Thom's Story: 1 year big 3 & temple regrowth pg. 7

[Thom]

My hair has been slowly diffusing from the crown region for about 2 years. I used to have long, thick hair but I cut it because I didn't want to look like one of those junkies who are obviously balding but have long, stringy hair!

Last November I noticed in some pics it had advanced to the top of my head region and this terrified me so I came here to research what has worked for people.

Started Minoxidil and Nizoral Mid-December

Started finasteride exactly 3 weeks ago.

One thing I've noticed is that after starting finasteride I don't hardly have "the itch" anymore so I haven't been using nizoral as much..maybe once a week.

In addition to this I'm taking various supplements and eating healthy foods (partially for my hair but also because I am one month into p90x).

Anyway, here are a couple baseline pics as well as pics from a month and a half later. The month later pics look tons better but it could be due to not cutting my hair.

This thread is for me to track my progress, and for others who may be on the fence about starting the big 3 to see the progress (or none) for themselves.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

UPDATE: I have taken my month 6 pics now: They are on page 6

 

[jasinfla]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

Hey Thom, I hope that all works out but just by what people are saying on here, I think you should have a good experience with the finasteride. Are you actually using propecia? I haven't started anything yet and may sometime but definitely want to hear how all things work for you. If you don't mind me asking and if you remember, do you remember how your crown started to thin? Was like just a small spot and it decided to evolve out a bit? Again, all the best ma!

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

Thanks! Yeah I am using propecia and I just found out today that I will only have to pay around $22 a month so I am pretty excited. I have only been on finasteride for 3 weeks but I have noticed my itch going away...I don't know if there is a correlation but it is something I've observed.

Btw, the top photos are the most recent so you can tell my hair has filled in a lot better. I think this was due to minoxidil and supplements.

I just realized I wrote that my hair has been diffusing from the crown for "20"years lol.....I meant to say 2. To answer your question, yes it was a very small spot and I didn't believe it was balding for awhile because I have a cowlick and swirl there but then it did start spreading out in early 2009 though.

I'm growing my hair out long and I must say it's actually looking quite good! The crown isn't looking as thin either.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

Lol, I was gonna say, you're in great shape for someone who has been losing hair for 20 years!

Good luck, looks to me like your crown is already responding.

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing what the finasteride will fill in!

That would have meant that I started losing hair when I was 4 haha.

 

[jasinfla]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

lol, since 4. I agree, it's looking good and you should continue to have positive results. Still trying to figure out my situation, especially when the derm said that the crown area is good but gave me a prescrip for propecia because she said that she saw very small miniaturization in my frontal hairline.She probably gets a kick-back too. Could be the way I style it too, lol..drive myself insane...sorry don't mean to take over your thread. Definitely keep updating and all the best.

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

It's quite alright, ask all the questions you want! I am just a couple months ahead of you in regimen so I can tell you what you might be able to expect. So far I haven't got any side-effects from finasteride so I say it's worth a try. I do take zinc as well so that might keep my libido in a healthy balance.

The newest pictures on this thread were from exactly a month ago so I took new pictures today to see my month's progress. I expected to be disappointed or to not see any progress but I must say I am ecstatic from the results! Now I still haven't cut my hair so it very well could be that it is just longer but if you notice the color and the texture of the thinning areas they seem darker and more "full of life." haha

I am open to any constructive criticism if it's just wishful thinking on my part. Here they are! I tried to reconstruct the photos the way I shot them last time so I wouldn't be deceiving. I even combed my hair the same way. When I combed it other ways it looked even better.

minoxidil and supplements: 2 months

finasteride: 3 weeks

 

[jasinfla]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

Awesome man, it's so working for you & glad for you. If this is just the initial start, it's going to work darn good for you. Yeah I might get on it yet, I had one of my wife's friends who is stylist take a look tonight, I know this is seriously messed up but I'm having the whole "peace of mind" problems. But seriously at 36, I probably should expect something going on or maybe to have it happen yet & it shouldn't come to a surprise with age and all. But back to that, she said it looks fine and it's all good. Just crazy how a so called natural part can make a line into your whorl & also seriously, when I look at the back of my head, it looks like a horseshoe outline but again, I guess the way I style, lol. Guess I should shutup and listen to these people...ANYWAYS, your picture are looking great and you're taking rogaine or minoxidil right? Do you think the propecia is the result to your awesome growth? Awesome about the side effects too. Again all the best!

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's story (with pics)

Thanks man, glad to hear it's not all in my head! That's great to have a hair stylist to compare your hair to since they know what it looked like before. My old hair stylist (my best friend's mom who moved away) always told me it was just my swirl and nothing to worry about but after awhile it did start getting worse. Not trying to put fear into you, just keep an eye on it! If you're worried about the price of finasteride, for me it's only $22 a month and I am 24 so it's not that bad.

Yeah, I am taking Rogaine and have been taking different vitamins for my hair for the last 2 months. I wouldn't think that propecia could cause that much growth in 3 weeks so I'm not sure but I do know the itch has been non-existant since starting it for some reason! Btw, does your swirl and cow-lick look like mine? (of course with more hair though)


Finfighter- Thanks for the advice man! I am on the verge of buying toppik but so far I am worried that I will end up buying the wrong color. My hair color always changes throughout the year from blond to dark-brown so my fear is I will be putting it in and people will notice it. I have a few girls in different classes I regularly flirt with and I don't want my hair loss to become too obvious!

