UK1's Story - (NW2, pics inlcluded)

[UK1]

Hi guys, been on a couple of different hair loss forums over the last couple of months and stumbled across this one today, I'm intending to post here a lot more regularly as I like the feel of it. Mine is the usual story.. first noticed in my mid 20's when my hair was long and thick, have watched it slowly disapear over the last few years.. I started taking Proscar (1mg) daily last month spurred on by the fact that my hairloss has started to become very noticable, I'd say that I'm NW2 with a thinning front section now. My aim is to stabilize the hair loss and possible regrow some with the introduction of Minoxidil further down the line, I bought some Nizoral today so will be starting to use that once a week from next week too. Anyway.. just wanted to say hi really, look forward to sharing my experiences with you guys. :wink:

 

[Guest]

Sounds like you're on the right path. I'd use Nizoral twice a week instead of once if you want the most benefit from it, and waiting on the minoxidil is a good idea. Make sure to let the Nizoral sit in your hair for five minutes before rinsing for best results. Good luck.

 

[UK1]

Thanks Jay, I was thinking about once a week for the first few weeks in case I react badly (I think I have a sensitive scalp), saying that.. I will probably just use it twice a week as advised and assess the situation afterwards, it should be fine. Do you use any concealers? I am tempted to curiously venture into this area as my hair wouldn't look too bad if i could find a foolproof way of disguising the thinning around the front section.

 

[bilbobaggins]

hi,

have you noticed any sides form the proscar? i have been taking propecia for 6.5/7 months now and so far so good.

 

[UK1]

Hey, I've only been taking it for 34 days, on day 3 I noticed a dull feeling in my testicles and a very bloated stomach, at first I thought that this was far too early to experience side effects but have since read posts confirming similar experiences, both sensations pretty much died down after the first week although I do still get the dull feeling every few days. I was told about potential sexual side effects and actually hoped that they would be true as I spend far too much time chasing girls, so far I've experienced nothing of that nature.. My hair has continued to fall out at the same rate if not maybe a little faster, I am optimistically hoping that this is shedding as I'm now begining to look noticably balding, if not I'll be continuing my treatment with a skinhead despite it not really suiting me. What about you?

 

[bilbobaggins]

same type of side effects and i too had alot of shedding in the first couple of months...the shedding subsided however and i loose less hair now than i can ever remember. I think the next 6 months to a year is the time i'm both excited and scared about. I swear i can feel prickly hairs on my crown area and hopefully these will continue to grow and thicken up.

Its funny because some days you can look in the mirror and study your hair thinking the worst - its making no difference and i'm still going to eventually loose my hair, albeit at a slower rate. Other days i look at my hair and think its definately thicker and i when i run my fingers through my hair there feels more of it. I really hope i respond well as i think i've caught it reasonably early but only time will tell.

another interesting thing is that i have always wondered how many people who no longer have a hairloss problem as a result of treatment come back and comment, i would like to think i would but to be completely honest...i'm not so sure.

 

[UK1]

Well it could be around the right time for you to be feeling some new hairs that previously shed coming back through so fingers crossed, I have belief in the fact that persistence will be the key to these treatments, I know that I would've shaved my head next year anyway so I have nothing to lose. I think that lots of people who have success like to tell their regular forum about it, I know I would. How old are you?

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jay, I was thinking about once a week for the first few weeks in case I react badly (I think I have a sensitive scalp), saying that.. I will probably just use it twice a week as advised and assess the situation afterwards, it should be fine. Do you use any concealers? I am tempted to curiously venture into this area as my hair wouldn't look too bad if i could find a foolproof way of disguising the thinning around the front section.

No I don't use concealers because I have a buzz cut now but I used once twice and it was Toppik, which they do sell on this website as well as other sites. It's pretty good, just make sure to get the color that matches your scalp hair color if you go that route.

