Spencka's Story

[spencka]

Hi!

This is my first post here, and as many here, I'm desperate. I'm a 49 year old male. My wife & I separated over a year ago, and I'm doing all I can to improve my appearance, as well as my confidence.

Of course losing my hair over the years hasn't helped. I have rather thick (though graying) hair on the sides of my head, but the top front has been going for a few years now, and it's starting to recede to the crown.

A few months ago, I started a serious workout regiment, and my confidence started to improve. I was over 270 lbs, and I'm currently floating around 245. I still have a long way to go (I'm 6'0 tall), but people have been noticing at work, and making kind comments - which just motivates me to continue!

Unfortuantely, I've injured a leg and am unable to run/walk on the treadmill - so my workouts have slowed my weight loss and I'm becoming more depressed.

To add to the problem, my hair seems to be falling out at a faster pace. I've been reading a lot of articles, but still don't know where to turn or who to trust.

Because of my age and stage of hair loss, I don't know whether to begin Rogaine (Minoxodil) or Propecia, or maybe even both? Are there any other products out there which my provide better results?

My self esteem is about shot!

Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[mvpsoft]

The three proven male pattern baldness treatments are finasteride (the drug in Propecia), minoxidil and Nizoral shampoo. Each has a different mechanism and does a different thing, so they are complementary to each other. If you want to address your hair loss aggressively, you'll probably want to use all three. The 20-somethings here might try one at a time, but folks our age (I'm 48) perhaps don't want to take two years to find something that works.

Nizoral shampoo is more effective in the 2% form, but that's prescription only. However, you can buy it online here: http://www.antiaging-systems.com/a2z/nizoral.htm (I'm sure there are other vendors, this is the one that I used).

Kirkland minoxidil, which is the same as Rogaine, can be purchased anywhere. You'll probably want to use the 5% formula. Some people get a scalp irritation with minoxidil. To lessen the chances of that happening to you, consider using Tricomin along with the minoxidil. There is some clinical evidence that the copper peptides in Tricomin will help with hair loss anyway, and the copper peptides will at least be good for your scalp.

If you can get a prescription for Proscar, that's cheaper than Propecia. They both have finasteride in them, but Proscar has five times the medication. Don't take that much; cut the Proscar tablets into fourths or fifths, which means one 30 day prescription will last you 120 or even 150 days.

Use the minoxidil twice a day, without fail. Use the Nizoral three times a week, along with a good conditioner, since Nizoral dries out the scalp. On the other days, a lot of people like T/Gel shampoo, although I have found I like Dercos. The manufacturer of Dercos claims that they did a study that shows that Dercos regrew some hair, but whether it does or not, I just like it.

Some people use Revivogen, which also combats DHT like propecia does, but topically (locally) rather than systemically. If you take propecia/proscar, some DHT will still get through, so Revivogen could still be of some use. It simply depends on how much money you want to spend and how thorough you want to be.

There isn't much else that is proven to help with hair loss, but minoxidil, finasteride and Nizoral are called "the big three" because they give you the best odds of success.

BTW, any regimen you start will probably cause you to lose more hair more quickly at first. This can last for a few weeks or even months, but I'm told you have to be patient with that. I started treating my hair loss about seven weeks ago, so I'm not past that phase yet.

One other thing about self-confidence. You might add some resistance training to your workout regime. There are several advantages to it. I started working out semi-seriously a few months ago. I run 2-3 miles a day, six days a week, and three days a week I do resistance (weight) training. It really does make you feel better about yourself, especially at our age. I bought a Bandflex machine, which you can find online for about $250. Serious lifters would scoff at it, but if you're just trying to get in better shape and maybe put on a little muscle mass or maintain what you have, as well as develop better muscle tone, it's the best bang for the buck. Resistance training has benefits that endurance training doesn't have, such as triggering the pituitary to release additional HGH. It won't grow hair, but it will allow you to feel better about yourself.

Good luck.

 

[spencka]

New Poster

Thanks for the response - it was very detaied and informative! I will take your advice and attempt all three.

Just to clarify, in addition to walking and running on my treadmill -which I was doing 3 - 5 miles/day, and sometimes twice a day on my day's off - I also workout with weights. In addition to diet, water is my drink of choice, and eating less than my normal intake, I was doing pretty well. As I said, I incurred a leg injury and that has been a bit of a drag on my progress. But I do look forward to getting back into the workouts soon.

Thanks again for the info and I will keep you informed as I progress.

SP

 

[upnorth]

Keep up with the workout rountine!

Perhaps bike riding/stationary is possibly with your leg injury.

I'll bet near 100% of women are more interested in a 6' 190lb bald man, then a fat 6' 270lb man with perfect hair.

I imagine you feel alot healthier, more energetic now that you've lost that 25lbs.

In terms of quality of life, you physical health is so much more important than your hairline.

 

[spencka]

New Poster

Can anyone tell me about Tricomin? It was mentioned in an earlier post by mvpsoft.

As he suggested I did order Minoxidil (5%) and Nizoral. I now have received both products as of this afternoon. mvpsoft also suggested Tricomin, but I'm not sure how or where to obtain it. Is it a prescription product, or can I purchase over the counter? Same question applies to Revivogen? Also, what id this product and what does it do?

Thanks for the help!
SP

 

[mvpsoft]

Tricomin is sold here, I believe. It is not prescription. It is a copper peptide solution that has shown some promise for hair regrowith, but the most important thing it does is keep your scalp healthy. Minoxidil can irritate the scalp if used by itself.

 

[spencka]

New Poster

Any input about Revivogen?

Thanks Again!