A little background about myself: I am a 27 year old Asian male who has been suffering from diffuse hair loss for the past two years. Realistically, my hair loss probably started in 2014, but I did not notice until late 2016. It is now 2019 and I have reached a breaking point with respect to my hair loss. I’m scared to look in the mirror, scared to get a haircut. sh*t man, I’m scared to take a shower sometimes with the amount of hair that ends up getting caught in the shower drain strainer. I’m talking 60+ hairs at a minimum. My hair is the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to bed. When I run my hands through my hair and see the resulting displaced hair, it’s always jarring seeing the wispy, miniaturized hair next to the strong, non-miniaturized ones.
I feel like I’ve been dealt the worst cards in life. It’s like I’m playing poker and getting dealt seven-deuce offsuit every hand. However, there comes a point where you have to take action and say “f*** you” to the cards you’ve been dealt. That time is tomorrow for me. I’ll be using H&W liposomal topical finasteride dosed at 1%. I would have started earlier but I had an internal dilemma that I'm sure most of us have faced. Here is the dilemma that I have regarding finasteride: do I take finasteride and risk getting post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) or do I wait it out in the hopes that something better than finasteride comes along? As you could tell, I came to the sad realization that although we have some prospects (e.g., Replicel, Breezula, Tsuji), the latter wasn’t happening anytime soon. As an aside, I believe medical science has failed us. The fact that the cure for baldness being perpetually 5 years away is a meme represents the state of hair loss research today. It’s absolutely ridiculous that the best thing that we have on the market is something that is akin to killing a housefly with a bazooka, but I digress.
I’ve taken every precaution that I possibly can. I’ve taken blood tests to get a baseline of my hormone levels as well as to rule out any vitamin or thyroid issues. I envy all of you who can take finasteride without going through all this due diligence as I simply can't do it. My nature is to be thorough and always err on the side of caution. From what I have researched, the side effect rate of finasteride is 2%, so what are the chances that I get side effects with topical finasteride that is not even dosed to its maximum? I guess we’ll find out in a few months time.
That’s the end of my story/rant/diary blog. My hair might be unsalvageable at this point, but I’m going through it regardless. I hope this helps somebody out there. I keep telling myself that I have a limited amount of time on this planet, so why spend it living in constant anxiety due to my hair? If it doesn’t work out, at least I know I tried. If it all goes well (i.e., no side effects), I will be making a follow-up post around the 3 and 6 month mark. I will probably get another blood test around the fifth month and post it in my 6-month follow-up. Feel free to ask any questions. I’m more than willing to provide answers.
Note/Edit: there was a period of time (over 6 months) where I was using Minoxidil, but I was not making any progress so I decided to drop it.
Routine:
I feel like I’ve been dealt the worst cards in life. It’s like I’m playing poker and getting dealt seven-deuce offsuit every hand. However, there comes a point where you have to take action and say “f*** you” to the cards you’ve been dealt. That time is tomorrow for me. I’ll be using H&W liposomal topical finasteride dosed at 1%. I would have started earlier but I had an internal dilemma that I'm sure most of us have faced. Here is the dilemma that I have regarding finasteride: do I take finasteride and risk getting post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) or do I wait it out in the hopes that something better than finasteride comes along? As you could tell, I came to the sad realization that although we have some prospects (e.g., Replicel, Breezula, Tsuji), the latter wasn’t happening anytime soon. As an aside, I believe medical science has failed us. The fact that the cure for baldness being perpetually 5 years away is a meme represents the state of hair loss research today. It’s absolutely ridiculous that the best thing that we have on the market is something that is akin to killing a housefly with a bazooka, but I digress.
I’ve taken every precaution that I possibly can. I’ve taken blood tests to get a baseline of my hormone levels as well as to rule out any vitamin or thyroid issues. I envy all of you who can take finasteride without going through all this due diligence as I simply can't do it. My nature is to be thorough and always err on the side of caution. From what I have researched, the side effect rate of finasteride is 2%, so what are the chances that I get side effects with topical finasteride that is not even dosed to its maximum? I guess we’ll find out in a few months time.
That’s the end of my story/rant/diary blog. My hair might be unsalvageable at this point, but I’m going through it regardless. I hope this helps somebody out there. I keep telling myself that I have a limited amount of time on this planet, so why spend it living in constant anxiety due to my hair? If it doesn’t work out, at least I know I tried. If it all goes well (i.e., no side effects), I will be making a follow-up post around the 3 and 6 month mark. I will probably get another blood test around the fifth month and post it in my 6-month follow-up. Feel free to ask any questions. I’m more than willing to provide answers.
Note/Edit: there was a period of time (over 6 months) where I was using Minoxidil, but I was not making any progress so I decided to drop it.
Routine:
- Topical finasteride in the morning
- Nizoral every fourth day (ACV bar in between)
- Biotin (2500 mcg)
