Update (10 months minoxidil, 4 months finasteride)

[hans]

Hello all, here is my update on my progress. I consider myself probably a norwood 2 with hairline recession in a V-shape. I first started with Dr Lee's Xandrox 5% around last June. I used it twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I only apply it to the hairline and temple areas. The 'shed' occurred almost immediately and lasted for only 2 weeks. My hair definitely looked worse in this period but for the next couple of months it seemed to come back to baseline. Then I saw some thin, short hairs sprout out in front of my hairline. I was really excited around the third to fourth months when I saw these hairs. But then around the fifth month it seemed like these hairs were shedding and my hairline looked as if it was receding again. Then around the sixth month I started propecia 1mg a day in hopes to stop the receding.
Since the beginning of December last year I've been taking propecia every night, not skipping a single day thus far. On the first month it seemed like the number of hairs I would see in the shower were exactly the same... no change at all. However, during month 2 to 3 I saw a drastic decrease in the number of hairs shed. I was ecstatic! But then about a month ago I started a pretty decent shed which has continued to now. At the beginning of the shed it was all thin hairs. Now, it seems like I get a bunch of thicker hairs that shed too. A few things I did notice about my propecia usage. One, I've developed a scalp itch that I never had which comes and goes. Two, I've grown some little zit-like things on my scalp that tends to itch too. Three, my skin has become alot more dry and I do see less oil on my forehead. Four, a wierd acne problem that either hits me hard or I dont have a single zit at all.
Overall, I feel that in the past 10 months of being on either minoxidil or finasteride or both has not worked thus far in maintaining my hairline. I feel that my hairline has continued to recede in this past 10 months almost faster than it did the 10 months before I started any type of treatment. This may be due to the shedding that comes with the territory, but who knows? I think that's definitely the MOST difficult part of hairloss treatments. When it isn't obvious that hairloss treatment is working how can you really say it isn't? What if you didn't start any treatment, would it be twice as bad or would it actually be better? You are almost locked into a treatment because you are either afraid of quitting something that 'might' be working (but you dont really know) or you are waiting for the pot-of-gold (1 yr propecia waiting period) that might come somewhere down the road. It is quite depressing to think about, but also at the same time, I know I'm doing the best I can in stopping my hairloss.
I hope in another 6 months or so my next update will be better... until then.

 

[-cj-]

I hope things get better for you dude, just hold on. Like you said, you can at least know you're doing something for it, that's how I feel to, but I just started.

Just for kicks you might want to try to throw a Copper Peptide treatment in the mix.

Good luck.

 

[Guest]

At least you are lucky you are not losing a lot of hair like me..

I think Propecia makes things worser, like it did in my case, I will reach the 3rd month soon, and I have lost more hair in this 3 month period, than in the previous 6 years, since my male pattern baldness started. It's just damn crazy.

I am losing 100 hairs a day. Yesterday I lost 200 hairs, its incredible, since I am difuse thinning in NW5 pattern (I still have hair everywhere but all thinning). So it's incredible someone with so less hair can lose 100 or more hairs a day. Even 30 hairs would be insane for someone with an advanced Norwood pattern.

Also would like to add, that all the guys here who have good recovery, are using minoxidil, and many say it is due of minoxidil and not due of propecia, wich basically means, there were no discovery about hairloss in the last 30 years, because propecia does almost nothing for a lot of guys and does no regrow at all for almost all.

 

[Back In Time]

Also would like to add, that all the guys here who have good recovery, are using minoxidil, and many say it is due of minoxidil and not due of propecia, wich basically means, there were no discovery about hairloss in the last 30 years, because propecia does almost nothing for a lot of guys and does no regrow at all for almost all.

I was on minoxidil in the past, and saw no regrowth at all.

Now I'm on minoxidil and Propecia, and I have had good, definite regrowth so far (temples and crown, diffuse area is a little thicker so far) and I'm not losing hair anymore. I have been on generic Propecia (Fincar) and Kirkland Rogaine for about 4 1/2 months.

You can't tell me it's the rogaine regrowing my hair, because I was on that by itself and it did nothing for me. You can't tell me Propecia causes more hair to fall out for everyone, because not only am I not losing the same amount as before, I'm not losing at all!

I'm sorry it hasn't worked out so well for you so far GoodGuy, but please don't try and speak for everyone. It's pretty obvious most people that take Propecia arn't posting here, especially those that have decent results. The reasons for this have been gone over a million times on this forum, so I won't bother doing it again.

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry it hasn't worked out so well for you so far GoodGuy, but please don't try and speak for everyone. It's pretty obvious most people that take Propecia arn't posting here, especially those that have decent results. The reasons for this have been gone over a million times on this forum, so I won't bother doing it again.

Don't say "Im sorry it did not work",

because if you read my message you will see I'm going to reach my third month, I think I can't drive conclussions until the first year. I am just saying that I have lost a lot of hair in these first 3 months, but it could always be due of shedding.

Also, it could always be than Propecia alone does not work, and Rogaine alone also does nto work.

And I know the reasons you are talking about.. I just can't believe people are so SELFISH, and first they ask like mad about treatments for their hair, and once they get results you say they don't post anymore and go away and give a f*** about others?

I don't think so, I can't believe it. I still have hope in human race. People can't be like this.

That's why I always wonder why we find so less possitive comments and so many negative comments, just because I still have hope that people in general are good and won't do that.

 

[powersam]

i doubt you'd stick around long if you got dramatic improvement in your hair. its not that they don't give a f***, its that once you've achieved your aims hairloss wise why would you be hanging round a forum like this

 

[Back In Time]

I understand where you are coming from GoodGuy. I don't think it's that one or the other does not work...I think that Propecia provides a better enviornment for the minoxidil to work, at least for a lot of people. I could have gone with Propecia alone, but I read that "the big 3" can compliment each other, so this is the route I am taking.

It's just when you say things like "propecia does almost nothing for a lot of guys and does no regrow at all for almost all", I think you are taking some of (or a lot of) the negative comments found here and passing them along further, when they arn't the truth. I'm not saying Propecia fixes everyone's problems, but it certainly works for a lot of people and even regrows hair in many (like me). If minoxidil alone would have regrown hair for me, I would have seen it, and I did not.

It takes some forethought to take pictures of yourself before trying anything to combat hairloss, and a lot of balding folks spend time trying not to let other people see their balding head so it can be a tough thing to find people posting "before" pictures. For a lot of people, their hairloss is not something they want to deal with or even talk about publicly let alone have pictures of it.

Once you have results pictures really don't do any good as others can't see where you started. That being said I think people with results are just happy to not have to worry about their hairloss as much (or at all) and don't spend time on websites talking about a problem they have "solved". I know it seems selfish, but I can see why they wouldn't. At best I would expect perhaps one post saying "it worked for me, see ya", but even that is asking a lot because if you really get a handle on your hairloss I think it becomes something you worry about less and less, and something you think about less and less.