would we be happier without these half *** treatments

[g.i joey]

do you guys think us balding men would be generally happier without a treatment that carries its own risks... i mean if we all knew we were doomed from the start wouldnt it make accepting our male pattern baldness easier... i personally wish i never knew about finasteride just because id take a year or 2 of being pissed and just be molded into my new bald life.. but now i feel stupid going down without a battle, but then i remember why i stopped finasteride (due to sides) so its just a never ending back and forth.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Interesting thread. I would say that personally I would be happier. My main issues with going bald were looking like crap and others thinking I looked like crap. Now on treatment I still have those worries plus: potential sides risk, how long will treatments work, hair greed, embarrassment of treating hair loss, always having hair loss on my mind, etc.

I wouldn't go as far as to say I didn't care about hair loss before I started treating it, but I can honestly say that I thought about much less.

 

[archdemon123]

I definitely would Specially because of, like notcool said, the fact that you still worry about not looking like crap and the obsession of always having hair loss on your mind.
It's crazy that everytime I look to somebody I quickly try to classify their hairlines in the Norwood scale.

 

[g.i joey]

yup, same here.. before it was just people with hair, people without... before i noticed my balding i was completely oblivious to recession.. the only thing that would really catch my eye is a really big bald spot.. even nw3s would be someone with a normal full head of hair to me..

i personally wish i never knew of finasteride and these risky treatments... hairloss is always on my mind, i get sides due to finasteride but cant go down without a fight so now ill be starting .25mg/day very soon.

if hair treatments werent around i feel like by this point in time i would def be over it.

a part of me is waiting for the day where my hair is too far gone... i was speaking to someone last weekend when i was drunk ( he was bald) and he told me he hated hairloss so much but when he finally got the balls to shave it off he felt like he had a huge weight lifted off his shoulders... im DYING for that feeling... i could literally be in a moment of bliss and be like "but this time around next year, ill prob have less hair" and completely down myself.

 

[TD500]

before i noticed my balding i was completely oblivious to recession.. the only thing that would really catch my eye is a really big bald spot.. even nw3s would be someone with a normal full head of hair to me..

Same for me as well.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

The problem with these half *** treatments is we cant just take it and be done with it. It is a constant battle and for me has started a chain reaction. Treatments --> research --> sites like this --> hating your looks even more than before --> hair loss obsession --> anxiety over treatments --> norwood spotting -->... The only way to break this chain would be for me to either be cured or to stop treatments and move on past hair loss. At this point I don't think that is even possible.

 

[g.i joey]

In reality its completely and absolutely possible, its just hard as ****...and yup, i am stuck in the same cycle.. i told myself this morning i wouldnt visit this site anymore.. once i had nothing to do tonight, guess whos on this site lol... its a vicious circle and the worst part is all these companies want treatments, not a cure.. they want us to pay monthly and have to continuously take something, cause in the end, that renders them the most profits... and with all this 5 year bull**** the worst part is, when this is all said and done, and the treatments wear off, we'll all be bald men.

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

You grew back a ton of hair! Post a pic of your hair in the worst light.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

i told myself this morning i wouldnt visit this site anymore.. once i had nothing to do tonight, guess whos on this site lol

I have been trying to spend less time on this site lately. I know it doesn't seem that way for the last few days since I have been on this site during down time at work. On my off days I don't visit this site as often as I used to. This site can be a good coping mechanism, but it can also add to the obsession/self hate.

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You grew back a ton of hair! Post a pic of your hair in the worst light.

I have been thinking of doing that but have avoided taking pics because I didn't want to get too depressed about how bad it looks. For now you will have to take my word for it that my crown and overall hair density is still pretty bad. I have been shedding quite a bit lately also. Like 20-30 hairs while shampooing and the same when styling. I am not exactly sure, but I think my hair has gotten thinner. It has gotten so bad that I started upping my minoxidil dose and even started laser again.

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

Hair thins in a non male pattern baldness way as you age.

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Seriously man. I was getting all ready to take the meds tonight. Then you posted your bull**** post. Now I definitely don't know what to do.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Hair thins in a non male pattern baldness way as you age.

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Seriously man. I was getting all ready to take the meds tonight. Then you posted your bull**** post. Now I definitely don't know what to do.

Haha. Sorry man. You know I would like you to join the fight.

 

[Iopu]

I'm happy that I'm doing everything I can to save my hair. It appears that those around me that are losing hair just let it go. I saw a young guy on the bus the other day. With a fine head of hair yet mildly receded temples tell his friends he was going to shave and go bald.

