upnorth's story

[upnorth]

Hey All,

I've been lurking for about 3 weeks now, since I first detected hairloss and it has been a very interesting/educational experience.

About 3 weeks ago, I ran my hands through my hair when leaning over my white desk, and all of a sudden about 3 hairs landed on the desk. I ran my hands through again, and a few more came out....repeat. I then checked my pillow, more hairs.....aargh.

Up until this point, I though I had been a lucky one and escaped male pattern baldness. I am 28 years old, and I have very thick brown hair. That being said, I am very thankful that this didn't start 10 years ago.

I couldn't notice any change in my thickness or hairline. I even asked my hair dresser if she noticed a change, and she didn't see anything. But I knew this was the start of it.

This morning I finally got to see a dermatologist who was a very nice lady, she confirmed that I have some thinning in the vertex and I am in the very early stages of male pattern baldness. I got a prescription for Propecia from her and I just popped my first pill.

My hope is for maintenance, or to seriously slow down the progress of the hairloss, I have read many posts where people seem to think that Propecia is most effective when started very early so my hopes are high.

The first few days were very worrisome, but I soon realized:
-worrying will get me nowhere
-taking the best known medical steps to prevent is my best course of action, I can do no more.

So I started Nizoral about 3 weeks ago, and I am on day 1 of propecia. Should I add Rogaine yet? Or should I see if Propecia holds the fort for the next 6 months before I determine if Rogain is required?

Has anyone else managed to catch/treat their male pattern baldness immediately? What kind of success have you had?

Also a good friend of mine was in a car accident 5 years ago, and he suffered 3rd degree burns to his head,face, neck and hands. He burnt most of his ears off, and will certainly never grow hair again, his face is considerably scarred. It took him a while to get his emotional state together, but has since happily married, in great spirits, and will openly joke about his predicament.

When I look at his attitude, and what he has been through I realize even if it all falls out tomorrow and if male pattern baldness is my biggest battle in my life, I am incredibly fortunate in this world.

Best of luck to all!

 

[wastingpenguins]

I'm not really sure how to answer your question. I guess it just depends on the person. If the time and cost doesn't bother you too much, Rogaine can usually only help matters in my opinion. Personally, I opted to go with it, but you should probably see what others here have to say before making your decision.

Also: I'm not sure if you've read about the infamous Propecia sheds, but just DON'T freak out too much if your hair starts falling out at a more rapid rate in the next few months. It's happened to me and many, many others. Being only at the 2.5 month mark myself, I'm just hoping the shed will stop and my hair will regrow eventually. Patience is very important here.

Anyway, from what I've heard, as long as you stick to you regimen religiously, you have pretty good chances here.

Good luck!

 

[Rage]

From what starting to think.. when you start taking finasteride from very preliminary stages of male pattern baldness, you don't shed. The logic being that your hair folicles are not yet fully sensitised to androgens, thus a drop in DHT levels have little effect and no shed will occur.

At least I didn't, so please post back in a couple of months and do tell !

Good luck :d

 

[upnorth]

From what starting to think.. when you start taking finasteride from very preliminary stages of male pattern baldness, you don't shed. The logic being that your hair folicles are not yet fully sensitised to androgens, thus a drop in DHT levels have little effect and no shed will occur.

I'm not 100% sure what qualifies as a shed. I first noticed lost by the hairs on my pillow, and hairs that came out when I ran my hands through my hair. So, I think I've started my regimen in the midst of a shed.

Of course, the hope is that in a few months from now, the shedding stops, or lessens.

 

[Deaner]

Is that Joey Jeremiah in your display pic upnorth? I've never shed in my life, it's just been very slow and progressive thinning, so I don't think I'll experience a major shed while on finasteride either.

 

[wastingpenguins]

Don't be TOO sure, Deaner. I never, EVER shed before Propecia, either, and here I am, 2.5 months in and shedding like crazy.

Who knows, you may never experience a shed, you lucky bastard.

I'm just saying that it's possible.

 

[Deaner]

Well, how bad was your hairloss to begin with?

 

[wastingpenguins]

It was not bad at all, I'm only 17 after all. In fact, at the time I started Propecia, I still kind of spiked up my hair, and the loss wasn't too noticable. Mostly full head of hair, but it was starting to get a bit worse.

I started finasteride because I was worried it getting even worse. At this time, as long as my hair is dry, the loss isn't noticable. As my shedding continues, it's pretty hard to gel it anymore. A small area near the right front has gotten especially thin.

 

[upnorth]

That is Joey Jerimiah, Deaner. Some classic CBC of my youth.

It's only been 5 days on the finasteride so far, and I have noticed anything (as expected). Still noticing hairs on the pillow, and on my hands in the shower. Not a scary amount of hair, but hopefully this finasteride can work its magic.