Even if I get amazing results from everything I think people might be angry that all my pics have me with longer hair so it's harder to compare. I'm growing it back out to my shoulders.

 

[jasinfla]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

My cowlick/swirl...maybe a little bit but it just really takes a bunch of hair and sticks up and I brush it down and does some kind of wave sweeping like motion. I, lol, pulled on it tonight & it's actually pretty thick but with now pulling on it, maybe I pulled some hair out, lol. Thing that just, I don't know, is crazy is on the right side, the hair kind lays flat & looks horizontal but then I have that split which kind of goes down way on the top and & lines over to the right abit into that area in the scalp where you seeing skin is, I guess natural. And then with that swirl, it makes like a hair wall. Just insane. If you look at it from the top, like a direct 3/4s shot from the top, it looks like a skinny "L" shape but then again, I wonder how many people see you from that perspective? Anyways, maybe it's natural but dude, I don't want to take away your thread, this is yours!!! and again, the hair looks good and what finasteride said, progress should keep getting more positive and positive.

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

Haha yeah I never heard anything like that! You're right though, nobody will really ever notice you from that angle. I'm not going to lie I kind of miss my old cowlick that i grew up with! It's funny how you hate it when you have it but when you start losing it you would do anything to have it back!

I sure hope I keep progressing! The hair all over the top of my head isn't as thick as I would like it and, since I am growing my hair out, I've noticed my bangs aren't as full as they once were :/. I guess when my bangs grow out long enough I can just comb it behind my ears like I used to anyway!

 

[jasinfla]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

Yeah it's a crazy thing and sorry to hear about that too finasteride. I pray that for you guys both that you will be able to have that happen again & also you both have good results. finasteride, how is your crown? I was kind of pushing my hair up in the back tonight, upper neck area, and notice quite a bit of scalp under there on the right left side showing so I don't know. Also with that part, maybe I have the female version of male pattern baldness, if that is possible. Again, definitely Thom, keep updating this thread with your positive results!

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

God willing we will have our cow-licks back! Haha

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I think one factor of my hair loss is a low iron count. Normally I would write off any factors such as diet but I did get a blood test last year that said my iron count was low. I do not think that is the sole contributor though as my hair loss is in the male pattern baldness pattern. What was intolerable about minoxidil for you? I have heard of extreme itching, nausea, and facial bloating.

I should note that, while I said I haven't had any of the libido sides from finasteride, I have had low libido since I was 19. I have never known why it dropped so quick. I broke up with my then girlfriend and the drive went away and just never returned in full force so I may not notice if I get the sides I normally would. I will definitely keep you all updated, my plan is to update once a month. Haven't hit my shed yet so it is probable that next month or the month after might look slightly worse or not any different.

Hang in there, I know it's been said for years but I believe the ultimate cure is within the next decade....I sure am going to be pissed if it is when I'm an old man though!

 

[grandiin]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

What was intolerable about minoxidil for you? I have heard of extreme itching, nausea, and facial bloating.

I used it for four months, around that time I started noticing horrible dark circles under my eyes, so much so that I started looking for cosmetic products for dark circles, at the time I didn't know that it was from Minoxidl. When I stopped minoxidil it went away. Minoxidil increases blood flow through its vasodilation properties, this increase in blood flow can feed the leaky cappilaries under the eye sockets, the skin in this area is the thinnest in the human body.


I had horrible facial bloating from water retention, this is a known side effect of oral minoxidil, oral minoxidil is always prescribed with a diuretic, for this reason.

I experienced postural hypotension and horrible heat palpitations, that was the last straw for me!

I have the same problem with my eyes, do you have idea how can i manage with this problem ?

 

[grandiin]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

I prefer to not quit the drug, i have some good improvment just for month, i was thinking to switch to Foam or to buy some stuff for my eyes, first two weeks i was ok, on my third week my eyes star hurting and looking like sh't, after that i cut my application down alittle bit and i have the same problem but not so bad .....

 

[grandiin]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

I prefer to not quit the drug, i have some good improvment just for month, i was thinking to switch to Foam or to buy some stuff for my eyes, first two weeks i was ok, on my third week my eyes star hurting and looking like sh't, after that i cut my application down alittle bit and i have the same problem but not so bad .....

I have seen a product advertised called Hydrolyze, let me know if it helps you...

Thank you brother , i will try it!

 

[jasinfla]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

I agree guys, and I don't know maybe that Histogen will turn out to be something. finasteride (sorry Thom to use your thread to ask a question) but people tell me that this is a natural part but the part actually snakes around down into my whorl area...would you mind looking at this and let me know what you think and if finasteride or minoxidil could work for this or not to worry about it? Thanks
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=62883&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

No problem asking questions Jasinfla, I would just be happy to know that a part of my thread helped a brother out! Haha

I haven't noticed any dark circles under my eyes yet but I have always been told that I looked like a stoner from having bags under my eyes sometimes and I don't even smoke weed lol. So if I get this side I'm likely to not even notice it.

 

[dhtJunkie]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

Perfect candidate for finasteride. Massive change in 6-7 months, banging hair after a year!

 

[Thom]

Re: Thom's Story (with pics)

Thanks bro! I'm glad I started now though I do wish I started about a year ago but there's no use in regrets!