 

[GoldenMane]

With hair loss, you're never really safe, you never know how things will progress in 5, 10 or 20 years. Another issue is that most people don't realise and take action until we have already lost a lot. While we may regain some, or even a lot, it doesn't mean that we have hair that we're happy with.
I'm definitely happier with hair meds than without, I would be devastated if I was bald now. I know I look better because of the meds, and I appreciate that they exist and are cheap. My grandfather never had that option.
That said, I lost temple hair and it's not coming back. My hairline is not one I'm happy with, and the hair on top, while it has good coverage, is definitely not as thick as the donor zone. Then there's the fact that I don't know what the future holds. I'm still self conscious about my hairline and getting wet hair, I still worry about the future The meds did wonders, I look better, nobody knows I have a receeding hairline (temples at least) because i have bangs. No way could I pull of my hairstyle without the meds, I'd have shaved it by now and I'd be miserable.

So to summarise, way happier with meds, but still not happy.

 

[Wolf Pack]

do you guys think us balding men would be generally happier without a treatment that carries its own risks... i mean if we all knew we were doomed from the start wouldnt it make accepting our male pattern baldness easier... i personally wish i never knew about finasteride just because id take a year or 2 of being pissed and just be molded into my new bald life.. but now i feel stupid going down without a battle, but then i remember why i stopped finasteride (due to sides) so its just a never ending back and forth.

Good thread. Like with any illness (even though male pattern baldness is a strictly comestic/mental blow), people have different ways of viewing it. Some gain control by taking medication, others despise that they are at the mercy of medication daily! Some will only feel better with a cure, others feel liberated when they just shave it off and no more battle so to speak.

You have to know what you want within, do your research on treatments, can you live with a bald head e.t.c. Then go out and do it, don't over think it. The forums can make you over think stuff, take it in your stride.

Either way we should be grateful we have options. Whatever you do, do not waste your life reading up on the pathophysiology of Alopecia 24/7 and looking for a cure, making yourself a guinea pig. It won't bring you happiness overall and will be a horrible cycle. Wasted moments of your life.

We're all on our own path, allow yourself to enjoy life too.

 

[SayifDoit]

I'd be devastated and an extremely angry person knowing that there is nothing I can do to stop my hair loss and turn into a very ugly bitter person. It still crushes me seeing so many nw1's.

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

I'm out guys. Moving on. I put the tiniest bit of minoxidil on my head last night and it got red and rashy in the morning. Tried a little but on the other side this morning and now the same thing a couple hours later.

I had a great run but my body is just rejecting all the drugs. I had tried retaking finasteride 4 times since quitting 3.5 years ago and something went wrong each time.

My body is clearly rejecting minoxidil as well. Don't bother trying to convince me of this or that. I'm done. Moving on. I'm going to live my 30s without worrying about hair loss. This very thread is why.

Notcoolanymore is the only one that knows this but I'm diffuser44 among various other names that have been banned. Don't read too much into the anti finasteride posts out there. Most of them are probably paranoia posts from people reading too much propeciahelp.

The way I look at it is this. They are doing studies on propecia. They don't have anything conclusive on PFS because it simply doesn't exist. Anyone that got PFS is actually suffering some other illness that wasn't caused by propecia for 99 percent of the cases out there. I'm convinced of this.

I definitely would recommend all 3 to treat hair loss. If anyone ever were to ask me for advice I would tell them so. But I'm afraid my body has given me the signs and i need to listen it. It was fun treating hair loss and I feel like it saved me 10 years they I otherwise would have been bald. I hope it can do the same for you gents!

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Sorry you are unable to join us in the fight against hair loss. You are a cool dude and it was nice chatting. Good luck and I hope things work out for you.

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BTW, not trying to change your mind, but I heard that all minoxidil is created equal. Maybe one of the other options(foam) or brands would have been less inflammatory.

 

[Yoshi3Mario]

Sorry, foam did the same thing last June. I'm free. Liberated from this.

 

[doublebatman]

I've been using this site less and less. I've been here since 2009 under a different name... Probably browsing and posting on a daily occurrence for the last 6 or so years.

I will likely quit altogether in the future. like not cool said it acted as a good coping mechanism initially but I think if i spend too much time here I'd end up obsessing and overanalyzing hairloss to a point where it may become unhealthy. I'll keep on fighting the good fight but i dont think this is a battle i can win in the long run

I suppose we've all got to move on some day.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Some depressing posts on here, feel sad for you guys. Didn't know you had all wrote here before under different names.