lickawrist
Established Member
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There's a lot of buzz going around with this supposed "Prostaglandin Protocol" and the person behind its theory, swisstemples. Ironically, there's a surprising lack of evidence that documents the regimen's efficacy; only anecdotal claims despite its familiarity among male pattern baldness-sufferers. Well, I've decided to be the first person to document his progress on the prostaglandin approach to see if swisstemple's theory really has any scientific merit at all. I do this as a service to all hair-loss sufferers. There's so much misinformation and "broscience" out there, so hopefully my documentation will dispel some myths regarding hair loss.
Regarding the regimen, it is my legal obligation to tell all of those who are reading: DO NOT TRY THIS REGIMEN. Many of the compounds in the prostaglandin approach have relatively unknown side-effects. I've only decided to do this because I am already WELL AWARE OF THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES. I may lose more hair, or I may regrow hair as a result of this regimen. The point is, I've come to accept my hair-loss; I don't care about it enough to continue the conventional treatments. In a way, I am sacrificing my hair to become your guys' guinea pig. I have great friends who could care less about the locks on my scalp, which is why I've decided to do this. Again, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS. If you're hair is thinning, GO SEE A DERM OR Doctor TO GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS USE TREATMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN CLINICALLY PROVEN TO WORK. There's always a risk with exotic and experimental treatments, which is why I can't stress enough: DO NOT DO THIS
I don't have pictures, but I'll post my baseline pics once I get off from work sometime this evening.
Regimen:
-Finasteride .25mg EOD (2 weeks, brain fog, decreased libido, over-exhaustion, watery semen, zero to minimal shedding)
-Saw Palmetto 450mg ED (no SE other than slightly decreased libido and reduced shedding)
-minoxidil 5% 2-4 times ED w/ DMSO once-a-day
-Dermaroll 1.5mm Once-a-week
-Castor oil 2ml oral; 2ml w/ DMSO at night ED
-LiCl
Upcoming additions:
-Retin-a (Trip to the derm sometime in the next 1-2 weeks)
-LiCl (still coming in the mail)
-Sulfasalazine (I don't know how I am going to get a prescription for this)
Finasteride works. A bit too well; after two weeks of feeling miserable and tired, I've decided to drop it--it was affecting my performance at work and getting up at 3 in the morning everyday was a challenge for me. My shedding on finasteride had virtually stopped, but I opted to replace the drug with another alternative, SP. My Doctor's professional opinion on it was negative to say the least, but I went with the idea anyways. I'm almost a week into SP and the number of shed hairs on the shower floor dropped from 30-40 to about 10 AT THE MOST. Not as effective as finasteride, but I don't feel as miserable, so I think I will keep SP in my regimen until finasteride becomes a last resort for me. finasteride works great, but I decided to drop it because it was affecting my physical work performance (I move freight around).
No SE from minoxidil and DMSO other than flaky and peeling skin. I've only been using minoxidil for a couple weeks, so no significant progress to document.
Currently, I am incorporating dermarolling into my regimen. I realize that the discussion of dermarolling is forbidden, so I won't go any further than this; I'd just thought it'd be worth mentioning that DM is part of my regimen. I only do it once-a-week.
Wish me luck.
Regarding the regimen, it is my legal obligation to tell all of those who are reading: DO NOT TRY THIS REGIMEN. Many of the compounds in the prostaglandin approach have relatively unknown side-effects. I've only decided to do this because I am already WELL AWARE OF THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES. I may lose more hair, or I may regrow hair as a result of this regimen. The point is, I've come to accept my hair-loss; I don't care about it enough to continue the conventional treatments. In a way, I am sacrificing my hair to become your guys' guinea pig. I have great friends who could care less about the locks on my scalp, which is why I've decided to do this. Again, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS. If you're hair is thinning, GO SEE A DERM OR Doctor TO GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS USE TREATMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN CLINICALLY PROVEN TO WORK. There's always a risk with exotic and experimental treatments, which is why I can't stress enough: DO NOT DO THIS
I don't have pictures, but I'll post my baseline pics once I get off from work sometime this evening.
Regimen:
-Saw Palmetto 450mg ED (no SE other than slightly decreased libido and reduced shedding)
-minoxidil 5% 2-4 times ED w/ DMSO once-a-day
-Dermaroll 1.5mm Once-a-week
-Castor oil 2ml oral; 2ml w/ DMSO at night ED
-LiCl
Upcoming additions:
-Retin-a (Trip to the derm sometime in the next 1-2 weeks)
-Sulfasalazine (I don't know how I am going to get a prescription for this)
Finasteride works. A bit too well; after two weeks of feeling miserable and tired, I've decided to drop it--it was affecting my performance at work and getting up at 3 in the morning everyday was a challenge for me. My shedding on finasteride had virtually stopped, but I opted to replace the drug with another alternative, SP. My Doctor's professional opinion on it was negative to say the least, but I went with the idea anyways. I'm almost a week into SP and the number of shed hairs on the shower floor dropped from 30-40 to about 10 AT THE MOST. Not as effective as finasteride, but I don't feel as miserable, so I think I will keep SP in my regimen until finasteride becomes a last resort for me. finasteride works great, but I decided to drop it because it was affecting my physical work performance (I move freight around).
No SE from minoxidil and DMSO other than flaky and peeling skin. I've only been using minoxidil for a couple weeks, so no significant progress to document.
Currently, I am incorporating dermarolling into my regimen. I realize that the discussion of dermarolling is forbidden, so I won't go any further than this; I'd just thought it'd be worth mentioning that DM is part of my regimen. I only do it once-a-week.
Wish me luck.