non stop with Propecia and THEN see results. This is widely known already. And even then, why would it be so hard to believe that maybe they're just one of the 17% non responders that we already know about?

I don't think anyone has discovered anything new with this. I've been listening to these guys for 5 years now. They shed for 5 months, freak out that it didn't stop by month 6, drop the treatment, and then spend the next 3 years telling everyone "Propecia causes permanent hair loss".

Sigh........

HairLossTalk.com