 

[UK1]

I used to just dye my hair and not wash it all off my scalp, the slight shading used to do the trick but i found out it was bad for the scalp. I'd probably try Dermatch as I've heard it's the least like to run or fall off whilst lightly shading although i like the theory of Toppik.

 

[UK1]

I'm now on day 52, I realised around day 40 that my hair had stopped falling out so I added Nizoral to my regimen. I have been using it 2- 3 times a week since, I'm glad to say that so far it has not irritated my scalp. So.. it's all going to plan so far despite the fact that my hair is looking worse than ever, this is extra highlighted by the fact that I have been letting my buzz cut grow out whilst documenting the Proscar effects. I'm also still toying with the idea of experimenting with a concealer.

 

[bilbobaggins]

still early days pal...my hair looked its worse 2 months into treatment but its gotten thicker since. i still loose the odd hair in the shower and see them on my pillow but i hope they are part of the 'daily loss'.

 

[Guest]

The amount of hair you are losing is not so important. What counts is the overall apperance of your hair. If you are receding or getting thinner then you have a problem.

 

[bilbobaggins]

well, since i started propecia...the overall appearance of my hair has definately improved, hopefully it will continue.

 

[UK1]

still early days pal...my hair looked its worse 2 months into treatment but its gotten thicker since. i still loose the odd hair in the shower and see them on my pillow but i hope they are part of the 'daily loss'.

Yes this is true, I'm just glad that it's actually doing something, I began treatment as a last resort and out of curiousity. It's just a shame that it is stabilizing me this far down the hairloss line really, I actually need regrowth to be fully satisfied now but at least the first stage is going to plan. Did your hair thicken around the front at all?

 

[bilbobaggins]

i would have to say that its thickened all over. i think its very difficult to gauge regrowth as it happens so slowly...i'm amazed how many people expect chunks of hair to grow.

i am in month 7 now and hopefully seeing some new hairs coming through...its easy to get excited sometimes and until i can feel a decent thickness of hair on my crown (which may never happen) i won't get too carried away.

absolute best of luck though cheif.

 

[UK1]

Well I noticed today (day 66) that my hair has started falling out again.. i'm pretty sure it's a good sign as it totally follows the timeline i was given but unfortunately my hair looks pretty bad at the front now.. it must've happened over the last few days.. I would probably shave it all off if I wasn't waiting for my first concealer to arrive, fingers crossed that the concealer will help me comfortably ride out what appears to be my first proper shed, if not it's back to being a skinhead for a while.. :roll:

 

[UK1]

It's now day 84 and I'm not sure if I've shed any more (apart from a patch on the side of my head..) but my hair has now got back to the length where it's painfully obvious that I'm thinning/ balding across the front.. I am pleased overall with what finasteride has done for me in the first 3 months considering how aggresive the hairloss was when I started taking it but know now that I'm not going to be cosmetically satisfied with it's results alone.. I was pretty disapointed with my experimentation with concealer.. looks like I'm going to have to shave it all off again and add minoxidil to my regimen in the hope of some substantial regrowth.

 

[dietcola]

3 months is long enough for finasteride to start working, but not long enough to really see much in terms of regrowth. keep on it for at least 6-9 months before you decided that you aren't going to see much regrowth. and keep up with the updates! good to read other peoples experiences as i'm doing the same

 

[UK1]

Thanks for the advice but I'm pretty sure that it's not going to achieve the results I need on its own now, it stopped my hair from falling out within 3 weeks so I will continue using it but my regimen definately needs a little kick up the *** within the next month or so since I'm looking for considerable improvement.

I have taken a photo every 10 days since the day I began Proscar, when I get to 100 days I'll make a collage and post them here so you can get a better idea of my situation.

 

[Nick4441]

Well at least you got the loss to slow/stop that's success. I'm 6 weeks in and still losing ground quickly which is disappointing..just gotta keep going now and keep praying...I'd kill just for the loss to stop (its more the lost hairs not being replaced rather than excessive loss..same for many I guess)